Parental Consent For those applying whilst under 18, Parental Consent will be needed. This consent assumes full knowledge of the nature of the Expedition by the Parent/Guardian/Carer of the Participant as well as of the Terms and Conditions. If the date of signature on the Application Form is before the Participant’s 18th birthday, Parental Consent is needed. Confirmation We will email you confirmation of your booking after we have received your form and deposit. This will detail the expedition you have booked, including dates and prices. If any details are not correct please tell us immediately so that we can make the appropriate changes. Minimum numbers We need a minimum of 4 participants for expeditions. In the event of the numbers of participants dropping below six we will contact you to discuss the options. These may include cancelling the expedition and giving you a full refund, or transferring your booking to a different expedition. Money The deposit for all DofE Expeditions is £50 per person. This is not refundable under any circumstances; you should take out appropriate insurance to cover for eventualities such as illness. This deposit may not be transferred to any other person. You may change expedition dates and have your deposit transferred on one occasion only should this become necessary, with a minimum one month notice before your original booked expedition. After this there can be no further changes, transfers or refunds. The balance should be paid in full two months prior to your expedition. Where the balance is not paid, your place will be forfeit and any monies paid will not be refundable. If you have paid your balance and require a change as mentioned above, this shall be at the discretion of TrekCo. Eligibility You must fulfil all DofE preconditions and not have any reason why you should not be eligible for this expedition. TrekCo will not be responsible for your Operating Authority or any other body refusing to ratify your expedition, and will not refund any monies consequent to your failure to fulfil any conditions. You must be appropriately fit and prepared for the expedition. If our instructors determine at any stage that you are either insufficiently fit or not prepared, they may remove you from the expedition or training periods without notice or warning and without any refund of any monies paid. You understand that you may need to take into account your lifestyle and fitness prior to the Expedition and prepare appropriately. You will be asked to complete a medical form; you must complete this fully and make us aware of any and all conditions you have, no matter how relevant you believe them to be. These conditions may become relevant in an emergency in the event that you are given medication or treatment, or if we are not able to communicate with you or your parent/guardian/carer. We will ensure that each participant is given the best opportunity to complete the expedition section. Participants are required to demonstrate the expedition skills that they have learned before we can sign off their training and practice expeditions. Where skills have not been demonstrated to the appropriate standard, further training and practice at the participant’s own expense will be necessary before we can allow participants to take part in the qualifying expedition. We accept no responsibility for any additional costs incurred as a result of participants not successfully completing training, practice or qualifying expeditions. Personal You undertake to behave in a manner appropriate to a typical expedition environment. Whilst under the instruction of TrekCo (for the whole period of the expedition, including any rest periods or ‘days off’ if applicable), you will act in a manner befitting a school or college visit. This includes but is not limited to: not smoking, no alcohol, no bad language, no instances of sexist, bullying, intimidatory, disruptive or racist behaviour, no illegal substances. Appropriate behaviour shall be determined solely by TrekCo staff; you agree to abide by their decisions and you understand that if asked to leave the expedition that this will be wholly at your own expense. We do not provide supervision or transport for any participants who are excluded, or no longer able to participate in, an expedition. You must have a plan in place for this prior to commencing the expedition. We strongly recommend that you have a responsible adult that you can contact who could come and collect you. Whilst using any TrekCo equipment you undertake to take the best possible care of this equipment; notwithstanding normal wear and tear (which shall be determined by TrekCo) you agree to refund TrekCo the price of any damaged or unusable equipment howsoever caused. Insurance – TrekCo hold £10m Public Liability Insurance, Please note that this is not ‘Travel’ type insurance and does not cover loss or damage to personal property, illness, injury, cancellation, etc. TrekCo hold monies in a Client Account and therefore your monies are covered by this in the event of insolvency. This is in compliance with European Regulations. Don’t forget that DofE also provides limited personal accident cover for participants; see: https://www.dofe.org/run/insurance/ Cancellation TrekCo cannot be responsible for circumstances beyond our control, and therefore any cancellation by the Participant will not result in a refund of any part of the monies paid. Participants should ensure that they have sufficient travel insurance to cover themselves for this visit. This insurance must be taken out at the time of booking. Cancellation by TrekCo – TrekCo reserves the right to cancel an Expedition should insufficient participants book (see above). In this event we will offer either a) a full refund; or b) a transfer of all monies to another expedition. We will give as much notice as possible of any cancellations. Unfortunately we can’t be responsible for any expenses you incur as a result of changed plans. Communication We will normally communicate with you by email – please provide an email address that you use and check regularly. We cannot be responsible for any emails unread by yourself nor the consequences of you missing these. Please check your Junk/Spam folder in case messages are there; please mark TrekCo as a trusted sender. Statement Participants will be required to agree to the Terms and Conditions, including all of the conditions on this page . This is referred to on the Booking Form. I have read and agree to all of the conditions on this form and also on the TrekCo website DofE section. If I am under 18 at the time of booking, my Parent/Guardian/Carer has also signed, understands the nature of this venture and agrees to all of the terms. I authorise the Expedition Leaders to take emergency decisions on my behalf, including the giving of permission for medical treatment on the advice of the medical authorities. I understand that participation on an expedition will be physically demanding and that I will need to carry my own provisions for the entire expedition in a rucksack on my back, in line with the training provided. I understand that outdoor activities such as hill walking can carry a risk of personal injury and in extreme cases, the possibility of fatality. I understand that TrekCo has Public Liability Insurance and that I can request a copy of this from TrekCo Head Office. No insurance is offered for loss or damage to personal property, illness, injury, cancellation, nor is any other ‘travel policy’ type of cover offered. I understand that participants will not be supervised by an adult at all times. I undertake to behave in an appropriate manner as described above and that any decision by TrekCo regarding my further participation in the Expedition will be final and binding. I give my permission for any photographs taken whilst involved in the Expedition or training to be used by TrekCo for publicity or training purposes. The information I have given is correct and I will notify TrekCo of any changes. I agree to inform TrekCo in writing as soon as possible of any change in the medical circumstances between the date signed and the start of the activity. I will bring with me my logbook or eDofE printout for the Assessor to view prior to the Expedition. I am happy for my email address to be distributed to other participants on this expedition. Countersignature by Award Leader The Award Leader at the local level must agree to the Participant taking part in a TrekCo Open Expedition, and will need to agree to the statements below (which are on the booking form): ‘I confirm that the above named participant will have completed all of the preliminary training and practice journeys (if using the opportunity as a qualifying venture), and that these have been evidenced and signed off either in their Record Book or on eDofE. I confirm that the participant is physically and emotionally able to undertake the venture and that his/her performance has been such as to enable me to submit him/her for this expedition with confidence.’ It is the Participant’s responsibility to ensure that the local Leader and the Operating Authority approve of this venture and have full information.
