RipFest Reviews

I would never let my kids near any Male diving coaches. Need to dismantle diving like USA gymnastics.

It is a great place for church retreats. Our church had a men's retreat there in September and the food was good. The old sanctuary is set up living room style which made it really easy to break up into small groups.

My son switched to the Ripfest program over two years ago after I d watched coach Wingfield and his staff on deck closely during summers at the Forest Park facility while my son was diving with another club at the time. My son loves being a part of Ripfest, he is always learning new things and continually improving. I have been incredibly impressed as well. I ve had the opportunity to attend a number of the lectures given during Ripfest Camp sessions as well, and I m always amazed at the things I learn about diving and body mechanics, and even though I was never a diver myself, I ve been able to adapt quite a bit of Wingfield s lecture information to improve my own workouts by gaining strength, flexibility, and overall better health. He is an extremely talented teacher and coach. My son has gained a tremendous amount of confidence in his improving abilities, he was ready to quit the sport in frustration before he switched to Ripfest, but by the second day after being coached by Wingfield he said Mom, we made the right move! He hasn t lost any of that initial enthusiasm even more than two years later.

Ask to see pictures of their facility. These photos do NOT depict old church with 3 bathroom stalls and 2 showers that 50 girls will share. There is NO pool on site. They travel to pools on old busses. The area they eat in, is the small church basement. Areas in the hallways actually looked like fire code hazards. Where s and plumbing hanging out all over and make shift heating ducts to get basement warm where they sleep.
Our camper came home with 1 new dive for 1000.-. The best part was making new friends. Please ask for facility photos.... not ones like this where they are being bussed to.

Quality coaching! They make diving fun and exciting.

My daughter has been going to Ripfest for almost two years and absolutely loves it there. Her skills have improved significantly and can t say enough nice things about the coaching staff. John, Jimmy, and G are by far the best coaches she has ever had. I give Ripfest my highest recommendation!

I have known many kids and met Olympic athletes who were former divers with Wingfield like David Boudia, Steele Johnson, Mary-Beth Dunichay ...some of whom have since taught and coached at Ripfest. My athlete is headed the same direction as these current/former athletes and I couldn t be more proud of the safety and world-class training Ripfest clubs and camps offer. To say any less is to remain ignorant of the facts and details of how the Ripfest programs operate. They are leaders in the area of Safesport protocols not just for diving but for any sport.

I ll definitely be sending my kids again and look forward to seeing them give back by coaching in one of their programs one day.

If you haven t experienced one of their clubs or camps, I highly recommend visiting or contacting them; coaches are always attentive and open to questions.

Am I biased because my kids have been involved in the programs? Sure, who wouldn t be? One of my athletes has been to other diving camps and they were good, but nowhere near what Ripfest offered up in terms of training and kid safety and fun. Looking forward to many more years with them.

Thanks to coach Wingfield and Kate who are so dedicated to these kids and their success both in and out of the pool.