Cost of Club Swimming

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost of pool rental and insurance for starters is very $$$

Came here to say the same. Clubs rent space per lane per hour, which isn’t cheap given the high cost to operate an aquatic facility. Then there’s coach and any other employee compensation. Then whatever fees the club I assume has to pay to the LSC and USA Swimming. Then insurance (which is high for anything pool-related), technology platforms, etc.

It doesn't add up though, compared to what you pay to use lap lanes there are way more kids per lane. Usually, six to eight but way more if it's a popular summer league. Even crowded public lap lanes are seldom that full and general admission is way cheaper per person the expensive private pools usually just one or two people per lane.

I think it is more driven by the cost of the meets and swim coaches.

IMO, they should make it way cheaper for kids to swim together on swim teams so as to keep the kids from splashing the old ladies in deep-water running lanes.

People take that sport way too seriously for what it is and what the kids get out of it.

[Anonymous]

We did PAC and it was $105 a month.
Practice was at Fairland. I thought the price was good compared to other teams.

[Anonymous]

All in, I'm paying ~4500 for my kids to swim twice a week this year, not including the meet fees. They're enjoying it, but I'm not sure it's going to be sustainable for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost of pool rental and insurance for starters is very $$$

Came here to say the same. Clubs rent space per lane per hour, which isn’t cheap given the high cost to operate an aquatic facility. Then there’s coach and any other employee compensation. Then whatever fees the club I assume has to pay to the LSC and USA Swimming. Then insurance (which is high for anything pool-related), technology platforms, etc.

It doesn't add up though, compared to what you pay to use lap lanes there are way more kids per lane. Usually, six to eight but way more if it's a popular summer league. Even crowded public lap lanes are seldom that full and general admission is way cheaper per person the expensive private pools usually just one or two people per lane.

I think it is more driven by the cost of the meets and swim coaches.

IMO, they should make it way cheaper for kids to swim together on swim teams so as to keep the kids from splashing the old ladies in deep-water running lanes.

People take that sport way too seriously for what it is and what the kids get out of it.

My teen swimmer places significant value on the drive, worth ethic, self-discipline, time management, teamwork, resilience and physical fitness they get out of competitive swimming. They do take all of that quite seriously and recognize it will drive them well when their swimming days are over. Don’t swim if you don’t think it’s worth it for you. But allow others to make their own choices without judging it for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All in, I'm paying ~4500 for my kids to swim twice a week this year, not including the meet fees. They're enjoying it, but I'm not sure it's going to be sustainable for us.

Capitol Sea Devils includes meet fees in their dues. I think I’m paying about $5500 for two kids, but one swims 3 days a week and the other 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did PAC and it was $105 a month.
Practice was at Fairland. I thought the price was good compared to other teams.

I think this is the old price but it is not much more as I think it is like 120-130. That being said, I do not think PAC (my kid is on their team also) is of the same caliber as some of these other clubs. I do not know enough about swimming to compare but most of the coaches are young compared to other coaches which to me means more experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why I am a stroke and turn official. And why DC kept trying out for RMSC until she finally made it in at 12. We’re better positioned to pay now than when they were younger, but getting into RMSC and then getting the officials discount is how we’ve been able to pull off 7 years and counting of 2 kids in club swim.

What discounts do you get as an official? Did not realize that RMSC offers discounts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did PAC and it was $105 a month.
Practice was at Fairland. I thought the price was good compared to other teams.

I think this is the old price but it is not much more as I think it is like 120-130. That being said, I do not think PAC (my kid is on their team also) is of the same caliber as some of these other clubs. I do not know enough about swimming to compare but most of the coaches are young compared to other coaches which to me means more experience.

This is probably true but if you have swimmers that just love the sport but aren’t at the RMSC level, it’s a good value.

[Anonymous]

My swimmer is now a sophomore in college, the travel and suit costs added up when he started making cuts for travel meets. Add a few thousand to the program fee.

[Anonymous]

This is a great price compared to what we are paying. We are in Montgomery County but it might be worth the commute.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did PAC and it was $105 a month.
Practice was at Fairland. I thought the price was good compared to other teams.

I think this is the old price but it is not much more as I think it is like 120-130. That being said, I do not think PAC (my kid is on their team also) is of the same caliber as some of these other clubs. I do not know enough about swimming to compare but most of the coaches are young compared to other coaches which to me means more experience.

This is probably true but if you have swimmers that just love the sport but aren’t at the RMSC level, it’s a good value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My swimmer is now a sophomore in college, the travel and suit costs added up when he started making cuts for travel meets. Add a few thousand to the program fee.

