Required Fees and Volunteer Jobs and Fundraising Commitments

Fees

Swimmer registration fees:

1st swimmer - $395
2nd swimmer - $375
3rd (and each additional) swimmer - $325 per swimmer
Swimmers aged 15-18 - $200 per swimmer
Note - Little Rays fees are the same as for Stingrays.

Operations fees: $75 per family

For a family registering two swimmers (both under 15), the fees and deposits would be:

Fees - $845 [$395 (1st swimmer) + $375 (2nd swimmer) + $75 operations fee (per family)]

Deposits - $550 [($100/swimmer Fundraising Deposit) * 2 swimmers + $350/family Volunteer Jobs Deposit)].

For more information on the Deposits, see Volunteer Jobs Commitment and Fundraising Commitment below.

Volunteering to do the jobs necessary to stage the meets and activities during the summer competitive season is a rec. swim tradition that helps bind swim parents together as we all work together to give the swimmers a memorable season. We need to fill about 50 volunteer job shifts to host a dual meet, and many more to successfully host the Crossings Challenge - our hugely popular large invitational meet that contributes significantly to the team's bottom line, helping to keep fees low for our member families, while funding the team's operations. We also need to fill volunteer job shifts for each away meet. Simply put, we could not have a swim season without volunteers doing job shifts, and doing them well. For this reason, we require each family to perform a certain number of job shifts per season. The number of required jobs shifts is determined by the meet schedule and the number of families that register, and is communicated at the Parent Meeting at the start of each season.

UPDATE [4/16/25]: THE 2025 SUMMER TEAM VOLUNTEER JOBS REQUIREMENT WERE ANNOUNCED AT THE 2025 PARENT MEETING ON APRIL 16TH.

FOR SUMMER 2025, THE VOLUNTEER JOB SHIFTS REQUIRED PER FAMILY ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Note: 6 & Unders (6&U) refers to the competition category for swimmers on the competition team roster who are aged 3- to 6- years old. Little Rays refers to our  pre-team (non-competition) swimmers. Many of the Little Rays are between the ages of 3 and 6, but when we refer to 6 & Unders, we're talking about the competition age group swimmers. 

For families with swimmers in more than one volunteer jobs requirement category (for example, a swimmer in the Little Rays group and a swimmer in the 9-10s group), the higher of the two volunteer jobs requirements applies (not both). Following the Little Rays + 9-10 swimmer example, the family would be considered a Youth Family and required to complete 2 jobs shifts at Crossings Challenge and 7 jobs shifts in the rest of the season (the higher of the jobs requirements for Little Rays or 9-10s).

JOB PENALTIES

It's not enough to sign-up for volunteer job shifts. The team is depending on family volunteers to show up for the shifts they have signed up for on time. It may not seem like a big deal to show up late for a shift or to fail to show up for a shift, but it's hugely disruptive to the meet organizers who must scramble to fill the shift or run short-handed, slowing the meet for everyone. It's also unfair to the vast majority of swim team volunteers who show up on time, and end up having to pick up the slack. To discourage late- and no-shows, the team has instituted a system of penalty assessments.

$50 per late-show - If a volunteer signs up for a job shift and they (or a substitute working on their behalf) reports for the shift more than 15 minutes late, the volunteer family account will be assessed a $50 late show penalty for each instance.

$100 per no-show - If a volunteer signs up for a job shift and they (or a substitute working on their behalf) fail to report for the shift at all, the volunteer family account will be assessed a $100 no-show penalty for each instance.

Penalties will be invoiced as incurred and due immediately. A family that accrues $150 or more in unpaid jobs penalties will be called to hearing of the WCST board and may be suspended from participation in WCST activities (e.g., practices, meets, and social events) until their outstanding penalty assessments are paid. Penalty fee assessments left unpaid at the end of the season will be charged against the credit card used at registration for the Volunteer Jobs Deposit pre-approval.

JOBS DEPOSIT

WCST families provide the team with a $350 volunteer jobs deposit (by conditional credit card pre-authorization) to hold for the season. The team does not charge the jobs deposit amount unless the family fails to satisfy the Volunteer Jobs Requirement or has unpaid penalty assessments at the end of the season. Unpaid penalty assessments are charged against the jobs deposit.

Fundraising Commitment

WCST member families each commit to raising $100/swimmer registered. Member families may fulfill the fundraising commitment by successfully soliciting sponsorships from local businesses or collecting pledges for the Lap-A-Thon greater than or equal to the fundraising commitment amount.

This fundraising commitment helps keep swim team accessible to families while ensuring that the team has sufficient funding to cover its costs. The team requires members to pre-authorize the fundraising commitment amount per swimmer as a Fundraising Deposit for the season. In the event that the fundraising commitment is not met, the team charges the Fundraising Deposit amount.

Fees

Swimmer registration fees:

$275/swimmer (early registration pricing; $325/swimmer for swimmers registered after Feb. 7, 2025)

Commitments

There are no fundraising or volunteer jobs commitments for Spring Clinic.