TSM Swim Team Membership Information and Policies:

 

Team Mailing Address:

TSM Aquatics

1014 Broadway #588

Santa Monica, CA 90401

 

Tax information for Donations: TSM Aquatics is a registered 501(c) 3 Non-Profit Corporation with the IRS. All Donations made to TSM qualify as a charitable deduction. Donations do not include Program Fees, Patron Fees, and other payments for meets and merchandise.

Corporation Name: “Swimming Patrons of Santa Monica”

Federal Identification Number: 95-2415779

Contact Information:  Questions about billing and fees contact Cathy Burrell/Treasurer ([email protected] ).

 

Enrollment: A prospective team member will arrange to swim for one of our coaches during a team workout. The coach will then assign the swimmer to one of our groups according to age and ability. Registration needs to be completed within seven days from the first day in the water. Coaches and Parent volunteers are available to assist in registration at the pool.

 

New USA Swimmers: Swimmers who have never participated on a USA Swimming registered team or have never registered with USA Swimming will be required to show a birth certificate or passport as proof of age in order to register. All swimmers joining TSM Aquatics must be registered with Southern California Swimming, which is the local swimming committee of USA Swimming. USA Swimming provides insurance coverage for TSM swimmers and coaches and membership is also mandatory in order to compete in a swim meet.

Please print out from the reference link below the “Athletic Application” form and fill out as directed. Once you have completed the form and signed it, bring the completed form along with a check, payable to Southern California Swimming, and proof of age to a TSM Coach. Once the TSM Coach verifies the age, they will take the form and check and send it on to Southern California Swimming offices. In a few weeks you will receive in the mail a package with your swimmers USA Swimming card.

Reference Links:

USA Swimming – Website for USA Swimming

SoCal Swimming – Southern California Website

Athlete Application Form – USA 2021 Swimming Registration Form

Athlete Outreach Application Form – USA 2021 Outreach Swimming Registration Form

All swimmers joining TSM Aquatics must complete the online registration (Click Here) including, as stated above, the Southern California Swimming registration form (with a check made out directly to Southern California Swimming), and pay the TSM program fees prior to participation.

 

Program Fees: The following chart shows the annual program fees for each practice group and the monthly billing for payments made over nine (9) months (Sept to May). There is no billing in June, July and August; and there is no proration of the monthly practices fees.

 

College swimmers who are TSM alumni are welcome to participate in workouts during the summer on approval of the coach. The cost is a one- time annual fee of $750.00 billed at the start of each season.

 

Program Fee Surcharge: Families and swimmers who join or rejoin the club after September of each year will still be billed in the same months (September – May), but there will be a one-time surcharge fee at the time of registration. The surcharge, when added to the monthly payments, makes the total paid equal to the actual number of months the member is with TSM.

Example: Swimmer joins in December as BLUE GROUP member.  They will be billed monthly Dec-May per the monthly dues schedule (6 months) PLUS a surcharge to cover TSM's non-biling months.  Total owed is equal to nine (9) months for the season (Dec-Aug) which is 9/12 of the annual dues.  

Annual dues owed is $3,510 x 9/12 = $2,632.50; Monthly billings of 6 x $390 per month = $2,340.00;  Therfore the surcharge is the difference at $2,632.50 - $2,340 = $292.50.  

 

 

Multi-Swimmer Discounts: For families that have more than one swimmer on the team, TSM offers the following discounts. The discount is applied on a monthly basis for each scheduled billing month.

2^nd Swimmer Discount = 10% reduction of the monthly payments and any surcharge fee.

3^rd and each additional Swimmer Discount = 20% reduction of the monthly payments and any surcharge fee.

 

Billing and Payment Dates: TSM relies on prompt payment from every member to pay our coaching staff, lane fees, and other operating costs. On the 1^st (or the first Monday if the 1st falls on a weekend) of each calendar month a member’s account is processed for payment for all posted charges.

Each member can log-in to their account go to “My Account” / “Billing Summary” to find the details of current and prior charges. It is the member’s responsibility to notify TSM if there are any questions or mischarged on the invoice prior to the payment processing date on the 1^st.

If a member is paying by Credit Card then you will be charged the merchant fees (approx. 3%) for processing in addition to any other club billing.

To avoid the credit card fee, each member has the option to update their account with the ACH/Bank Payment option.

