Trying to save my Masters Team!! Need Help!!

Hello, I have not posted here before, but I need help. Hopefully some in this group will have ideas to share. I'm a member of my local YMCA, which has a Masters Team. It's a really great group of people, and I would hate to see it go away. But our YMCA has decided to start treating us like an organized sport, rather than like a class (like aerobics or spinning). They're planning on charging us each $400 per year to be a memeber of the masters team, in addition to being a full program member ($55/month). Maybe it's just me, but this seems WAY out of line, especially since nearly every class is offered to full members for FREE (including spinning and aerobics). This expense could be justified if someone actually coached us, but our "coach" just writes the workouts on the board, and sits there watching to make sure nobody drowns. By the way, our pool is a 3-lane, 25-yard pool, that's generally kept at 88 degrees. A fair number of people in the group have mentioned that they'll drop out before paying. And the YMCA will terminate the program if we don't have good membership. Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation? Could someone from USMS or YMCA on the national level be of help? Am I going off for no reason? Help!!! Lou Savastani