Windermere Laker Aquatics Fees & Billing Policy

There are many costs involved in operating an aquatic program such as Windermere Laker Aquatics. Program fees help to cover these costs, including:

• Coaches and Instructors Salaries
• Pool and Facility Rental Fees and Maintenance Fees
• Team Equipment (ie, Team Tents)
• Celebrations/Social Activities (ie, holiday events such as the 4th of July celebration)
• Administrative Costs (Registration, Communication Tools, Software Fees)

Similar to many other sports and activities, there are also a variety of costs that members/families must be able to cover on their own. These include:

• Practice Suits
• Goggles, Towels, and other Training Equipment (Kick Boards, Pull Buoys, Snorkels, Fins, etc.)
• Team Apparel (Shirts, Swim Suits, Swim Caps, etc.)
• Swim Meet Fees (Sign-up Fees & Travel Expenses)
• Clinics and Private Lessons

Laker Swim -- Monthly Dues:

Monthly dues for Laker Swim training groups are paid in advance. Monthly dues are populated at midnight on the first of the month. Charges are typically processed between 5:00 & 6:00 AM on the first of the month. Electronic processing is attempted multiple times if needed. Email notifications will be sent to primary emails in the case of overdue charges or failed payments.

Accounts with overdue charges on the 5th of the month will incur a $20 late fee. Swimmers whose accounts have balances from previous months will not be allowed to attend practice until charges are paid, and risk forfeiting their spot at Windermere Lakers Aquatics to families on our waiting list. Accounts with charges that are over 30 days delinquent will also be prohibited from meet sign-up until charges are paid. Members with charges that are 90+ days delinquent will be asked to leave the program.

Members who register after the 15th of the month will pay a 50% monthly fee for their first month ONLY. Otherwise, the prorating of monthly dues should not be expected.

In the case an athlete is barred from participation due to injury/health concerns, families that provide medical documentation will be given a credit for monthly dues for future use. 

Monthly Dues Breakdown:
In addition to monthly membership dues, families are also responsible for an annual Laker Swim Registration Fee and yearly USA Swimming registration fees. More details regarding these fees are provided to families upon team registration.

Laker Swim -- Private Lessons:

• "A la carte", at $70 per lesson, OR
• In a package of 8 lessons for $490 (8 lessons for the price of 7 "a la carte")

Private lesson packages are either paid for upfront or upon completion of the first lesson in the package. Lessons bought through a package do not expire and can be completed with any coach. Depending on the preference of the family and the availability of the preferred coach(es), these lessons can take place on a regular or more "as necessary/as requested" basis.

Private lessons purchased "a la carte" will be charged at the end of the month. A la carte private lessons can be completed with any Laker Swim coach provided they have the availability.

Dragon Swim Academy -- Group Lessons:

Monthly dues for Dragon Swim Academy group lessons are paid in advance. Monthly dues are populated at midnight on the first of the month. Charges are typically processed between 5:00 & 6:00 AM on the first of the month. Electronic processing is attempted multiple times if needed. Email notifications will be sent to primary emails in the case of overdue charges or failed payments.

Accounts with overdue charges on the 5th of the month will incur a $20 late fee. Swimmers whose accounts have balances from previous months will not be allowed to attend practice until charges are paid, and risk forfeiting their spot at Windermere Lakers Aquatics to families on our waiting list. Accounts with charges that are over 30 days delinquent will also be prohibited from meet sign-up until charges are paid. Members with charges that are 90+ days delinquent will be asked to leave the program.

Members who register after the 15th of the month will pay a 50% monthly fee for their first month ONLY. Otherwise, the prorating of monthly dues should not be expected.

In the case that an athlete is barred from participation due to injury/health concerns, families that provide medical documentation will be given a credit for monthly dues for future use. 

2024-2025 Monthly Dues Breakdown:
Group lessons and Pre-Competitive Groups require a one-time $25 administrative registration fee. No USA Swimming registration is required.

Dragon Swim Academy -- One-on-One Lessons:

Families with swimmers in One-on-One Lessons are billed at the end of the month, not in advance.

Lessons are based upon a price point of $35 per twenty-minute lesson. The expectation is that most families will reach 80 minutes of instruction each month. Instructors are responsible for keeping track of the total of minutes of instruction per swimmer. This total is then used to calculate the cost for the month.

Instructors are to be notified in writing via email of any absences from lessons at least 48 hours in advance. Lessons that are "no-call, no-shows" will be billed as if they were completed.

Charges are added to accounts no earlier than 48 hours before the end of the month. Charges are typically processed between 5:00 & 6:00 AM on the first of the month. Electronic processing is attempted multiple times if needed. Email notifications will be sent to primary emails in the case of overdue charges or failed payments.

