Q&A for the Nov 1 2015 Special General Meeting
1. My monthly fees went up this year. How much would they be without the YMCA partnership?
In the first year of the partnership (2014-2015), the Y’s monthly fees were $75, and the Y committed to not increase the fee by
more than 2% each year. The annual increase mostly addresses inflation. This year, they have increased by one dollar to $76.00.
In addition to the Y’s monthly fees, the Y collects an annual fee from each member for OMSC, equivalent to about $6 per month.
This annual fee is forwarded to OMSC and pays for our operating expenses.
Without the partnership, our budget predictions suggested our monthly fees would be $64 in 2014-2015, $66 this season, and $74
in 2016-2017. This increase is due to a City of Kelowna bylaw, which will rapidly increase the cost of lane rentals for adult swim
clubs over the next few years.
The difference in monthly fees, $10 this year, gives our members all of the benefits of Y membership. Within another season or
two, the difference in cost is expected to be negligible.
2. My fees cost more now than they would without the partnership: what are the benefits?
As a Y member, you receive benefits both in the water and out. In the water, OMSC has better access to the pool. Among other
things, at the end of most workouts, the lifeguards are not chasing OMSC members out of the pool: as Y members, we can keep
swimming as long as we wish, unless another group has the space booked.
OMSC members can now swim whenever H2O is open. The YMCA ensures there are always lanes available for swimming.
Out of the water, OMSC members have access to all of the Y facilities and programs. The weight room and classes are available,
with YMCA trainers readily available to help you get oriented.
Also, OMSC members’ spouses and children benefit from reduced membership fees at the Y.
3. Why am I paying an annual fee in addition to my monthly fees?
The monthly fee is charged by the YMCA, to cover the YMCA’s expenses. The annual fee is collected by the YMCA and
forwarded in full to OMSC.
Your annual fee for the 2015-2016 year is $70. This includes $40.00 for your annual MSABC membership, which is a
requirement for all Masters swimming clubs in the province. The remaining $30.00 goes to covering OMSC’s expenses. This
includes everything from meeting expenses, such as refreshments and hall rentals for the AGM, to trophies for our annual
awards.
OMSC’s expenses also include any coaching expenses which exceed the amount agreed to in the YMCA partnership agreement.
For example, for the 2015-2016 year, the executive agreed to pay the coaching team for planning and for a few meetings
throughout the year, in order to improve the cohesiveness of the coaching team and the consistency of the techniques they’re
teaching.
For this year, the excess costs include: $1,512 for head coach; $950 for clinic meetings; and $800 for other meetings. The total
cost for these is $3,262.00.
4. Does the partnership cover all of OMSC’s costs?
Under the partnership, the YMCA reimburses OMSC for all of our on-deck coaching expenses, including five swim clinics each
year. The Y also provides lifeguards for our open-water workouts during the summer. Also, under the partnership, OMSC does
not need to rent lanes from the YMCA / City of Kelowna.
Prior to the partnership, coaching expenses and lane rentals were the club’s largest expenses, accounting for more than 90% of
the club’s spending. The partnership addresses almost all of this 90%, but does not provide funds for the remainder of OMSC’s
operations.
This remaining portion is funded through members’ annual fees, which are paid at the start of the membership year. If the
revenue from these annual fees is insufficient to cover the costs for the year, OMSC can access its reserve funds and adjust the
fees for the following membership year.
5. Why doesn’t OMSC negotiate for more money from the Y?
The initial agreement addresses OMSC’s growth up to about 150 members. The Y is not pushing OMSC to grow too quickly, but
until our membership approaches that goal, it is difficult for us to ask for additional resources. Instead, the Y is agreeable to
trading poorly utilized lane space or coaching time for more desirable resources.
6. Is OMSC stuck in this partnership? Do we have any negotiating leverage?
No. Even by adopting the partnership “indefinitely,” OMSC or YMCA can terminate the agreement at any time.
Both OMSC and YMCA want the partnership to continue, because it benefits all of us. As YMCA members, the partnership
gives a substantial increase to our negotiating leverage: instead of being a single external organization, we now speak with the
voices of 100 Y members asking for a high-quality program. While there are around 4000 members of the YMCA at H2O,
OMSC’s members cannot be ignored.
