Physical Fitness for Life

Deposits can be made out-of-pocket for various reasons. We will hold deposits until school funds are received, and then it becomes either a Locked Deposit or an EMH credit (no refunds on deposits unless you are closing your EMH account and no future classes).

Deposit Policies - Late School Funding

Our policy is that we must have school funds by NOON on the last business day before class in order for your family to participate. Otherwise, you will need to pay a $10 deposit per child to keep your registration active for Week 1 of class, whether you choose to attend or not. If you choose not to attend Week 1, you will still be responsible for payment that week, as we do not prorate when classes are held.

By Week 2, full payment is due, either with school funds or a deposit. If we do not receive a PO before the second class, a full month’s deposit will be required per child ($50 for Economy, $55 for Deluxe, or $60 for Premium classes). This deposit will be a “Locked EMH Deposit” so if your school is late on POs, your family is always cleared to play for one month. If we do not receive a PO or a full deposit by Week 2 per student, payment will be required for classes already held and your child may be dropped from our roster. To reactivate your registration, we will need payment and a written notice that you still want to attend. Additional fees may apply. 

Registration with school funds is a "delayed payment" method. Schools do not pay us in advance for classes even when they remove funds from your school account and send us purchase orders or vouchers. It can take 30-60 days after a sport ends for us to get paid. If a school has not paid by 45 days after class ends, families will have to pay a deposit going forward. At 60 days all deposits will be used to pay for the class, and only replaced after we get a school check. In some cases, we will require a deposit until we receive the actual funds from your school (not just the purchase orders). We also require deposits if you want to use any discount coupons.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Deposits:

1. Question - “When would I want/need a deposit?”

• When using school funds to pay for EMH Sports classes, there are additional steps that must be followed in order to clear your child to participate. Depending on your school, you may need to submit additional paperwork, talk to your ES, mail vouchers for a signature, etc. Once we have valid registration and school funding, your child is clear to play. However this does take some time, so we offer a way for your child to participate if the school has not yet cleared your funding. By making an out-of-pocket deposit, your place in class is secured and your child will not have to miss any classes.

• If you want to buy Day Passes, pay Rush Fees, or register for any classes your school does not cover (Premium classes, holidays, etc), you may need to pay for those out-of pocket. A deposit would help clear your child to play while we work out details, and we could potentially take those costs out of your deposit if needed.

• Checks by mail sometimes may have delays and we also need time to clear your check. Deposits would clear your child play before the check is received.

2. Question “Is a deposit required”?

• No, if you are paying with personal funds and we have your payment or we received valid school funding. If your account is in good standing and paid in full, you do not need a deposit.

• Yes, if your school funding is late and not received at least one business day before the first day of class

Purchase Orders must be in by the first day of class, and we bill them after the last day for the sport. Our contracts state that schools have 30 days to pay after invoices are sent. If a school has not paid by that time frame, all registered families from that school will have to pay a deposit going forward. At 60 days all deposits will be used to pay for the class, and only replaced after we get a school check.

If registration and payment have not been received by the time the first class begins, or your school funding has not yet been approved, your child cannot attend class without a deposit. If you attend class anyway without school funding and/or registration, the coach will ask you to contact customer service and register/pay the deposit online. To confirm if you are cleared for class, please check your online Dashboard as it will show green boxe(s) if your child is cleared.

It is beneficial to pay the $10 online deposit in advance for Week 1 so we can clear your child for the day and help their class run smoother. If your account is not clear by NOON the day before and you do not want to make a deposit, you can choose to stay home, cancel, or change your order. You will still be charged for dates you do not attend. You must cancel or make changes before noon on the last business day before class in order to avoid paying for the day. In addition to charging for past classes, we may drop your registration if we do not hear from you, so please let us know. Once your school funding is received you can reactivate your registration, but we do not prorate/credit for classes you missed. If you decide not to attend a week, you can buy a Day Pass.

3. Question “Can I get my deposit back?”

Your deposit is not refundable as long as your account is active, but we can unlock your deposit and use it as an EMH credit once school funds have been received. It can take up to 60 days or more, and then you can use your deposit on any future purchase. As long as a deposit remains on account, EMH Sports offers several benefits to you

4. Question "Why am I being penalized for my school being late?"

It is not always your fault when the schools get behind in their paperwork, and we realize that, so this is not a penalty fee. It merely covers our expenses until we receive the school funds. Your deposit helps us pay our upfront park fees, insurance, equipment fees, coaches, etc before we get payments from the schools. In rare cases, if we do not get funds from your school, your deposit covers these cases as well! School contracts state not to let any child play until they approve funding, so a deposit is a way to get your child playing while we wait for school funding. Please make sure you get your orders and funding requests in early if you don't want to have to pay anything out of pocket.

