BOOKING CONDITIONS AUSTRALIA
Optima Sport - Booking Conditions
Your booking is with Optima Wear Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 13332859, whose registered office is at 8 Adelaide Row, Seaham, County Durham, England, SR7 7EF (trading as “Optima Sport”) (we, us, the Company).
1. Your booking
(a) To make your booking, please complete and send us our booking form.
(b) When you make your booking, you guarantee that you accept, and if you accept on behalf of a party, that you accept as the authorised agent of the party, our booking conditions.
(c) We reserve the right to decline your booking at our discretion.
(d) If we accept your booking, we will do so by issuing a booking confirmation.
(e) Along with a booking confirmation, we will issue an invoice for a deposit of 30% of the total cost, and also an invoice the balance of 70% of the total cost, together with any other items which we require to be paid at the time of booking.
(f) If we issue a booking confirmation more than 56 days before the date your tour commences, then you must pay the invoice for the deposit within 14 days of the date of issue of the invoice, and the balance at least 56 days before the date your tour commences.
(g) Failure to pay the deposit within 14 days of date of issue of the invoice for the deposit will mean that your booking lapses.
(h) Failure to pay the balance at least 56 days before the date your tour commences will mean that we may cancel your booking and retain your deposit as a cancellation fee.
(i) If we issue a booking confirmation 56 days or less before the date your tour commences, then we will issue one invoice for the total cost, which is payable within 14 days of the date of issue of the invoice. Failure to pay the invoice within 14 days of date of issue of the invoice will mean that your booking lapses.
(j) Please note that the tour is not generally suitable for persons with reduced mobility. It is your responsibility to let us know, at the time of booking (or as soon you become aware) whether extra assistance is required for any disability you or another member of your party may have or if there are any special requests. Please note that we will try to accommodate special requests that are reasonable but cannot guarantee this, especially where it is outside of our control. In particular, special requests such as a hotel room in a low floor are not able to be guaranteed unless you have specifically booked the type of room in question.
(k) We recommend that that you and all members of your party take our comprehensive travel insurance, when booking the tour. The travel insurance must include: Personal Liability, Trip-Cancellation, overseas medical, hospital and dental expenses, emergency evacuation and repatriation; and also, if you require, for pandemic and contracting COVID, travel delays, lost baggage, lost/stolen money, delays and trip interruption.
2. Tour Cost Variations
(a) We reserve the right to alter the cost of any of any tour shown in our brochure or website at any time until we issue a booking confirmation.
(b) If, after your booking is confirmed and before your tour commences, it becomes necessary to increase the cost of the tour due to international currency fluctuations which exceed more than 5%, then the increase will be applied to the tour cost, and the cost of the tour will be varied.
3. Cancellation - If You Cancel
You may cancel your booking, for yourself or any member of your party, at any time before your tour commences by notifying our office. If so, these cancellation charges will apply, according to the time period the notice is given before the date your tour commences:
Time Period - Cancellation Fee
At least 56 days prior to date of departure - Deposit (together with any non-refundable costs we incur)
Between 28 and 56 days prior to date of departure - 65% of tour cost (including deposit) (together with any non-refundable costs we incur)
Less than 28 days prior to date of departure - 100% of tour cost (including deposit) (together with any non-refundable costs we incur)
4. Cancellation - If We Cancel
We reserve the right to cancel your booking, for you or any member of your party, in the event of your failure to pay the tour price, or the final balance of the tour price as required. In this event, cancellation charges will apply as if it were a cancellation by you.
We reserve the right to cancel the tour in the event that:
(a) No later than 4 weeks before the departure date, because the minimum number required for the tour to go ahead has not been reached. The minimum number required will be provided to you or your club with the tour description; or
(b) An event of Force Majeure occurs before the departure date, which is an event that is beyond our or our supplier’s reasonable control and which could not have been reasonably avoided.
Force Majeure includes, but is not limited to: (a) war or armed conflict (threatened or actual), criminal damage, riot, civil unrest, industrial dispute, terrorist activity or the threat of any such acts; (b) natural disaster (including but not limited to flood, fire, earthquake, landslide), adverse weather conditions, high or low water levels, chemical or biological disaster; (c) nuclear or other industrial accident causing environmental pollution or contamination; (d) epidemics and pandemics; health risks, infectious disease and government measures to combat such outbreaks; (e) unavoidable and/or unforeseeable technical problems with transport; the act of any government or other national or local authority; sanctions; event changes or cancellations; or (f) change in law, meaning, enactment, amendment (including repeal) in the law or administration of any law in any jurisdiction or territory relevant to the tour, which includes changes in statute, regulation, determination, by-law, declaration, licence and the common law as applicable from time to time, regulations or access to services, sites or countries caused by declared epidemic or pandemic events, border closures, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office Foreign Travel Advice (to avoid travel).
If we cancel the tour because there are insufficient numbers, you can choose between either a refund of all monies paid or accept an alternative tour of comparable standard from us if we offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value)..
If we cancel the tour by reason of an event of Force Majeure, we will refund part or all of any unused portion of the cost of the tour that we are able to recover from our suppliers but will not otherwise be liable to refund any amount to you. At our discretion and if you request, we may provide a credit voucher for costs that can be carried over for a new tour as compensation in lieu of a refund.
In the event a refund is paid to you we will pay compensation as detailed below except where the cancellation is due to force majeure.
Period before commencement of tour when we notify you
Amount you will receive from us
- Prior to 56 days - Deposit (full refund)
- Prior to 28 days - £10 + monies paid (full refund)
- Less than 28 days - £25 + monies paid (full refund)
5. If You Change Your Booking
If, after we issue our confirmation invoice(s) you wish to change your booking in any way, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be in writing from the person who made the booking. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £50 per change in booking, and any further cost we incur in making the alteration. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible.
Note: Certain travel arrangements may not be able to be changed after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements
6. If We Change Your Booking
(a) Changes to the price
We can change your price after you’ve booked in certain circumstances, namely: (i) if the number of people from a club booked on a tour changes, we reserve the right to recalculate the price on the basis of the amended party size, in which case you will need to pay any difference in the price; and (ii) changes in duties or taxes after you have booked. We will absorb, and you will not be charged for, any increase of 2% or less of the total cost of your tour.
If the above results in an increase equivalent to more than 8% of the price of your travel arrangements, you will have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel you must do so in writing within 7 days of being notified of the price increase.
Should the price of your tour go down due to the cost changes mentioned above, any refund due will be paid to you. We will deduct from this refund any administration expenses incurred.
(b) Changes other than the price
It is a term of your booking that we are able to make changes to any aspect of your booking before or during the tour.
The tour programmes we publish in our literature and on our website are designed to be illustrative in order to best explain the scope and type of activities you will be undertaking. It is very unlikely that any one programme could or would be followed precisely as it is published. Several factors outside of our control will determine this and dictate what can be accomplished reasonably during your tour. The most influential factors will be the weather and the physical fitness of the participants. The Company will review and may alter the tour programme as the tour progresses in response to these and other factors.
If the change to your tour is insignificant, we will notify you.
If before the date of departure, we notify you that we obliged to significantly alter any of the main characteristics of the travel services that make up your package, you will have the rights set out below.
(i) We will contact you and you will have the choice of accepting the change or having a refund of all monies paid. You can also accept an alternative tour, where we offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value). We will tell you the procedure for making your choice. Please read any notification of changes carefully and respond promptly as if you do not respond to us within the timescales given your booking may be cancelled.
(ii) If you choose to accept a refund, we will pay compensation as detailed below except where the significant change is due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Period before date of depature when we notify you
Amount you will receive from us -
- Prior to 56 days - Nil
- Prior to 28 days - £10
- Less than 28 days - £25
If during the tour, we notify you that we obliged to significantly change the travel arrangements, modify or cancel scheduled services and/or accommodation, either in whole or in part for reasons beyond our control, or if we determine it is in the interest of safety and security or for operational reasons to do so, then we will notify you as soon as we can and we will endeavour to provide alternative arrangements of the same standard as that originally booked.
