Gold Program

Overview

This program is designed for the athlete who is planning on gradually prioritizing swimming as their primary sport. Athletes in this program begin to learn how to bring more intention to their mental and physical habits in and out of the pool while being more deliberate within their training sessions and improving their sports intelligence to hold themselves accountable. Moving from the foundation set in the Bronze and Silver programs, athletes are introduced to intermediate training concepts like aerobic and anaerobic-focused training stimuli across all four strokes of swimming. Additionally, dryland prioritizes strength and mobility through multi-planar movements and building better overall athleticism. Athletes in this program are now aiming to compete at Regional-level Championship Meets in all swim events.

Please note that the Brockville and Area YMCA requires that all swimmers in the Gold program be full YMCA members to access the facility. Memberships in the YMCA can be purchased at the front desk of the YMCA.

For more detailed information about UCRO programs, please refer to the Parent Handbook.

If interested in joining, please book a Try-out and introductory meeting with our Head Coach.

Book a try-out

Requirements

*Swimmers must be YMCA members

Competition Requirements

Local to Provincial. Approximately one to two per month.

Equipment Requirements

Fins, Goggles, Swim Cap, Pull Buoy, Paddles, Snorkel

Hours per week

9.25

Session Start

September

Session End

June

Fees and Family Commitments

When registering for Gold, a season-long session, you are also a member of the swim club. Along with practices in the pool, there are other family commitments required that contribute to the health and smooth operation of the club. These also help create a sense of community within the club.

Fees – Families commit to pay the entire session fee, in full, or in instalments, regardless of whether they participate to the end of the session or not.

Governing Body Fees and Admin Fees are one-time fees paid at registration. Swim meet fees are charged separately.

Swimathon Fundraising – all swimmers registered in season-long (10 month) programs commit to a minimum Swimathon fundraising obligation. This includes Silver swimmers.

Volunteering – all families with Gold swimmers, commit to volunteering and earning parent participation points with the club.

Session Fee

Please Note:

– When fees are paid in full, there are no refunds, regardless of the reason or timing of withdrawal, other than an approved medical leave.

– When fees are paid in instalments, monthly payments cannot be paused or cancelled, regardless of the reason or timing of withdrawal, other than an approved medial leave. The family agrees to pay all scheduled instalments to the end of the session.

For more detailed information, refer to the Parent Handbook.

Payment Plan	1st Swimmer	2nd Swimmer	3rd Swimmer
In Full	$1,944.81	$1,750.33	$1,653.09
Instalments (10 months)	$194.48	$175.03	$165.31

All registrations are completed through the website PORTAL.

– Instalment billings start in September and finish in June. You are required to have a valid credit card in your registration profile.

Admin & Governing Body Fee

Governing Body Fee – a one-time fee charged by Swim Ontario annually at registration. This covers club insurance for the swimmer. This fee is non-refundable.

Administration Fee – a one-time, $25 UCRO fee charged annually at registration. This helps maintain the smooth operation of the club. This fee is non-refundable.

Group	Fee
Competitive	$178.55

This fee allows the swimmer to compete at all meets.

	Fee
Admin Fee	$25.00

Volunteering and Parent Participation Points

Each family with one or more swimmers in a competitive program (Bronze through National) is required to earn parent participation points each season.

Each family commits to accumulate a specified number of points annually. Families with:

– 1 swimmer = 50 points
– 2 swimmers = 80 points total
– 3 or more swimmers = 100 points total

Alternatively, families choosing not to participate, can ‘buy out’ their full obligation for $10 per point.

Otherwise, any points not earned, will be billed at $10 per point in July.

For more information about volunteering and earning participation points, refer to the UCRO Parent Handbook.

Swimathon Fundraising

Swimathon is the major fundraiser for the Club and occurs in March or April each year with swimmers completing a distance swim. Swimmers collect pledges beginning in January or February.

Swimmers in Junior and Youth Otter programs agree to raise a minimum of $250 per swimmer for Swimathon, with any amount not raised being billed to accounts in May.

For more information on Swimathon, refer to the UCRO Parent Handbook.

Swim Meet Fees

Entry Fee
As an introductory competitive program, Bronze swimmers are given the opportunity to compete in swim meets each year, which are mostly held locally. Because these are hosted by other clubs, there are entry fees associated with participation usually about $15 per event. Swimmers will generally enter 4-6 events per meet.

Coach Travel
Coach travel expenses to attend a meet are covered by fees charged back to the swimmers attending the meet. These fees are:
– UCRO hosted meets – none
– Away invitational meets – $20 flat fee
– Swim Ont Regional meets – $50 flat fee
– Provincial/National meets – Families pay a variable share of coach travel costs, split among the swimmers attending. UCRO does not cover these costs from general club funds.

These fees are billed to accounts throughout the year as they occur.

’25/26 Practice Schedule

Day	Swim Time	Dry Land
Monday	3:00 – 4:30 pm	4:45 – 5:30 pm
Tuesday	5:45 – 7:15 am	No dry land
Wednesday	3:00 – 4:30 pm	4:45 – 5:30 pm
Thursday	5:45 – 7:15 am	No dry land
Saturday	8:00 – 9:30 am	7:00 – 7:45 am