RGSTC RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Board of Directors has adopted the following Rules as the basis for governing activities of the membership and their guests. 

Members are responsible for familiarizing themselves, their children, and their guests with these rules. Compliance with the rules is required.

GENERAL

  • No member will be allowed admission until all dues, fees and fines are paid.
  • All members, associates and guests will use the club facilities at their own risk. The Club is not responsible for loss, theft, or damage to personal property or for articles left in automobiles or on Club grounds.
  • Members or their guests shall be held responsible for all willful or malicious damage to Club property.
  • Fighting, bullying and any form of harassment between individuals will not be tolerated at the club.  Such behavior can lead to immediate dismissal from the property.  
  • All members and their guests must be signed in and appropriate fees collected or ticket
    relinquished before using the club facilities including playgrounds, sports, and game areas.
  • All pool patrons must enter the pool through the bathrooms as required by Fairfax County.  Members with strollers and large coolers may use the gate immediately adjacent to the check-in after acknowledgement from a lifeguard or office staff.
  • All bicycle/scooter riders must dismount before entering the gate and must park
    bicycles/scooters in bike racks. No bicycles/scooters are to be ridden on the tennis courts or sidewalks within the fenced area of the club facilities.
  • Games and other activities which may damage trees, shrubs, the parking area, walkways, and disturb other members, will not be permitted.  
  • No part of the Club property will be used to operate gas-powered models, airplanes, racing cars, go carts, mini-bikes, mopeds, skateboards, roller skates or roller blades.
  • Discharge of firearms, air rifles, or the use of archery equipment will not be permitted on or within club grounds.
  • The Manager, in consultation with the Board, has the authority to suspend privileges for a period of up to three days. Serious or repeated violations will be referred to the Board of Directors for subsequent action as required.  The Board will take the following actions for suspensions that are a full day or more:
    a) 1st offense: A Board representative  will contact and warn the offender or parents of the offender.
    b) 2nd offense: A written communication from the Board will be sent to the offender or parents of the offender requesting a meeting to discuss the offenses.
    c) 3rd offense: A written communication from the President stating that, based on the discretion of the Board, the offender and/or member family may be expelled from the Club or minor offenders will require parent/guardian escort to use the facility.
  • Rough play, running, offensive language, or other objectionable personal conduct will not be permitted in the club facilities.
  • Pets are prohibited from club grounds or from being left outside loose or tied to a fence, tree, or other object.
  • No one is permitted in the pool office to use the phone except pool management, staff, and others explicitly authorized by the Board of Directors.
  • Consumption of alcohol on club grounds is discouraged; however, members of legal drinking age are permitted to bring modest amounts of alcoholic beverages for personal consumption, provided it is handled in a discreet and responsible manner.  Admission to the pool and tennis courts will be denied to any intoxicated person.
  • No glass containers or breakable objects are permitted on the Club property per Fairfax County regulations. Remediation for broken glass will be the responsibility of the offender and may include professional cleaning of the deck and/or draining the pool. 
  • On occasion, pool or tennis activities may be temporarily restricted from general use to permit special events, e.g., swim and tennis team meets and practices.
  • When the swim and/or tennis teams have practice sessions that fall outside of the general operating hours of the pool, any parents/siblings/care givers not on the teams may remain in the picnic area of the facility and may not use the pool, the wading pool, or the playground. The pool is officially closed until the posted opening hour.
  • Admission to the pool is not permitted outside the normal operating hours. Once practice is over all members must leave the pool until it officially opens for the day.
  • Solicitation of services or advertising on Club grounds is not permitted without the consent of the Board of Directors.

POOL GUEST POLICY

  • The number of guests is limited to 4 per member at any one time unless authorized in writing by the Secretary or Social Director. All guests must be accompanied by a member who will sign and pay for the guest at the gate. Guest fees are $5.00 per person over the age of 5.
  • Admission for children under 5 years old and under is free. 
  • Guests must leave the pool grounds when the sponsoring member leaves- unaccompanied guests are not allowed at any time.
  • Each family will be given ten free guest passes to use during the season.  Extra guest tickets are available for sale online via the Club website.  

VOLLEYBALL/SPORT COURT/PLAY AREA POLICY

  • This area is generally unsupervised by pool staff. Parents are responsible for the behavior and safety of their children in this area. The lifeguards may ask children to leave this area if necessary to maintain safety.
  • The volleyball court is for game play only, it is not to be used as a sandbox, there is a designated sandbox for children to dig/play in the sand.
  • All patrons must wash all sand from feet and bodies upon entering the pool area from the play area.
  • Athletic equipment may be signed out at the office for member and guest use. If equipment is not returned or is broken, the person who signed the equipment out is responsible for paying for the replacement cost.

