Swim Ontario Bylaw 2.02 provides for admission of new member clubs through a process of application to be prescribed by Swim Ontario policies and procedures.
This New Club Application Procedure should be read in conjunction with Swim Ontario’s New Club Application Policy.
The Swim Ontario Board of Directors has delegated its authority to approve new member clubs to the New Club Application Review Panel.
The Panel, composed of 3 members and 1 Swim Ontario staff liaison, is appointed from time to time by the Swim Ontario Board upon recommendation of the CEO.
Should a panel member have a conflict, they shall not participate in the decision-making process.
The Panel will make a recommendation to the Swim Ontario CEO as to the acceptance of an application.
Decisions made by either the Panel, or CEO, are final and not subject to appeal.
Application Fee
There is an application fee of $750.00 dollars payable to Swim Ontario, for all New Club applications. Currently that fee is being waived for applications from Masters Only swim clubs.
The Application Process
The new club application procedure is in three (3) parts. Applicants must successfully complete each part of the application procedure to be allowed to progress in the process.
Complete applications must be received 90 days prior to a club’s intended start date. However, Swim Ontario may at its discretion, mandate a different start date to any provisionally approved club.
All submissions will be shared as needed with all potentially affected parties for consultation, or comment and whomever else is necessary to make an informed decision. There is no expectation of confidentiality for any part of the application submission.
- Submission
The application submission should include answers to the questions provided below and any other relevant information the applicant club wishes to provide. The submitted information will be used to determine advancement to the next step in the procedure. All information is to be submitted electronically using the form on this page.
- Interview/Q&A
At its sole discretion, the Panel may request a virtual meeting with the applicants to discuss their submission.
- The Affiliation and Probationary Process
1. Provisional Approval: When a club applicant is provisionally accepted, it will need to successfully complete the annual Member Club Affiliation process prior to commencing any programming or participant registration.
2. Post-Acceptance Period: Once the affiliation process is completed, the New Club is granted probationary status within the Swim Ontario community. During this Probation Period, the new club is entitled to participate in Swim Ontario registration, funding and programming (including competitions), but is not allowed voting or participation privileges at the AGM.
3. Review of Probationary Status: The Panel will review the club’s status and circumstances within the last quarter of the club’s first full season with Swim Ontario and recommend one of three options to the Swim Ontario CEO as follows:
a. Revoke the Club’s accepted status.
b. Continue the Probation Period for another season.
c. Lift the Probationary Period.