5. Question “I don't need a credit, my school pays, so why can't I have a refund?"

We find that many families do gain a benefit from having the deposit/credit stay on their EMH account. It's a very quick solution if you ever owe extra fees, forget to register, want to bring a guest, etc. If you show up at class and find your child is not clear, a quick call to our office can verify that you have a deposit and we can clear your child. Or we might be able to write a note on the roster in advance so that you have a smooth experience at the park. There can also be other ways to use your credit. While schools do pay for monthly classes, they do not pay for One Day Passes, late fees, cancellation fees, etc. You may run out of funds or find that at a future date, you want to change schools, use our discounts, or play before funding is clear. If you really cannot use a credit, your payment can be transferred to another family at your request. We do not issue a refund unless you are closing your account.

6. Question: "Why do you need money from us when you already get money from the school?"

Even when we receive a purchase order or confirmation of funds in advance, we are not able to bill the schools for those funds until classes are over at the end of each month. Most schools do not prepay us for your classes! We receive the actual funds up to 30 days or more after classes end, sometimes even longer. Since most of our costs are upfront, we say thank you for advanced payments by allowing you special benefits.

Also, school contracts specify that we are not to allow students to play until we receive funding approval. A deposit received before funding is clear will let your child play and not miss class. If the school does eventually cover that day, then you get your payment back as EMH credit, but if they do not, since they are not required to do so, then your payment will cover the day that you played. In some cases, students may leave their school before we get paid, run out of funds, the school refuses to cover that month, etc, a deposit will also cover your family so that you do not have to make an additional payment in the future.

7. Question - "How do I benefit from making a deposit?"

• For one, your child can play even when the school funding or your mailed check is delayed. We clear your child immediately, and on all future orders, as long as the amount totals a full month of class per child.

• Everyone has less stress. If by chance any fees or questions on payment do come up, we do not have to ask you or your school for extra funds, we can simply take a portion out of your deposit and let you know. Then you can make a new payment or ask your school to cover the change, rather than rushing to clear your child immediately before they can play. This results in less stress for everyone and fewer emails and phone calls!

• If you do have a deposit and your funds are not clear, we will make an effort on your behalf to contact your school and find out why there might be delays. If you choose not to make a deposit, you will need to contact your school yourself and possibly help with communication between them and our office.

8. Question - "I am paying for some of my classes out of personal funds. Do I need a deposit?"

A deposit is not needed if your classes are being paid out-of-pocket in full. The only time paying a deposit if you are using personal funds is if you are paying by check. If we have a deposit, your child can participate before your check clears. You can always use our discounts without a deposit if paying out of personal funds.

9. Question - "What happens when funds finally come in from the school or I make my last payment?"

Your deposit will remain on your EMH account to cover future registrations or you can unlock it and turn it into a credit to use it for your final payment as long as all prior funds are clear. We do not issue refunds unless your location is canceled or you are permanently closing your EMH account.

10. Question - "Can I add to my deposit or use part of it on an order?"

Yes, you can always add to it or change it to EMH credit as long as the original class it was covering has been fully paid - it is your money to spend, as long as the original purpose of the deposit is no longer needed. In some cases, we need to hold the deposit until other funds arrive to replace it. This can take up to 60 days or more.

11. Question - "I have credits from rain days, etc. Can I use that as a deposit?"

Yes, EMH credits can be turned into deposits. Please email customer service to transfer your EMH credits to the locked deposit.

Question - "What if I do not need the money anymore (moved, left the program, etc)?"

If you are completely withdrawing from our program, please contact us. You might qualify for a refund to your home or your school in some cases but in some cases, it may be a credit only. You could also choose to make a donation to our scholarship program for hardship families or use your deposit/credit on some Day Passes for friends, specialty clinics, and summer camps. Credits are fully transferrable if you have a friend who can use them.

12. Question - "I understand all of this, but I still don't want to pay."

If you do not want to pay anything out-of-pocket, your school will need to clear your funding before you can participate. You will have to register your classes and/or cancel your orders in a timely manner with both us and your school. Your child will have to wait until school funds are clear before participating. We will not credit for any dates your child misses due to delays. Any dates your school will not pay for will have to be covered out-of-pocket whether or not your child attends. If all of this is acceptable, you will not need to pay a deposit.

In some cases, we can work out other arrangements. For example, you can choose to pay Premium for all your classes, or we can slowly build up a deposit out of rain credits or overpayments if desired. Please contact our office if you have any questions about your account or our policies. Our coaches do not have this information so please make sure your child is completely clear before attending class.