By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
With the release of more bad financial news for USA Swimming from their latest Board of Directors meeting, one member of the voting House of Delegates* asked a good question in the comment section about what, on its surface, was one of the more positive revelations from the latest financial information.
Sport Development asked for, and received, an increase in funding by significantly raising club dues in order to expand their services. Now they are reducing their expenses by 500k? Where did that money go? As a voting member of the HOD this would cause a lot of distrust with the organization in the future…
The commenter was referring to the contentious battle between coaches and USA Swimming in 2024 when USA Swimming asked to raise club dues in order to provide better services back to teams.
The Background
Specifically, the proposed increase was from $75 per year to $225 per year for existing clubs and $750 for new clubs in their first three years, presuming that new clubs would need more support. Eventually, after negotiation, the $225 fee was approved, but the $750 was reduced to just a club’s first year.
This was the first change in club dues since 1990.
USA Swimming committed during the meeting to use the funds on the following list of programs, though one coach told SwimSwam that even during the presentation, a malfunctioning computer led to a presenter commenting that some of the money would be spent on new computers and phones for staff members, which is not part of the list below.
More visits from USA Swimming to LSCs Alignment with LSCs on serving clubs More club visits to variety of club sizes More listening to coaches at local level More recognition of clubs (especially those producing at an age group level) Regular meetings in LSC with coaches and LSC Boards In-person coach education Include coaches in decision-making process, both in-person and broad grassroots participation Help when clubs are facing significant challenges around facilities, board changes, etc.At the time, the conflict was less about the increase, which most coaches agreed wasn’t unreasonable, but around the lack of trust between coaches and the organization – with the relationship between USA Swimming and U.S. swim coaches deteriorating to an all-time low point by the end of Tim Hinchey’s tenure.
So Did USA Swimming Renege?
USA Swimming, leaning into its newfound pillar of transparency, provided SwimSwam with a thorough explanation for how they say they managed to save $499,077 without reducing services to members.
A spokesperson said that these things will be detailed in line items in their audited financial reports that come out later this year, but gave a preview.
For one, the spokesperson pointed out that the club dues went into effect for the 2026 membership year, meaning that the higher rate didn’t hit until September 2025, with that revenue not hitting the budget until the 2026 budget year. In spite of that, USA Swimming says they proactively increased the support to member services in 2025.
That included increases to education, service, and almost doubling the travel budget for LSC and Team Services to “increase direct member touch points,” as was promised in the 2024 negotiation.
Beyond that, USA Swimming says these are real cost savings driven by efficiencies in business operations, not reduced services. Among those:
1) Credit Card Processing Fees – A silver lining to the reduced USA Swimming membership was a reduction in credit card processing fees, which falls under the Sport Development Budget
2) Reducing the Budget at the Annual Summit – Which included reducing signage, reducing ancillary spending, and negotiating a better-than-expected rate on the hotel, none of which impacted club support.
3) Technology/Development Expenses – USA Swimming says that they used efficiency-finding and contract renegotiations to come out favorable-to-projection in technology areas. In the 2025 budget, technology expenses live under Sport Development. In 2026, that will change so that the organization can ‘isolate and better represent the spending on tech’ separately from more direct member services.
So, according to USA Swimming, those savings came primarily from simply operating a better business, not reducing services (that they weren’t obligated to provide until 2026 anyway).
This is a positive sign and a silver lining for the future of the organization, as were many other areas of leaning-out USA Swimming’s spending. The organization still has a growing revenue problem, however, with the loss of members and a number of major sponsors, and so it feels likely that some of these savings will have to be reinvested into programs to reverse those trends to improve the overall health of the sport.
*SwimSwam has confirmed that the commenter was a member of the 2025 House of Delegates.
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