Health and Safety Issues

Student Safety is Our Top Priority

Squash and Beyond World is proactive about risk management in order to reduce risk to participants as much as possible, but we cannot eliminate all risk.  Furthermore, participants behavior is a critical, perhaps the critical, component while traveling abroad.

We hire mature coaches with significant coaching and teaching experience. Squash and Beyond Camps at Williams College, is the leading squash camp in the US. Drawing from our extensive expertise in running squash camps, Squash and Beyond World will use similar techniques in order to maintain an excellent program, and deliver a unique and exceptional experience to our participants. 

Our Practices

Some of the steps we take as part of our focus on safety include:

• Obtaining pre-departure detailed health information about each participant.

• Providing each coach with a detailed safety manual with extensive instructions about dealing with emergency situations.
  
  
• Obtaining medical and medical evacuation insurance for all our participants through AIG insurance.
• Providing each group with a local cell phone for emergency use.
• Providing students with emergency contact cards with key phone numbers of local support staff, local emergency services, US support lines at the local American embassy, and emergency taxi service.
  
  
• Registering all students with the American embassy.
  
  
• Maintaining a list of trusted local, English speaking doctors and medical services.

• Personally selecting all hotels used during the trip. Always stay in tourist-class hotels (never hostels) in sensible areas of towns during our travel.
   
• Creating a network of Williams Alumni in each city available to assist with any emergency need at all times.

• Operating our squash program with reputable squash clubs.
  
  
• Our air transportation is provided by major airlines, through our travel agent: "The Travel Store in Williamstown, MA". Squash and Beyond World will use two, seven passenger vans, for ground transportation from city to city. In some cases Squash and Beyond World will use local public transportation services in order to save time and increase safety.

• Squash and Beyond World is only providing services in western countries.   We will not operate any programs in countries currently facing a US State Department Travel Warning

Students Are Responsible For Their Safety

Having said all that, sensible participant behavior is critical to ensuring a safe and healthy experience.

All Squash and Beyond World participants are legally minors, and are ultimately, under Squash and Beyond world responsibility while overseas. Participants in Squash and Beyond World are expected to act responsibly through out the trip and especially while being outdoors. We expect participants to act in a safe and thoughtful manner. We expect all participants to obey their coaches at all times. Squash and Beyond World reserves the right to remove participants from the program if we think their irresponsible actions undermine their safety, and the safety of other members of the group.