SCHOLARSHIPS
Overview:
The NLSA Marlins are proud to be a recipient of a USA Swimming Community Impact Grant.
This grant is awarded to our club for the following years:
2025 (funds available to us June 2025-Dec 2025)
2026 (funds available to us Jan 2026-Dec 2026)
2027 (funds available to us Jan 2027-Dec 2027)
During these 3 years, we are prioritizing the use of these funds in the form of scholarships, to help support swimmers with financial need.
Application
Timeline for Scholarship Applications:
Short Course 2025
All returning, new, and Intro swimmers can apply during the same timeline:
*As of Oct 8, 2025, scholarship funds remain. Families should apply before registration.
Guidelines
1. Scholarships are intended to help defray the costs of Short Course or Long Course registration fees. Intro to Competitive Swim session fees are also eligible.
a. Families who qualify for free or reduced lunch in their school district will be given priority consideration. Other forms of financial need will be considered if funds are available. This may include temporary emergencies or other hardships.
b. 100% scholarships will be rare; the committee will consider the cost a family is able to pay, total number of applications received, and total funds available each season.
c. Should funds remain after the timelines listed above, the Scholarship Committee in keeping with our grant agreement, may choose to award scholarships for fees other than registration fees. A separate application will be made available.
2. Apply by the deadlines above to receive full consideration
a. If funds remain after the deadline, the scholarship committee will consider applications on a rolling basis.
3. Provide necessary documents
a. The Scholarship Committee will keep all information confidential.
4. Communicate promptly if the committee needs additional information.
a. Accept or decline the scholarship by the deadlines established.
5. Reapplication is required each season (Long Course April-July or Short Course Sept-March)
6. A separate application for each swimmer in a family will be required.
7. The swimmer and family will need to be in good standing with the club - this includes USA Swimming SafeSport, Code of Conduct, and any club volunteer requirements.
8. Should a swimmer leave in the middle of a season, scholarship funds cannot carry over to the next season.
9. The scholarship is a reduction on the cost of the season/Intro Session. This reduction will be applied at the time of registration through the SportsEngine billing system. The Swimming Registration director will apply this reduction and can be reached at [email protected]
10. All decisions made by the Scholarship Committee are final and cannot be appealed.
a. The committee consists of 2 Board members and 1 coach. The Board of Directors will appoint these members
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to the Sioux Falls Swim Club and Rochester Swim Club for their scholarship applications and processes which helped inform our scholarship process development.
