Portugal Youth Rugby Festival 2014

The Portugal Rugby Youth Festival is already established as one of the best international youth rugby festivals for club and school teams in Europe.  Held on Saturday 12th  and Sunday 13th April 2014, it will be the 6th time the event has been held and reflects the growth of the game in Portugal. Professionally organised in partnership with the Portuguese Rugby Federation, the quality of rugby is good, and the rugby located in a lovely setting just outside Lisbon.

We look at the tournament in a bit more detail and what packages are on offer. 

A total of 7 rugby pitches, including the Jamor Sports Complex National Stadium, make it a great setting for a tournament.  There are a mixture of local teams and touring teams, primarily from the UK. There is a minimum number of Portuguese teams involved  as one of the main goals for the event organisers is to contribute to the development of rugby in Portugal.

Venue

Lisbon, and in particular the Jamor Valley, offers excellent conditions for sports training camps and tournaments. It is popular with sports teams travelling to Portugal for warm weather training camps and the site offers great facilities for rugby, football, swimming, and athletics.  The Festival is held on 6 grass pitches, and also one artificial pitch that is IRB approved.  One of the grass pitches is the former National Football Stadium, where famously in 1967 Celtic won the European Cup against Inter Milan.  

Tournament

There is a difference between an English age category (with players born between September and August) and a European one (with players born between January and December). Your tour manager from Tours 4 Sport will help you get this right.

• U13 Category: Players born 2001 & 2002. 
• U15 Category: Players born 1999 & 2000.
• U17 Category: Players born 1997 & 1998
• U19 Category: Players born 1995 & 1996
• Note: at each category, any UK team can have up to 5 'UK eligible, European over-age' players on the field at any one time. In reality this makes the tournament a feasible option for U12s, U14s, U16s & U18s, plus U13s, 15s, 17s & 19s who are confident that they can always field a team with the prerequisite number of players born January-onwards

Last year 70 teams (2000 players) competed over the 4 categories, which included sides from England, Ireland, Wales, Portugal, and Spain. The pitches are very good quality and the finals generate good crowds. There will be a medical presence at the tournament plus of course bars and catering stands as well as other attractions. On the Sunday evening there will be an awards ceremony and party with live music. As rugby is a developing sport in Portugal, the national rugby federation put a lot of effort and resources behind this tournament, which the following video demonstrates:

The pointers below should help you with the basics of how the tournament works. 

• Pitch size: U13 & U15 play across half a pitch; U17 & U19 play on full size pitch. 
• Players: U13 is 10-a-side, U15 is 12-a-side, U17 & U19 are 15-a-side. 
• Pitch type. U13 is on 3G, U15 & U17 on grass, U19 on both grass and 3G. 
• Game duration: U13 & U15 both play 2 x 10 minutes; U17 & U19 play 2 x 15 minutes. 
• Number of games: All ages expect to play 3 group games on Saturday, followed by 2 or 3 knockout games on Sunday.  

Weather

Lisbon is blessed with glorious sunny days for most of the year and April is a perfect time of year for playing sport – not too hot yet but warm enough for shorts and certainly time on the beach to recover from the tournament and enjoy some leisure time.  You have the option of staying in accommodation on the coast, in Lisbon itself or close by to the tournament venue. 

Lisbon & surrounds

Lisbon, the westernmost city in continental Europe is ideal for a rugby tour. Warm weather, competitive rugby, stunning coastline, great nightlife, all in a wonderful city surrounded by beautiful Atlantic Coast beaches.

Lisbon offers several nearby beaches. Even though the waters are not as warm as in the south of the country, the beautiful beaches serve neatly to the interest of everyone. Most of the beaches are clean and fly the European Union Blue Flag for excellence.

The heart of Lisbon is filled with wide avenues, green trees, modernist-style buildings, mosaic decorations and numerous cafes. The city is now being reborn and renovated.  Portugal is an exceedingly friendly place. Its people are some of the nicest around to visiting tourists and truly have pleasure and enjoy in being good hosts.

The best way to see Lisbon is to take the Vintage Tram 28, which offers the ultimate view of Lisbon's sights for the price of a €1.35 ticket. The route from Campo Ourique to Martim Moniz is 45 minutes of astonishing views and absurdly steep climbs.

Most locals will speak to you in perfect English, without any visible annoyance, even with pleasure!

Accommodation 

You have the option of being based in the city centre, holiday park accommodation in the beautiful Jamor Valley, close to the tournemanent venue, or further along the coast in Estoril or the lovely fishing town of Cascais. There is a variety of accommodation on offer to suit different budgets and requirements.

The most popular and affordable accommodation is in chalets

 

We can also organise a city centre hostel, next to Marques de Pombal and Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon. Here you would be accommodated in multi-bedded room, and the hostel has bar, restaurant and common room with pool table. 

If your group wanted a little more luxury then we can offer 3* hotels in the popular tourist town of Estoril. You are within walking distance of the excellent beach, and the hotel has a nice outdoor pool overlooked by a terrace bar. If you prefer city living, then we have a 3* option in central Lisbon, without the pool but still with good quality facilities, including excellent bar and restaurant. 

Prices

We have 4, 5 and 6 day packages. They all include the following: 

• Meet & Greet from our local English speaking guide. 
• Return airport transfers upon arrival and departure in Lisbon. 
• Entry into the 2014 Portugal Youth Rugby Festival.
• 3/4/5 nights' half board (breakfast and evening meal) accommodation in your chosen venue. 
• Return transfers to both tournament days. 
• Free admission into all activities and associated events at the tournament. 
• Tournament gifts, including an event T-shirt. 
• Itinerary planning service. 
• Payment protection insurance. 

5 night package also includes half day Lisbon city tour. 

6 day package includes the half day tour, plus an additional friendly fixture against a local club, including return coach transfers from and to your accommodation. 

The following prices exclude flights:

• 6 days 3* hotel: £445
• 6 days hostel/holiday park: £379
• 5 days 3* hotel: £360
• 5 days hostel/holiday park £305
• 4 days 3* hotel: £299
• 4 days hostel/holiday park £269

Travel

Lisbon is only 2 ½ hours away from the UK and there are now many low cost flight connections to the city’s main airport. The tournament venue is located 20 minutes from Lisbon International Airport.

Flights can be organised in one of two ways. You can source your own flights with budget airlines, or we can book flights for you. Easyjet fly to Lisbon from Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London Gatwick, Luton. BA fly from London Heathrow. TAP Portugal also fly from London and Manchester.

For your chance to compete in this great tournament, contact Tours 4 Sport today on 0800 043 3887 or email info@tours4sport.com