North Sea Trophy ll Middelkerke, Belgium - 29 untill 30 May 2010 (June) (be)

A long weekend away, a pleasant Belgium seaside resort and, of course, some football matches. These are the ingredients that are sure to make the North Sea Trophy a success. The tournament begins on Friday afternoon when the teams report to the meeting point in Middelkerke. Then everyone is free to come and go as they please, and Ostend’s dazzling nightlife will almost certainly guarantee an enjoyable evening. Football will be played on Saturday. The participating teams will play in groups of four or five. Only the first and second team in each group will qualify for the final round. The other teams will go to the challenge round. Saturday evening is free to spend as one pleases. Ostend is again a good choice for a pleasant evening out, but Middelkerke with its casino and monumental Bruges are worthwhile. On Sunday, the qualifying rounds and the finals are on the programme. The tournament will be brought to an end with an award ceremony.

As well as participation at the tournament, Euro-Sportring also arranges the accommodation for the participants. Participants can usually choose between school accommodation, group accommodation (youth accommodation and bungalows) and hotels. The accommodation we offer has been selected with care and must comply to a number of conditions such as are they within easy reach of the sports park, do they provide value for money, are they suitalbe for sports groups, are they safe and are the management fliexible. For more information about the available accommodation please see the pdf pricelist which can be found on this website.

Middelkerke. Middelkerke is a seaside-resort situated 9 km south-west of Ostend. This touristic town offers all possible attractions for foreign guests. Along the boulevard you will find the Casino of Middelkerke, bars, restaurants and of course several attractive shopping streets

Bruges (20 km from Gistel) with its beautiful centre filled with stunning buildings is one of the tourist highlights of Belgium. No wonder that the city lures many tourists every season of the year. In particular the “Grand Square” and area around it, is famous for its cultural treasures. Bruges’ main shopping and entertainment centre is also around the “Grand Square”. This is where all the shopping streets such as the Steenstraat and the Zuidzandstraat, meet up. There are also two markets on Saturdays. Bruges is a great town for an evening out, with no end of pubs, beer houses, bistros and restaurants with younger people flocking to the Eiermarkt and the pubs and nightclubs on Op ’t Zand.

The “Grand Square” is the centre of Bruges cultural life. You can’t miss the 83 metre, octagonal Belfort tower, from where you’ll enjoy wonderful views of the city and even the coastline when the weather permits! Discover Bruges from the other side by taking a boat trip which will transport you around the canals. There are five departure points (incl. the Nieuwstraat and Wollestraat). Boat trips daily between 10.00 and 18.00 hours (prices up to approx. € 5,70.

Ostend (7 miles from Gistel) is also known as the 'Queen of the Coastal Towns' and is the only Belgian coastal resort that is as lively in the winter as it is in the summer. Culture, sport, gastronomy: there’s a huge variety of things to choose from. Because of the fact that thousands of English tourists visit Ostend each year, the English even call the city of Ostend 'the most British town in Europe'. Why not combine a day at the beach with a museum? In Ostend, you can visit the North Sea aquarium ( Open daily from 10.00 – 12.00 and 14.00 – 18.00, entrance prices up to € 2,-) or the Amandine ship, which houses an interactive fisheries museum (open daily 10.00 – 18.00, entrance prices up to € 3 p.p.). Sporty beach visitors can go (kite) surfing at a number of locations.