Safety on your Sports Tour

In our mission statement we state that we........

“provide a safe sporting experience for clubs, schools and universities”

Whilst safety may not be the first thing you think of when you start planning you next tour, it’s top of our agenda and something that we take very seriously for all of our customers. We have taken the same approach to safety as all tour-related feedback by listening to our customers and thus created a rigorous Safety Management System (SMS). This SMS sets out clear guidelines for everything we do when tailoring YOUR tour.

We believe that our SMS stands up to the meticulous requirements laid down by Local Education Authorities (LEA’s) across the country and the most risk conscious of our club teams. As members of the Learning outside The Classroom (LoTC) Council we are currently going through the process of obtaining the LoTC Quality Badge and School Travel Forum Membership (STF) to ensure our packages fully incorporate every consideration required to package a tour package for children and adults alike.

Safety Management System

Each component of a tour has been individually assessed to manage the risk undertaken by your tour group. Our Safety Management System will assist you in completing your risk assessment documentation.

Risk Assessments – What do we do?

Our suppliers and staff members carry out full safety audits of all of the components within your chosen tour. Therefore, we "assess the risks" within the accommodation, transportation, excursion and sporting venues to ensure the environments you will use are safe. If you are touring as part of a school group your local education authority requires a risk assessment to be completed to gain permission to facilitate a school trip. We can help you put this document together and offer our expert advice on making this process as seamless - yet comprehensive - as possible.

24-Hour Tour Assistance

As Teamlink are part of TUI Travel Plc - the WORLD'S LARGEST TOUR OPERATOR, we can guarantee that a highly trained member of staff will be on-hand to help you with any queries or emergencies 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

Don't worry about getting through to the single emergency number that other operators offer. We have a dedicated specialist team with the skills and worldwide knowledge to assist you with anything you may require.

We have the utmost confidence in the TUI Travel duty office so you can rest assured knowing that your tourists are in safe hands.

Our dedicated 24-hour contact number can be found within the Tour Leader's Final Documentation Pack.

Financial Safety

Teamlink is financially protected under regulatory bodies ATOL and ABTA

ABTA - Association of British Travel Agents

Members must adhere to a strict code of conduct to ensure consumers are benefiting from the high standards of service and quality and are also financially protected. Members can be identified by the use of the ABTA logo.

"It's ABTA's role to ensure that you, the customer, benefit from consistently high standards of trading practice in the travel industry; that the standards of service and business throughout the membership are of the highest calibre" (ABTA, 2008).

ATOL - Air Traffic Organisers Licence

ATOL is a protection scheme for air holidays and flights to regulate all tour operators and travel firms selling air holiday packages and flights in the UK. They are required by law to hold a licence called an Air Travel Organiser's Licence ("ATOL").

"An ATOL protects you from losing money or being stranded abroad if the tour operator goes out of business. If a licensed firm goes out of business, the CAA can give refunds to people who can't travel and arrange for people abroad to fly home"(CAA, 2008)

For more financial security information please see our full booking terms and conditions.

Travel Insurance

It is a condition of touring with Teamlink that every individual has adequate travel insurance to cover the elements of thier tour.

As an Appointed Representative of Fogg Travel Insurance Services Limited, (FSA reference 307304) Teamlink can offer a travel insurance specifically designed for sports tours for schools, clubs and universities.

For full insurance details click here

Travelling within the European Economic Area (EEA) we strongly recommend that all members of the touring party have an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), formerly known as E111. The EHIC is accepted by many State hospitals and doctors within the EEA, BUT is not a replacement for travel insurance. For example, in France the EHIC does not pay for all cost of treatment and does not cover any necessary repatriation to the UK. This is where our comprehensive travel insurance policy will step in to ensure a seamless solution to any touring need.