Session Charges

As we am sure you are all aware Sharks Swimming Club has become a freestanding club since the demise of NCDC and as such the committee have been working to find the best long term solution in relation to the cost of swimming sessions for club members.

With the club in its infancy as a standalone organisation it has been a steep learning curve for all concerned and although we had initially devised a scheme, where the amount each swimmer would pay each month would be determined by the number of times that swimmer intended to train in a week, this has proved very difficult to administer and could have led to a financial loss for the club.

As a result, and following detailed discussions and examination of projected costs for the next year, we would like to introduce a scheme where each member would pay a monthly subscription of £15 in order to swim with Bude Sharks. This subscription would allow the member to swim at any of the club sessions during the week which are appropriate to their ability level and would guarantee the club's financial stability each month.

Bude Sharks is committed to providing appropriate coached swimming sessions for all members who wish to either compete for the club or simply improve as swimmers and the committee hope that the introduction of a monthly subscription scheme will help to foster the notion of Bude Sharks as a separate club - and not simply an extension of Bude Splash. Members swimming ability and fitness are also sure to improve if they are making a commitment to the club rather than seeing Sharks as simply a way to undertake ad hoc swimming sessions.

The £15 subscription will be charged 11 months of the year (there will be no charge in December - although the ASA membership fees will still be due by the beginning of the year) and even if a member decides to swim only once a week this will equate to approximately £3.30 for each coached session. (The price of an unstructured leisure swim at the Splash is currently £3.20, while an uncoached length swim is £3.30). Of course we would encourage all our members to swim more than once a week, and indeed our coaches would recommend that competitive swimmers should be in the water at least twice a week, and naturally the more times a member swims the cheaper each swim becomes.

The new scheme will be introduced from 1st June and payments for each month must be made before the beginning of that month. If payments are not made then the member will not be allowed to swim.
Forms for standing orders will be available from any committee member - and this is the method of payment the club would recommend as it makes it easier for us to administer. A standing order also means the member will not need to worry about remembering repayment each month. Payment can also be made by cheque - a letter box will be available at Splash where cheques can be posted before the beginning of each month.

We hope that you will understand the need to make this change as the club continues to develop as a wholly independent body and that you will agree £15 subscription per month offers excellent value for expertly coached swimming sessions. Should you have any queries about this or need any further information please contact Jonathan McConnell, Susie Harriss or Maggie Watts, or email swimming@budesharks.co.uk