SPORTS TOURS for TEAMS

How do we organise a sport tour overseas for a group, a teams from your club or your school?

Organising a sport tour for a team (club, school, academies etc….) needs a preparation and the following steps can help you. Anyway, with our agency, we take you under our wings  and therefore, you don’t need to worry too much about the organisation!

Sports tours : the key light steps :

Step 1. Planning, Research and Budget

To plan a tour, you’ll need to save some money, consider transportation, come up with a route, and book your venue or book with the sport agency that will organize it for you.  As a group leader, you need to estimate a global budget. You also need to study the most appropriate period for your tour and the destination. Without forgetting the aim of the tour! Sport Tours provide memories and friendships that last a lifetime!

Step 2. Meetings

In the club or the school, players and parents need to be informed about the preparation of the tour. They need to be involved.  Every parents and kids must save up money for a few months. Each person should have enough money to pay for it or must take the actions to get some more money from the family for instance. bOne more question is to be asked : do the kids have their parents’ permission? Do they have to update their documents (passport, ID cards etc..) before?These 2 points have to be checked with enough notice with parents. Parents are part of the tour as they pay for it. They don’t buy a tour, they co-create it. Meetings must be done each month to check how the organization goes.

Step 3. Promotion

Once your tour organization has started, don’t forget to promote it. Organizing a tour takes time and work, you need a lot of time to plan it well. Therefore, in the club or school, you also need to get support and promote it. You can also get some sponsors at this stage -. Get in touch with companies in order to get some supports (either money or services)

Step 3. Insurance

When planning a tour overseas so with another Union, or hosting a team at your home ground, approval must be obtained in advance in accordance with your Union regulations. Planning a tour with children or youngsters, you will need to read the Safeguarding Policy provided by your Union. The questions of insurance must be discussed. You should decide and organise appropriate insurance. Make sure that the club has the appropriate insurance and check that every tourist (adults and/or kids) is insured for a tour abroad. It must cover Public liability, civil liability and repatriation (especially overseas).  Make sure that members get their own travel insurance, individually, or for the group. If members are doing it individually, get a photocopy of the insurance schedule from each of them.

Step 4. Basics (accommodation and transport) & extra activities.

Accommodation : the key point is to ensure that it’s in a safe area and central. Ideally, close to the training grounds. The budget must be matched too. When it comes to transport, if booked in advance, the rate should be fine. Best prices & best spaces can be found easily. When booking with ComeOn Sport ComeOn Tours, the earlier, the better. In terms of extra activities, it’s important for the team to know details and to make sure they all are insured for the extra activities they will do while being on tour. If you plan extra activities, make sure members are covered to do it – not all insurance does cover sports activity. The Director or the Group leader must have thought about anything that could go wrong, as ultimately it is the President or the headmaster who’s responsible for any costs, injuries and safety of the members. At ComeOn Sport, we always propose extra activities such as bowling, paintball, karting, biking, stadium tours etc….

Step 5.  Organising and getting permission.

Organise permission to play your sport in host country. You need to fill a form, provided by your Union. You will need to obtain approval from the host Union of the country you are visiting but to do so, you should get assistance or contact the host Union directly or easier, we will get this for you, as a Tour Operator, but you must apply for it to your local union first. Check age grade regulations/variations in host countries and fill in the form. For an overseas outgoing tour, once the form ins filled in, you must send it to your union at least 6 weeks before you are due to go abroad. Once the form completed with our details and signed send it application to your Body  and they will confirm approval. You also need to send it to our sport agency so that we can do it here with the appropriate French Sport Union. Please note that the same policy applies for schools going on a sport trip to Europe or for a club or school hosting an incoming sport tour.

Step 6. Before the tour begins

One week before the tour starts and 48h before, you need to meet with the tourists at the club or school to speak about it and check everything with them. It is important that everyone know what’s going on and what happen during these days. Fix a meeting point and schedule so that everyone is aware of the time of departure (if transportation by coach or boat or plane). Make sure that everyone is aware of that and get the appropriate action so that the whole group respects it.

Step 7. Let’s go on tour ! Have fun and enjoy yourselves !

If you need more information regarding overseas tours, don’t hesitate to contact your Union or Body to obtain further details.

Planning a sport tour needs a bit of time, organisation and involvement from all. To go on tour next season, get in touch with our agency. Book with ComeOn Sport

To get more details about airports and European aviation : https://www.eurocontrol.int