The club's policies and guidelines are set out below. If you have any questions or concerns please contact our Board of Directors or Head Coach.
Atlantis Artistic Swimming Club (“Atlantis”) is an independent Artistic Swimming club that operates in several facilities within the Halifax Regional Municipality (“HRM”), in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Atlantis is a non-profit organization, and operating revenue is generated from fees, fundraising, donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants. The club is administered by an elected volunteer board of directors comprising of an executive committee and several sub-committees. Volunteering is crucial to the success of the club and parents/guardians are highly encouraged to volunteer and assist in the running of the club, organizing competitions, and other special events.
Atlantis is a member of Nova Scotia Artistic Swimming (“NSAS”), the provincial sport organization (“PSO”) responsible for the development and growth of Artistic Swimming within Nova Scotia. NSAS is an incorporated, not for profit, sports organization. NSAS operates separate Artistic Swimming programs and is responsible for organizing all competitions held within Nova Scotia. NSAS is a branch of the national body, Canada Artistic Swimming (“CAS”), and subscribes to and supports their objectives. More information can be found at: artisticswimmingns.wordpress.com
CAS is the national sports organization (“NSO”) and governing body for Artistic Swimming in Canada. CAS serves as the unified voice of the 10 provincial and 1 territorial Artistic Swimming associations, and 150 clubs working together to further the development of the sport across Canada. More information can be found at: artisticswimming.ca
Atlantis is governed by the policies set forth by both CAS and NSAS.
Atlantis is guided by the principles of fair play in all club activities, whether formal or informal, or in team, club, or individual interactions. Fair play embodies, in part, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality, tolerance, care, excellence, and joy.
Atlantis applies a “team-first” philosophy to all our programming. In creating teams and designating alternates, our coaches consider the best combination of swimmers for the success of the team as a whole. The club will only entertain allowing an athlete to swim a duet or solo only — that is, without swimming on a team — in cases where there is no possible option for that athlete to swim team, after exploring the sanctioned options for swimming up or down an age grouping.
Annual Program Fees
Annual Program Fees are charged based on the competitive level that an athlete participates in and generally increase as athletes advance and participate in more extensive training schedules. These fees cover the cost of facility rentals (pool time, gym sessions), coach pay, and NSAS membership fees. Parents/guardians may choose to pay this amount up front at the season start or in monthly installments throughout the season. Athletes swimming an extra routine (solo/duet) will be charged an additional monthly fee for incremental facility and coach hours.
Competition Accounts
In addition to the Annual Program Fees, athletes incur costs associated with competitions, custom routine suits, club clothing (including caps, googles, and nose clips), travel expenses (accommodations, vehicle rental, groceries and dining, coach expenses, and team building activities). Competition account costs will generally increase as athletes advance in the sport and participate in more competitions which include more travel opportunities (including outside Nova Scotia). Athletes will receive periodic invoices throughout the season as their competition accounts accumulate, typically after a major event or competition. It is expected that competition invoices will be paid within 30 days to keep athlete accounts current.
Financial Assistance
Families experiencing unanticipated financial hardship affecting their ability to pay Annual Program Fees or Competition Account invoices should contact Atlantis’ treasurer on a confidential basis. Atlantis will endeavor to work with families to find an amenable solution, but ultimately reserves the right to demand payment in full.
Atlantis facilitates several fundraising events every year in order to provide families with opportunities to offset the cost of participating in the sport. Fundraising events may be offered that raise funds for athlete Competition Accounts or for the club as a whole. Atlantis will always indicate in advance how the funds from each fundraiser will be distributed between athlete Competition Accounts and the club.
Athlete Fundraising
Most fundraising events will be used to offset athlete costs. The fundraising credit from these events will offset Competition Account costs such as competition fees, clothing, and travel expenses. Fundraising amounts will be reflected in each athlete’s Competition Account invoice.
Each fundraiser will have a minimum club portion. The first $50 raised by each athlete will be contributed to the club, and any amount raised over $50 will be added to the athlete’s Competition Account to offset costs. Athletes who choose not to participate in a fundraiser will still be expected to contribute the $50 minimum to the club. This will be added to their Competition Account in the following invoice. Athletes may opt out of fundraising at the beginning of the season, by paying an up-front amount equal to the minimum $50 for each planned fundraiser in the upcoming season.
For clarity, this policy applies to all competitive athletes.
If an athlete has a fundraising credit on their account at the end of the competitive season, this amount will be applied as a credit towards future registrations. Atlantis will not issue cash refunds for fundraising credits.
Club Fundraising
Some fundraising events will be held that directly benefit the club’s operations. Funds raised at these events will be used to maintain and grow the club’s operating reserve fund. This reserve fund may be used towards large, one-time purchases such as equipment, coach and athlete development (courses and clinics, coach certifications) and generally stabilize the club’s operating budget to avoid unexpected fee increases.
