How to Draft and Manage Swim Club Constitution, Code of Ethics and Codes of Conduct

Every affiliated club needs a clear rulebook for how it is run and how people are expected to behave.

In practice that usually means three linked pieces of work: a constitution that sets out governance, a shared commitment to Swim England’s Code of Ethics, and practical codes of conduct for swimmers, parents, coaches and volunteers.

Get these right and disputes are easier to handle, Club Affiliation evidence is simpler to assemble, and new staff & members understand what “joining the club” actually means.

Start with the constitution

For most unincorporated members’ clubs, Swim England provides a model constitution that regions expect clubs to work from. The current model (updated from 2022, with later footnote revisions linked to Wavepower and governance changes) covers the essentials: name and objects, membership, committee structure, meetings, finance, discipline and dissolution.

Changes normally need regional approval and then formal adoption at an AGM.

Annual Club Affiliation still expects a constitution based on the Swim England model and checked by the region within the required timeframe. The Chair’s compliance statement also confirms that the club follows the Code of Ethics and has role descriptions in place.

A constitution that lives only in someone’s email folder is not much use when the region asks for evidence or a member challenges a decision.

If your club is a charity or a CIO, you will need the appropriate charitable governing document rather than the standard unincorporated model - Swim England has separate guidance for those structures.

When you draft or refresh, keep the language practical.

Define who the members are, how the committee is elected, how fees are set, how complaints are handled at club level, and how the club adopts Wavepower and Swim England Regulations. Avoid inventing parallel rules that conflict with national regulations; the model already points clubs towards Swim England’s framework.

Code of Ethics: the shared standard

The Swim England Code of Ethics sits above day-to-day club rules. It applies to everyone involved in the aquatic disciplines and is meant to be read alongside the codes of conduct in Wavepower.

In plain terms it asks people to treat others with dignity, respect the spirit of the sport, promote positive behaviour, take responsibility for their own conduct, refer to safeguarding concerns properly, protect safety, and not bring the sport into disrepute. It also ties members to Wavepower, anti-doping rules, equity policy and the wider regulations.

Clubs do not usually “rewrite” the Code of Ethics. They adopt it, make sure members know it exists, and use it as the reference point when behaviour falls short.

The model constitution already acknowledges that the club and its members are subject to Swim England’s Code of Ethics. You should make these documents visible and easily accessible: on the website, in the new-member pack, and at induction; visibility matters more than inventing a longer local version.

Codes of conduct: make expectations usable

Codes of conduct turn principles into everyday expectations. Wavepower includes tailored codes for athletes under 18, athletes 18 and over, parents and guardians, coaches and teachers, and committee members, officials and volunteers.

Typical themes include respecting others, following club and pool rules, no phones in changing areas during regulated activity, supporting teammates, accepting coaching decisions appropriately, and knowing how to raise a concern.

A code that nobody has seen is hard to enforce.

The clubs that manage this well issue the right code to the right people, record that it has been acknowledged, and revisit it when Wavepower is updated or when the club’s own practice changes.

Breaches can be handled through the club’s internal process where appropriate; more serious matters may engage Swim England’s judicial route.

Keep codes short enough that a busy parent or a twelve-year-old swimmer can understand them. Separate documents for different roles usually work better than one giant policy that tries to speak to everyone at once.

How the three pieces fit together

Think of the constitution as the club’s legal and democratic backbone: who decides what, how money is handled, how people join and leave.

The Code of Ethics is the national standard of behaviour the club and its members accept by affiliation.

The codes of conduct are the practical, role-specific rules you use on poolside, at galas and in the changing rooms.

When something goes wrong (a parent arguing with officials, a coach overstepping, a swimmer’s behaviour at a meet) you should be able to point to a clear document, show that the person had a chance to see it, and follow a fair process.

That is far easier if the documents are current, stored centrally and linked to membership records.

Practical tips when you draft or refresh

• Work from Swim England’s latest model and guidance rather than copying another club’s ten-year-old PDF.
• Check your region’s requirements for constitution review and Club Affiliation evidence before you rewrite everything.
• Align disciplinary wording with current judicial and club complaint expectations so you are not promising a process you cannot run.
• Involve the Welfare Officer when codes touch safeguarding, and make sure role descriptions for committee posts exist alongside the constitution.
• Review the pack after major Wavepower updates so you are not still circulating outdated phone or changing-room rules.
• Finally, treat distribution as part of drafting. A constitution adopted at an AGM should be easy for members to find.
• Codes should be issued at joining, at role change, and when content materially changes, all with a simple record of acknowledgement.

How SwimClub Manager helps

Governance documents only work if people can find them and the club can show they were issued. SwimClub Manager’s document management lets you store the constitution, Code of Ethics and role-specific codes in one place, secure and access-controlled so the right people see the current version.

For codes of conduct specifically, the platform supports assigning codes to members and recording when they were acknowledged. On a member’s record you can see which codes apply and the acknowledgement date, and you can require someone to re-acknowledge if the code is updated or if you need a fresh confirmation.

That turns “we think we sent it” into something you can evidence at Affiliation time or if a complaint arises.

Role-based permissions help match access to responsibility, because committee, coaches and welfare roles need different views of sensitive material. The same member database that holds squads and contacts can hold the governance acknowledgements that sit alongside them.

A clear constitution, an adopted Code of Ethics and living codes of conduct will not stop every difficult conversation. They will make those conversations fairer, faster and far less dependent on whoever happens to remember what was agreed five years ago.

If you want those documents tied into membership rather than lost in a shared drive, SwimClub Manager is built to support exactly that kind of everyday club governance, so get your free trial today!