Accounts with overdue charges on the 5th of the month will incur a $20 late fee. Swimmers whose accounts have balances from previous months will not be allowed to attend practice until charges are paid, and risk forfeiting their spot at Windermere Lakers Aquatics to families on our waiting list. Accounts with charges that are over 30 days delinquent will also be prohibited from meet sign-up until charges are paid. Members with charges that are 90+ days delinquent will be asked to leave the program.

Monthly Dues Breakdown:
One-on-One Lessons require a one-time $25 administrative registration fee. No USA Swimming registration is required. 

Payment Procedures:

Families are strongly encouraged to add an electronic payment method on sign-up. Credit Card or ACH payments are processed on the 1st of the month.

Payments via check are accepted in person ONLY (though electronic payment is strongly preferred). To avoid the automatic $20 late fee, checks must be delivered to a member of the admin team before the 5th of the month.

Swimmers whose accounts have balances from previous months will be prohibited from attending practices/meets until charges are paid, and risk forfeiting their spot at Windermere Lakers Aquatics to families on our waiting list.

Accounts with charges that are over 30 days delinquent will also be prohibited from meet sign-up until charges are paid.

Members with charges that are 90+ days delinquent will be asked to leave the program.

Membership Cancelation Procedures (Permanent Withdrawals):

Withdrawal requests must be received by the 25th of the month before the withdrawal (ie, a family who wishes to withdraw beginning September 1st must send their request by August 25th).

A SWIMMER IS NOT CONSIDERED WITHDRAWN FROM THE PROGRAM UNTIL WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE WITHDRAWAL IS RECEIVED BY THE CLUB AT [email protected]. Communication must include the name of the athlete and their program/training group (ie, one-on-one lessons, Senior II, Diamond, etc.). Verbal or written communication of withdrawal to the swimmer's coach is not sufficient!

Any charges incurred due to incorrect or late withdrawal procedures are the responsibility of the family. Refunds will not be issued. Notices received after the 1st of each month can request to have the amount credited to their account for future use.

"Pause Requests" (Temporary Withdrawals) & Reservation Fee:

Temporary withdrawals (ie, for an extended vacation, or to participate in a school's swim season) that last a month or more are referred to as "pauses". To prevent unwanted charges, families must submit their pause requests to [email protected] by the 25th of the month before the pause (ie, a family who wishes to start their pause on September 1st must send their request by August 25th).

Families who pause their swimmers for a month only will maintain access to their TeamUnify account throughout the pause. Families who pause their swimmers for more than a month will be temporarily deactivated.

When training groups at Windermere Laker Aquatics reach capacity, a waiting list is built. As spots in training groups become available, waitlisted swimmers will be welcomed in the order they were added to the waitlist. Families with swimmers in a training group with a waiting list can prevent the loss of their swimmer's spot to a waitlisted family by paying a reservation fee equal to 50% of the monthly dues for that level. Otherwise, the paused swimmer will be removed from their group's active roster and added to the bottom of the waiting list.

Waiting list status will be provided at the time of "pause request". If the waiting list status changes while the athlete is on pause, an update will be sent to the primary email on file.

Apparel Purchases:

A variety of team apparel can be purchased through our website.

On occasion, teamwide custom apparel orders are placed. Members can sign up for custom apparel orders via the "Events & Competition" tab.

Members are responsible for 100% of all custom apparel purchases, even if that apparel is delivered after a withdrawal notice. There are no returns or refunds for customized apparel.

Meet Fees:

Members can commit to swim meets via the "Events & Competition" tab. Commitment must be completed before the entry deadline listed in the event description.

Once the deadline for entry has passed, a preliminary entry report will be emailed to all committed families, who then have 48 hours to email their coach with any questions or changes.

Most swim meets have a base charge for sign-up in addition to a cost per entered event. Once the deadline has passed, families are responsible for all entry fees. There will be no refunds.

Family Participation & Support:

It takes a village to ensure Laker athletes are provided with the opportunities to practice, but also to race and celebrate. Though we do not currently have a volunteer requirement, those who are interested in helping to ensure that WLA-hosted events and swim meets can run smoothly are always encouraged to do so.

Parents/Guardians who are interested in learning more about becoming an official for Florida Swimming are encouraged to explore the Officials tab on the Florida Swimming website. Once certified, Officials who attend swim meets on WLA's behalf will be given credit to help offset the cost of athlete dues.

Team Discounts & Financial Assistance:

Families with multiple athletes on Laker Swim (club team) become eligible for a multi-athlete discount:

Families with multiple swimmers enrolled in Dragon Swim Academy are not currently eligible for the multi-athlete discount.

No other discounts are currently offered for Windemere Laker Aquatics.