FAQ

You need to be a minimum of 18 years old at the start of the challenge, in suitable physical condition to undertake the challenge as set out in the itinerary and be fully aware of the possible risks inherent in adventure travel.

Everyone taking part is asked to have a medical form (supplied by Children’s Hospice South West) completed and signed by their doctor to confirm your suitability to take part. All participants must also have adequate personal travel insurance. 15-17 year olds may also participate in any challenge with the agreement of their parent or guardian and if accompanied by a parent or guardian on the challenge who is of legal age, (18 years of age or older). The parent or guardian will have to complete the booking form for anyone who is under 18 at the time of booking and sign the following parental responsibility form.

Required fitness levels depend on the trip you are taking part in and your current level of fitness. These trips are not targeted at experienced trekkers, so we will have people of all abilities on the event. We do advise that everyone should train for the event, as the fitter you are, the more you will enjoy yourself. We also advise people to go at their own pace on the event – it is not a race, and the idea is to enjoy yourself.

If you have not done any exercise for some time we recommend you visit your doctor before starting your training. Our tour operators provide training guidelines when you sign up.

Children’s Hospice South West works with an excellent (ATOL protected) tour operators called Charity Challenge, Action for Charity, Dream Challenges, Discover Adventure and Action Challenge all based in the UK.  

These tour operators arrange the details of your trip and use a local ground agent to arrange accommodation, meals, transfers etc. The trips are well organised and you will be well looked after, so all you have to concentrate on is the challenge ahead.

• Return flights
• All travel arrangements on the event
• Accommodation as stated on the challenge itinerary
• All food and refreshments on the event
• Camping equipment (where applicable) excluding sleeping bags
• Guiding team and medical provision
• Transport of your luggage between camps/accommodation

When you have completed your registration and paid your deposit, you will receive an event pack that will detail exactly what is involved in signing up to the trip, for example:

• Your spending money
• Personal travel insurance
• Payments for visas
• Vaccinations and medical forms (where required)
• Airport taxes where applicable
• Optional tours and meals on your free day
• Personal items from the kit list
• A tip for the local guides and porters
• Your travel to and from the UK departure airport

Yes. The tour operators and ground agents are very experienced in organising challenges such as these and you will be accompanied by a tour leader, a doctor as well as English-speaking local guides and porters who are all there to ensure your safety and enjoyment of the trip. The routes we take are well established and known well by our guides. The tour operators will be aware of any rising political, health or safety issues affecting the countries our supporters visit.

Group sizes range from 12 – 30 depending on the challenge. You will come across a wide mix of people on an event like this, and you are likely to make some life-long friends. All ages take part and from all backgrounds.

Absolutely - we will support people taking on all kinds of challenges, and can provide fundraising support and a member of the overseas challenge events team dedicated to looking after you. 

Yes - we promote the events run by our preferred tour operators. Those tour operators will run several events a year, according to their own schedules. However, if you cannot make the dates they have on offer, we could look at an alternative tour operator for you so that you can still do your dream challenge - just get in touch with us and we will try our best to find a suitable event date for you. 

Every participant in a Children’s Hospice South West Challenge Event, no matter what the event is, will receive:

• Fundraising and training advice
• Regular contact from the Challenge Events team
• The opportunity to visit a Children’s Hospice South West hospice
• Children’s Hospice South West vest or T-shirt. 

For more information on the support available from Children’s Hospice South West, have a look at our fundraising page.

Our overseas adventures are all run by tour operators on our behalf, as the tour operators have the experience, insurance and ATOL protection necessary to run these kinds of challenges. Therefore, registration fees should be sent directly to the appropriate tour operator when you complete your booking form. 

Please note also, that the terms and conditions of your booking are with the tour operator rather than with Children’s Hospice South West - we will only stipulate fundraising terms and conditions, and do not have any control over insurance, travel arrangements or anything else to do with the trip itself. If you would like more information about this, then just get in touch.

We will provide you with a kit list when you sign up.

Yes. We can put you in touch with the tour operator directly who may be able to reschedule your flight home and help you plan a holiday if required. Please note that there will be extra costs for extending your stay and you will need to plan this well in advance.

We have a team of fundraisers here at CHSW  who are on hand to offer you any ideas and advice you may need. Our first tip would be to set up an online fundraising page on Virgin Money Giving, and then to investigate whether your company or any local businesses will be able to support you.

If you cannot raise the money in time, we will ask you to make up the costs yourself in order to take part in the event. If this is not possible, we will offer you the opportunity to join another challenge in the future, giving you longer to keep fundraising. If you do have to cancel from the event, we will refund your sponsorship to your donors directly, if requested by them.

Please note that cancellation charges do apply if cancelling within eight weeks of departure date, (although travel insurance may cover cancellation costs, depending on the circumstance).

Explain to potential supporters that you are taking part in a challenge (similar to a marathon or any other sponsored event) and that it will require dedication, commitment and training to raise money and to complete the trip.  The more you talk about the charity, the more they will realise how important your hard work is. You could always choose to pay towards the costs of the event yourself, so you can reassure your sponsors that 100% of their donation will benefit Children’s Hospice South West.

If you opt for the minimum sponsorship method of payment, about half of the sponsorship target will be used to pay the costs of the trip, although this varies slightly for each event. If you opt for the self-funder method of payment, 100% of your fundraising will go towards Children’s Hospice South West.

Your deposit is not included towards the sponsorship target, but does go towards covering the challenge costs.

Injuries and illnesses happen - they're part of life. If you are unable to take part in your challenge, the most important thing for you to do is to let us know as soon as possible. Depending on when you pull out, we might be able to give your place to somebody else, so that Children’s Hospice South West does not lose out. We will also be able to advise you on who to alert to the fact that you will have to pull out - you may need to tell the challenge tour operator, and you may need to refer to the terms and conditions of your booking - especially for overseas adventures. 

If you are unable to take part in your chosen challenge, and you have already raised sponsorship for your challenge, you will need to get in touch with everyone who has supported you to let them know that you are not actually doing the challenge they have sponsored you for. You should give them the right to request a refund on their donation. If you do not take part in your challenge, then we will not still ask you to pay in the minimum sponsorship requirement. Any registration fees you have paid are, however, non-refundable. 

Your sponsorship money needs to be paid to Children’s Hospice South West ten weeks before the date of departure. This is because the charity has to pay the tour operator costs in advance, and have to ensure that every person we pay for has raised all the money. Some people find it difficult to ask for the money up front, but it is a lot harder to get the money in after the event. Your sponsors will understand about this.