TERMS AND CONDITIONS  

Acceptance of terms and conditions

• By booking, or by attendance at a swimming lesson with us, you accept these terms and conditions, and they will form a contract between us.
• You will ensure that any children that you bring to the swimming pool will follow the rules set out in these terms and conditions.
• Should a customer fail to adhere to these terms and conditions, then the customer may be requested to cease lessons with Lisburn City Swimming Club.
• We reserve the right to make changes to these terms and conditions at any time. You will be notified of changes by email.

Booking

• Swimmers will be entitled to one free trial/assessment lesson at the discretion of Lisburn City Swimming Club.
• To book lessons with Lisburn City Swimming Club you must complete the online enrolment process and a direct debit mandate. The mandate will be sent via a booking email from Lisburn City Swimming Club. A swimming place is not reserved until the mandate has been completed.
• Lisburn City Swimming Club lessons run throughout the year with a total of 6 weeks holiday. 2 weeks at Easter, 2 weeks at summer and 2 weeks at Christmas.  Additional training camps may be arranged during the holiday periods.  You will be notified of the exact dates by email.  Dates are subject to change at the discretion of Lisburn City Swimming Club.

Payment

• All lessons must be paid for using our online direct debit system, GoCardless.
• Lessons are paid for in advance of each term (terms will approximately be 6 to 8 weeks in length).
• Any payments more than 14 days overdue may result in your place no longer being held.
• The fee for your lesson(s) will be confirmed at the point of booking.
• Families with more that 2 children in our LTS programme will be given a 10% discount on the 3rd child and beyond.

Pool closures and cancellation

• In the event of a pool closure or lesson cancellation, you will be contacted via email as soon as possible. Please note that we can only make contact if the correct contact details are given during the booking process.
• Lisburn City Swimming Club will issue a credit on your account for any lessons cancelled by us.
• In case of local lockdown due to COVID we offer credit for paid lessons which is non-refundable.

Cancelling your lessons

• Should you wish to cancel your swimming lessons we require 4 weeks’ notice of cancellation.
• All cancellations should be made by email to admin@lisburncityswimmingclub.org

Illness and medical conditions

• If your child is feeling unwell, we recommend that you do not bring them to their swimming lesson.
• Children with a contagious illness should not attend swimming for a period of 48 hours after the symptoms have passed.
• Should your child appear to be ill during a lesson, we reserve the right to cancel their lesson.
• Lisburn City Swimming Club are unable to offer refunds for lessons missed due to illness or any other reason. Refunds for lessons missed due to long term illness or medical conditions (e.g. broken limbs) will be considered on receipt of written communication with details and dates missed.
• You must inform us of any medical conditions when completing the booking process. Any new conditions that may affect your child when swimming, should be made known to Lisburn City Swimming Club via the client hub or email maria.okane@lisburncityswimmingclub.org.

Teaching policies, procedures and parental responsibilities

• All Lisburn City Swimming Club lessons are taught by teachers with suitable qualifications. All teachers have undergone an Access NI check.
• In the event that a teacher is unable to attend a lesson, we will endeavour to find a cover teacher.
• In the event that a teacher is unable to teach at extremely short notice, we reserve the right to join classes if appropriate in order to avoid some swimmers missing a lesson. Classes would not be joined if this results in the class size being exceeded as per the Swimming Teachers Association guidelines.
• While we try to provide a consistent teacher for each class, we cannot always guarantee that you child will have the same swimming teacher each week.
• Swimming teachers are only responsible for pupils during their swimming lesson and parents/carers are responsible at all other times. The swimming lesson begins when the swimming teacher accepts charge of pupils and ends when the lesson time finishes.
• Parents/carers must remain on the premises while the pupil is in their lesson. This is imperative in case of the unlikely event of a medical emergency, building evacuation or other emergency situation.
• Parents/carers must not distract a swimming teacher during lesson time. Parents can speak with teachers briefly at the end of each lesson.  Longer discussions can be requested by emailing maria.okane@lisburncityswimmingsclub.org.

• General pool rules/dress code
  • It is advised that swimmers must shower, use the toilet, and blow their nose before the lesson begins.
  • Shoes must not be worn on poolside by swimmers or parents/carers.
  • Swimmers must either tie back long hair or wear a suitable swimming cap.
  • Children may wear swimming goggles if they choose too. Teachers may sometimes request goggles to be removed during lifesaving activities. Parents must be responsible for adjusting and ensuring that the goggles fit correctly so that they do not move around and damage the eye. 
  • Boys swimwear - Loose fitting (surfer type) shorts and wetsuits are not appropriate for swimming lessons as they can inhibit some of the swimming activities.
  • Girls swimwear - Girls need to wear a swimming costume not a bikini.
  • Swimmers and parents/carers should not enter poolside until 2 minutes before the start of their lesson time.
  • Swimmers should not enter the water until invited to do so by their swimming teacher.
  • Swimmers must leave the pool as soon as the teacher has ended the lesson.
  • Under no circumstance should anyone run on poolside.
  • Safety of our swimmers is paramount, anyone unknown to Lisburn City Swimming Club who cannot reasonable identify themselves and giving cause for concern in relation to safety, will be asked to leave the premises.

Pupil Progression and Reports

• All swimmers are taught and assessed in line with our standards.
• Swimming teachers will continually assess pupil progress. We will have three assessment windows in the year, one at Christmas, Easter and Summer.  Swimmers will be made aware of the assessment windows in their lessons.
• At each assessment window a report will be issued from their teacher detailing their progress.  These reports will be available through the client hub.
• Progression of swimmers will be at the discretion of the teacher.
• When a swimmer completes a level, Lisburn City Swimming Club will contact parents/carers to discuss your child moving up a class. This can happen at any time during the year and not just during assessment windows.
• Due the continuous progressive nature of our lessons, a space may not be immediately available when your child needs to move up. In this instance they will be given the next available space in a suitable class.

Missed lessons

• Lisburn City Swimming Club would appreciate it if you could notify us if your child is going to be absent.
• We are unable to offer a refund for a lesson that is missed for any reason.
• We are unable to offer replacement lessons as this could result in our maximum class sizes being exceeded.

Grievances

• Any grievances with Lisburn City Swimming Club or any of its staff should be made in writing as soon as possible to maria.okane@lisburncityswimmingclub.org.

Covid Declaration

Lisburn City Swimming Club accepts that it is not possible for any sport to eliminate the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus completely and will work with all stakeholders to minimise risk; this concept must be fully understood and accepted by all our members who wish to return to the water and resume aquatic activities

As with all exercise and activity at this time, swimming must comply with standards for social distancing and safety within sports facilities. Swimming, particularly within a club/school specific setting, does not require direct contact between swimmers or teachers and social distancing can be maintained throughout sessions. We can create safe plans for the usage of our pools to deliver swimming teaching and deliver this in a manner which is compliant with public health directives. The HSE has indicated that water with the recommended levels of chlorine will inactivate COVID-19. Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine) of such pool facilities should inactivate the virus in the water.

The purpose of this declaration is to ensure everyone has considered the relevant risks and the required protocols and behaviours required to return to the water as safely as possible, and to confirm adherence to same.

Covid Self Declaration Form

Under the current Covid guidance everyone entering the facility for our swimming lessons be it a parent or child must complete our online self-declaration form (one per family).  This form should be completed on the day of the lesson.  The link and instructions on how to complete the form will be sent out in advance of each term.