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The Connaught Club has over 600 members with ages ranging from under 5 to over 90. We are a family friendly club and history has shown that members and their families join from generation to generation.
Membership
A wide-ranging range of membership options are available, from individual sports to multi- sports, family membership, and social membership for those who prefer to spectate rather than partake!
Social Groups
In addition to the sports at Connaught, we have a number of social groups that meet on a regular basis. There are weekly card games of Whist, Canasta and Poker, our popular Knit & Chat group, Yoga classes and indoor short-mat bowls during the winter months.
The Bar
The bar is the social hub of the Club and is open seven days a week offering a good selection of alcoholic and soft drinks, together delicious homemade food and cakes. We subscribe to both Sky Sports and BT Sport so the bar TV always has sport showing. Members can watch all the major sporting events, often accompanied with a BBQ!
Social Events
Throughout the year we put on social events for members. In the past these have included, quizzes, singalongs, themed evenings, Christmas parties and Sunday lunches, all of which are held in the main club pavilion which is also available for members to hire for private events.
Management and Staff team
Like all Clubs our success is built on the dedication shown everyday by our staff and coaching teams, together with our many volunteers. Together they look after members and ensure all facilities are in great condition. Nicholas Spike is our brilliant Manager and is ably supported by office, bar and ground staff.
The club is fortunate to have a growing team of member volunteers who undertake a whole range of duties to support the staff, from serving on committees to undertaking a whole range of general maintenance and gardening activities.
The Connaught Management Committee is made up of elected officers and nominated representatives from each of the sports committees. The current elected officers of the club are as follows:
President – Graham Murray
Treasurer – Nancy Lycett
Assistant Treasurer – Position Vacant
Secretary – Steve Francis
Assistant Secretary – Clare Francis
The Club also has two Welfare Officers, Georgina Robbins and Nikki Chesters who are responsible for promoting safeguarding within the venue and working with others to ensure a safe and inclusive environment is achieved.
The Venue
The Connaught Club is a registered LTA venue and hosts a number of its professional competitions during the year. In the past the Club hosted a pre-Wimbledon tournament that saw the likes Lew Hoad, Rod Laver and Virginia Wade grace our courts. In 2021 Emma Raducanu played at the club in an LTA event just weeks before winning the US Open.
Not to be outdone our Squash courts were used by the World Number 1 Peter Nicol as his training base in the 1970s. A recent resurgence by our current Squash teams has resulted in Connaught being crowned champions of the Essex Squash Premier League for the first time in many years!
