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.