NSAS is responsible for organizing all Nova Scotia competitions and this effort requires significant volunteer hours from all local clubs. NSAS requires each family to volunteer 8 hours throughout the competition season. Families who do not volunteer will be required to pay a $150 fee in order to cover the cost of NSAS hiring workers to organize these events. Families volunteering fewer than 8 hours will be required to pay a partial amount, prorated at $18.75 per hour. NSAS may update its policy from time to time, so it is best to refer to the policy on their website.
For clarity, this policy is completely outside of Atlantis’ control and scope. Volunteering at Atlantis events will not satisfy NSAS volunteer requirements.If you have any doubts about whether an event is being run by Atlantis or NSAS, please contact any member of the Atlantis board who will be able to confirm.
All Atlantis programs are dependent upon pool and coach availability and athlete registration. Registration is open year-round for recreational teams, which run for 3-month terms each season. Registration for competitive programs runs throughout the summer in order to set teams for the upcoming season, beginning in early September. The cut-off date for registration is the first day of swimming in a given season. Late registrations may be accommodated on a case-by-case basis, dependent upon club resources, and must be approved by Atlantis’ head coach.
Competitive registration includes a non-refundable deposit in the amount of 20% of Annual Program Fees, which must be paid at the time of registration.
Registration is NOT complete without the following:
Competitive Team Withdrawal
Registered athletes with team and extra routine confirmation are making a commitment for a full competitive season (September - May). Competitive athletes have until December 15th to withdraw from the competitive program (notwithstanding injury exceptions noted below).
Competitive athletes who withdraw from the program before the deadline will:
Competitive athletes who withdraw after the December 15th deadline or are dismissed for a breach of the Athlete Code of Conduct will:
Withdrawals Due to Injury
In the rare case that an athlete suffers a season-ending injury (defined as the condition of being medically prohibited from returning to practices for longer than eight weeks), the athlete must provide written documentation from a medical professional. In such a case, the withdrawal will be treated in the same manner as withdrawals prior to the deadline, with Annual Program Fees prorated based on the time elapsed from start of season to the date of receipt of medical documentation. In these cases, Atlantis will attempt to prevent any additional competition costs from being incurred by the injured athlete, recognizing that some costs (such as competition registration fees) may have been paid in advance.
Recreational Team Withdrawal
In cases of a mid-term withdrawal from AquaGo!, Advanced Rec, Show Team, Adult Rec, and Masters programming, the program fees will be pro-rated and the cost of remaining weeks will be refunded or applied as a credit for future registrations.
Artistic Swimming is a team sport unlike other team sports. Full-team attendance is essential for practices to be useful for training routines, meaning that a single absence can prevent the rest of team from practicing certain elements. Athlete absences during the competition season should be kept to an absolute minimum and will require coach approval, based on the criteria below:
Absence Due to Illness or Injury
Athletes who are ill or injured should inform the coach with as much notice as possible, so the coach can re-work practice plans. If the athlete is unable to participate in practice due to illness or injury, the athlete is to stay home. Ill or injured athletes can be a distraction on deck and better serve the team and themselves by focusing on their recovery.
In the case of extended (but not season-ending) illness or injury, coaches may set up a home practice plan or may ask athletes to attend partial practices as they are able.
If an athlete is unable to participate in a competition due to illness or injury a doctor’s note may be required.
Coaches also assess the fitness to practice of athletes under their care, from a physical and mental perspective. When an athlete is determined to be unfit to practice, which is a joint decision between the athlete's coach and head coach, the following steps are taken:
Absence Due to School Events
Atlantis prioritizes school success and understands the need for athletes to occasionally miss practice for significant or mandatory school events. At the same time, the club stands behind the idea that Artistic Swimming, particularly at high performance levels, requires athletes to learn and practice excellent time management and to sacrifice social activities to meet team commitments. To that end:
Absence for Multi-Sport Athletes
Atlantis understands that some athletes choose to strengthen their mental and physical wellness by participating in more than one sport and that many sport seasons overlap. At the same time, the club stipulates that full-team attendance is essential for successful practices and competitions and committing to a team means committing to the practice and competition schedule for the entire season. To that end:
While the timing of requests for exception to the rule of mandatory attendance must be submitted with as much notice as possible, in some situations, it will not be possible for athletes to know when conflicts will arise until late in the season. In these cases, granting time off may be more difficult because of proximity to competition days or because other athletes on the team have been granted time off, already limiting the number of full-team practices.
