The EVC Magazine Autumn/Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 29
The future of sports tours
What difference does working with
a tour company make to schools?
RT: Safety and safeguarding are
the number one priority for sports
tours operators, which helps give
schools peace of mind when taking
their teams overseas. Tour operators
are responsible for making sure
providers, hotels and transport
meet requirements for safety and
safeguarding and in our case, we have
excellent in-country teams to oversee
this.
Tour operators have the experience
and relationships to deal with the
unexpected before or during a visit, like
rearranging fixtures when record floods
hit Cape Town this summer. Schools
also benefit from the protection
that comes with financial and travel
regulation such as ATOL and ABTA,
membership of the School Travel
Forum and the Learning Outside the
Classroom Quality Badge.
From a cost perspective, we are
booking multiple trips throughout the
year so that can mean access to better
rates and availability, which might be
out of the reach of individual schools.
How do you select your
destinations and sports?
RT: Our staff are all sports people
themselves, which means that they
really understand the nuances of
sports touring. They know how to put
together a great tour – it needs to be
fun, competitive, safe and culturally
interesting, but most importantly, it
needs to include quality fixtures.
TEAMS NEED TO PLAY CHALLENGING
GAMES - it's no good if it's a
guaranteed win (or lose) every time
We match a school’s needs to the host
very carefully – if they need a prolevel hockey pitch, we’ll make sure its
available.
In the past few years, we’ve seen an increase
in the popularity of women’s sport at
professional level and also in schools. How
can tour operators be part of this positive
movement for change?
RT: For sports tours this is one of the top issues that
we need to address.
we’re committed to pay it forward for women’s
sport through supporting girls touring
There has been rapid growth in girls’ participation
in sport, especially across football, netball and
hockey and the sector hasn’t kept pace with this.
As we look to the next fifty years, we’re committed
to pay it forward for women’s sport through
supporting girls touring.
Our commitment to girls touring includes
empowering girls’ participation in sport. We’ve
partnered with England and Loughborough pro
netball player, Beth Cobden, to help show girls the
opportunities in women’s professional sport and
get them excited about playing netball. We’re also
addressing challenges for girls on tour like periods,
personal safety, toilet location and bra fitting – and
including girls in the conversation.
Richard's advice to schools thinking about
introducing sports tours:
Talk to an expert. They'll guide you
through the process. Our team is always
happy to come and visit you in school.
Plan early. Give parents and carers
an idea of dates and costs as early as
possible to help them prepare.
Don't put limiting beliefs on who can
take part. Not all young people have a
natural sporting ability, but they will get
just as much out of a sports tour – maybe
even more – as those in the A team.
THE EVC MAGAZINE – AUTUMN/WINTER 2024-25
29
