Name: Sport Lived
Address: Sir Colin Campbell Building, Triumph Road,, Nottingham
Rating: 4.65

“I can honestly say that this was one of the best experiences of my life. The trip itself was amazing but the people I met along that way just made it that extra bit more special. For me living with other athletes and coaches made it so much easier to settle in as we were all going through the same emotions of nervousness and excitement. All of the rowing coaches at my placement were nothing but welcoming from day one and they helped me settle into my new way of life really quickly. I had the opportunity to coach all year levels at the high school which allowed me to build strong relationships with all of the girls on the rowing team. My favourite part about my placement, although challenging, was all the races I go to, I really made me feel part of the team and valued as a coach. I was also able to do more exploring of Australia such a going so Sydney for New Years, visiting Adelaide, going down the Great Ocean Road with other members of Sport Lived and my final trip was to Mt Oberon with one of my friends from my coaching placement. Kathy and Karen were nothing but lovely from our first day in Melbourne and I really miss our little catch ups. I can honestly say that I’ve made life long friends and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Thank you so much to Sport Lived for such an amazing trip!”

Sport Lived 5 star review on 15th July 2020

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Posted 4 years ago

“Although I was nervous of going across the world for the first time without knowing anyone, I couldn't have had a better 6 months swimming in Aus! From the first day I was made to feel welcome by my swim team and everyone at sport lived. I had an amazing experience swimming in melbourne, training outdoors is something that doesnt happen often in the UK! I got to experience the best facilities Victoria has to offer as well as training with a lovely team and coach. Living with other athletes in Quest, prahran was the best part for me. I've made friends for life and lived in a great location! Outside of training and everyday life the sport lived socials were a great way to all be together and experience everything melbourne has to offer. From the Melbourne cup to the Australian open! Thanks to the sport lived team for making my experience so amazing! X”

Sport Lived 5 star review on 13th May 2020

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Posted 4 years ago

“Although I was nervous of going across the world for the first time and not knowing anyone, I couldn't have had a better time in Aus! My swimming programme was amazing. From the first moment in Australia I was make to feel welcome, by my swimming team and everyone at sport lived. It was great to have the experience of training and racing in the best facilities victoria has to offer, as well as regularly training in outdoor pools which is not something that happens often in the UK! Living with other athletes in Quest, Prahran would be the best part for me, I've made friends for life and we were in such a great location. Sport lived socials also gave us more opportunities to socialize and enjoy ourselves outside of training and everyday life. From the Melbourne Cup to the Australian Open! Thank you sport lived for making my experience so amazing! X”

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Posted 4 years ago

“First of all, I would like to say how amazing the whole Sport Lived team were, from the initial planning of the trip and for the entire time I was in Melbourne. The months I spent out there were the best couple of months of my life, spent with some amazing people. Playing cricket down under was a great experience and the club were so good to us Sport Lived players. Would massively recommend Sport Lived to anyone considering playing sport over seas. Thankyou Sport Lived !x”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Sport lived were fantastic! I don't have a bad word to say. I did the 3 month half a season program and wish I did the 6! Had the time of my life and would recommend this to any sport loving person! They provide plenty of support before and during your trip and are always keen to keep in touch after. Thanks sportlived!”