I would agree with this statement. One travel trip (depending on whether you can drive or fly) is a ton of money, add meet fees which are higher for these meets, tech suit, eating out, etc. it gets very pricey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost of pool rental and insurance for starters is very $$$

Came here to say the same. Clubs rent space per lane per hour, which isn’t cheap given the high cost to operate an aquatic facility. Then there’s coach and any other employee compensation. Then whatever fees the club I assume has to pay to the LSC and USA Swimming. Then insurance (which is high for anything pool-related), technology platforms, etc.

It doesn't add up though, compared to what you pay to use lap lanes there are way more kids per lane. Usually, six to eight but way more if it's a popular summer league. Even crowded public lap lanes are seldom that full and general admission is way cheaper per person the expensive private pools usually just one or two people per lane.

I think it is more driven by the cost of the meets and swim coaches.

IMO, they should make it way cheaper for kids to swim together on swim teams so as to keep the kids from splashing the old ladies in deep-water running lanes.

People take that sport way too seriously for what it is and what the kids get out of it.

Well what you “think” isn’t actually true and it very much comes down to the cost of lane space.

I used this is example in another thread but the cost to rent a lane in Fairfax County is $29.87/hour so an 11 month group that practices 5x/week for 2hrs and has 8 lanes of space has a lane rental cost of ~$115,000 for the season which means you need 29 swimmers paying $4000 a year just to cover pool rental costs and not even coaching.

[Anonymous]

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/pool-rentals/rates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost of pool rental and insurance for starters is very $$$

Came here to say the same. Clubs rent space per lane per hour, which isn’t cheap given the high cost to operate an aquatic facility. Then there’s coach and any other employee compensation. Then whatever fees the club I assume has to pay to the LSC and USA Swimming. Then insurance (which is high for anything pool-related), technology platforms, etc.

It doesn't add up though, compared to what you pay to use lap lanes there are way more kids per lane. Usually, six to eight but way more if it's a popular summer league. Even crowded public lap lanes are seldom that full and general admission is way cheaper per person the expensive private pools usually just one or two people per lane.

I think it is more driven by the cost of the meets and swim coaches.

IMO, they should make it way cheaper for kids to swim together on swim teams so as to keep the kids from splashing the old ladies in deep-water running lanes.

People take that sport way too seriously for what it is and what the kids get out of it.

There is more than just coaches, meets and pool time. There is training equipment, timing equipment, pool maintenance, insurance, travel, website fees, marketing, insurance, accounting fees, office fees, IT needs, etc.

The athlete typically covers the meet fees, their own travel fees, and some gear costs. The club’s pool fees are highly dependent on whether they own their pool or if they rent, any funding from local government, and pool scarcity.

We paid over $5k a year for club fees (meet fees not included) for a 10 year old who attended 3 practices and 1 dryland a week in manhattan. Five years later, we pay $1300 a year for him to go to 8 practices and 3 drylands a week in a smaller town.

Compared to club soccer, the dues are lower and the travel depends on whether your kid is qualifying for higher level meets. With soccer, you travel for tournaments at every level of the play, but in swim, typically only kids who qualify for faster meets are traveling regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost of pool rental and insurance for starters is very $$$

Came here to say the same. Clubs rent space per lane per hour, which isn’t cheap given the high cost to operate an aquatic facility. Then there’s coach and any other employee compensation. Then whatever fees the club I assume has to pay to the LSC and USA Swimming. Then insurance (which is high for anything pool-related), technology platforms, etc.

It doesn't add up though, compared to what you pay to use lap lanes there are way more kids per lane. Usually, six to eight but way more if it's a popular summer league. Even crowded public lap lanes are seldom that full and general admission is way cheaper per person the expensive private pools usually just one or two people per lane.

I think it is more driven by the cost of the meets and swim coaches.

IMO, they should make it way cheaper for kids to swim together on swim teams so as to keep the kids from splashing the old ladies in deep-water running lanes.

People take that sport way too seriously for what it is and what the kids get out of it.

There is more than just coaches, meets and pool time. There is training equipment, timing equipment, pool maintenance, insurance, travel, website fees, marketing, insurance, accounting fees, office fees, IT needs, etc.

The athlete typically covers the meet fees, their own travel fees, and some gear costs. The club’s pool fees are highly dependent on whether they own their pool or if they rent, any funding from local government, and pool scarcity.

We paid over $5k a year for club fees (meet fees not included) for a 10 year old who attended 3 practices and 1 dryland a week in manhattan. Five years later, we pay $1300 a year for him to go to 8 practices and 3 drylands a week in a smaller town.

Compared to club soccer, the dues are lower and the travel depends on whether your kid is qualifying for higher level meets. With soccer, you travel for tournaments at every level of the play, but in swim, typically only kids who qualify for faster meets are traveling regularly.

+1. Note that, there's no one-size fits all club price for swimming - it's very much dependent on your practice group/level of competition. That aspect is different than other club sports like soccer, for example. , where there is more of single package price. Certainly, if you want to compare club sports to rec on the basis of price, alone, then there's no comparison.