Tigers Challenge
Tour Information

Important

The Tigers Challenge is a touring festival. Accommodation for your whole group, including players, club officials and families/spectators, must be booked through ESF Events. Individuals who are not booked through ESF Events are not part of the event and do not have permission to attend the playing venues as a player, official or spectator, or to attend the presentation ceremonies at Butlin’s. If members of your group (players, club officials, spectators) attend the event but have not booked accommodation through ESF Events, the team may not be permitted to participate in the festival.

The only exception to this is ‘local’ teams, who may be invited to participate in the festival by ESF Events to ensure the best possible format in each age group.

HOW TO BOOK

Click here for details on how to register your team/Club for the Tigers Challenge and how to book accommodation at Butlin’s resorts.

TOUR ITINERARY

DAY 1, FRIDAY: ARRIVAL DAY –

No rugby is played on the day of arrival. Accommodation units should be available from 4pm – Butlin’s will confirm your check in time prior to your break. Guests can arrive on resort from 1pm and use the facilities at Butlin’s. There will be a full evening entertainment programme on the Friday. Our welcome meeting for team coaches will take place on Friday evening at around 8pm.

DAYS 2 & 3, SATURDAY & SUNDAY:

All teams will participate in festivals that take place on both the Saturday & Sunday. Each Age Grade will be organised in accordance with the RFU guidelines and teams should expect to play 5 – 7 games over the weekend. The event format may vary depending on the number of teams registered in each Age Grade.

The celebrity presentation ceremonies will take place on the Sunday afternoon/evening. Teams are welcome to travel home on the Sunday evening after the presentations, or Monday morning.

DAY 4, MONDAY: DEPARTURE DAY –

Check out of accommodation is 10.00am but you do not have to leave the resort until Midday.

TEAM ENTRY FEES

There are no Team Entry Fees to enter the Tigers Challenge. All costs involved with staging the festival are included in the accommodation charges. As such, it is a condition of entry to the festival that all members of your touring party (players, coaches, officials, spectators, family members etc.), book accommodation through ESF Events. If you are not booked through ESF Events at Butlin’s, you are not part of the event and do not have permission to attend the playing venues as a player, official or spectator, or to attend the presentation ceremonies at Butlin’s.

FESTIVAL FORMAT

Festivals are played on the Saturday and Sunday with all teams playing fixtures on both days, typically playing 5 – 7 games over the weekend. Full details of each individual age grade format will be emailed to all teams prior to the 2026 Tigers Challenge. Throughout the duration of each event the Tigers Challenge will be looking to celebrate clubs who demonstrate the true ethos of the game under our event criteria in keeping with the RFU Age Grade Rules and Guidelines.

All age sections will be played under the RFU Age Grade Rules for 2025-2026. Leicester Tigers have worked closely with the RFU and we will be organising our events in keeping with their ethos, and our continuing ethos. All teams will get a fair amount of games over the weekend in a competitive and fun environment. We will be celebrating everyone’s achievements at the end of the weekend and championing clubs that best embrace the new focus for our game, within the new guidelines. A Final Briefing will be emailed to Group Leaders 7-10 days before the festival. The Final Briefing email will include the Event Format, Fixtures & Schedules and Rules.

AGE QUALIFICATION DATES

Consideration will be given to official dispensation where held under RFU Regulation 15. However this is at the discretion of the Organisers and subject to specific Tigers Challenge Rules. Please contact ESF Events for further details if required.

We would advise International teams from Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and other countries to read RFU Regulation 15 carefully, so that you are aware of the Age Grade regulations of the RFU. As the Tigers Challenge is an RFU approved festival, the festival is played in accordance with the RFU regulations and subject to Tigers Challenge Rules.

PLEASE NOTE: As per RFU guidelines, mixed teams of boys and girls are not permitted in the U12 age sections, so girls cannot compete in the U12 boys age sections at the Tigers Challenge.

If you have any queries regarding the eligibility of players, please contact ESF Events by telephone on 01664 566360, or via email at info@tigerschallenge.co.uk

PLAYER REGISTRATION

Participating teams are required to complete a Player Registration Form, which includes the name and date of birth of all players to be registered for the festival.

Please take note of the RFU Regulations, specifically Regulation 15: Age Grade Rugby which is detailed at http://www.englandrugby.com/governance/regulations/

International teams from Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and other countries are advised to read RFU Regulation 15 carefully, so that you are aware of the Age Grade regulations of the RFU. As the Tigers Challenge is an RFU approved festival, the festival is played in accordance with the RFU regulations and subject to Tigers Challenge Rules.

International teams must apply to their National Governing Body (WRU, IRFU etc.) for permission to participate in the 2026 Tigers Challenge. The permission to tour must be emailed to info@tigerschallenge.co.uk at least eight weeks prior to the festival.

If you have any queries regarding the eligibility of players, please contact ESF Events by telephone on 01664 566360, or via email at info@tigerschallenge.co.uk

ACCOMMODATION

IMPORTANT: Accommodation for your whole group, including players, club officials and families/spectators, must be booked through ESF Events at Butlin’s. If members of your group (players, club officials, spectators) attend the event but have not booked accommodation through ESF Events at Butlin’s, the team will not be permitted to participate in the Tigers Challenge. If you are not booked through ESF Events at Butlin’s, you are not part of the event and do not have permission to attend the playing venues as a player, official or spectator, or to attend the presentation ceremonies at Butlin’s.

