How should our HOA board handle a swim team that wants to use the community pool?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board handles a swim team request for the pool: practice hours, owner access, lifeguard and health rules, insurance, fees and a written agreement.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Say yes only under a written use agreement, and only after two phone calls: one to the health department that permits the pool and one to the association's insurance agent. A swim team can be a good thing for a neighborhood. It can also take the pool away from owners for three hours every summer evening, push the pool into a stricter lifeguard category, and create taxable income. The agreement should fix the practice hours, the lanes the team gets, who is on deck, the insurance the team carries and the fee. Give it one season with an end date, then renew or not based on how it went. Pool rules come from your state, your county or city health department and your governing documents, and they differ. This is a planning guide, not legal advice.

Find out what kind of team it is

Before the board discusses dates, get four answers in writing. Who runs the team: a group of resident parents, a summer league, or a year-round club with a paid coach? Who swims: only children of residents, or children from outside the community? Is it practice only, or does the team want to host meets with visiting teams and spectators? Will anyone bring starting blocks? A resident-run summer team where every swimmer lives in the community is close to ordinary owner use with a schedule attached. A club team that brings 40 swimmers from across town is an outside organization renting association property, and the health, insurance and tax questions below all get harder. A home meet is a different event again, because it brings crowds, parking and timing equipment, and in Texas it can change how the pool is classified for the day.

What the health rules say

Texas classifies a pool run for a property owners association as a Class C pool, limited to members and their guests and not open to the general public (25 TAC 265.182(51)(C)). A Class A pool is one used for accredited competitive events such as USA Swimming or NCAA meets (265.182(51)(A)). The lifeguard rule follows actual use. A Class C pool opened to the public has to meet Class B lifeguard standards while it is open, and at least two lifeguards are required at a Class A pool during competitive events and at any pool where starting platforms are open for use (265.191(a)). A starting platform counts as open unless it is locked or chained and posted as closed (265.191(b)). Florida treats pools serving subdivisions of five or more units as public pools (514.011(2)) but exempts association pools of 32 or fewer units or parcels from most state supervision, though not from water quality and anti-entrapment rules (514.0115(3)). Florida's pool rule requires the posted bathing load to be followed at all times, lets a safety line come down only for lap swimming with a safety attendant or lifeguard present, and exempts swim coaches from the instructor certification when they train advanced swimmers for competition (64E-9.008). Colorado's regulation, 5 CCR 1003-5, exempts private pools used only by residents and their guests, and local health agencies can set their own rules. A team of nonresident swimmers puts that exemption in doubt, so ask the county before the first practice.

Protect owner access

Owners pay for the pool, and the agreement has to show it. Keep team practice to hours owners use least, such as 7 to 9 a.m. on weekdays, or a short evening block that ends by 6:30 p.m. Leave at least two lanes or the shallow end open to owners during every practice, unless the pool is too small to split, in which case shorten the block instead. No team use on holiday weekends or on dates the social committee has booked. Cap the number of swimmers in the water at once and keep the total, team plus owners, under the posted bathing load. Say how many meets the team may host, if any, and require the team to give the board the meet schedule by a set date so owners get notice. Spell out who removes and replaces lane lines and the safety rope, and require the coach to leave the deck the way the team found it. If owners complain about crowding in the first month, the board needs a clause that lets it cut hours without ending the agreement.

Insurance, coaches and who is on deck

Require the team to carry general liability insurance and give the association a certificate naming it as an additional insured before the first practice. Your insurance agent sets the limit and should tell you whether team use, meets or starting blocks change your own policy. Read the team's indemnity language the same way you would a vendor's: it should run from the team to the association. Decide who watches the water. A coach running a set is not watching the swimmers in the other lanes, so if owners swim during practice, require a certified lifeguard on deck or keep owners out of the water. Ask for each coach's lifeguard, first aid and CPR certifications and expiration dates. Ask the team for its written screening and supervision policy for adults who work with children, and keep a copy. Our guide on how to hire a lifeguard company for an HOA pool covers staffing plans, certifications and contract terms in more detail.

Fees and the tax return

Charge a fee that at least covers what team use costs: extra chemicals and filter runtime, restroom cleaning, wear on lane lines and deck furniture, and lifeguard hours if the association pays for them. Ask the pool service company what the added swimmers will cost per week before you set the number. Then tell the treasurer, because it matters for taxes. An association filing Form 1120-H can exclude only exempt function income, which the IRS says must come from members as owners, not as customers. Payments from nonmembers, and payments from members for special use of facilities beyond what all members get, do not qualify. Team fees count toward taxable income, which Form 1120-H taxes at a flat 30 percent, and the association can file that form only if at least 60 percent of its gross income is exempt function income. For a small association with a modest budget, a large team fee can move that test. The treasurer should book team fees in their own income account and flag them for whoever prepares the return.

Agreement terms, a motion and a timeline

Core agreement wording: 'The association grants [team] non-exclusive use of lanes 1 through 4 of the community pool from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, June 2 through July 31, 2027. At least two lanes remain open to owners at all times. The team shall provide a certificate of general liability insurance naming the association as additional insured, a roster of coaches with current lifeguard, first aid and CPR certifications, and its written child safety policy before the first practice. Total swimmers in the pool shall not exceed the posted bathing load. The board may reduce hours on 7 days' written notice or end this agreement on 14 days' written notice.' Motion: 'Moved to approve the pool use agreement with [team] for the 2027 season at a fee of [amount], subject to receipt of the insurance certificate and coach certifications and review by the association's insurance agent.' Timeline: February, get the request and the four answers. March, call the health department and the agent, and draft the agreement. April, approve it at an open board meeting and tell owners the schedule. May, collect the certificate and roster. Opening week, walk the first practice. August, ask owners how it went before talking about renewal.

Mistakes boards make

Agreeing on a handshake because a director's child swims on the team. Giving the team the whole pool from 5 to 8 p.m., the hours owners with jobs actually use it. Letting the team leave starting blocks out where a Texas inspector sees an open platform and no lifeguards. Depositing team fees with dues and leaving them off the tax return. Forgetting to tell owners, who learn about the team when they arrive with their kids and find every lane taken. Renewing automatically without asking owners. If the board wants the team but owners push back, put the schedule to an owner survey before the next season. Our guide on HOA community pool rules and guest policies covers the guest limits and sign-in rules that should apply to team families too.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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