The following is a list that includes the major items your account will incur charges. From time to time, there will be other charges/credits posted to your account:

• Annual Patron Fee
• Program Fees (Billed Monthly from September to May)
• TSM Hosted Meet Support Fee (September)
• Surcharge Fee (On registration if joining after September)
• Swim Meets (Individual Events, Meet Surcharge & Meet Processing Fee)
• Merchandise Purchases (Caps, T-Shirts, etc.)
• Travel Meet Chargebacks
• Scholarship Credit
• Late Fees

Annual Patron Fees:   Each year, each family shall pay a $325 Annual Patrons Fee for the Patron’s Fund, assessed on the September 1^st billing date for each swim season (September 1^st – August 31^st). Families joining at other times pay this fee at the time of joining as outlined in the below schedule.

The annual patron fee helps to cover the cost of website licensing, administration costs, and other registration and member account set-up costs.

 

 

USA Registration: Registration and annual renewal of Membership to Southern California Swimming (SCS) is also required for every swimmer. Starting the 2022-23 season, each family is responsible for their swimmer(s) registration.

 

Swimmer's Practice Caps:

Starting in the 2022-2023 Swim Season the Coaches now require a uniform WHITE TSM cap to be worn at all practice sessions. Each new swimmer will be charged $15 when they join the club. The coaches will hand out the new practice cap upon joining the club.

 

No Personal Checks: Effective March 1st 2017, TSM will no longer be accepting personal checks, cash, or money orders for payment for the monthly billing. Acceptable methods of payment will be bank withdrawals (ACH), debit cards, and credit cards. It is the member’s responsibility to make sure the method in which the dues are paid is a valid one so that the payment can be processed by Team Unify successfully. For example, when you are invoiced on August 25, 2020, Team Unify will process the payment on September 1, 2020.

 

Declined Payments and Past Due Accounts:   If on the 1^st of the month your payment is not processed (card declined) an email will be generated and sent to your login email address on the same day to inform you of the decline. Follow-up reminder emails will be sent out to alert member’s to update their payment information prior to the 10^th, but the member is always responsible for any payment due and shall notify TSM when the information has been updated to process the payment.

If the full payment is not made by the swimmer's account by the 10th of the month, a $25 late fee will be added to the account and your swimmer is suspended from practice and meets until the account is current. In addition to the late fee, any and all fees charged to TSM for declined ACH, credit card and Team Unify individual batch transactions will be charged to the member’s account. Should your account bill remain unpaid at the end of the month TSM will terminate your membership and use all legal remedies to collect the amount due.

 

Credit Card Declined Fee: For each failed credit card transaction, a member’s account maybe assessed up to a $10.00 fee. To avoid this fee, each member is responsible for keeping their payment information up to date and informing TSM if their credit card has been cancelled due to fraud or other reason and there is a new card in transit. This fee is to cover the fees charged by the credit card processing company for each failed credit card transaction. 

 

Membership Termination:  Fees are not discounted for swimmers not making the scheduled practices. A swimmer who chooses not to attend workouts for a portion of a month is not entitled to pro-rated fees. No refund/credits will be issued after the first day of the billing cycle. Should you wish to stop participating with TSM and terminate your membership, notice must be submitted in writing (via email) with a minimum of five days prior to the beginning of a new billing month (i.e.: prior to November 26th for the December 1^st billing date).

 

Leave of Absence: If you plan to take a break from the TSM program, a member must send written notice to TSM by the 24^th of the month or the member will be charged for the following month. When a member plans to return they must first give notice of their intent of returning, and on coach’s approval the account will be re-activated. There is a $100 reinstatement fee charged on a member’s return. In addition, on a member’s return, the surcharge fee will be assessed (see Program Fee Surcharge policy above). Exceptions to these additional charges may be accepted if due to a medical reason or at the coach’s decision. For a medical exemption, the member must present a doctor’s note restricting activity for an extended time.

 

Swim Meets:   Members are responsible for committing to the meet prior to the registration deadline. On occasion, the deadline date is moved to an earlier date to ensure TSM is accepted into the meet.  Please make sure attention is made to emails regarding meet registration deadlines.  Members are responsible for the following swim meet fees:  meet entry fee, SCS Surcharge, $20.00 per swimmer TSM surcharge to cover processing costs, relays, and coach’s expenses. For meets that include heats and finals and therefore require additional staffing, the TSM surcharge is $40.00.  