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Posted 4 years ago

“As a parent I think it was a great way for a young person to explore, have an adventure, develop their love of sport, meet new friends, become more independent in a safe environment. Excellent opportunity. Great support from Sport lived.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Sport Lived was excellent in its organisation of my daughters 6 weeks swimming with "homestay" trip to Melbourne. Every query I had was dealt with quickly and professionally and I had no concerns at all over the trip and Holly being well cared for and safe. Kathy was on hand whilst Holly was over there and with her contacts added value to her trip with not only making it possible for her to assist in some swimming coaching but also visit and have some work experience in a nursery there too. Despite it being winter it was more like spring in the UK than winter so still a great time to visit Melbourne and enjoy indoor and outdoor swim training. Holly got to compete in a couple of galas and the H20 swim club that she joined and trained with were fantastic alongside her host family in the support they gave her throughout the trip - definitely made friends for life and enjoyed every minute. Thank you Sport Lived.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Great experience in Melbourne. Essentially to play netball, but had a great experience working as a swimming instructor and a sports coach. Sport Lived arranged for me to undertake the Australian swimming qualification in my first week. This opened greater opportunities of work for me. I played a very good standard of netball for Melbourne University with a great team and fantastic coach. My own game has improved more than I can say. On days where I wasn’t working or playing my time was spent at the pool (5 mins walk) or the beach (20 minutes by train from Quest accommodation). Five minutes walk to chaple street. The social event organiser Kathy, organised some great events including the Australian tennis open, formula 1 and surfing. My favourites were kangaroo sanctuary, surfing and AFL. The most important the eating and drinking socials. In other spare time I travelled around Australia, funded mostly by the work I undertook there. I would recommend the company and experience to anyone who wants to play in Australia in whatever sport.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I couldn't have a bad word to say about my 3 months in Melbourne with SportLived. I had an unreal time, making memories and friends for life. Hockey-wise, the programme was perfectly set up with a hockey club whose members love embracing every SL member, while having teams for all abilities. Melbourne life can be as busy or as chilled as suited; I travelled around Australia in free time, while developing my coaching regularly in the many job opportunities I was given. While having the independence to live the Aussie life, support was always available from the wonderful Kathy, who acted as our 'Australian mum'. The highlights of the arranged social events included a trip to a sold-out MCG and a surf day. While the cost looks scary for a year 12/13 student, I found it wasn't anything a hard-working gap year couldn't manage... and worth every penny!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I can honestly say that I had some of the best times of my life in Melbourne during my Sportlived Programme. The 3 months I spent down under was so much fun and I met some amazing people, definitely made some friends for life over there. I am so glad I had the opportunity to play a high level of competitive hockey in a new country with a new team. My skill level has definitely improved by playing for Powerhouse & St Kilda HC, as has my coaching ability. Sportlived helped me secure coaching work at a number of schools as well as Jessie personally securing me a coaching job at Powerhouse with one of the Ladies Teams, an opportunity I would likely not have got without the help of Sportlived and their Melbourne team. Speaking of which, I cannot speak highly enough of Kathy who was our Social Coordinator and regularly went above and beyond to organise amazing social events for us which added to the great time I had. A particular highlight for me was the surf trips we went on, as well as the Anzac Day AFL match at the MCG! Kathy was always happy to help with any questions we had regarding work or life in Melbourne as well as just being around to have a coffee or lunch with. The accommodation was great and in a perfect location for me to easily get to my hockey club as well as into the city. Some people may say it is quite expensive but I would say that it is worth every penny for the experiences you have and would urge anyone considering it to definitely go for it, you won't regret it, I'm already planning to go back to Melbourne after uni!