Reasons include force majeure events and events such as if an airline changes its schedules, a natural disaster or political crisis occurs, a hotelier overbooks hotel accommodation, or an operator cancels a tour.
If the change or changes result in the booking price being increased by more than 10%, or the new travel arrangements are materially different from that contemplated prior to the change or changes being effected, and in respect of which we have already accepted a deposit or balance of payment, you have the right to accept the new travel arrangements or to ask for price paid to be refunded, less any supplier and third party cancellation charges that are not refunded.
7. Our Liability to You
You must inform us, without undue delay, of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. If any of the travel services included in your package are not performed in accordance with your booking or are improperly performed by us or the travel service suppliers (and this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements) you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both.
We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services is due to: you or another member of your party; a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel services in the package and is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to any relevant international convention, for example the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limits the amount of and conditions under which compensation can be claimed for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage.
You have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details will be available from airlines. However, reimbursement in such cases will not entitle you to a refund from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in these booking conditions. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline or any other service provider will be deducted.
The Company has protection in place to refund your payments in the event that we become insolvent.
8. Complaints
If you have a complaint about any of the services included in your tour, you must inform our representative without undue delay who will endeavour to put things right.
If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customer Services Department at Optima Wear Limited, 8 Adelaide Row, Seaham, County Durham, England, SR7 7EF, email address admin@optima-sport.co.uk, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point.
If you fail to follow the requirement to report your complaint locally, we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify it and this may affect your rights under this booking.
9. Additional assistance
If you are in difficulty whilst on the tour and ask us to help we will provide appropriate assistance, in particular by providing information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance; and help you to find alternative arrangements and any necessary phone calls/emails. You must pay any cost we incur if the difficulty is your fault.
10. Passport, Visa, Immigration and Vaccination Requirements
Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration and vaccination requirements are your responsibility, and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration or vaccination requirements.
11. Excursions
Third party excursions, events or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on the tour are not part of your package provided by us. For any such excursion, event or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion, event or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion, event or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.
12. Law and Jurisdiction
This booking is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and we both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts to settle any dispute. No verbal representations made by us shall be relied upon by you. These booking conditions can only be varied by written agreement between us.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
13. Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 - The combination of travel services offered to you is a package within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Therefore, you will benefit from all rights applying to travel packages. The Company will be responsible for the proper performance of the package.
14. How we may use your personal information - We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy on our website.
15. Public Liability Insurance – the Company has its own public liability Insurance policy in place for all tours, but all groups/clubs must provide proof they have their own public liability insurance in place. A copy of this will be required on booking confirmation. This will be a requirement for all football clubs participating in an English FA sanctioned event/tournament.
16. Waiver of Liability and Release Form - All players must sign the Optima Sports waiver and release form. It is a requirement of all teams that they have their own form of injury insurance for full cover whilst on the tour.
17. Health - Except as disclosed to us in writing , you confirm that you are in good mental and physical health and are unaware of any reason why you may be particularly unsuited to taking part in the activity and/or service agreed upon or may be likely to suffer illness or injury during the activity and/or service. Failure to disclose any information that is required at the point of booking may result in the Company terminating the contract or withdrawing you from the activity and or service on the grounds of incorrect information. You will not be entitled to any refund of payments made in these circumstances.
18. Health Regulations - We advise all customers to check what the latest health requirements are for travel to their chosen destination and to ensure that they are fit enough to participate in any event, excursion or other tour they may take part in. Certain events may require participants to undertake anti-doping procedures. You must be willing to adhere to this condition, otherwise your participation may be barred.
19. Coach Travel - You are responsible for meeting the coach at the times specified in your itinerary or as advised by our representatives. In the event that you are late, we will not be responsible for any costs incurred by you to re-join the tour if the coach has departed. Should this result in your late arrival at an event, then we are not liable to you or anyone else in the group, if this does not proceed or you are excluded. You may be refused any form of transportation if you behave in a disruptive manner or are considered to be under the influence of alcohol or any illegal substance. Although every effort is made to ensure that the facilities quoted for coach travel are present and in working order prior to departure, we cannot accept responsibility for the mechanical failure or omission of this equipment before or during the tour. Smoking is prohibited onboard at all times.
20. Hotel Check In/Check Out - The standard international practice is to let rooms from mid-afternoon on the day of arrival until mid-morning of the day of departure. Occasionally when you arrive at your accommodation, you may have to wait a short while until your room is ready. Similarly, if you have a flight later in the day, you may be required to check out of your hotel room earlier in the day.
21. Behaviour - The lead name/group leader and any other adults in the group shall at all times: (i) act ‘in loco parentis’ for their group and, in particular, in regard to any minors in the group (ii) ensure that the party reaches any departure points on time (iii) ensure that all people in the booking comply with any and all Covid-19 requirements during the tour (iv) ensure that the group is and will be adequately supervised (v) ensure that the correct ratio of responsible adults will be on active duty at all times to ensure that all persons in the booking behave appropriately (vi) ensure that the group takes into account their personal safety whilst in destination so as not to put themselves or others at unnecessary risk including, without limitation, ensuring that the group members: (a) take care when out during the hours of darkness (b) do not go out alone (c) do not put themselves in risk situations (d) are not intoxicated or under the influence of any other illegal or dangerous substances and, in any event, shall not permit anyone under the age of 18 years of age to consume alcoholic drinks, and (e) are aware of their behaviour and actions in the context of their surroundings. (vii) ensure that ensure that no members of the group smoke in any smoke-free places or behave in any other way which may cause a fire hazard (viii) ensure that the group wears seat belts provided for any journeys by coach, and (ix) ensure that the group or any members of the group comply with all relevant laws. All people travelling with us must abide by any rules, regulations and safety guidelines as may be required by their accommodation, travel and activity providers, including regulations regarding the supervision of children. Any accidents, incidents or injuries that occur on tour must be reported to us in writing as soon as possible, and no later than within 7 days of the event, even if you do not intend to make a claim. We shall be entitled to recover from you, at our sole discretion, the cost of any damages or loss caused by you including, without limitation, the cost of repairs, to our satisfaction and that of our suppliers. Your group must undertake to behave with and in such a manner as not to damage our reputation or the reputation of any of our suppliers or any other person.
We reserve the right at any time to terminate the stay of any party member(s) whose behaviour is such, in the reasonable opinion of the accommodation provider or us, as to cause or to be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to anyone else or damage to property. Full cancellation charges will then apply and no refund will be given. Furthermore, we shall be under no obligation whatsoever to pay compensation or meet any costs or expenses (including but not limited to alternative accommodation) you may occur as a result of your stay being terminated. If you cause damage to the accommodation in which you are staying, you must fully reimburse the accommodation provider concerned for the cost of the damage before the end of your stay if the cost has been established by then or as soon as it has been established if later. You must also indemnify us for the full amount of any claim (including all legal costs) made against us by the accommodation provider or any third party as a result.
The Company may require an individual or number of persons to leave the tour if they believe that his/ her/their health and safety are at risk, if an illegal act has been committed or the person(s) has behaved in a way as to endanger the safety, welfare or enjoyment of the tour as a whole. In the event of this action the person(s) involved shall not be entitled to any refund and will be required to meet all expenses involved in their immediate extraction.
We employ a “zero-tolerance” policy. Anyone who is guilty of aggressive behaviour, bullying towards others or makes any racist or other discriminatory comments may be asked to leave the tour. You will not be entitled to any refund of payments made in these circumstances.
22. General - This contract is personal to you and is not capable of transfer or assignment without prior written consent of the Company. Costs for changing participants can be charged at the discretion of the Company. The Company may sub-contract elements of our obligations under this contract.
