Tour with a club - Top tips for taking a sports team on tour

Summer tour tips

As the sun finally makes an appearance and British Summertime begins, many sports clubs are thinking about their summer tour.

A trip away can be the highlight of the club calendar, fostering a sense of camaraderie and community, amongst members.  However, the long list of administration to complete before leaving can be overwhelming, not least in ensuring the right insurance policies are in place for all eventualities.

Here are some key considerations before taking a team away:

The Essentials:

If you’re travelling with young people, you must ensure that your club has a Safeguarding Children policy as well as procedures for selecting and recruiting volunteers; an active Welfare Officer on the trip and ensure staff and volunteers understand how to report concerns about the welfare of a child.

All players under 18 will need a signed consent form, kept safely in line with data protection legislation, before they can travel.

A qualified first aider should always travel with the group.

As a starting point, ensure you have the following insurances in place: public liability, personal accident and vehicle breakdown cover. Professional indemnity insurance can protect coaches and trainers too. Don’t forget that employers’ liability insurance is just as essential for volunteers, as for paid staff.

On trips away, club members might take part in activities outside of their normal sport. Every child will need written consent for each activity, it’s important to check these activities are not excluded in your policies. For trips abroad, be sure to check that your insurance covers foreign trips and consider extra medical cover for more dangerous activities, such as skiing or mountain climbing.

Don’t forget to check all members of the travelling party have their Global Health Insurance Card! 

Preparation:

It’s a good idea to appoint a tour committee to organise the trip – this can be far more effective than relying on one single person to do everything.

If you need to raise funds towards the trip to make it more affordable, consider race nights, quiz nights, raffles and sponsored events and check out easyfunding.org.uk, a free online fundraising service.

A reliable system for tour members to pay, such as the Teamer app can be helpful with financial administration.

On the trip

Remember for Youth Groups;

1. For children over eight years old there should always be two adults on the trip – and a minimum of 1 adult to 16 children. More adults are required for younger groups. Find out more about the new child care ratios in England.
2. There should always be a male member of staff with male groups and a female member of staff with female groups.
3. Ensure anyone driving on the trip has a valid licence, MOT, tax and insurance, especially if using their own vehicle. It’s a good idea to ask for a copy of their documents.
4. Identify who will be the Welfare Officer(s) for the trip and make everyone aware of who they are.
5. Give everyone an information pack which should include an itinerary of what you are doing on each day, where you are going, rules, kit list, medical care needs, and contact numbers.
6. Make sure you have the most effective and appropriate insurance cover by dealing with a reliable broker.