Club Commitment Policy

Applicable to: A Group B National B National Development B Provincial C Group D2 D1 Lightning Fast 5 - UVIC

Date: September 1, 2019
Re: PCS Club Commitment Policy 2019-20

Dear parents,

Welcome (or welcome back) to the Pacific Coast Swimming family! This is a great organization that provides our kids with wonderful opportunities to grow, not only as swimmers but as community citizens. PCS is a competitive swim club and consequently, swim meets are central to what we do. Swim meets are the way our athletes and coaches gauge progress and achieve goals. Swim meets are also a great way to get a front row seat to watch your child and connect with other PCS families.

A significant portion of PCS’s revenue comes from running and hosting swim meets, which are important fundraisers for the club. Hosting swim meets helps to support our programs and keeps our monthly swim fees at manageable levels. Hosting home meets lessens the costs families incur having to travel and race away. Between the meet fees and travel costs, a swim meet away can cost anywhere from $500.00 - $2000.00+. Happily, we host 4-7 meets each year, saving our PCS families this added expense.

Hosting meets requires volunteer officials (lots of them!) and, like all swim clubs, we rely on our swim families to provide them. PCS expects that all members will help out with PCS-hosted swim meets. Like other clubs, we have a “Club Commitment Policy” to ensure the work required to host our swim meets is spread across everyone in the club in a fair manner. This policy is designed to recognize the important role we all play in the club. Swimming is very much a team sport, and the success of our club and our swimmers comes from the support of dedicated families.

Who can help out at meets? Anyone in your family, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbours. Anyone you recruit will count towards your volunteer commitment.

Upon review of the previous policy a number of minor changes were made and approved by the board in June 2019.

We are happy to talk to you further if you have questions or concerns about this policy and are excited about the season ahead, and look forward to seeing everyone on the pool deck!

Sincerely,

Pacific Coast Swimmers and Parent Association Board of Directors

 

Pacific Coast Swimming Club Commitment Policy 2019-20

Dates of PCS-Hosted Swim Meets 2019-2020

Meet

Dates Notes
BC Senior Circuit #1 October 19, 2019 B group parents only
PCS Annual Christmas Cracker December 6-8, 2019  
Vancouver Island Regional (VIR) Championships January 24- 26, 2020 Co-hosted with Tyee Swim Club
U-Sport (University championships) February 20-22, 2020 Hosted by UVic Vikes; some PCS volunteers needed to assist
PCS Wavemaker April 24- 26, 2020  
BC Provincial Swim Championships July 9 – 12, 2020 Everyone’s help needed!
PCS Midsummer Madness August 1 -2, 2020  



Annual Club Commitment: Minimum Meet Shifts

The minimum number of shifts required each year varies based on the number of PCS-hosted swim meets. In 2019-20, each family is expected to meet the following minimum number of shifts at PCS-hosted swim meets:

Group
(as of Dec 1, 2019)
Minimum Shifts for 2019/20 Works out to approximately...
B Group 18 4 shifts/ meet
C Group 15 3 shifts/ meet
D Group 10 2 shifts/ meet
Lightning Fast 1 shift/meet if child is particpating (Sunday Race Series, other PCS- hosted meets

For families with more than one swimmer, the club commitment applies to the highest level swimmer in each family only.

To ensure smooth meet planning, please sign up for shifts at least two weeks prior to meet start date, through the PCS website.

Parents are strongly encouraged to pro-actively approach PCS staff if they have their concerns about their ability to meet the club commitment. PCS staff will communicate with families who may be at risk of not meeting their club commitments, to encourage participation and identify if alternative arrangements are needed.

PCS reserves the right to collect a club commitment penalty of $500 for member families not completing their minimum annual club commitment. If any funds are collected for club commitment penalty, they will be used for the direct benefit of PCS officials, e.g. towards food for swim meets; bursaries towards club fees for families who have completed their shift commitment for that year; etc.

Officials Training Commitment and Progression
It is important that parents progress and advance through our officials program alongside their swimmers. At least one person per family is expected to complete training for the following positions listed below. Participating in one officials training session is equivalent to 1 shift, to be counted towards a PCS meet of choice.

Group
(as of Dec 1 of each year)
Expected Training Certification Notes
Lightning Fast Timer (Once your child starts competing)  
D Group Timer  
C Group Sroke and Turn Judge  
B Group One senior officials position (E.g. starer, electronics, clerk-of-course, chief timer, referee) May require special training. Contact janellehunt@shaw.ca for more info.


Stroke and Officials Training Dates 2019-2020

Check back here for updated dates by September 15, 2019

Training Date Time Location Register By:
End of October (Date TBC)      
Beginning of January (Date TBC)      
Additional region-wide training sessions planned for end of November - dates to be confirmed.

Senior officials training is also offered through Swim BC; see swimbc.ca website for more info.

Swim Meet Food Donations

PCS is known for providing delicious and abundant food for officials and volunteers at our swim meets! All families will contribute some food for the volunteers and coaches at all PCS-hosted meets, as requested (sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, baking, etc.).

Fundraising

PCS has no mandatory fundraising commitment but all swimmers are expected to participate in the Swim-A-Thon February to April 2019.


Club Commitment - Recognition
PCS gratefully appreciates and recognizes your contribution of time and effort:

  • White PCS officials t-shirt for those who meet minimum annual shift commitment
  • Free drop-in maintenance swims in August 2020 to registered swimmers whose families exceeded their minimum club requirements for that year
  • Draw for $50 gift card to encourage early registration for PCS meet shifts