7. Is OMSC still able to obtain additional lanes in the pool?
Yes. OMSC is still a voting member of the City’s Aquatic Advisory Committee, which determines how to divide the available
pool space among the various organizations in our community. However, instead of requiring the approval of the other
organizations for any changes in our pool utilization, OMSC can now negotiate directly with the Y to take advantage of free lanes
in the H2O schedule. This allows OMSC to be more responsive to our members, while enjoying a collaborative discussion with
the Y.
8. I don’t get it. Why does the Y want to give us lanes now, when they didn’t before?
All OMSC members are Y members, so when we ask for pool space, we are Y members asking for space in our community’s
facility. The result is much more cooperative than the previous model, in which OMSC had no commitment to or participation in
the YMCA community.
Also, we are able to work directly with the Y, instead of negotiating with all of the participants of the Aquatic Advisory
Committee.
9. How do we make sure we have enough lanes?
The partnership agreement includes a guarantee that the Y will make enough lanes available to OMSC so that there are no more
than 5 swimmers per lane in a 25-metre workout, on average (8 per lane in a 50-metre workout). Also, the contract guarantees
that the Y will provide enough coaches, so that each coach is responsible for no more than four lanes (3 lanes, for long-course
workouts).
The original contract included a plan for how OMSC would increase its lane utilization and coaching as membership grew. Last
season, we departed from that plan, by adding a third coach on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday sessions, instead
of adding additional workouts.
10. What happens if OMSC’s membership decreases?
While the agreement ensures that the club can grow, we need to remember that it is a partnership: when our membership
decreases, such as at the beginning of our season, we need to be a good partner and give up some of our surplus coaching time.
With this give-and-take, the Y is willing to offer additional resources in other ways.
As an example of this, OMSC is exploring giving up the third coach on certain workouts, in order to make an additional 50-metre
workout available. While our membership numbers do not support adding another workout, the YMCA is willing to add the
workout if we can keep the cost neutral.
11. How has the partnership affected OMSC’s membership?
Last year, OMSC saw its largest membership ever. We had a number of people join us in the fall and quit soon after, but then
our membership continued to grow through the winter. OMSC’s membership peaked at about 130 active members in 2014-2015,
up from about 100 in the previous year.
Nearly 160 people held OMSC memberships at different times in the 2014-2015 season.
12. Does the partnership reduce the amount of work required by OMSC’s executive team?
The partnership greatly reduces the amount of time required by the registrar for each new membership.
The partnership also removes a large amount of time spent by the treasurer at the beginning of each year, and the beginning of
each month, to deposit dozens of membership cheques into OMSC’s bank account. The YMCA also deals with failed payments,
such as bounced cheques, which would otherwise have to be dealt with by OMSC’s treasurer.
The role of the City’s Aquatic Advisory Committee is also somewhat diminished, and consumes much less time and energy for
the OMSC executive team.
13. How often does OMSC meet with YMCA?
Representatives from OMSC’s executive meet with the YMCA management team every few months, or more often if there are
specific concerns. In addition, OMSC’s registrar is in frequent communication with the Y’s registration team, in order to track
new and departing members.
14. Why is OMSC proposing to have a deficit in the coming years?
OMSC’s operating funds are now limited to the annual fee collected from each member.
In the first year of the partnership, to minimize the increase in membership fees, the annual fee was only $10 per member. As we
learn what the new normal operating costs are, the annual fee will continue to be adjusted. This year, the annual fee was
increased to $30.
OMSC’s present plan is based on our club hosting the MSABC provincials every three years. With the income from this meet,
primarily in the form of sponsorships, OMSC expects to easily cover an annual deficit of about $3000. Based on a three-year
cycle, OMSC expects to at least break even on our expenses.
15. Is hosting MSABC Provincials every three years realistic?
Presently, no other club is prepared to host Provincials in the BC Interior, and it is likely available to OMSC whenever we wish
to host it. Provincials follow a three-year cycle, rotating between the Interior, the Island and the lower mainland each year.
More importantly, our present lack of a meet manager is a concern. While any meet should be run by a team of volunteers, the
meet manager is an important role in our organization. If none of OMSC’s members are willing to volunteer as meet manager,
then it will be necessary to rethink the plan to host Provincials.
16. Does OMSC keep control of its program?
Yes. OMSC decides who coaches our workouts, and what our program will be. OMSC works with YMCA to ensure we have a
suitable number of coaches and lanes available at our workouts, but otherwise OMSC controls the workouts.