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“The 6 months I had in Melbourne playing Netball on the Sport Lived Programme were better than I could have ever imagined. I’ve made the most amazing friends in my flatmates and the other SL customers as well learning so much from playing Netball. I was able to play for Melbourne Uni club as well as social netball games which take place all over the city and are a great way to meet new people. SL also made it so easy for me to find coaching/umpiring jobs as well as other casual jobs which meant earning money to live off wasn’t a worry. The social events that were organised were always so much fun and Kathy who organises them is always there if you need help or just want a chat! Although the programme is expensive I would say the memories and experiences I had in Melbourne made it worth every penny.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Harry went to Melbourne to play cricket for three months inJanuary 2019. he was a little apprehensive at first, going so far away, but that lasted about one day once he had met Jessie and his team . He loved every minute of it, his cricket game improved and he made lots of new friends, including all the players at the club and other Sport Lived people. He said he would do it all over again if he could and was genuinely sad to leave!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“My advice for any parent considering sending their child on a Sport Lived experience is most definitely LOOK ELSEWHERE. My step daughter has recently returned from a six week trip to New Zealand playing netball and felt very let down. Having analysed the cost and what was provided I can only conclude that we wasted our money. The line from their advertising about “ finding a Club that’s right for you, whatever your level” was absolute rubbish. Having booked her flights according to the dates given by Sport Lived, my step daughter was then told that it was “pre season” so not many games were available. How many matches was she able to play ? NONE. NOT A SINGLE MATCH. The accommodation was nothing special, and could have been obtained independently at the same price. We complained and were given a derisory refund of “half the sport element of the package price”, and since they said the sport was only a quarter of it, that wasn’t much. They claimed that providing entertainment experiences was also a quarter of the package price (about £800) for which they provided four events. A quick look on the internet showed that the tickets for each event were on sale for about £25 each, so obviously a nice fat profit for Sport Lived there too. Seems to me that Sport Lived are happy to seduce teenagers by promising them heaven on earth, taking their hard earned money and then relying on teenagers’ natural energy and enthusiasm to make up for their shortcomings. I would suggest anyone contemplating such a trip carries out some basic research before handing over thousands of pounds to Sport Lived. I know other kids out there at the same time as my step daughter felt similarly let down.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Dear Andy Thank you for taking the time to write a review on Leah’s Sport Lived Netball Programme in Christchurch. I established Sport Lived to help young people have a great time playing & coaching sport overseas & I’m sorry that Leah was disappointed with her Sport Lived programme. On 5 February 2019, Leah booked a 6 week Mini Season Netball programme in Christchurch from 25 March 2019 - 5 May 2019. On 5 February 2019, we emailed our Coordinator in Christchurch to confirm when league matches would start in Christchurch. We set our programme dates based on the previous year’s league fixtures. We also factor in a couple of weeks of pre-season training to provide our customers with the best chances of being selected for their club’s highest teams. We were conscious that Leah was undertaking a short programme and we wanted to try and ensure she played in as many games as possible during her trip. We were also conscious that club fixtures are often finalised a short time before the start of the season. On 11 February 2019, our Coordinator emailed us with fixture information where she told us that based on Leah's programme dates, the maximum number of games she would be able to play in would be 3. We called Leah on 12 February 2019, before she had paid in full for her Sport Lived programme, where we explained that the dates of her programme meant she would have limited opportunities to play in matches. We offered Leah the chance to start her programme later in 2019 when the season had commenced where she have the chance to play more matches. Leah told us that she had booked non refundable flights to Christchurch where she was unable to make any date changes. She said that she was happy to proceed with her programme despite the limited opportunities to play in matches. During Leah’s time in Christchurch, we arranged for her to train with a netball club and also arranged paid netball umpiring work and work as an assistant netball coach. Our staff also provided support when Leah required hospital treatment in Christchurch. Unfortunately, Leah did not play in any matches during her time in New Zealand. The coach of her club didn’t deem Leah's level to be high enough to play in the club’s first team whose matches started earlier in the season and Leah wasn’t picked for a lower grade team when their matches began on Saturday 4 May 2019. I am extremely sorry that Leah did not have the chance to play in any matches during her Sport Lived programme and the disappointment this caused her. Very best wishes Ian Dodd Director Sport Lived Limited

