The annual club membership fee (which covers the SASA registration fee, the West District per-capita fee and the club running expenses) is now due. The fee was approved at our Annual General Meeting in January 2011. Unfortunately the SASA portion of the fees has increased considerably more than we had expected.
This year SASA have switched to a two-tier (swimmer & non-swimmer) category of membership which they have said will be fixed for 4 years, from the six previous categories based on age. This change was expected, but the rate which was approved at the SASA AGM in February 2011 was not. Kingston has a fairly young membership hence the switch to a two-category system will hit the club considerably. This effectively means that the fees that Kingston sends to SASA may increase by as much as 65% (which averages about £18.00 per swimmer). We are still working through the SASA registration process at the moment to determine the true cost.
We have always set our fees to be the same for every member regardless of the SASA fees structure, which has allowed us to pace increases equally amongst the membership and to simplify the collection process. In setting the annual fee the club takes into account that the club pays the registration fees for volunteers such as coaches, officials and helpers, and makes allowance for reduced fees for multiple members in the same family.
The club’s aim, as a not-for-profit organisation, is to keep costs as low as possible for our members. The club committee has agreed not to pass the 2011 SASA registration fee increase on to our members this year. What we will do however is to look at several options for fundraising and reducing costs, the outcome of which may ultimately affect some of the things we take for granted now and may curtail some of the things we wanted to do this year.
The committee will review the membership cost prior to our AGM in January 2012, but in all likelihood the club annual membership fee will increase at this point to a level required to cover the cost of the increased SASA registration fees.
The annual club membership for 2011 per swimmer will remain £60. If you have two swimmers in your family then the membership costs £110. If you have three or more swimmers in your family then the membership costs £160.
There are several things you can do for the club to mitigate this problem, they are simple but effective. Commit to training 2 nights a week if you can and try not to miss sessions; please pay on time for any fees which are due; and take part in as many fundraising activities as you can. If you have any experience in fundraising activities please let us know.
It’s no surprise these days that everyone is conscious of costs, and the need to continue producing results in a challenging environment. Should you wish some further information, SASA have tried to explain their rational for the new cost structure in their document:
Proposed Membership Fees 2011 Rationale
The Committee
