Policies & Procedures
1) Refund Policy
All session fees are non-refundable with the following exceptions:
a) Medical reasons with a doctor's note;
b) Moving out of Smithers; or
c) 1st time skater in CanSkate or Pre-Canskate, who has formally withdrawn from the lessons by December 1st.
Formal withdrawal consists of providing a written letter of request to the club president with the reason for needing a refund by Dec 1. Refunds will consist of the fees paid - MINUS cost of lessons elapsed. Skate Canada registration fees cannot be refunded and a $20.00 administrative fee applies.
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2) NSF Policy
A $40 surcharge must be applied to all NSF cheques. SFSC requires payment of all NSF cheques immediately. Until full payment of the NSF cheque and surcharge is received, the member is considered a member not in good standing and the skater will not be allowed on the ice.
If a NSF cheque is received more than once, a cash or money order only basis will apply thereafter, and your post-dated cheques will be returned to you.
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3) Missed Session Policy
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Missed Sessions due to Medical Reasons
A skater who has missed a session due to a medical reason or illness may make up the missed session provided that an email request has been sent to coaches and approved, and the session is not full. The skater may be offered alternate ice time if space is available but may only receive a lesson from coaches if it does not bump another regular pre-scheduled student’s lesson. The club cannot reimburse skaters for any individual sessions that a skater is unable to attend due to short-term illness.
Missed Sessions due to Skater Activity Conflicts
Missed sessions due to a skater’s activity conflicts are discouraged due to schedule disruption. The club is not obligated to offer the skater make-up ice time, nor are coaches obligated to provide make-up lessons for missed sessions due to activity conflicts. In rare circumstances (e.g., Christmas concert), requests for make-up ice time and lessons can be made by e-mail request to coaches.
Missed Sessions due to Ice Scheduling Conflicts or Coach Unavailability
The club cannot reimburse skaters for cancellations of individual sessions due to ice scheduling conflicts (i.e., due to competitions, test days, etc., &/or where coaching staff are unavailable). Session cancellations will be avoided as far as possible and coaches will find substitute coaches whenever possible. Make-up ice time and lessons will be offered to skaters for such cancelled sessions if feasible.
4) Buy-on Policy
Skaters may buy-on sessions they are not registered for providing they have a current Skate Canada membership. You can buy on at the beginning of any session that is not full that meets your level. The buy-on rate is $5 per 15 minute block. Cheaper buy-on rates are available through the purchase of 5 session or 10 session punch cards. At the discretion of the Head coach skaters may buy onto sessions outside of their level.
Turn in cash to the registrar, coach, or board member before stepping onto the ice. You must submit enough cash for the entire session (no exceptions). Note: Buy-ons are always priced higher than registered sessions, i.e., the per-hour cost a session is higher when buying on rather than registering for a full season.
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5) Ice Schedule Change Policy
The Smithers Figure Skating Club reserves the right to alter the ice schedule to maximize use of the ice for all skaters. Any changes made after the start of the season will be made with due consideration of and in consultation with all skaters affected.