Once the club is registered, ESF Events will email the Group Leader a unique accommodation booking link for each age section registered. Group Leaders can simply forward this email to the parents in your group, who can then book accommodation for their family/friends on the ESF Events section of the Butlin’s website, through the accommodation booking link. Your party will be given an Accommodation Booking Deadline by ESF Events, which is normally 3 weeks after your team(s) registration has been accepted. A deposit of £30 per person is required to book accommodation. The final balance for accommodation will be due no later than 10 weeks before the festival. Final balance payments can be made by your families at www.butlins.com/pay

Accommodation is allocated on a first-come first-served basis. All sizes and grades of accommodation are subject to availability, so early booking is strongly recommended. If you select a particular size or grade of accommodation which is no longer available, you will be offered the nearest alternative.

UNOCCUPIED BEDS: In cases where a unit of accommodation is booked leaving unoccupied beds, a full subsidy will be charged. i.e. If 3 people book a 4 berth unit of accommodation, they would have to pay for 4 people. Infants under the age of 2 years, who go free if you bring along your own cot, do not count towards the occupancy of a unit.

WRISTBANDS

Each guest who has booked accommodation through ESF Events will receive a Tigers Challenge wristband when they check in at Butlin’s. Please be aware that the ESF Events wristband is required to attend the playing venues as a player, club official or spectator, attend the presentation ceremony at Butlin’s, and enter evening entertainment venues at Butlin’s.

Event wristbands are not available to purchase separately. If you are not booked through ESF Events at Butlin’s, you are not part of the event and do not have permission to attend the playing venues as a player, official or spectator, or to attend the presentation ceremonies at Butlin’s.

DINING PLANS AT BUTLIN’S

Half Board Dining Plans at Butlin’s include breakfast and evening meal. Evening meal is included on the day of arrival, but not if you arrive after the restaurant is closed. Breakfast is included on the day of departure. The meal times are scheduled so they don’t clash with your festival fixtures.

SUPERVISION: ADULT TO CHILD RATIOS

At least one responsible adult over the age of 21 must occupy each unit of accommodation. A minimum adult to child ratio of 1 to 2 is required for your party by Butlin’s.

FANCY DRESS

The Bognor Regis and Minehead festivals are sole occupancy events at Butlin’s. Therefore, both children and adults are permitted to wear fancy dress on resort during the daytime and evening at Butlin’s, providing the fancy dress is not offensive.

INSURANCE

The Tigers Challenge is covered for ‘Public Liability’ insurance by ESF Events. However, this does not cover individual teams or ‘person to person’ public liability, personal accident or injury whilst attending the festival. We strongly recommend that all participating clubs, if they are not already covered, should take out insurance cover for these risks.

We also strongly recommend all members of your party take out appropriate holiday insurance. ESF Events are not responsible for the property of individuals attending the Tigers Challenge, both at Butlin’s resort or at the festival venues.

TEAM/CLUB CANCELLATION

Click here to view the Terms & Conditions of booking, which include cancellation conditions.

If you need to cancel your Team/Club registration at the Tigers Challenge, the Group Leader for the booking must email ESF Events to notify us that the Team/Club are withdrawing from the festival.

Please note – The Initial Deposit Payment paid by the Team/Club to register for the Tigers Challenge will not be refunded to Teams/Clubs who cancel their registration.

ACCOMMODATION CANCELLATION AT BUTLIN’S

Click here to view the Terms & Conditions of booking, which include cancellation conditions at Butlin’s.

BEHAVIOUR & CONDUCT

It is the responsibility of the Group Leader and adults in the group to ensure the behaviour of all members of your touring party is acceptable at all times while on tour.

The Tigers Challenge Code of Conduct will be forwarded to all Group Leaders prior to the festival. This Code of Conduct must be accepted and adhered to by all members of your group whilst in attendance at the festival, both at the playing venue and at Butlin’s.

Clubs will be charged for any damages caused by members of their group. In extreme cases of unacceptable behaviour, ESF Events and the Resort Management reserve the right to terminate a tour/holiday, whereby part or all of a Team/Club may be eliminated from the festival and required to leave the playing venue and Butlin’s resort, without refund.

EVENT ORGANISERS

The Tigers Challenge is organised and staged by ESF Events Ltd (Company Registration Number 7695303).
Registered Address: ESF Events Ltd, 18A Park Lane, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE13 0PT

Tel: 01664 566360
Email: info@esfevents.co.uk

Please note – Phone calls made to ESF Events Ltd may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

FINANCIAL PROTECTION

 

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for ESF Events Limited number 5165 and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for:

• Non-flight packages

Please note that:

• Bookings with and payments made directly to Butlins are not covered by ABTOT.
• Bookings not purchased directly with ESF Events Limited as Principal to the contract are not covered by ABTOT.

ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package.  In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/

WEBSITE ACCURACY

To the best of our knowledge, all information on this website is accurate. Please be aware that there may be occasions when the facilities listed on the website and in the brochure are modified or unavailable due to factors beyond our control.

TERMS & Conditions of booking

Click here to view the Terms & Conditions of booking. ESF Events Ltd reserve the right to amend these Terms at any time, you will be notified of any changes.

By making a Booking and/or participating in the Event, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions.