Bula! Newport U14s 2013 Fiji Tour Newport Junior Rugby Club 2013 Tour - FAQ Sheet
Q & A Q. Where will the 2013 tour be staying in Fiji and when will we go? We are staying at the Sonaisali Resort http://www.sonaisali.com The dates are Sunday June 30 Sunday July 7 th 2013. This fits with various school holidays and leaves the following week for those families who wish to stay on in Fiji. Q. What is the cost? It is too early to quote a price for Flights/ Accommodation/ Meals/Insurance. Players $ 1800 Fathers $ 2000 Players and their families will be given plenty of opportunity to raise funds to pay for the players tickets. This is part of the Newport Tour experience and every family is expected to get involved. If the player has not raised enough funds to cover the cost of the final payment, the balance is payable by the family. Fathers fares are to be paid in full by the fathers. A deposit of $300 per person ie $600 for a player & his dad, will be payable in July 2013 so that we can have some working capital to start arranging Fundraising Events, purchase Wine, pay deposits etc. Progress payments will be needed through 2012, up to March 2013. Travel Insurance is mandatory. Q. What are my payment options? Cheques payable to Newport JRC 2013 Fiji Tour. Internet direct deposit: Acc. name - Newport 2012 U14 Fiji Tour BSB - 082 294 Account number 135 489 317. With each direct deposit into our Tour account, It s important that you put your First name and Surname as the description. We can accept Visa and Mastercard Q. How does the money allocation work, for funds raised by each player? 1
Depending on the fundraiser, profits are either fully credited or partly credited to each player s account. For those events that are partly credited to the player, the balance goes into the general pool fund. The $ amount varies according to the profit on the activity. As we roll out each fundraiser, we state up front, the $ amount that goes to the player s account or the Pool fund. Profits on Wine and chocolate sales go 100% to the player s account. Activities/Events include; Chocolate sales, raffle tickets, social events such as Sports Lunch, Golf Day, End of Season Finale and Wine sales. BBQ on Friday nights at Porters. Season opener sports lunch (April 5 th ) Committee will manage funds in the Tour bank account. Your account balance is always available upon request to our Treasurer. Our pool fund target is $60,000, which will pay for; Tour clothing kit, Fiji community donations, bottled water, soft drinks, first aid supplies, day trips etc Q. What are the Passport requirements? Your passport must be valid until at least until January 2014 - this is 6 months after our travel date. Please check your sons /fathers passports now. If you DONT have a passport that s valid till Jan 2014, you should apply for one now. Application forms available at Australia Post. We will need a copy of the picture page of your passport in August. You do not need a visa for Fiji if you are travelling on an Australian or New Zealand Passport. Other nationalities should check with their consulate. Q. What is the record number of slushies drunk on the 2010 U14 Tour? 68 Q. What happens if I, as a parent, cannot attend? Your son will be given the chance to nominate a parent who will be responsible as his guardian and mentor him for the trip. Q. What are the sleeping arrangements? Usually the boys share a bure with 3 to a room whilst the fathers will twin share. If a father wants their own room, this can be arranged at an additional cost. Players can nominate 2 mates who they d like to room with and we ll attempt to room you with at least 1 of those mates. 2
Q. Is there a code of conduct? Yes. We will issue a code of conduct closer to the travel date. We are representing Newport Junior Rugby Club and this will be a sanctioned tour by the Australian Rugby Union. You also represent the Newport community. Best behaviour boys. Q. How will disciplinary issues be handled? We will have a Master of Discipline appointed for the trip; he will be bringing his whips, racks and implements of torture to keep the fathers in line. And for the boys, if they misbehave, they should be scared, very scared. A daily Kangaroo Court will deal with infringements every morning and suitable punishments will be handed out using comedy, embarrassment, and peer entertainment all in the spirit of rugby! Q. What medical facilities are available? Fiji is well equipped for medical emergencies and our travel insurance covers any medical evacuation if necessary. Please read your own travel insurance policy. We will need at least 3 qualified First Aid volunteer dads to dispense first aid, deal with cuts etc. Q. Is there a refund if I can t go? There are no refunds if you cancel at any time. This applies to both the initial $300 deposits payable in July 2012, any subsequent progress payments and all money already fundraised by the player. Those funds will be forfeited and go into the pool fund. Providing that you have taken out Travel Insurance, there may be grounds for you to claim a refund from the insurance company, depending on the timing/circumstances. Q. What about Travel and medical insurance? Your package cost will include a charge for personal Travel Insurance, to cover most of the usual medical incidents. It will be your responsibility to look at the inclusions/exclusions of the policy we choose for the group. If you are not happy with this policy, you will need to take out your own separate policy. Travel insurance is mandatory. We will require a copy of your insurance policy before going. 3
Q. What if I want to stay longer in Fiji? How can I arrange it? If you wish to stay over in Fiji after the Tour, or arrange for your family to come across, then you can do that via our travel agent. Details to be confirmed. As we are going during the peak season and school holidays, we strongly recommend that you book your accommodation asap. Q. Can I use my frequent flyer points to pay for my flight tickets? No. As this is a group tour, we cannot use frequent flyer points for travel tickets. You can use your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to earn frequent flyer points; you just need to include your frequent flyer number on the Application form. Q. What if there is civil unrest in Fiji? We will have to deal with this if it arises. Our options are to postpone the trip to a later date or cancel the trip with likely loss of funds. Q. What is the agenda for the Tour week? We may decide to change this, but as a guide: ( Kangaroo Court every morning after breakfast) Sunday fly in to Nadi, arrive early evening, welcome and buffet dinner. Monday opening Kangaroo Court, rest, prepare rugby gear, practice rugby Tuesday - visit orphanage/school, practice rugby. Wednesday - Rugby games Thursday leisure day Friday - Boat tour Saturday Rugby games Sunday fly back to Sydney, taking beautiful present home for Mum. 4
Q. What can I do to help? For the moment, these are the priorities: 1. Check the date that your passport is valid till now! Your passport must be valid until at least until January 2014. If necessary, reapply now. 2. Volunteer to be on a sub-committee for an Event - Dads especially. All families are expected to put in some hard work on pool fundraising activities and help out in some way. Flying under the radar and leaving it to others is not an option. We will keep you advised via our Newsletter the Bula Bulletin. 3. BBQ duty at Porters on Friday nights has already begun This will raise money for our pool fund. All families will be rostered on. No excuses accepted. Please get involved and help us make it a successful tour. 4. Bring us all your old Rugby clothing; headgear, boots, shoulder pads, rugby shirts, socks etc - bring it to Presentation Day at Porters clubhouse. More details to come. We usually take several hundred kilos of recycled rugby clothing with us - Fiji rugby needs it! 2013 Fiji Tour Fundraising Committee These are our committee volunteers to date, others are welcome. Chairman: Max Macarthur Fijitour2013@gmail.com 0404 135 444 Treasurer: Judy Thomas judy.thomas@optusnet.com.au 0408 299 295 Secretary: Anna Matevossian anna.matevossia@gmail.com 0417 087 190 Communications: Paul Binns binns.paul@gmail.com 0411 303 385 Tour Security: Steve Doyle CO-ORDINATORS: Friday Night BBQ: David Brown gidget1@bigpond.net.au 0422 089 187 Meat Raffle Phil Fontaine pfontaine@optusnet.com.au 0417 655 216 Chocolates Dorothea McAlpine scotdoff@tpg.com.au 0412 508 370 Wine Ross Crawshaw rcrawshaw@optusnet.com.au 0432 543 375 Travel Scott McAlpine scott@exclusivetiles.com.au 0425 778 779 Golf Day Peter Norman peter@cairncrossmartin.com 0416 283 315 Sports Lunch Susan Elliott soomatt@bigpond.net.au 0407 071 188 Season Finale Function: Suzie Mills susiemills40@hotmail.com 0434 049 081 Tony Hayes thayes@watpacnsw.com.au 0408 991985 5