The Albury pool will be the venue for the club’s annual open meet with 200-plus entries from swimmers as far afield as Griffith.

But the club has been under growing pressure from Aligned Leisure and Albury Council to sign the mandatory user agreement.

Albury president Phil Evans said he was concerned about the long-term consequences of signing the user agreement even though Aligned Leisure had back-tracked on an earlier plan to impose lane hire fees on clubs which use council-owned pools in Albury and Wodonga.

The two councils signed up Aligned Leisure to manage their pools for five years.

“We believe if we sign this agreement they will then move to bring in the lane hire reservation fee (next season), which will then kill the sport,” Mr Evans said.

“It looks to us like bully tactics.

“It’s like they are saying ‘here it is, this is what is going to happen, you either like it or you don’t’.

“It feels like we are being crucified.”

Swimming and water polo clubs won a concession from Aligned Leisure not to introduce lane hire fees for the 2018-19 season with further talks to be held ahead of next summer.

Aligned Leisure was contacted for comment by The Border Mail about the implications of Albury Swim Club not signing its user agreement and whether a lockout could eventuate.

Albury Council general manager Frank Zaknich said agreements between pool management and user groups was a requirement under the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia guidelines for safe pool operation management.

“It is also required practice for any council-owned and or managed facility,” he said.

“Additionally, if a club is hosting a swim meet at one of the facilities, the host club must sign an event hire agreement and provide a copy of their public liability insurance as part of the hiring of the facility.”

The pools issue has been put on the agenda at Albury Council’s meeting on Monday by Cr Darren Cameron.

Meanwhile, comments made by Albury mayor Kevin Mack in a radio interview this week about insurance implications if user agreements weren’t signed by clubs has been described as “scaremongering” by a former Ovens and Murray District Swimming Association official.

Former secretary Sue Robey said on Facebook: This sort of scaremongering is about as low as it gets and certainly does not befit the office of mayor.

“Anyone in sport knows that when you pay your registration at the beginning of the season you are covered through your club's affiliation with its peak body _ tennis, footy, soccer, hockey, swimming, athletics, water polo, badminton.

“In the case of swimmers they are comprehensively covered through JLT Sport.”

Cr Mack said the response was “over the top”.

“I didn’t scaremonger anyone,” he said.

“I said it was important they get their stuff sorted out so they’ve got adequate insurance.”