Frequently Asked Questions
If you have questions not listed below, please contact Us.
Waitlist Questions:
How long will I be on the waitlist? Membership to Little Falls Swimming Club is capped at 377 total. In any given year, a limited number of Equity Memberships may come available; the number varies year to year. Historically, it is a 6-8 year wait.
Do I need to apply to the waitlist each year? No, once you apply to the waitlist your account is active. You should login to add immediate family members residing in your household and be sure to include contact information for adults. It’s best to use personal, not work emails and add the Admin@LittleFallsSwimmingClub.com email to your contacts so messages do not land in a spam filter. You can even add photos so that your account is ready once you are offered swim privileges!
How do I find out where I am on the waitlist? Once a year, all applicants on the waitlist will be provided with an annual status update, as soon as practical, following the admission of new members. If you do not receive notification of your waitlist status by the end of the season, please contact us. View the Waitlist Rankings.
Why does it take so long to get into Little Falls and what is the Board doing to shorten the wait? LFSC operates under a special permit (“conditional use”) with Montgomery County which strictly limits the number of memberships available to 377 total. These 377 members have equity in the Club, are eligible to serve on the Board of Directors and vote on pool matters. An Equity Membership only becomes available when an Equity Member resigns.
The cap on membership coupled with low turn-over of members who tend to stay in the neighborhood for a considerable period of time are factors which impact the unusually long waitlist compared to other pools in the area. The Board has instituted several measures to address the long waiting period, including offering limited Full and End of Season Guest swim privileges. All members who joined after 2004, must relinquish their membership if they move out of the neighborhood/catchment areas.
While we are on the waitlist can we use Daily Guest Passes to use the pool? No. Unless a current Equity Member brings you to the pool as their guest using Daily Guest Passes, it is not possible for waitlist accounts to utilize the facilities.
Full & End of Season Guests:
We’ve heard the End of Season Guest waitlist is shorter. There is only one waitlist and it is a progression to Equity Membership as slots become available. The first offer for swim privileges is End of Season Guest then you will be offered Full Season Guest when a slot becomes available. When a current member resigns their Equity Share the account at the top of the waitlist receives a membership offer. That also moves an End of Season Guest to a Full Season Guest slot and a Waitlist account without swim privileges becomes an End of Season Guest.
If we are offered Full or End of Season Guest swim privileges and choose to not accept, does that affect our standing on the waitlist? No. Acceptance of the Full or End of Season Guest swim privileges, if offered, is entirely optional. It does not affect your waitlist status either positively or negatively as long as you respond to the offer.
If we were offered Full Season Guest swim privileges can we opt for End of Season Guest swim privileges instead (or vice versa)? No. The number of slots for each category is limited and the offers are made based on waitlist rank.
We paid End of Season Guest season fees, how do we use the pool? The swim privileges are good starting July 22 until the pool closes for the season on September 15. Each time you go to the pool you will need to check-in at the front desk. Please be aware that since Full Season Guests and End of Season Guests are guests of the Board, you are not able to bring guests. The exception is if you have paid the additional fee for a caregiver.
Membership Questions:
Do I have to accept the Equity Membership when it is offered to me? At the time Equity Membership is offered, you must either accept or decline the offer. If you decide to decline the offer, the Club will terminate your waitlist position. Under the bylaws you are not permitted to remain on the waitlist if you decline this Equity Membership offer.
What are Senior Emeritus swim privileges and how can I apply for them? Any active or inactive current Equity Member who is 60 years of age, or has a spouse who is 60 years of age, is eligible for Senior Emeritus swim privileges. Click here for details on Senior Emeritus swim privileges.
If I choose to go inactive this season, can I change my mind mid-summer? No. The member can choose active status the following summer.
Can adult children sign-in using their parent’s membership? If the adult child is living in their parent’s home and is listed in the membership database, s/he may use the parent’s membership. However, it is strongly encouraged that the adult child apply for his/her own membership if planning to stay in the neighborhood for an extended period of time. If the adult child does NOT live with his/her parents, the membership does not cover their use of the pool and Equity Members must purchase Daily Guest Passes for each of their visits.
My parents were members but have recently passed away. Do I inherit their membership? Membership may not be “inherited.” The membership will be returned to the Club and the equity value returned to the estate. You will need to submit a membership application for yourself.
I am renting from people who are members, but who are living overseas. Can I use the homeowner’s membership? No. Membership does not convey with a property, either to renters or to subsequent owners.
I have just bought a house in the neighborhood and the sellers were members. Did their membership convey with the house? No. Membership is not attached to the property but to the family. If you would like to apply to join the Club, please complete the online application and submit it with the one-time application fee.
Why do some members have different levels of Equity Shares? For example, my neighbor said she initially paid only $375 in equity when she joined, but I had to pay $1,000–why the difference? The original base amount of equity paid for a share has changed over time. In 1955 the charter equity payment for a member was $285. In 2016 the membership voted to increase the cost of each of the 377 shares by $2,000 in preparation of the pool renovation. This cost was added to the base amount of the share that each member had originally paid. For example, a charter member would now have $2,285 in equity, while a recent member would have $3,000. Eighty-two percent of the members have paid the current share price. When a member resigns, s/he receives a refund of whatever equity s/he had in the Club.
Updated 2/13/2024
