Swim NS Letter to Swimmer

                              SWIMMER - 2024-2025 REGISTRATION                                         

Dear Swimmer/Parent/Guardian,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 swimming season! Please take a moment to review this brief explanation of the swimmer registration process required of all swim clubs.

Each swim club in the province of Nova Scotia is a member of the national governing body for swimming called Swimming Canada and the provincial governing body or Provincial Section (PS) called Swim Nova Scotia. In return for government sport funding, all governing organizations are required to report on membership. Non-identifying statistics are obtained directly from the data collected in the Registration and Event Management System (REMS). With your assistance to provide accuracy, we can comply with our requirements and continue to benefit from strong government support, virtually all of which is directed towards the support of swimmers, coaches and clubs. All swim clubs are required to process all registrations to Swim Nova Scotia and Swimming Canada via the REMS.   

The final steps of registering with your swim club includes completing the following mandatory steps in the REMS: 

1.     Confirmation of primary contact and personal information 

2.     Signing the Acknowledgement and Assumption of Risks Form

3.     Agreement to comply to the Swimming Canada Privacy Policy, Swimming Canada Code of Conduct and abide by all other Swimming Canada Policies and Swim Nova Scotia Policies;

4.     Indication of your preference to receive emails of a commercial nature

5.     Confirmation of Canadian citizenship status – identifies eligibility of swimmer to set records or national team selection.  

NOTE:  It is only upon completing the above steps in the REMS that you/your swimmer are considered officially registered and a member of your swim club and then covered by insurance. This registration process must be completed before entries into a swim meet can be submitted and accepted. Your information is held by the Club, Swim Nova Scotia and Swimming Canada in compliance with the Swimming Canada Privacy Policy.

In addition to the mandatory questions, there are five optional declarations that may be completed in the REMS. Providing this information is voluntary and will be used for statistical and informational purposes as well as for program development. It will not be used by your Provincial Section or Swimming Canada for any prohibited purpose as per The Canadian Human Rights Act and Provincial Human Rights legislation. 

1.     Gender Identification – allows swimmers to self-declare their gender identification (Cisgender, Non-Binary, Transgender). This optional self-declaration will have no effect on the gender of registration but will provide valuable information in order to continue to develop and grow programming.

2.     Indigenous Descent – identifies eligibility for the North American Indigenous Games and/or regional/provincial funding opportunities (if available). In some Provincial jurisdictions, these statistics are also required as part of government funding reporting requirements.  

3.     BIPOC Declaration – this optional self-declaration will provide information for government reporting and to develop and grow programing. 

4.     Impairment Declaration – helps Swimming Canada, Swim Nova Scotia and your swim club to direct opportunities that are specifically targeted to swimmers with a disability (Para Swimmers)  Refer to: https://www.swimming.ca/en/resources/   

5.     d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing – assists in identifying individuals who may be eligible for participation in events specifically targeted to swimmers who are d/Deaf/hard of hearing. 

Thank you and have a great swimming season!

Bette El-Hawary

Executive Director  Swim Nova Scotia