SPORT COURT REGULATIONS

  • The tennis courts are for members to play racquet sports only; no other type of play is allowed.
  • Tennis play may begin at 9:00 a.m. and will cease at dark, in accordance with the County
    special-use permit issued to the Club.
  • Use of the courts is restricted to members of the Riverside Gardens Swim & Tennis Club and their guests; sign-in is required.
  • Courts may be reserved as follows: 1 hour for singles, 1 ½ hours for doubles. Ladder matches: allow for an additional 30 minutes. Players must sign in and take the court within 10 minutes of their reserved time or yield the court.
  • Reservations may be made in advance but must show the names of all players.  No one may play by advance reservation more than once a day. Sign-up sheets will be available on the evening 2 days prior to play. 
  • Courts may not be reserved by players less than 17 years of age on weekdays after 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays before 1:00 p.m. Players under 17 years of age are allowed to play on a court with adults during these periods.
  • All players must wear tennis shoes. Proper tennis attire is required.
  • Arrangements for lessons and clinics are made with the tennis instructor.
  • Use of the tennis courts outside of the normal pool season is permitted upon obtaining a code from the Tennis/Sports Director.

SWIMMING POOL REGULATIONS

  • The Pool Manager may close the pool during periods of inclement or dangerous weather, and at any time when he or she considers safety or health endangered. The standard of dangerous weather is proscribed by the Pool Management Company.
  • Members and guests must always obey the instructions of the lifeguards and the Manager.  Failure to do so will result in members or guests being asked to leave.  
  • One pool lane will always be available for lap swimming.
  • Smoking is not permitted on Club property.
  • No food or drinks are allowed in the pool or within 8’ of the water, per Fairfax County Regulation.  All food and drink must be consumed in the picnic area or at designated tables. 
  • The chewing of gum in the pool facility is prohibited.
  • The Pool Manager will exercise discretion in allowing such articles as balls, inner tubes, masks, snorkels, and pool toys in the swimming pool. Diving is not permitted from rafts or inner tubes into the water. Diving from the sides of the pool onto rafts or inner tubes is prohibited. Rafts and inner tubes will not be left on the deck surrounding the pool.
  • It is imperative for the cleanliness of the pool and as a courtesy to other swimmers that any not completely potty-trained children wear rubber pants and cloth diapers, or swim diapers in the pool. No disposable diapers will be permitted.
  • Children, 16 years of age and under, will clear the main pool and pool apron during the last 15 minutes of every hour when the pool is open. Children 2 and under, who are accompanied by an adult, will be allowed to remain in the 2 ft. wading pool area. They will not be permitted in the main pool area during this time.  
  • The use of floatation devices is limited to items that have the US Coast Guard seal of approval of water wings (a/k/a “swimmies”). Children using the pool with the aid of a US Coast Guard approved floatation device or water wings must always stay within an arm’s length of their supervising adult in the water and should remain in the shallow end of the pool during all non-break periods.
  • A non-swimming child in the main pool must always be within arm’s length of the parent and may not enter the pool without a parent on-site regardless of age.
  • The wading pool is reserved for children who are 6 years of age or younger and they must always be accompanied by an attentive, responsible person who is 14 years of age or older.
  • Children under 2 years of age will not be permitted in the main pool without a responsible person 14 years of age or older.
  • Any child who has not passed the RGSTC swim test (administered by a Lifeguard) will not be allowed in the deep end of the pool unless accompanied by an adult. The terms of the swim test are:  

                       a) Demonstrate the ability to swim the length of the pool without assistance; and

                       b) Demonstrate the ability to tread water without assistance for 1 minute.

  • Expectorating (spitting) or blowing of the nose in the pool or on the pool deck is prohibited.
  • Members or guests who wish to listen to personal music are required to use earphones.
  • Lifeguards always have the discretion to prohibit water games that appear to be dangerous or disturb other guests.
  • Chaise lounges or lounge chairs are not to be dragged or thrown across the deck when moved.
  • Chaise lounges and chairs must be covered with towels when using suntan lotion.
  • No activity of any sort is allowed on the bulkhead wall. This includes but is not limited to sitting, standing or walking on the bulkhead wall. Diving from the bulkhead is strictly prohibited.

DIVING REGULATIONS

  • The manager has the discretion to close the diving board to maintain safe and orderly conditions at the pool.
  • The deep end of the pool may be closed for swimming and open to the general membership for diving during the first 30 minutes of each hour of pool operation.
  • Only one person will be on the diving board at a time.
  • A diver may dive only after the previous diver has cleared the area below the board.
  • Excessive bouncing on the board is prohibited.

POOL ADMISSION POLICY

  • Children who are 10 years of age or older that can demonstrate acceptable social behavior and their swimming ability by passing the prescribed swimming test to the satisfaction of the manager or lifeguard may be at the pool alone. The swim test includes the ability to swim the length of the pool unaided and the ability to tread water for 1 minute. All children under 10 years of age must be accompanied by a responsible person who is 14 years of age or older.
  • All members and guests must take a shower on the premises before entering the pool.
  • Admission to the pool will be denied to any person having a skin infection, sore or inflamed eyes, a cold, nasal or ear discharge, any communicable disease, excessive sunburn, open sores, or wearing bandages of any kind.

*Updated February 2026