Cleethorpes and District Swimming Club – “We can now focus on what is important”
More Time to Focus on What is Important
Cleethorpes and District Swimming Club is celebrating its 45th year in 2021. Over the past four decades, it has provided competitive level swimming opportunities to children across North East Lincolnshire.
With over 60 active members across all squad levels, the team – under the guidance of the club's Head Coach – continue to achieve ongoing success from entry-level through to national qualifiers.
In addition to the competitive function, the club operates ‘Bubbles’ – an inclusive Learn to Swim School that provides children aged four years and above the opportunity to learn to swim in a safe and nurturing environment.
With over 400 youngsters undertaking sessions within the swim school, Cleethorpes and District Swimming Club offers the largest range of swimming opportunities in the local area. And even through the toughest of years, it has ensured that each member has received every opportunity to thrive.
The Challenge - Before LoveAdmin
The club's old membership system was an excel database, a system that required hours of manual data entry. With payments for the competitive function ‘standing order based’ and the swim school taking payments via cash or cheque, this process was not only time-consuming but financially ineffective.
Described as a 'full-time job' by the Learn to Swim Lead and Treasurer, the maintenance of member records, registration processes and payment options was exceptionally slow. In fact, the club was potentially losing essential funds due to late payments and a restrictive system – losses that, especially during the pandemic, the club could not face.
Another drawback for the club was the limited communication options available, with the club’s social media team undertaking the majority of this via online platforms, text messages and group emails sent to all. This process had major limitations. In addition, it did not provide members with personalised information regarding their own child, which in turn caused confusion and delays in a number of areas.
The Solution - After LoveAdmin
During the COVID-19 lockdown period, Club Chairman Chris Charlton and the committee analysed the re-opening of the club in its entirety. With restrictions on pool times, bather count and the need to implement more robust ways of working in line with Government and Swim England measures, the club realised when they returned to swimming, a number of core processes had to change.
Charlton was aware of LoveAdmin from a previous club he assisted with. Following discussions with the LoveAdmin team, the club decided to implement the system at Cleethorpes and District Swimming Club.
The club has seen immediate benefits, from onboarding to departure. Aspiring new swimmers’ families are able to contact the club for lessons and trials, and current members can register and renew their membership, plus pay for club events and competitions.
In addition, the club's HR department can process ‘instant’ updates to policies and processes, with member consent available at the click of a button.
Payment reminders and visibility of payment information on class attendance registers have also enabled the club to tighten up and chase the handful of people who haven't paid on time. The Head Coach is also able to make immediate changes to his squad lists, and email communications to parents and members are simplified and cohesive. Every swimmer's correspondence can be personalised, from changes to fees and event details to simple congratulations.
The Results
The club has only been using the system for under three months and yet has already seen a huge change in the administration of fees, sessions and communication. “The LoveAdmin online portal has given our committee, coaches, teaching staff and volunteer teams the time to focus on what is important,” says Charlton, “and that is the time to run the club and support our amazing swimmers.”
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