USA Swimming Faces a Financial Dip: A $1.8 Million Revenue Shortfall in 2025
It seems like USA Swimming is navigating some choppy financial waters, with projections indicating a challenging year ahead. The organization's Board of Directors meeting minutes from September 25, 2025, paint a picture of shrinking membership and a subsequent dip in revenue. Let's dive in.
Specifically, the budget forecasts a concerning $1.8 million shortfall for 2025. This situation stems from a combination of factors, including a decrease in membership and a decline in advertising revenue. The draft of the meeting minutes can be viewed to get a closer look at the details.
In the budget breakdown (page 90 of the document), USA Swimming reports an unfavorable variance of 3.8% compared to the budget. This translates to a projected shortfall of $941,685, with total revenue expected to be $23.9 million instead of the anticipated $24.9 million. Membership dues, historically the biggest source of income for USA Swimming, are feeling the pressure.
A key observation from the report is that "Premium Athlete memberships [are] down 5,000 year over year." The anticipated post-Olympic surge of 9,000 new members didn't materialize, which is a significant hit. But here's where it gets controversial: traditionally, organizations like USA Swimming bank on a post-Olympics boost to offset membership declines. This time, the expected bump didn't happen.
In 2024, there was a modest +0.13% growth in overall membership, but the numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels ( 376,000 vs. 411,000).
However, there's a silver lining. Mr. (Joel) Shinofield reported that membership is stable, with an upward trend in coaches and increases in Flex and Outreach memberships. This growth is attributed to investments in initiatives like Block Party, Community Swim Teams, New Club Success, and Coach Education.
Adding to the financial woes, the Partnership Marketing line item, which was expected to be a major revenue source, also fell short. The organization reported an unfavorable variance of roughly $958,600 in this area.
The comments on this line item state that "One budgeted new partner pushed to 2026, four budgeted partners lost, all totaling $850k." This suggests that plans to expand partnership revenue didn't come to fruition.
This all adds up to the total $1.8 million unfavorable-to-budget projection for the year and a -$414,752 operating deficit (off a $99,532 projected gain).
A Performance Monitoring Report, signed by then-interim CEO Bob Vincent on September 17, 2025, indicates that USA Swimming has managed to offset some of these revenue setbacks by cutting costs in certain areas.
And this is the part most people miss: the 2025 Pro Swim Series is projected to be over budget by $124,346, primarily due to increased vendor costs. On a positive note, the National Championships/World Championship Trials program exceeded the budget by only $12,000, which was less than previously approved.
Overall, the budget doesn't present an optimistic financial outlook for USA Swimming, even though the organization recently experienced record revenue in 2024.
It's worth noting that many of the decisions impacting the budget shortfalls occurred before the new leadership team – CEO Kevin Ring, National Team Director Greg Meehan, and Board of Directors President Brent Lang – took their positions. The extended leadership gap, as the organization took a full year to find its new full-time CEO, may have also played a role.
What are your thoughts? Do you think USA Swimming can overcome these challenges? Share your opinions in the comments below!
