Despite her seven years of competitive swimming experience and participation in numerous national competitions, first-year student Avery Zingel won’t be joining Carleton University’s swimming team after learning of the registration fee.
Zingel said she decided against joining the program after she was informed by the team’s co-head coach John Hawes of the $2,100 registration fee that would be required in order to be a member of the team.
“I would have loved to compete for Carleton and train with athletes who are also as passionate about swimming as I am,” Zingel said.
After taking a year away from the sport, Zingel said she was excited to get back into the pool and showcase her talents with the Ravens, specifically in the 800m and 1500m freestyle disciplines, but that she was “extremely disappointed to find out the cost of joining the team was too high.”
With the women’s team finishing at the bottom of the pack in 12th place at last season’s Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship meet, it seems that Zingel would have been a welcome asset.
And while she was quick to point out that “when swimming for a club in the city, the costs after meets are easily over $4,000 at the national level,” Zingel still said she believes the $2,100 registration fee is an “overwhelming cost for a student.”
From her understanding, the $2,100 registration fee covers pool time, coaching fees, and swim meets. While she wouldn’t confirm the exact price, Carleton’s director of recreation and athletics Jennifer Brenning explained that the high membership fee covers the cost of having paid, professional coaches.
Co-head coach John Hawes was unvailable for comment on this issue. However, one of the team’s new coaches, Nico Bélisle, said the registration fee goes toward training facility rentals, registration fees for Swimming Canada and the various competitions the team participates in, as well as travel costs for these competitions. Bélisle said he has been pleased with the turnout so far this season.
“I have fielded a number of requests to attend practices and tryouts for the team over the past few weeks,” he said. “And while not everyone who contacts me ultimately joins the team, I think having this amount of interest in the program can only bode well going forward this season.”
Despite the situation that has arisen, Zingel is adamant that she is not at all bitter towards the team, and would still be interested in joining the program, “if the costs were more reasonable.” She even offered some thoughts on how to make the program more accessible in future years.
“Lowering the costs of registration could involve fundraising, athletic bursaries, and sponsorships from companies,” she said. “As a swimmer, I would love to see the swimming program expand, and lower fees are just one way of doing this.”