Following the Atlantis team-first philosophy, as outlined above, athletes who cannot meet full practice, competition and regular team commitments will not be eligible for extra routine placement, and may be asked to swim out of pattern.
Other Absences and Family Vacations
Other one-off absences are allowed on a case-by-case basis for major life occurrences, such as the death of a close friend or relative, or religious holidays. Such absence requests must be submitted to the team coach with as much notice as possible. Family vacations should be planned to fall, or almost exclusively fall, during swimmer break periods, laid out by coaches at the beginning of the season.
Please note: major competitions often take place during school break times and those are times swimmers must be with their teams.
Athletes Should Not Miss Practice for Any Reason Within One Week of a Competition.
Non-adherence to the Atlantis Attendance Policy is a breach of the Athlete Code of Conduct and may result in sanction or dismissal from the team.
Lateness
Prompt arrival at practice, with all gear and in “ready mode” benefits all team members. Athletes should arrive at the pool/facility early enough to change, stretch, snack, and generally be mentally and physically prepared for practice at practice start time. Repeated lateness or lack of preparedness is a breach of the Athlete Code of Conduct and may result in sanction or dismissal from the team.
Inattentiveness
Coach and athlete time is valuable, and practices/training should not be interrupted by inattentiveness. Athletes, with appropriate regard to their age and development, are expected to participate keenly and cooperatively. Also disruptive is the use of communication devices, such as phones, during practice. Athletes must silence devices and keep them stored during practice, unless directed otherwise by the coach. Athletes who disrupt practice may be asked to sit out of practice or be sent home early. Repeated inattentiveness or disruption will be considered a breach of the Athlete Code of Conduct and may result in sanction or dismissal from the team.
In the event that a conflict between or among athletes, parents/guardians, and/or coaches cannot be resolved by the parties involved, a resolution will be determined by a committee of the board including the President, Vice-President, Registrar and Treasurer. If the conflict involves one or more of the committee members or their athletes, those members will recuse themselves from the decision-making process. The findings of the committee will consider the expectations outlined in Atlantis Athlete and Parent/Guardian Codes of Conduct and will prioritize the best interests of the club. Decisions will be considered final.
If an athlete is hit in the head at any point during practice, they will be taken out of the pool immediately and stay out for the remainder of that practice (unless the injury is severe enough that they require immediate medical attention). The athlete’s coach will continue to monitor them for any symptoms of a concussion for the remainder of the practice. Parents will immediately be notified via email that an injury may have occurred and will be provided with an extensive list of symptoms to look out for over the next 24-48 hours. These include:
If athletes exhibit any of these symptoms in the following 24-48 hours, it is highly advised that parents seek immediate medical attention for the athlete. Any athlete exhibiting these symptoms will not be allowed to swim until cleared by a doctor. Parents/guardians should contact their athlete’s coach prior to returning to the pool and provide an update on any possible concussion symptoms.
Returning to practice before fully recovering from a concussion puts athletes at higher risk of sustaining another concussion, with potentially more severe and longer-lasting effects.
Although medical care is ultimately the responsibility of parents/guardians, Atlantis coaches may reserve the right to refuse training access to the athlete if they believe that concussion symptoms may still be present.
Athletes who are in the 11-12 age group or younger must be dropped for practice/competitions directly into the care of an Atlantis coach, at the agreed-upon location at the pool/facility. Those athletes must be picked up from the coach at the end of practice from the pool deck, or another agreed-upon location. Please note: coaches are not paid beyond the end time of practice. Please be mindful of promptness. Athletes are not the responsibility of Atlantis Artistic Swimming Club or Atlantis coaches before direct drop-off or after pick-up.
Athletes in the 13-15 or older age groups are responsible to meet their teams on their own and will be released from practice directly from the pool deck/facility.
In the event that a pool/facility closes before practice begins, coaches will send alternate home practice plans or schedule online training (if possible) for athletes as soon as they are notified.
If a pool/facility closes mid-practice, athletes will pack up and go home. Coaches will remain with athletes in the 11-12 age group or younger until pick-up.
If a pool/facility is open during inclement weather, practice is automatically on.
However, even if a pool/facility remains open during inclement weather, the board may, in extraordinary circumstances, choose to cancel practice. Cancellation will also be considered if a pool/facility has a planned early closure due to inclement weather. This decision will be made by 2:00 pm in the case of evening practices, by noon in the case of afternoon practices, and the evening prior in the case of morning practices.
Atlantis supports the full inclusion of all athletes at all levels, recreational or competitive. Through our AquaGo! programs, Try-It camps, and Adaptive Artistic Swimming (AdAS), Atlantis believes that engaging our community will better grow the sport of Artistic Swimming.
Atlantis will endeavor, to the extent possible based on pool and coach availability, to customize programs for differently abled athletes.