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THE British Club of Bahrain has ‘big plans’ to mark the 200th anniversary of friendship and strong bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Bahrain with a recruitment drive and another ‘very significant investment’ in updating its facilities and adding new attractions.
It follows on from extensive renovations and improvements to its Um Al Hassam premises in recent years and its committee is confident a special ‘200 for 200’ initiative will entice Brits new to the island to sign up.
Leading the charge is Chris Woodrow who recently took over as chairman having spent five years on the club’s committee with the last two as deputy. He said: “Given that this year is the 200-year celebrations between Bahrain and the UK, we are offering a very special ‘200 for 200’ initiative for new British members joining from this month.
“Any accepted new British family member will receive BD200 in club vouchers with their new membership, which will be split 50/50 between the new member and their proposer.
“Any new British single members will receive BD100 in club vouchers shared in the same way. When you consider that an annual family membership is BD260 and a single membership BD185, and you are getting a big chunk of this back to spend at your leisure on whatever you like in the club, this is a really superb deal!
“Not only this, from October 2016, all the annual memberships will include totally free use of our excellent health club, along with advice and guidance from our three fully qualified resident fitness instructors.
“We also have agreed significant capital expenditure to create a good sized ‘splash park’ for our younger members, with interactive water features, basically a really fun wet area adjacent to the main swimming pool. This will be completed by the third quarter of this year.”
The club has also teamed up with the Royal Golf Club, and throughout February is offering free golf ‘taster sessions’ on a Saturday morning, for six to 13-year-old members and their guests, with all the equipment and instruction provided by Royal Golf Club professional, Frank Murray.
“This should add some new young blood to our already thriving British Club golf section, which has almost 50 members, and plays regularly at the Royal Golf Club on a Friday morning.”
The club’s renowned Sports Bar will also later this month undergo a ‘full refurbishment’ with the new designs themed on a traditional British pub.
Plans are also underway to stage a spectacular Spring Show on April 7 and a couple of ‘international bands’ have been shortlisted to appear, although full details have yet to be finalised.
Chris, a project director, took over the hot-seat in December from Andrew Savage who was chairman for eight years, with several years as house member also. He was presented with an honorary lifetime family membership for his outstanding services to the club last December at the annual general meeting by Chris and membership secretary Simon Abraham.
The British Club of Bahrain’s membership in January stood at 1,675 but already news of the investment plans and 200-for-200 offer has seen a ‘spectacular response’.
It has received several accolades over the years. The club was announced as ‘The World’s Best British Social Club’ in 2010 by the judges of The Best of British Awards, run by The Telegraph, a leading British publication and website.
The club, which opened in 1935, was described by its many fans as ‘a social and recreational oasis … a five-star family club catering for everyone from one to 91 … a second home’.
At the last count it was estimated around 7,000 Britons work in Bahrain, making it the largest European community of expatriates.
More details can be found at the British Club of Bahrain website. “We are more than happy to show prospective members around our facilities at any time,” added Chris.