Posted 5 years ago

“Such a great experience, enjoining sports and meeting great people!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“My time rowing in Melbourne was the best year of my life! Not only was I perfectly matched to my club (mercantile) but I also made life long friends in my flat. Our coordinator Kathy was beyond amazing and organised so many great socials for us which were so much fun and great to see more in Melbourne! My rowing club was amazing and a really great intro and foundation for my senior rowing career to develop. I made some great friends there and got to travel so much of the country for races. For any rower looking to have fun whilst doing the sport they love this is the best way to do it. Be aware that the sport lived programme does not include a lot of rowing expenses (which most rowers know anyway as its an expensive sport!!) but you do get to travel all over Australia and within Victoria with your team which is a lot of fun! Leaving Melbourne isn’t easy but that is great testament to sport lived for pairing me with the perfect club and some great housemates. Book your programme nowww!!!!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“My daughter (Carrie) has wanted to play netball in Australia since as far back as I can remember. As her parents we were concerned about doing this on her own. She started talking about Sport Lived in her second year of university. Originally she was thinking of going straight after university but decided to work for a couple of years to get some money behind her. Once she was serious about going she contacted Sports Lived again. Again as parents we were concerned not having heard too much about the company. As a result Ian Dodds agreed to meet Carrie and myself in person half way between them and us. Having met Ian I was able to ask several questions about the company and more importantly how safe Carrie would be, in addition to what would be provided in the price. Following this meeting Carrie booked her place and is still out in Australia coming to the end of her programme. Any questions that came up about arrangements were answered quickly by either Ian or Elaine in a very friendly and professional manner. Due to Carrie’s travel arrangements she needs her accommodation about a week earlier from when her programme started. It took just a quick email to the company to enquire about the availability of accommodation, and the extra cost of her accommodation and her insurance. This was sorted out in a couple of days at the latest and all we had to do was to make the extra payments via Carrie’s account of the company web site. Having arrived early Sport Lived helped Carrie to obtain her Australian swimming qualification to enable her to work as a swimming coach as the English ones are not sufficient there. They also helped with setting up a bank account, giving advice on obtaining a Medicare number and her tax number. Initially we thought that it was quite expensive, however when taking into account the type of accommodation and the socials that Carrie has been on I think it was money well spent. Carrie has worked as a swimming and netball coach/umpire in addition to playing for Melbourne University. She has said that her fitness has improved as has her overall game. She has also made some great friends and memories including trips on the great coast road, Sydney for her birthday and now in Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest. She has been able to fund these trips by the work she has undertaken there which has been a great experience in its self, always with the knowledge that company staff are always available for help if required. Even the managers of the accommodation were on hand to take Carrie to hospital when she badly burned her hand. It actually feels like Carrie is back at university rather than the other side of the world. We have kept in touch by WhatsApp messages and video call as well as text and emails so have not missed her too much. If you are thinking of your child going abroad to play sport I would thoroughly recommend Sports Lived. They have definitely made things a lot easier for us all. Apart from the staff here keeping in regular contact in the weeks leading up to Carrie’s departure we had a few video calls from a member of staff based in Melbourne who was collecting her on her arrival. It was so easy. We would received contact about arrangements etc and all we had to do was pay. Carrie has enjoyed it so much she is already planning to go back. I hope this doesn’t come across as to gushy but fantastic experience all round.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“*Sport lived charge double the money and give back nothing more than you would get organising your trip yourself* This review is about the company and not my trip overall trip as I had the best time of my life out in NZ with some quality lads playing top level football. Tanaya (your sport lived coordinator) was brilliant and is the only reason this isn’t a 1 star review! She helped me out finding a job, getting tickets for events, getting me in contact with my club and organising great socials on very limited budget. I have made so many memories and have loved every second and would recommend coming to play your sport in New Zealand on a gap year to anyone and everyone! However very little of this was down to sport lived... I definitely feel that the amount of money I paid was not reflected in my programme as not very regular socials (1 every 3 weeks) that were relatively cheap and my price was highlighted to include stuff like kit (which I was given for free by the club) and gym membership (which was just £45 for my entire programme!!) Taking this into account with the £1200 in Accomodation (going off their current weekly rate which INCREASED is higher than what it was when I paid) and my subs to my club which would be around £200-300 and adding on, at the very most £200 in total for all socials, it would seem I received around £1800 worth (being generous) of the £3495 I paid. This means about about half of my money has just been taken as profit!! I appreciate the company need to make money and that they do need a large profit margin, but that cut being taken from each customer is extortionate and so I would never reccomend anyone to do a sport lived programme purely due to the extortionate price for the little you get in return. I also want anyone looking into Sport lived to know that their advertising is very good and promises everything but in reality is very inaccurate or even a blatant lie in some cases. A prime example of this is their Instagram where they post photos of customers who have gone on trips that they have paid extra to do and organised on their own, but sport lived make it appear as it’s all included in your programme when it isn’t. Also, the photos we were given of ‘our accomodation’ were not even of our accomodation! The ‘examples’ they then claimed to use where not even close! Their excuse for this is that it would COST US MORE TO UPDATE THEIR OWN WEBSITE! When the simple taking and uploading of photos (or even posting a link to the website of the accomodation) takes no cost and no serious effort and can be done by anyone! To clarify, my 3 months in New Zealand was the best time of my life and I would reccomend it to anyone! However I could have done everything I did without sport lived and saved myself half the money! Anyone wanting to do a sport lived programme I reccomend just doing a bit of research into clubs in the area you want to travel to and organising it directly with them or even getting in contact with previous sport lived customers to get some contacts and accomodation options. By doing this you will save a lot of money and have just as good a time! (You can even stay in the same accomodation as sport lived customers and get to meet them and live with them and have the exact same experience) If you want an amazing sporting gap year in New Zealand but don’t want to through your hard earned money away, just drop a comment on here and I’ll try get back to you with stuff like clubs and accomodation options.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hi Thank for taking the time write a review on your Sport Lived Football programme in Christchurch. I am sorry if you were disappointed by your Sport Lived trip. I set up Sport Lived to help young people to have a fantastic time playing and coaching sport overseas and I apologise if this has not been your experience in New Zealand. I also apologise if you don’t think that your Sport Lived programme represented value for money. We endeavour to set programme prices that are fair, that provide us with the resources to deliver quality programmes and employ good overseas staff that can provide customer’s with emergency support for the duration of their trip, whilst also ensuring that we can run a commercially viable organisation. I take on board your comments regarding the social events we organised in Christchurch. We always arrange social events every few weeks but we could have arranged slightly larger activities similar to the Hanmer Springs trip we organised for your group in May. I am pleased that you enjoyed your football club in Christchurch. As you played a high level of football in the UK, we spent time liaising with regional football governing bodies and with several clubs before finalising the team that you played for in New Zealand. I am also pleased that you found Tanaya, the Sport Lived Coordinator in New Zealand, to be helpful and she was able to provide you with assistance with items such as finding work in Christchurch. We endeavour to provide prospective customers with accurate information on any Sport Lived trips they are interested in taking part in. Operations staff call customers 26 weeks and 16 weeks prior to departure to answer questions they might have about their forthcoming programme. Our overseas staff also send customers introductory emails before they head off where they can answer any last minute queries. I don’t believe that we deliberately misled customers regarding any aspect of their trip. For example, most of the photos on our Instagram page are taken by professional photographers who attend Sport Lived social events in Australia and New Zealand. Thank you for taking a Sport Lived football programme in New Zealand. Very best wishes for the future Ian Dodd Director Sport Lived Limited

