Resources

Club Operations Manual

The Swim BC Club Operations Manual was prepared by the Sport Law and Strategy Group for generic use in all provinces in Canada. Swim BC has revised and edited the content of the document to align with Swim BC operations and to the statutes in effect in the Province of BC.   

The purpose of this manual is to provide Swim BC clubs with an overview of multiple topic areas that clubs face in their regular operation. The manual can be used as an effective tool for both new or rebuilding clubs as well as established organizations looking to update or address emerging policy trends or gaps. Templates for specific policy areas are provided and can be modified by each club. 

 Many of the template policies in this document are generic sport templates and will look different than Swim BC policies.  They remain a very good guide to the type of policy your club should consider adopting, however you have the option of utilizing Swim BC policy as a template or developing your own. 

• Club Operations Manual (2021-04-21)

INSURANCE

Insurance coverage is one of the services provided by Swim BC membership. Our policy is held with Sport BC (SBC) Insurance. The Swim BC Insurance Policy runs from January 15th to January 15th of each year. We have moved to a Master Certificate of Insurance (COI) which includes all the registered Swim BC clubs and facilities that they use. If you need a copy of the COI or any information added, please reach out to Swim BC. For more information on our coverage and to learn how to report an incident, please click here.

Club By-Laws Guide

Swim BC partnered with the Sportlaw and Strategy Group to develop a comprehensive “BC specific” resource to support and guide clubs towards a pragmatic review of their bylaws. For those of us who have lived in the sport administration space for many years, we know that a strong stable effective club is the foundation for progressive athlete development, athlete retention and coach retention. We encourage you to use these resources to review your current bylaws, and to re-visit and address any non-aligned elements of your bylaws you may discover on an annual basis.

The Swim BC By-laws Guide touches on all the critical elements required in your bylaws, the importance of your Constitution, Compliance and record keeping, the elements of governance within your club, through to ensuring your clubs bylaws are appropriately transitioned to the ‘new’ BC Societies Act.  Our review of all clubs’ bylaws over the past two years has indicated there are not many clubs that have properly transitioned to the new act.

The Common Issues resource touches on examples taken from a sample of current club bylaws and addresses unnecessary and unclear content, samples of “not good governance” and non-compliant content.

• The Swim BC By-laws Guide (2021-04-21)
• Common Issues Resource (2021-04-21)

2025-26 SWIM-A-THON

Swim-a-Thon is an in-pool fundraiser where swimmers earn pledges to swim a set number of lengths or participate in a fun and challenging swimming event. Each club can personalize its Swim-a-Thon event to match its club and swimmer needs. All donations are collected online through a personalized website created by Swimming Canada, and 90% of the funds earned are distributed back to the clubs.

2025-26 Swim-a-Thon Registration is open and events can be hosted anytime between now and August 31st, 2026. The campaign is a great fundraising opportunity for all clubs.

For further information, please visit Swim-a-Thon Online or contact Rebecca Anibalidi at ranibaldi@swimming.ca.

SPORT LAW PODCAST – EPISODE LIST

Sport Law has recently launched a podcast named: Sportopia, featuring conversations about healthy, human sport. This podcast features 2 members of Sport Law, Steve Indig & Dina Bell-Laroche. Steve and Dina hold conversations on the current state of sport and share their insights to better address issues related to governance, safe sport, leadership challenges, trends in human relations and much more.

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on their website.

Please see the list below of most recent episodes:

Episode 15 – Managing through conflict better than before

Episode 16 – Taking a pause for risk management

Episode 17 – Preparing to give the gift of feedback

Episode 18 – Hope on the Horizon – Update!

Episode 19 -Demystifying the Litigation Process

Episode 20 – Creating Cultures of Belonging

Employment Resources

Swim clubs are employers and club boards should be aware of their responsibility as an employer. The following resources are great starting points.

• BC Government Employments Standards 
• WorkSafeBC

Club Development Series

The Club Development Series is intended to be a learning experience to continue to support our volunteer members undertaking the challenging task of serving as Board members for Swim BC and MSABC clubs.  Themes included roles and responsibilities, conflict resolution, and policy development. You can watch the recordings of these talks on the Swim BC youtube linked below:

• Whose Job is it Anyway? Exploring the Roles of the Board and Head Coach
• Hiring to Firing – The Club’s Role as an Employer
• Governance and Policies – Good Governance for Clubs

Open Water Safety Considerations

Swim BC OW Training Recommendations
Swimming Canada OW Safety – Individuals