Revised notice regarding the new training schedules and increase in fees

As you are all aware, Gateshead Council set us a 1st June 2015 to implement a new training schedule and to start paying new pool hire fees and charges that they have introduced.  We were informed this morning (15th May 2015) that they are now not in a position to operate the new timetable as they had planned.  The upshot of this is as follows:

• Our current training schedule will remain valid up to and including Sunday 5th July 2015.   I can only apologise to those of you that have already began to re-arrange personal lives, work patterns and childcare but this has come as a bit of a surprise to us too.  We had previously been instructed that 1st June 2015 was the hard target and our work to prepare the training schedule and get it to the Council in time to rearrange their own working patterns, timetables and schedules and we met that target.
• The new training timetable detailed below will now not commence until Monday 6th July 2015.
• On a positive note, this also means that the new Squad Fees structure can also be delayed and now come into effect from July 2015.  

Also, following your collective feedback from last week’s squad parents’ meetings, we have also taken the decision to spread the cost of annual club membership across 12 months rather than a one off payment each Summer.  Updated standing order forms will be produced and published in good time to make the changes before July, but the new fees previously published will be increased to reflect and include the new £3.00 monthly membership fee.  

In addition the £2.00 sibling discount enjoyed by a few of you will also be removed, with all swimmers required to pay the full monthly swimming and membership fee.  This discount has proven very difficult to manage and control, with less than 50% of sibling membership actively taking it up.

I fully understand the tricky position that this involuntary and short notice change to the timetable might give many of you, and we have represented that already to the responsible Council office, but please bear with us whilst we continue to try and work with the Council to improve the difficult position we are in.

Regards

Andy Strickland

Club Chairman

The new training schedule which has been produced in conjunction with the revised fees, will come into effect from the 6th July 2015 and can be found below:-

Swim Times Jul 6th 2015 Onwards

The current schedule will continue to be operated until 5th July 2015.

If you have any questions relating to these changes please approach Squad reps or any Committee member.