Write to the editor

I’ve been reading your articles in the triathlon training series by Andy Price in GulfWeekly’s sports section with interest.

Being new to the kingdom and a keen swimmer, I had hoped that based on the swimming training sessions outlined in the articles, you may be able to advise on where in Bahrain I can find a pool long enough to do serious laps in i.e. 50m (Olympic size) or 25m, that are available for lap swimming and also to the general public i.e. not within the confines of a hotel, etc. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Blair Brice, by email.

* Andy’s reply: Thanks for the question. You have actually hit the nail firmly on the head. The lack of proper training opportunities is a real problem on the island.

There are a number of pools but access can be quiet limited. Up to the start of this term there has been no adult swimming club in the kingdom where adults can go and be trained and coached in a climate-controlled environment.

Most pools are not heated / chilled throughout the year so training becomes a problem.

The Bahrain Triathlon Club has just set up an adult club with St Christopher’s School but is restricted to two-evenings-a-week at the Saar campus as, quite rightly, pool time is prioritised for the children.

Membership is limited to 25 for pool safety and we were oversubscribed many times. Here are the best of the alternative options:

• National 50m pool at Isa Town (next to the Sh Khalifa Sports City) is open three nights a week for adult (male or female on alternative nights) from about 8pm. They have lane swimming but no coaching.
• Sports Clubs. The Bahrain Rugby Football Club, Dilmun Club and British Club of Bahrain all have good pools although I think only the Brit Club is heated and chilled. The rugby club plays hosts to the Bahrain Triathlon Club who train most of the year on a Sunday and Tuesday but you need a wet suit from about November to April.
• Hotels – there are many with pools and lanes to swim in but you need to be a member. The obvious solution is more (a second) adult swimming club!

Best of luck with your training.

Thanks to reporter Kristian Harrison and GulfWeekly for the excellent article about my new book The Tree of Life – people are not only reading the newspaper but acting on the information it contains.

The day before the article appeared, the e-edition of my book (titled The Mahboob Chaudri Mystery Megapack) was ranked #479 in Amazon’s ‘International Mystery & Crime’ category, but within 24 hours of the article’s appearance it had rocketed up more than 200 places on the list to #268.

I hope more of your readers will read and enjoy the book and then review it on Amazon. And, I’d be happy to hear directly from any readers who might have questions. Simply ‘Googling’ my name will lead them to my website and an email link.

Josh Pachter, By email.

Thanks so much for the great Eating Out review of the Links Brunch – we had double the number of covers this week!

Sue Addison,
senior marketing & PR manager,
Royal Golf Club.