Nominated Junior World Cup Administration 2019-20 – Part 1.

Please note that this announcement does not relate to Cadet and Junior European and World Championships – only Junior World Cups.

Travel

BF/Sport:80 will no longer be organising travel for athletes going to Junior World Cups.  This is due to the ever increasing and now unsustainable amount of resource required to support individualised athlete travel and accommodation requirements.

We also received a significant amount of feedback from parents requesting greater flexibility in arranging travel plans, as they felt it was better for their budgeting.

Airport Transfers

If official transport from airport to hotel is provided by the competition organisers this will be booked by the Team Manager for the athletes that provide the Team Manager with their flight details by a deadline.

For Junior World Cups where the individual event is not nominated but the team event is, BF will make a hotel booking for members of the team only- the Team Fencers, referee, Team Manager and any allocated Team Coach. The Team Manager will be responsible for coordinating travel from airport to hotel for members of the team only.

U18 Travel

Parents must make appropriate travel arrangements for U18s. Under no circumstances is an athlete in the group to take/be given welfare responsibility for another athlete in the group.

Entry Points

Entry points for nominated individual Junior World Cups will be at the nominated hotel at a specified time. BF will publish the flight/travel details of the Team Manager/Coaches as soon as they are available should anyone wish to make the same travel plans. Once an athlete has joined the squad they are the responsibility of the Team Manager until the agreed exit point. Whilst we understand that family and friends may wish to travel to support athletes they must book alternative accommodation from the squad and read the following guidance in advance of attending.

Selection Emails

Athletes will still receive emails selection emails from the BF membership platform which will contain a link to accept selection and pay. Payment will include contributions listed below.

Accommodation

Based on a cost analysis of prior seasons, BF is introducing a flat per night rate of £50/night for accommodation which will allow athletes to better budget, reduce the administration required and even up the costs between different Junior World Cups.

For nominated Junior World Cups competition hotels will be booked for the whole squad by BF. Athletes will be automatically booked a set number of nights normally in twin rooms. Athletes wishing to increase the number of nights will be required to make independent bookings for those nights. Any decreases in the number of nights required will not result in refunds.

Athletes wishing to be accommodated in single rooms will be required to pay an additional supplement which will include the cost of the single room plus the original cost of the allocated twin room and any additional charges associated with booking changes.

2019-20 JWC Contributions for Nominated Events (Individual and Team)

Last season the cost of sending referees and team managers to JWC significantly exceeded the money collected from athletes.  The balance was covered by the BF Athlete Development Programme, British Fencing and patrons of the BF Charity. BF has taken the decision not to increase the athlete contributions this season, however this will continue to be reviewed on an annual basis.

Team Manager: £65 (nominated individual events only)

Referee: £65 (nominated individual and nominated team events attached to non nominated individuals)*.

Coach: £0 (approx. £65 per head subsidy by BF when a coach is provided)

Accommodation: £50/night (normally a minimum of 2 nights)

Administration: £10 (£20 per head subsidy by BF)

* BF will source a referee for non nominated individual JWCs where there is a nominated team participating. The referee charge for the 1st 9 places will be £65. In the unlikely situation that more than 9 athletes wish to attend a non nominated individual event, the athletes in places 10-12 are expected to source and pay any additional costs for a referee, but BF will provide support where we can.

Where possible the ADP may provide additional subsidies for athletes competing in nominated team events attached to non-nominated individual events as part of preparing teams for European and World Championships.

Athletes that breach BF Codes of Conduct risk becoming ineligible for future financial subsidies and may be required to refund any grants and subsidies.

Personal Coaches

Personal coaches wishing to accompany athletes to nominated Junior World Cups must apply online for authorisation, with one form being completed for each competition that the coach wishes to attend.

Reminders

As always, all athletes, coaches, referees and team managers must have their own personal travel insurance which specifically covers them for the activities they are undertaking.

Personal coaches wishing to accompany athletes to Junior World Cups must be on the BF Coaching Register (min Level 2).

BF will not be responsible for booking accommodation for personal coaches.

Personal coaches may stay in the team hotel.  For nominated events, parents, family members and supporters must stay in a separate hotel.

The BF Codes of Conduct including the Code of Conduct for Youth Events applies to all JWC squad members (athletes, coaches, referees, team managers) travelling from the moment they begin their journey to the competition.

All relevant BF policies apply and by accepting selection athletes (and their parents if the athlete is U18) are automatically agreeing to these policies which are available on the BF website here.