Registration
Prospective Club Membership Information
The 2024 membership season begins on September 1, 2023
Help documentation for SWIMS 3.0 may be found for Members and Clubs by going to hub.usaswimming.org and accessing the Help menu in the upper right.
Important Stuff - FAQs - More Info About SWIMS 3.0
SWIMS General Tutorial and Detailed Information for Clubs
Important - Clubs can control their offerings. If you don't want Flex or Seasonal, you may turn them on and off. In addition, you can turn them on and off throughout the season in case you have different offerings at different times. Click here to access some steps.
Important - Registrations are effective immediately upon completion of the Online Member Registration process (after payment is complete). There is no additional approval required at the LSC level.
Important - Because registrations are effective immediately, there is no adjusting the dates of registrations. Under no circumstances can athletes compete or practice without a valid registration (no backdating!)
Important - Club renewal links will reset for club admins starting 9/1. Do not send links for a new season prior to 9/1 or they will register for the current season. There is no immediate need for clubs to renew since you're valid until 12/31.
FAQ - How do I send my Registration Link to members? Each club will need to determine the process that works best. Clubs using 3rd party vendors with SWIMS 3.0 integration may have additional options. All clubs will be able to copy and paste their link into an email for direct distribution. In addition, clubs will be able to generate new links if something happens to the existing ones. Protect your links as much as possible to prevent people who haven't registered with your club from getting through.
FAQ - I see I have two links, one for Full Price and one for Outreach - Athletes qualifying for Outreach membership (click here for Criteria) will use a distinct link. This link will provide the correct pricing for their membership.
FAQ - What if someone doesn't have a credit card? A pre-paid gift card, or virtual gift card, may work.
FAQ - What if my club wants to pay? Clubs should chose the bulk renewal option for renewing athletes. New athletes will need to register directly through USA Swimming for the first year.
FAQ - There are people on my non-athlete roster no longer affiliated with my club. How do I get them off? If a club admin looks at the non-athlete roster, selects the edit option, and then initiates a transfer to NI/UN, they will move off of the club.
FAQ - I wear multiple hats as a coach, official, board member, etc. What do I register as? All of them! In the new system, you will select any membership category that applies to you. You are only billed for one USA Swimming membership. LSC fees apply to each membership selected. The price at check out will show this for you.
FAQ - I don't want to register, but I want to view my kids. Logins are created without any need to register as a paid member.
2024 Membership Fees and Information
The information below is taken from the Niagara Policies and Procedures. The Policies & Procedures document is the official record should there be any scrivener's errors contained below.
Athletes:
Premium - Unrestricted Membership - $91 ($70 to USA Swimming and $21 to Niagara LSC)
Outreach - Unrestricted Discounted Membership for Qualified athletes (click here for Criteria) - $7 ($5 to USA Swimming and $2 to Niagara LSC)
Seasonal (Season 1/Season 2/Individual Season) - Restricted to meets at or below the LSC Championships - $60 ($40 to USA Swimming and $20 to Niagara LSC)
- Season 1 [Oct 1 through Feb 28]
- Season 2 [April 4 through Aug 31]
- Individual Season [150 days from date of registration]
Flex - Restricted to 12 and Under - No more than two sanctioned meets - $30 ($20 to USA Swimming and $10 Niagara LSC)
Single Meet - This option is used only for Unattached Open Water Competition. -$10 ($10 to USA Swimming)
Non-Athletes - Please be sure to register for ALL categories that apply to you. The USA Swimming fee will only apply one time.
Coach - $84 ($70 to USA Swimming and $14 to Niagara LSC) - This includes Provisional coaches and Junior Coaches (16 and 17 years old).
Official - $70 ($70 to USA Swimming) - All officials, including Admin Officials, will select this option.
Other - $70 ($70 to USA Swimming) - Meet Directors, Chaperones, and any with frequent/direct contact with athletes (other than coach/official) will need this.
Administrator - $30 ($30 to USA Swimming) - Used only for New category members who fall under the amendment to the USA Swimming corporate bylaws, i.e., club board members, non-coach employees, webmaster, treasurer, club registrar. It does not apply to anyone that is a coach, official, chaperone, meet director, or has frequent/direct contact with athletes.
Unattached members - Any member wishing to register with USA Swimming that lives in the geographic boundaries of Niagara LSC (That portion of New York State west of and including the counties of Oswego, Onondaga, Cortland, and Broome) who are not affiliated with a USA Swimming Member Club, may email [email protected] to request information about how to register.
Outreach - (Click here for Criteria) Clubs, please be sure to collect and confirm the required documentation. DO NOT send it to me unless there is a question about eligibility (or if you just don't feel comfortable making the decision). Email your question/concern ([email protected]) if needed, but do not send the documentation. If you are required to send me the items, you must either redact the information and send it to me in a password-protected zip file, or you must use USPS to mail them to me.
Transfers - To transfer any membership (athlete or non-athlete), please initiate your transfer using the option in SWIMS. Click here to learn more.
