South Texas Swimming Outreach Memberships
Updated 4/8/25
USA Swimming Outreach Athlete memberships are available for participating South Texas Swimming teams at a cost of $7.00 per year for athletes who meet the South Texas Swimming eligibility requirements and provide the required documentation, as described below. Clubs are required to provide additional financial support the Outreach Athlete, such as reduced training fees. In addition, the South Texas Swimming Outreach Athlete Fund provides reimbursement of meet expenses (event fees and athlete surcharges charged by meet hosts) to Outreach Athletes in good standing.
To be eligible for reimbursement from the STX Outreach Athlete fund, athletes must be registered as Outreach Athletes as of the meet dates and be in good standing, and the club must submit the required registration documentation to the LSC at [email protected]. Athletes may request reimbursement for up to 12 events per quarter plus all events at STX Championship meets.
South Texas Swimming accepts any of the following documentation as verification of eligibility for Outreach Athlete memberships by individual clubs.
- School Breakfast Program (SBP) and/or National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
- Texas CHIP program (Children's Health Insurance Program or Children's Medicaid)
- Texas SNAP benefits program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
- Texas TANF program (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
- WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Program)
- Medicaid
- Written documentation by a club representative of demonstrated need
Documentation of eligibility must be current at the time of your USA Swimming registration or renewal and must be valid for a minimum of 60 days. Clubs are required to verify your eligibility annually. It is the responsibility of the club to make sure that all Outreach Athlete memberships have been properly verified and registered, and that the documentation has been submitted to the LSC.
You can submit reimbursement requests using this link. All requests for meets conducted in January, February, and March must be submitted by April 15; all requests for meets conducted in April, May, and June must be submitted by July 15; all requests for meets conducted in July, August, and September must be submitted by October 15; and all requests for October, November, and December must be received by January 15.
Why is outreach important?
Each day families struggle to make ends meet due to the harsh economic time in which we currently live. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, in September the number of unemployed persons was 9.3 million. Many people do not have the discretionary income that they once had for extracurricular activities due to an unforeseen job loss that has adversely impacted income in a negative way. Outreach membership plays a vital role in bridging the gap. USA Swimming outreach membership offers qualified individuals the opportunity to become a USA Swimming year-round athlete member at a reduced fee.
USA Swimming’s Year-round Athlete Outreach Membership
USA Swimming is committed to providing outreach membership for families in need. In 2014-2015, there were 7,229 outreach members. The national fee for outreach membership is $5.00 and the Local Swimming Committee (LSC) has the option to set a local fee that may not exceed $2.00. The goal of offering outreach membership is to provide opportunities in swimming to economically disadvantaged youth in the United States. Each Local Swimming Committee determines how they will qualify athletes for outreach membership. They may use but are not limited to national guidelines based on Federal Food Stamps, Free School Lunch and/or Federal Poverty Guidelines.
Are LSCs required to offer Outreach Membership?
Yes. Each LSC is required by USA Swimming to offer outreach memberships to qualified candidates. It is up to your LSC to determine who is eligible for outreach membership and who is not.
