Dear Members,

I hope that you all had a lovely and relaxing Christmas and New Year.

We last wrote to you just before Christmas to give you a an update on our financial position, with a note of a review as the new year starts.

The latest news has moved us into lockdown.  This means that we are all unable to swim at present and we remain this way until further notice.

Our Committee have since met and using the data we have to date and can provide you with the following update:

Fees.
Fees were set prior to the Christmas for the month of January at the full amount. Bearing that in mind we have decided to set fees at 50% for the month of February and to review this on an ongoing basis and to reflect any changes in Government announcements. This reduction will allow us to simply cover our costs, which are predominantly salary costs for Greg and Hannah and one casual member of staff. We have agreed as a club committee that the work they do is vital to keep swimmers fit and engaged and motivated during this period. Both Greg and Hannah put an enormous amount of effort into preparing and running these Zoom classes across the squads, they are always looking for ways to improve the calls and content. In addition, they are keeping up with individuals on one2ones, staying in the loop with pools, coaching networks, completing training requirements as well as providing the committee with feedback and support on request.

Therefore, can we ask that you now take the opportunity to amend your Standing Order now in time for 1^st February.  Please also review your account balance and kindly set it to zero with adjustments made accordingly.  We use this financial data to understand and forecast, so having these figures set accurately without credit or debit is really important.
If you need a reminder of the fees for your swimmer(s) you can find this on our covid tab. 
Reviews of fees will remain ongoing and are based on our sustainability, number of members and government announcements.

2021 Swim England & Club Membership
Swim England & club membership fees are due shortly and we will be writing to you separately about this.  Swim England will not be increasing their fees for 2021 and nor will we.  Whilst some may question why ether are still charging, I must stress that the SE fees are absolutely vital to pay for insurances, staff, web updates etc and the continued behind the scenes work going on to get us back onto the water safely and a forward plan.  Our membership fees are an essential income for our club that pay towards our running and is needed more now than ever before.  

What is CMKSC offering us for our fees?
Well, compared to many swim clubs, we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of coaches and volunteers.  During our previous 2 lockdowns, our swimmers were kept fit and strong, which meant that when then returned to the pool, they were able to get straight back to where we left off, in fact, the results of our Level X comps surprised us all – well done everyone the hard work paid off.   As well as the fitness and strength, our coaches have continued to work, planning sessions, completing training, running social activities and hosting one to one’s to name but a few of their activities. And whilst a number of our running jobs are carried out by volunteers, there are admin fees associated such as our website and processing fees etc.   

We can’t stress enough how important it is to keep our swimmers engaged with their swim friends and coaches and keeping their fitness up.  This also contributes to a healthy mind, which under these current circumstances is so important.  If you are struggling to get your child to engage, please reach out to your coach or Kelly and we will work with you and child to find the right balance.

Suggestions:
We are always open to thoughts, feedback and suggestions – if there is an activity you would like to see, or if you have a qualification, skill, talent or just for fun suggestion and wish to host or share something with our members, we’d love to hear from you.

Tell us what you and your children enjoy, what they want to see more/less of and we will do our best to makes changes where we can. 

Thank you
Whilst our 2021 looks to be starting off just as challenging as 2020 ended, we are confident that as team, we will continue to surprise ourselves at just how resilient we are.  There is no tougher sport than swimming, that’s now true in and out of the water!

But, please be assured that we are still running the club at minimum expense, with only two full-time members of staff and a team of volunteers on committee. We strongly believe we give value for money at CMK, even at times like this, compared with other clubs, and hope that members feel that too.

Thank you so much for your support, particularly with fundraising which has been so appreciated and, with the huge loss of income from cancelled home open meets, that amount will help keep the club stay in existence for this year and beyond. It goes without saying that we value your support and commitment to the club and by pulling together we are determined to come through this and look forward to being back together again at the pool.

I also take the opportunity to attach a little swim parents summary of why us swim parents do what we do.  I think it sums it up nicely.   https://www.fortworthswim.org/post/why-do-you-pay-so-much-money-and-spend-so-much-time-to-swim

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Kelly, myself or your lead coach.

Stay safe everyone.

Regards

Christine Drabwell
CMKSC Chair

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