Fees, Fundraising, and Other Charges for 2025-2026 

Becoming a member of the Spokane Waves Aquatic Team means safe sport, fun, fitness and teamwork. It also means a financial obligation to pay monthly dues and other charges in a timely manner. The following outlines what you can expect to pay as a member of the Spokane Waves Aquatic Team. At first glance, it may seem as if the swim team is expensive. However, when taking into account the hours of coaching you swimmer receives for their monthly dues, the swim team offers a reasonable team experience designed to promote self-esteem, self-discipline, and good sportsmanship.

USA Swimming Fee

The annual USA Swimming fee for the 2024-2025 season is $91 per swimmer.

As a USA Swimming affiliate club, all members are required to pay a yearly membership fee.

This fee is subject to change by a small amount each year, depending on the determination of the LSC and USA Swimming, and has not yet been announced for the upcoming season.

 

This fee is reduced considerably for swimmers who qualify for free or reduced hot lunch through the school system (letter from the school district stating such and Outreach application is required).

 

The USA Swimming membership provides secondary health and accident insurance in case of injury during swim team practice and during swim meets. 

 

Each swimmer MUST be registered with USA Swimming in order to swim with Spokane Waves. New swimmers are responsible for establishing an account initially with USA Swimming through a link provided by the SWAT Registrar to link the swimmer to the club, and initial registration is paid directly to USA Swimming.  Annual renewal will be initiated by the SWAT registrar and invoiced to the account.  USA Swimming no longer sends out paper membership cards, but swimmers may check their USA swimming registration status via the Deck Pass application electronically.

 

Team Registration Fee

Registration administration fees will be $150 per family, plus $20 per swimmer (fee includes team shirt).   For swimmers trying out for SWAT on dates other than the annual registration, team registration administration fees will be $150 per swim family, plus $20 per swimmer. 

 

Monthly Dues

Spokane Waves charges each swimmer monthly dues. The dues are dependent upon the group which your swimmer is placed in and will change as your swimmer moves from group to group. Dues pay for all program costs including coaches’ salaries, team travel, financial assistance, all operating expenses and pool rental costs. Families will receive invoices monthly via email each month. Charges can be paid by bank draft or credit card. Monthly dues for the 2025-2026 school year are as follows:

 

 

MULTI-SWIMMER DISCOUNT

There are some discounts on monthly dues for families with multiple swimmers enrolled: 3rd swimmer 5% discount, 4th swimmer 10%, and 5th swimmer is free. 

 

HIGH SCHOOL RATES

High school rates are available only for SWAT swimmers that participate in high school swimming, only during their 3 month season. The high school rate calculated as a 25% dues discount from your monthly dues during the high school season.

CHENEY TRIMESTER PROGRAM

SWAT offers a Trimester (4 month each) training program at our Cheney site for those swimmers who wish to participate seasonally. The Trimester program membership requires registration for USA Swimming’s $30 Flex membership for swimmers 12 & under and registration for $91 annual Premiere membership with USA swimming for 13 & older swimmers. Trimester members with flex memberships are allowed only one swim non-championship meet per quarter, or will need to pay the difference to upgrade to a full annual USA Swimming athlete registration.  Please note, for your initial sign up there is also a $150 administrative fee and a $20 dollar fee for a SWAT t-shirt and SWAT latex cap. Costs are as follows:

• Trimester program B: $120/mo ($150 swim-a-thon req  2nd trimester) 
• Trimester program A:: $170/mo ($250 swim-a-thon req  2nd trimester)
• Swimmers participating in two or more trimesters will owe the annual Swim-A-Thon commitment. Swimmers participating in two trimesters will be required to have the USA Swimming Year Round (Premium Athlete) Membership allowing for regular competition.

 

Swim Meet Fees

Meet fees will vary based on meet location and surcharges charged by the team, and will be indicated in the Meet Information (also called the Sanction) document released by the host team, and posted on the Team Events page. 

 

In general the following fees apply for each meet:

• a fee for each event entered
• an IES surcharge fee
• a facility fee 
• a heat sheet fee 

Relay fees will be listed but swimmers relay fees are covered by SWAT.  Our team must pay the host club for all entry fees in advance. A swimmer who enters a meet and does not cancel the entry with their coach before the check is sent to the host club must pay for his/her entry whether or not he/she ultimately attends the meet.

 

Fundraising

In order to keep fees as low as possible, fundraising is required by each family. Swim-a-thon is SWAT’s annual and only required fund-raiser, and all swimmers must participate even if he/she is unable to swim in the event. During Swim-a-thon swimmers collect pledges, either for laps they swim or flat amounts. This event encourages the swimmers to raise funds from friends, families, neighbors and relatives, or families may choose to donate money themselves.

 

Businesses that a family frequents may also be willing to sponsor a swimmer for Swim-a-thon. SWAT is a qualified 501(c)3 non-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible. The team keeps 95% of all donations, and 5% is sent to USA-Swimming to support national swim programs. Swim-a-thon is a very fun event with participation prizes and surprises and cool things for top fund-raisers. Many corporations have matching programs for non-profit donations, so swimmers are encouraged to ask if donors can submit their pledges for corporate match.

 

For the annual Swim-a-thon, each swimmer is required to turn in an established minimum fundraising amount based on swimming group. If you chose not to participate, you will be invoiced the monthly training fee in June. The date for Swim-a-thon is usually in the spring, but more information will be posted on the website in the months before the event. All swimmers on an active roster for the season will be expected to meet the minimum fundraising requirements of the annual Swim-a-thon. Any fundraising amount not met will be billed directly to the swimmer’s account in the month following the event. The High School swimmers are required to raise a minimum of $250, while Senior Swimmers that swim at the reduced HS Elite rate for the HS swim season, return to the Senior rate after the HS season and are expected to raise the minimum of the normal Senior minimum of $350.

 

Swim-a-thon group fundraising minimum expectations:

• Ripples and Bronze groups: $150
• Silver, Gold, High School groups: $250
• Senior groups: $350
• Multiple Swimmers family minimum cap: $400

 

Early Termination Fee

The Waves require a 12-month commitment starting in September each year. Should a swimmer decide to leave the team at any point in the season, they will be required to provide a written notice by email (no texting) to the Head Coach and team treasurer 30 days in advance of departing the team.

 

In such cases, the swimmer will be required to pay the current month dues, the annual Swim-a-thon minimum payment, as well as an early termination fee of $250 in effect from the date the swimmer ceases training with the team. Should the swimmer decide to rejoin the team, the swimmer shall be subject to the additional charge of the registration fee, along with monthly dues as described above.

 

Leave of Absence

Should a swimmer be required to take a leave of absence from training due to an injury, the swimmer must provide documentation to the Head Coach from a licensed medical provider detailing the nature of the injury, as well as the anticipated length of time that the swimmer will be out of the water. Once such documentation is provided, subsequent monthly dues will be reduced until such time as the swimmer is medically cleared to resume training. In order to maintain a place on the team, the swimmer will be required to pay 50% of the monthly training fees at their current training group rate, until they are medically cleared to resume training

 

Questions

If you have further questions, do not hesitate to talk to the Head Coach (please do not interrupt practice but contact coaches before or after practice).