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Glacier Bears swim suit settled

The Whitehorse Glacier Bears Swim Club and the family of swimmer Adrian Robinson have settled a lawsuit over unpaid fees.

The Whitehorse Glacier Bears Swim Club and the family of swimmer Adrian Robinson have settled a lawsuit over unpaid fees.

The club filed a claim for almost $4,900 in Yukon small claims court in December 2016 claiming the family hadn’t met their volunteer commitments or fundraising goals, and had unpaid registration fees.

“Everything is settled down,” said Graham Lang, the lawyer for the Robinson family. “Everybody is moving on and wishes the other side the best.”

The actual settlement is confidential, Lang said, and both sides agreed to not discuss it.

According to the claim, parents of club swimmers have to contribute volunteer hours and meet fundraising goals over the season.

The club wanted $300 for every bingo event the Robinson family didn’t complete, for a total of $2,100. It also sought $40 per hour for each of the 45 hours of volunteer work it says the family didn’t do, plus other fees.

At first the Robinson family challenged the claim in a Jan. 13 filing.

“The respondents dispute the assertion that they are contractually bound to pay the amount claimed,” the family wrote.

The family moved to Botswana in early January, but was served with the claim before they left the country.

On Feb. 3, the swimming club’s president, George Harvey, withdrew the action.

In emails filed in support of the original claim, Harvey hinted at possible repercussions for Adrian’s career.

“Should all your family’s commitments not be met, we will take further actions which may lead to Adrian not being able to swim in Canada and potentially internationally,” he wrote.

On Jan. 12, Harvey told the News that the club would contact Swimming Canada, the national governing body of competitive swimming.

“When a swimmer isn’t able to swim within a club, it’s possible that Swim Canada takes action as well,” he said.

Between the cost of the full-time coach, the five to six part-time coaches, renting the lanes at the Canada Games Centre and organizing competitions, volunteering and fundraising are crucial to the club, Harvey said.

Without that, parents would have to pay much steeper registration fees, he said.

“We can’t succeed unless all of us are pulling their weight,” he said. “When a family isn’t doing their share it’s difficult for those doing more than the minimum amount.”

It takes about 40 volunteers to organize a meet, he said, and volunteering offsets a third of the club’s costs.

Adrian Robinson was one of the club’s top swimmers, regularly setting club and meet records. In 2014 the News reported he set four records at the season opening meet. In 2016 he set eight records and won seven gold medals during the Yukon Championship Invitational Swim Meet.

Contact Pierre Chauvin at pierre.chauvin@yukon-news.com