How to set squad fees that cover pool hire and coaching
To set a squad fee, add up what the squad costs to run in a season (its share of pool hire, its coaching hours and its share of club overheads), divide by the number of swimmers, and spread the result across the months you collect. Then decide, on purpose, whether any squad should subsidise another. Most clubs set fees by adjusting last year's figure, which is how squads end up quietly losing money without anyone choosing it.
Step 1: Work out the squad's pool cost
Pool hire is usually the biggest cost. For each squad, list every session it trains in a typical week: the venue, the number of lanes and the hours. Multiply lane-hours by that venue's hire rate. If two squads share lanes, split the cost by lanes used, not by headcount.
Remember the weeks the pool is closed or booked by others. Clubs run on roughly eleven-month seasons, so price on the weeks you actually train.
Step 2: Work out the squad's coaching cost
List the coaches on poolside for each session and the hours each is paid for. Multiply by their rates. When one coach runs two squads in the same slot, split their cost between those squads rather than charging both in full. Include any regular paid time off the poolside, such as session planning, if the club pays for it.
Step 3: Add a fair share of overheads
Overheads are the costs that do not belong to one squad: affiliation, insurance, software, equipment, coach education, the annual awards evening. Total them and share them across all swimmers, or weight them towards the squads that use them most. Whichever you choose, write the rule down so the next treasurer can follow it.
Step 4: Divide, then spread across the months you collect
Add the three figures for each squad and divide by the number of swimmers. Allow for the fact that squads are rarely full all year and some fees go unpaid. Then divide by the number of monthly payments you collect.
A worked example (illustrative figures only)
| Line | Calculation | Season total |
|---|---|---|
| Pool hire | 3 sessions a week, 2 lanes, 1 hour each, at £30 per lane-hour, for 46 weeks | £8,280 |
| Coaching | 3 hours a week at £20 an hour, for 46 weeks | £2,760 |
| Overhead share | £60 a swimmer across 24 swimmers | £1,440 |
| Total | £12,480 | |
| Per swimmer | £12,480 divided by 24 | £520 |
| Monthly fee | £520 over 11 monthly payments | about £47 |
The figures above are invented to show the method. Use your own venue rates, coach rates and squad sizes.
Step 5: Decide where subsidy is a choice
Once every squad has a cost-based figure, compare it with what you charge now. You will probably find that some squads pay more than they cost and others less. That can be the right decision: many clubs keep development squads affordable to grow the club, or support a performance squad that brings the club its results. The point is to make it a decision the committee can explain, not something discovered at year end.
Step 6: Plan how you will explain it
Families accept fee changes far more readily when they can see the reasoning: what the pool costs, what coaching costs, and how their fee compares. See how to explain a fee increase at your AGM.
Step 7: Collect it reliably
A fee that is set correctly but collected late still leaves the club short. Monthly Direct Debit means fees arrive on time without a volunteer chasing each family. See collecting swimming club fees by Direct Debit.
Keeping the numbers live
The calculation above goes out of date the moment a lane is added, a coach changes or the pool raises its rates. Olympus Swim works out each squad's income, pool cost and coaching cost live from the club's own records, so the treasurer can see the effect of a change before it is made. Read about squad finance and squad P&L.
Common questions
How much should swimming club fees be? There is no standard figure. A fair fee covers the squad's share of pool hire, coaching and club overheads, divided across its swimmers, with any subsidy between squads decided deliberately by the committee.
Should every squad pay the same fee? Rarely. Squads train different hours, in different water, with different numbers of coaches, so their costs differ. Many clubs set fees per squad for that reason.
How often should we review fees? At least once a season, and whenever pool hire rates or coaching arrangements change.
Should we charge monthly or annually? Monthly collection by Direct Debit keeps income steady through the season and is easier for most families to budget for. Some clubs also offer an annual payment for families who prefer it.
Written by Joel Knight, swimming coach and founder of Olympus Swim (about).
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