Once the registration is closed and TSM has sent the payment in for the meet, each member is reasonable for payment of those fees regardless if the swimmer is later unable to attend, all or part of the meet. If the reason for not attending the meet is a coach’s decision then the member will only cover the event fees and the processing fee will be credited back.

 

Travel Swim Meets and Training Trips: 

National Travel Swim Meets: These are pool and open water meets at the National level and includes, US Open, Senior Nationals, Junior Nationals, Olympic Trials, and any other meets designed by the Board as a National level meet. The swimmer will cover their own costs to/from and at the meet including entry fee, meals, lodging, transportation, supplies, and other related meet fees. TSM will cover the Coach’s costs and reasonable shared expenses (transportation, meals, and supplies). If there is any travel/meet funding by SoCal Swimming, USA Swimming, or other sources, the swimmer will receive the portion designated for the participant, and the club will keep any designated for a coach.

Non-National Meets: These are pool and open water meets that are outside the SoCal LCS and are non-National level and includes, CA-NV Sectionals, Future Championship, Zone Meets, and any other meets designed by the Board as a Non-National level meet. The swimmer will cover their own costs to/from and at the meet including entry fee, meals, lodging, transportation, supplies, and other related meet fees. In addition, the swimmers will pay a coach’s meet support fee charge of $100 per swimmer. TSM will cover the Coach’s costs and reasonable shared expenses (transportation, meals, and supplies), partially offset by the swimmer’s meet surcharge.

Local Swim Meets: These are pool and open water meets with in the SoCal Swimming (LCS area) for Junior Olympic and lower meet. The swimmer will cover their own costs to/from and at the meet including entry fee, meals, lodging, transportation, supplies, and other related meet fees. In addition, swimmers will pay a coach’s meet support fee charge of $40 per swimmer for meets with Prelims/Finals, and $20 per swimmer for any other meet format. The swimmer surcharge goes towards TSM coach’s costs and relay fees.

Travel Training Trips: Members who have swimmers that are invited or participate in travel training sessions (OTC, etc.) are responsible for their own costs (transportation, room and board, etc.) and for any TSM paid allocated group and coach’s cost on the trip. The allocated costs will be billed to the member’s account. The board may at its desecration based on the club’s financial position subsidize a portion of the allocated costs. Prior to each travel training trip each member will be given additional information and details of what they will pay direct and an estimated amount of allocated costs that is expected to be paid by TSM.

Non TSM Scheduled Meet: Members who have swimmers that are invited or participate in a non TSM Scheduled Meet or training sessions will be reasonable for their own costs and for any TSM paid allocated group and coach’s cost on the trip. The allocated costs will be billed to the member’s account.

 

TSM Hosted Meet Fee: TSM generally hosts one swim meet in the Fall and on occasion one in Spring. In lieu of asking each family for donations or food items to be sold at the snack bar and provide hospitality to officials, administrators and coaches as well as to cover other administrative costs, TSM charges a Hosted Meet Support Fee of $40 per swimmer for each meet hosted by TSM.

 

Attendance Policy: Developing swimmers to perform to the best of their ability is one of the goals at TSM.  In order to achieve this goal, the swimmer must attend the minimum number of practices for his/her group. Refunds/discounts are not granted for swimmers not attending practice as it is their responsibility to do so. 

Refund requests with a doctor’s note stating that the athlete is unable to participate for an extended period of time due to a medical condition, can be submitted to the board for special consideration.

 

College/Alumni Annual Dues:  College swimmers who swam with TSM before are welcome to participate in workouts during the swim season when they are not attending college. The fee is $750 for the full swim season. However, college swimmers are expected to pay dues if she/he plans to participate in the workouts for more than two weeks. Auto pay signup for college swimmers who plan to compete at any meet is a must. It is the swimmer's responsibility to notify the Head Coach and Treasurer prior to the 1st workout.

Note: College swimmers do not have to pay the annual patrons fee or the reinstatement fee.

 

Scholarships:  TSM has a limited amount of scholarship funds available for qualified swimmers and are provided for families that may have temporary or on-going financial needs. The amount of the TSM Scholarship is based on family income size and awarded by a subcommittee of the Board of Directors.  Swimmers awarded a scholarship are expected to be committed to their training by attending their coach’s required number of practices and meets. Parents of scholarship swimmers are expected to provide additional volunteer time to the club above the minimum requirements. 

If offered, financial aid is based on the team's annual budget and may not be available from year to year.