SwimTopia and COVID-19

SwimTopia and COVID-19 – A Message From SwimTopia’s CEO

We find ourselves in unprecedented times—the COVID-19 outbreak brings with it uncertainty, cancellations, telecommuting, and kids home from school. Our hearts go out to all of our SwimTopia users who are navigating these uncertain times, caring for their own families while wrestling with difficult decisions about their team’s swim season. 

We, like you, are carefully monitoring the situation as it develops. And here at SwimTopia, we’re always striving to provide solutions to problems, making running a swim team easier, even during this crisis. 

We’re writing to share details of what SwimTopia is doing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also to share our support and encouragement during this trying time. We empathize with every coach and swim team president who is responsible for planning and making decisions for their teams.

We have been inspired by the stories of people reacting with compassion and joy in these difficult times. Such as the videos circulating of Italian neighbors serenading each other from their balconies. Or, in the not too distant past, the Cajun Navy that formed from volunteers from all over the country to come to the rescue of victims of hurricane Harvey. In these times of adversity, time and again we have rallied, with strength and courage to help one another. The human spirit prevails. This will be hard, but will be no different. We will get through this, together.

With the recent announcement of the CDC’s recommendation to cancel gatherings of 50 or more people for the next 8 weeks, we expect  some swim teams and leagues are considering postponing or altering their upcoming seasons. 

While we can’t know how long this pandemic will affect the US, we do believe that when this threat subsides, families will be yearning for activity and connection, and your swim team can be a big help in bringing about a welcome sense of normalcy. We’re hoping that postponing the season, rather than cancelling it, will be possible for most teams.

It is worth reminding ourselves that this situation is also an opportunity to serve our communities in a time of need, to strengthen the bonds between neighbors and to provide encouragement and support to help everyone get through this challenging time together.

Swim teams, in particular, are in a unique position to be a positive resource to their communities. Because swim teams are so big they can reach many families, and especially families with small children who may be especially stressed and scared by this situation. During this time of isolation, there may be a greater need than ever for the kinds of connections and camaraderie that are at the core of the summer swim team experience. We encourage teams to lean into this opportunity to be a rallying point for your communities. 

We invite you to join the Community page of our Help Center. This is an online forum where you can connect with other swim teams and leagues to discuss plans and share ideas. In addition to many other topics, we have created a dedicated “Rallying During COVID-19” topic to help respond to this challenge.

What SwimTopia is Doing

SwimTopia has always offered flexible work options, allowing our employees to work from home on a regular basis. Thus it was an easy call for us to ask all of our employees to telecommute for the foreseeable future. We are also forwarding information to our entire team about the importance of social distancing, frequent hand-washing, and “flattening the curve.” SwimTopia  offers paid sick leave to all employees, including part-timers.

And to lessen the hardship for working from home and tending to family needs while school is canceled, we’ve provided our employees with gift cards from local businesses—which provides support for our team members and to our community during this crisis.

Billing and Cancellation Policies

SwimTopia has always had policies in place to support customers who experience sharp drops in athlete registrations or who need to cancel their season entirely.

While we hope you won’t need to make this heart-wrenching decision, if your team or league decides to cancel your 2020 season, notify us at billing@swimtopia.com, and request to be downgraded to our lowest priced Team-50 plan for $199/year (less than $17/month). This will enable your team to continue to use all the features of SwimTopia including your team website and communications for email and push notification alerts—allowing you to stay in contact with your families and prepare for a triumphant return in 2021. If your team has a credit balance after downgrading due to cancellation, the credit will be applied toward next year’s renewal.

If your team is part of a swim league that subscribes to SwimTopia through a league-wide billing program, the pricing is different. If you have any questions, league admins should contact us at leagues@swimtopia.com.

We hope this message helps you navigate through this difficult time. Keep in mind this situation is temporary. We will get through this. My hope is that eventually we will look back on this period as a time when we faced unforeseen adversity and responded with compassion and kindness.

Very sincerely,

Mason Hale

CEO & Founder

SwimTopia