Clubs/Drop In Fees

I have been to various places across the country. Normally there is a drop in fee of 8 to 10 dollars, but many places end up not charging the fee.

Unless you're actively trying to discourage drop-ins, I would think $10 is a reasonably fair amount. $15 would be the the very highest I'd go. My current team doesn't charge at all. I think that's the best approach. What goes around comes around, after all.

Our club currently does not ask people to pay a drop in fee if they want to come out and see if masters is a good fit for them. Curious what would be fair ($10-$20 is my idea) and if you feel it is a good idea or not. In Raleigh NC, (Raleigh Area Masters workout group of NC Masters) we have a adopted a middle ground for potential members or out-of-town swimmers. We allow three swims in a calendar year without a fee, if there are more than three swims, it's $10/swim to a maximum of $45/month. For those who might be in need of sleep aids, here's a link to our bylaws: www.ncmasters.org/.../bylaws.html

I suspect how much gets charged depends on how closely the masters team works with the facility it uses. When I swam with the Northwestern masters team (NASA), guests had to pay the facility's guest fee, which was something like $25. NASA was just a very low priority user of the facility. OTOH, I swam once with a masters team in Maui when we were there on vacation. I think I paid the coach $2 on the deck. As you might imagine, we didn't get a lot of guest swimmers at the NASA practices.

Our club currently does not ask people to pay a drop in fee if they want to come out and see if masters is a good fit for them. Curious what would be fair ($10-$20 is my idea) and if you feel it is a good idea or not. I think a dropin at a local club here is 10 bux per session. They've been kind to me though. Each time I've come in just to get on the blocks they haven't charged me since I use a lane that they never use for practice. That seems like a fair price depending what the session cost is. You at least want to price it so its advantageous to join with full membership. If the cost eded up less than the sessions added up, no one would sign up for the full. The alternative is... offer someone a free week or 3-5 free sessions to try it out without investing money. That way you have a chance to show them how cool your team is. But then afterwards be strict about it. No freebees once you went through your free sessions.

bambamclint: I drop-in A LOT on my personal and business travels and have a few thoughts on this topic: Drop-in rates have ranged from $0 to $15. I love zero, don't mind paying something, but will ask myself, "Do I really need this workout at this pool for $15?" I think the upper-end should be at $10, in part, because I think most Masters' monthly fees range from about $50 to, maybe, $100 ... $15 for one workout seems too high. I've seen lots of clubs use either the trial week or a certain number of trial workouts. I've seen some apply that only to "locals" and others apply it to anyone. I've dropped into pools for open lap swimming in Alberta and fees have ranged from ~$8 down in Lethbridge to ~$15 (I think) at University of Calgary and Talisman. Now, there was no coach in each case, but these were very nice and uncrowded 25M or 50M courses where I had my own lane. If it was up to me, I'd use a combination of some of the ideas above: If the swimmer is there from out-of-town, set a reasonable $5 fee (e.g., something for the swimmer to demonstrate they appreciate the value and something for the club) For swimmers in town, use the Raleigh approach of a certain number of free trial workouts. And/or offer a sliding scale of packages (e.g., 1 workout is $10, but a pack of 10 workout slips is $80, a pack of 50 workouts is $300, etc.)

Thanx folks, Part of my frustration(s) as there are many Head Coach - Financials are not disclosed - have no real idea of operating costs other than very high Facility - very expensive for what we get - 6 lane 25m 6' wide lanes - very very crowded - club is 150+ Very inflexible city/aquatics manager. Times - practice schedule 6/10 (moreso because our city caters to public heavily) lane swim pool is empty - can't rent (city says its full) Fund raising - not much - hence the idea of drop in fee Additional income resources for Coach - very limited (see Times); camps; also own a brand new start up that i am trying to get off the ground..

... I've dropped into pools for open lap swimming in Alberta and fees have ranged from ~$8 down in Lethbridge to ~$15 (I think) at University of Calgary and Talisman. Now, there was no coach in each case, but these were very nice and uncrowded 25M or 50M courses where I had my own lane... Most of the city owned pools in Calgary have lane swim times, and a drop-in fee of $5.25 for adults. www.calgary.ca/.../Home.aspx

If you are member of USMS, that means you are paying fees to your club and any visit to another USMS club will be covered by their liability insurance. Another club asking you to pay for a visit is rude. I have traveled a lot and swum with other USMS teams. I have only been asked to pay once (and that fee went directly in the coach's pocket). Bottom line, if you are on a USMS team, almost every other team will welcome you as a visitor without any fee.

If you are member of USMS, that means you are paying fees to your club and any visit to another USMS club will be covered by their liability insurance. Another club asking you to pay for a visit is rude.I love it when I get in a free workout, but it's not rude: the clubs have to pay for many things beyond liability, not the least of which are for pool space and paying the coaches! Bottom line, if you are on a USMS team, almost every other team will welcome you as a visitor without any fee.In my experience, many clubs will not make you pay a drop-in fee, but most clubs will.