Posted 5 years ago

“Two of my sons have now experienced the Sport Lived cricket programme in Melbourne. As a parent I have been very impressed by Sport Lived and while it is an expensive route to a gap year I feel that SL fulfil all their commitments and both boys had an unforgettable experience. Communication with SL was excellent while the trips were being planned and both boys appreciated the support available locally from Kathy and Jessie. Highly recommended!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I do not believe that my Sport lived trip to CHCH was worth the money I paid. The promises made in the uk over the phone did not match what I received and the prices they have tried to justify for socials are laughable. As I was part of the rugby academy in NZ I do not feel that the hostel accommodation suitably accommodated my needs as I was unable to cook when I wanted to as the kitchen was poorly equipped for the number of guests (4 jobs for 100+ rooms). My coordinator, Tanaya, was lovely and a great help which is why I cannot give this a 1* review. However, without Tanya and the rugby academy then I would certainly be requesting a refund for the false information I was sold over the phone.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Hi Finlay Thank you for your feedback. I am extremely sorry that you were disappointed by your Sport Lived rugby programme in Christchurch. We are actively exploring other accommodation options in Christchurch and have raised feedback regarding the cooking facilities with our current accommodation provider. We plan a 7 month calendar of social events for customers playing Winter sports in Christchurch between February and August. In hindsight we would have arranged some of our larger social events earlier in the year so you would have had the chance to experience them during your 6 weeks in Christchurch. I am pleased that you enjoyed the Rugby Academy training and that you found Tanaya to be helpful in Christchurch. It is a shame that you were injured whilst in Christchurch and you didn’t play as much rugby as we would have hoped during your programme. Very best wishes Ian Dodd Director Sport Lived Limited

Posted 5 years ago

“Unbelievable experience meeting a great bunch of people throughout my trip, the sport was class, the people were incredible in CHCH and i cant thank my co-ordinator enough for being such a legend throughout my time. Id like to think ive made some lifelong friends :) THANKS!”

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Posted 5 years ago

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