Upgrades - Athletes and non-athletes with eligible registration (Flex or Seasonal for Athlete/Administrator for Non-Athlete) can upgrade using the option in SWIMS. Click here to learn more.
updated 10/4/23
Coach Membership Requirements Checklist
The following items must be submitted to the Niagara Office whenever completed or updated ([email protected]):
- Your valid CPR certification
- Your valid Lifeguarding or In-Water Skills Checklist
- Your STSC Online certificate
- Concussion Protocol Training certificate
The remaining items, which include the Background Check, APT, and Foundations of Coaching, will automatically match your record, assuming the information entered matches in both places. To ensure that items have been matched, look at your Dashboard, USA Swimming App, or the Membership Status report (found under the governance tab). If items are missing, you should contact your club registrar and the Niagara Office to help sort out what's wrong.
Clubs: All clubs will need to specify their Club Admin. The Club Admin will be given access to the new Club Portal and have permissions to set up the club roles (Head Coaches, Board Members, etc.), renew the club, and much more.
Organizations: Organizations are what Leagues register as. They will be treated the same way as clubs and will need to set up an Admin to renew the organization.
To: USA Swimming Members 17 years and older, LSC General Chairs, LSC Administrative Vice-Chairs, LSC Offices, LSC Staff, LSC Safe Sport Chairs, LSC Registration Chairs, Club Contacts, Club Presidents and Club Head Coaches.
Since 2019, USA Swimming adult athlete members have been required to complete Athlete Protection Training (APT) as a requirement of membership. In 2019, USA Swimming built in an administrative grace period to give athletes 30 days after their 18th birthday to complete the requirement. Effective September 1, 2022, there will no longer be a 30-day administrative grace period. Going forward, any 17-year-old athlete who has not completed the APT requirement by their 18th birthday will not be a USA Swimming member in good standing unless or until the APT requirement is completed. This includes eligibility to compete in USA Swimming sanctioned meets, club practices and all other related activities. Athletes will continue to receive an email notification reminder of the APT requirement 30 days prior to their 18th birthday as well as a reminder on their 18th birthday.
All USA Swimming members aged 18 years old and older are required to complete APT annually. This is the individual’s responsibility and includes both athlete and non-athlete members.
To learn more about the upcoming changes to your membership, please visit the SWIMS Resource Hub link below.
At its April 24, 2020, meeting, the USA Swimming Board of Directors approved amendments to the USA Swimming Corporate Bylaws. Two amendments directly impact member club administration.
First, Bylaw 2.6.6 was amended to extend the requirement of non-athlete membership in USA Swimming to all individuals serving on the board of directors of member clubs. Please note this amendment has an immediate effective date. All USA Swimming member clubs are expected to comply with this expectation as a condition of membership in USA Swimming. In addition, Clubs should work with the LSC to ensure all members of its club board of directors are USA Swimming non-athlete members in good standing.
Second, Bylaw 2.6.12 was amended to require all USA Swimming member clubs to have either (i) at least one member coach plus a board of directors or other governing board; or (ii) at least two member coaches. This is to ensure there are at least two adult authorities at each member club for communication and accountability purposes. Please note this amendment has an effective date of January 1, 2021.
At its May 7, 2021 meeting, due to a change mandated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the USA Swimming Board of Directors voted to amend Corporate Bylaw 2.6.6, which specifies those individuals required to be non-athlete members of USA Swimming.
Effective September 1, 2021, all employees (e.g., staff, interns, etc.) and individuals serving on the board of directors of USA Swimming, Zones, Local Swimming Committees (LSCs) and member clubs must be non-athlete members of USA Swimming. Previously, as it relates to employees, only those who interact directly and frequently with athletes were required to be non-athlete members of USA Swimming. Now, all employees of USA Swimming, LSCs and member clubs must be non-athlete members of USA Swimming regardless of whether they interact directly and frequently with athletes. Additionally, all volunteers of USA Swimming, Zones, LSCs and member clubs who interact directly and frequently with or have authority over athletes as a regular part of their duties are also required to be non-athlete members of USA Swimming.
Note this does not apply to volunteers such as timers, marshals, computer operators, etc., who only have limited contact with athletes during a meet.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions regarding this important change. For more information, please attend one of the MAAPP 2.0 Informational webinars on August 9, 2021 and August 26, 2021.
Updated on 9/9/2021:
On July 15, 2021, you received a communication announcing all employees and individuals serving on the board of directors of USA Swimming Zones, Local Swimming Committees (LSCs) and member clubs must be non-athlete members of USA Swimming. Since then, we have received numerous inquiries about how this requirement applies to institutionally-owned clubs. USA Swimming has been working with the U.S. Center for SafeSport in an attempt to be able to provide guidance to institutionally-owned clubs. To date, we continue this effort but do not have full guidance to provide.
As a result, USA Swimming is extending the implementation date of this requirement to January 1, 2022. We anticipate being able to provide full guidance to clubs, LSCs and members in advance of this new deadline. Please look forward to receiving further communications from USA Swimming on this matter.
Please note, all individuals who have direct and frequent contact with, or who have authority over, athletes are required to be non-athlete members of USA Swimming. For any questions or concerns, please contact [email protected].
