SERVICE HOURS and FUNDRAISING REQUIREMENTS—2025-2026
20 Service Hours per Family (with one or more swimmers on the year-round team, there are no service hours for Bronze, Bronze Plus or FitPrep groups.)
SCA depends heavily on volunteers to run the team successfully. A swim team simply cannot function without the support of swim parents. Our expectation is that each family will make every effort to support our team with their time, talents, and energy. Parental support and involvement is vital to the success and growth of our team.
For the 2025-2026 swim year there is a 20-hour per family service hour requirement, a minimum of 10 service hours in the first session, September 1, 2025-February 29, 2026 and a minimum of 10 service hours in the second session, March 1, 2026-July 31, 2026. The billing of the Hours Requirement Fee (HRF) will occur at the end of each swim session. Monthly dues do not cover all of the team expenses and swim meets are a fundraiser for our team. The primary way that families earn service hours is by signing up to help with at swim meets and this year we have three (3) mandatory swim meets which require that each family work a minimum of four (4) on-deck hours. When SCAT hosts a meet, parents are required to help even if their swimmers are not swimming at the SCAT hosted meet. YOU ARE WANTED AND NEEDED!
Mandatory Meet Dates:
October 11 & 12, 2025
December 12, 13 &14, 2025
April 18 & 19, 2025
If your family is not available to work at one/any of the mandatory events, you will be billed $200 (4 service hours @$50) for each meet you miss . This means that even if your service hours requirement is met, you will still need to work at the mandatory meets or be billed. The billing of the meet non-participation will occur at the end of the mandatory meet. Snack bar donations do not count as on-deck service hours.
Families may also earn service hours by volunteering for other SCAT sponsored events.
Signing up for volunteer hours but not showing up or not participating in the assigned activity may result in a charge of $50 per hour following the event. Reasonable excuses for failing to show for volunteer hours may be presented to the Board of Directors for resolution.
If service hours are not completed, the number of hours not earned as of July 31, 2026 will result in a $50/hour charge which will be billed to your card on file on August 1, 2026.
You must have an active swimmer on the team to earn service hours. If you choose to withdraw your swimmer from the team before August 1 you will be charged for any unworked hours; hours billed may be prorated depending on the timing of the withdrawal.
Other Service Hour Information:
- Leave of Absence to participate in high school swimming, they will be responsible for the service hour requirements, including any mandatory events during that time period.
- Families joining the team on or after June 1, 2026 are not responsible for service hours during the second session of 2026 but assistance is always welcome.
- Families are responsible for service hours for every month they are on the team. Families who join the team in the middle of any service hours session will be given a prorated minimum hours due.
- All families must complete the minimum service hour requirement or pay the financial obligation to be in good standing with the team.
- All families are responsible for the job shifts they sign up to work. If a family is signed up to work a shift and has not removed their name from the list prior to the event closing (2 days before the day of the event) they are still responsible for working that shift or getting it covered. If a family does not show up for a shift or does not get a shift covered, they will be billed $50 per hour for the shift they signed up to work. The billing for the missed shift will be on the next billing date after the missed event.
- If a family works more than the minimum required hours in a session, the hours can be rolled over to the next session, but they cannot be rolled over into the next swim year. Service Hours can be given to another family who may be short on hours. Each family must meet the mandatory hours before transferring of hours can occur.
The intent of the Service Hour Program is not to raise money, but to emphasize how important it is that we all work together to maintain the high SCA standards and to help more evenly share the volunteer effort required to provide well run meets and activities for our children. We cannot run a meet without adequate parental support. This policy is intended to provide flexibility for families throughout the year to fulfill the minimum 20-hour obligation. Many of our families volunteer extra hours during the year. Those families not doing their fair share during SCA hosted events, critically jeopardize the management and operation of these events and also subject the club to increased membership fees. SCA appreciates your support and involvement.
