Pennsylvania Swim Club Goes From Headlines to Bankruptcy

The Valley Swim Club is in the news again.

The Pennsylvania club, located just outside Philadelphia, made national headlines last year after being accused of racism when a group of mostly black and Hispanic children from a day camp had their memberships revoked, reported the Assocaited Press.

Now, the Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the swim club is filing chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Several news outlets got their hands on an email sent by club president John Duesler. The email announced a 5-1 decision by the pool board to file chapter 7, which will result in the closing of the club.

In the email he also addresses last summer’s controversy, which drew national media attention when the black and Hispanic members of the Creative Steps day camp arrived for their first day of swimming.

The camp had their membership pulled and payment refunded, and the families of many campers filed discrimination lawsuits. The AP reported that “the club had no black members among 334 paid memberships for the last two years.”

While Duesler admits that legal fees associated with the lawsuits have added to the club’s expenses, he said in the email that the club was already experiencing financial difficulties. The Daily News story quotes the email:

“While many will point towards our legal situation and negative media exposure this summer as the reason” for the bankruptcy filing, “the truth is that the club has struggled to stay out of the red for at least the last decade,” he wrote.

Although the exact debt of the swim club isn’t known at this time, the Daily News reports that legal fees and expenses from the last year have put the club more than $100,000 in debt. The club’s property is estimated to be worth $2-3 million.