My mother took my three children to the YMCA today for their regular swimming lessons. Usually I take them and when they're not in their lessons we have a bit of a swim - maybe about 15 minutes' worth. I pay for a swim for myself. This morning, the girl at the front desk asked my mother if the boys were going to do any swimming besides their lessons, and told my mother that she would have to pay for that - over and above their swimming lesson entry. Is this normal? Do your children have lessons at the Y, and do they pay extra if they swim outside their lesson time?
Are you also Y members or are you paying for lessons as a non-member?
Y members get to recreational swim for free, non-members do not. That's the only scenario I can think of that would make sense.
At our Y, you have to have a membership. If you don't, then yes, you would have to pay to swim during open swims. I'm not even sure you can swim during open swims without being a member.
If they are not members they are not free to use the pool. It's for members only so yes, they'd have to pay.
If you look at the cost of a membership to the Y it might just be cost effective to do that. You get to sign up for the swim lessons up to a month earlier, making sure you always get the time and skill level you want kiddo's to be in. You also get the lessons for less cost. As members we get swim lessons for $25 and non-members get them for $35.
You also get the same sort of discount as a member for T-Ball, Basket Ball, Tennis, Soccer, and the rest.
If your family qualifies for a scholarship on the cost you get those classes for that much of a discount too.
For instance, we get a 50% scholarship due to being on SSDI, so when the membership cost for an activity is $25 we pay $12.50 to enroll.
Y membership has a lot of advantages. Not just swim lessons.
If not a member you pay for extra swim time. After lessons.
You should pick up the phone and call the Y to ask what their policy is. At the same time, you should ask how much a family membership is to see if it is cheaper to have a membership.
At our Y you need to be a member to take swimming lessons, and the lessons are included in the membership fee. Non members can not take swim lessons, but they can use the facility if they pay a drop-in fee. If they pay the drop-in then they have access to the entire facility for the whole day.
That's the way it works at our YMCA. If you are not a member, you pay for the classes and if you want to stay and swim during open swim, you pay a fee for the day. Your fee for the lessons is just that, for lessons, not to use the facilities.
It depends on the membership, and who's on the plan with you. I used to teach swim lessons at the Y.
If you and your boys are on the family membership, then you get access to all the facilities in the Y as part of your membership. If your mom is NOT on the family plan, then yes, it would be extra. That would be like someone coming in off the street to use the facilities.
Check your local YMCA website. Do you or the kids have a membership? Where I am, membership includes all swim activities for all members on the account, but lessons themselves can be paid for separately and then the lessons are all you get. We also have membership age levels, so a youth can have an all inclusive membership, but a parent or guardian has to pay as they go. From the wording of your post it seems that the kids have a membership, but you don't and when your mother brought the kids for the lessons the receptionist (or maybe your mother) did not realize the kids had memberships. But again that would apply to only the rules in my area. Your area may include free swims with lesson, although the receptionist should know that information.
