CHPRSL 2020 Wrap Up

CHP RSL 2020 WRAP UP

As the year 2020 begins to wind down, we wanted to share with our Members a reflection on the year and let you know what is coming up. We remain hopeful that the year ends as it began, but many things will remain a little different. We have all had to adjust to a ‘new normal’ as we navigate our daily lives through the pandemic. As the year progressed circumstances saw the Club become smaller and smaller, and as the year comes to an end we are gradually ramping back up! In this edition of ‘What’s On’ we have wrapped up our journey and share the future horizons of your Club as we look forward to 2021.

From early March Australian society & culture had to change, and quickly. We all learnt a strange and new behaviour when ‘social distancing’ became necessary for our health and safety. By March 2020 the Government limited indoor gatherings to 100 and imposed a strict ‘social distancing’ rule of one person per 4 square metres. The hospitality industry had to adjust to progressive ‘step changes’ as required, and your Club took every necessary measure to be compliant. By the third week in March, non-essential gatherings had become limited to a maximum of 20 people, and Pubs and Clubs had no choice but to close their doors throughout the community. Then on the 29th of March, for the health and safety of ourselves and others, we pressed pause on our daily lives as we went into ‘lock down’, an unfamiliar scenario for Australians. It was incredible how, as a nation we all adjusted to a ‘new normal’, and how powerful the cooperation of communities, cities, states and the nation as a whole was able to achieve what we did and continue to do so.

How we are steering your Club toward 2021! From the moment we were forced to close our doors, the longevity of the situation was unknown. Whilst everyday life had changed for the health and wellbeing of a nation, we proceeded with diligence to ensure the health and wellbeing of your Club. It was an extremely difficult day when the majority of our workforce had to be ‘stood down’ due to our inability to trade. As your Club sat silently in the absence of our Members and our staff, and the many other contributors that make our Club so vibrant, we were committed to keeping your Club both physically and financially healthy. During this period we strove to remain connected to our staff and our Members and offer all the support we were able. We took the time to perform maintenance on the Club facilities, as we forward planned for the day we would reopen the Club as what would become the ‘new normal’. As our community’s new way of life became evermore ‘digitised’ we mindfully connected with you all and the greater community via emails and social media.

CHP RSL were also able to support the Community by playing our part in assisting NSW Health, and their amazing frontline healthcare workers by providing the carpark for use as a drive-through Covid-19 testing clinic.

As we geared up for a long road to open, the efforts of our Community and the nation as a whole were a great success, and by mid-May we received the news that on June 1 we were able to open our doors. When we were able to welcome you back, it was with necessary limitations. Restrictions on our capacity, and the necessary hygiene and social distancing measures, meant that we needed to do things a little differently. Consequently offers such as ‘Big Time Entertainment’ in the auditorium, Member Promotions, and other crowd gathering activities remain unsuitable.

We simplified our food offering with a Club wide menu ‘CHP Eats’ where east meets west. The menu is a fusion of culinary offers from ‘Nu Bambu’, ‘Café Brass’ and ‘Club Bistro’ that can be managed out of one kitchen, and served into multiple venues. The feedback on this has been excellent, and we have certainly taken some learnings from the necessary exercise. Toward the end of July, we were required to adhere to further necessary restrictions on Club operations and patron behaviours. This included a Club capacity of 300 patrons, with a number of restrictions to prevent comingling. As a registered COVIDSafe venue with the health and well-being of our staff and patrons being our highest priority, we made some changes to the ‘foot print’ of the Club, to better facilitate ‘social distancing’ and to ensure we were providing an environment where you could all feel safe and comfortable. We created a new ‘ARENA’ of facilities in the Auditorium, providing more space to spread out, and outdoor dining is now available on ‘The Park’ terrace.

To better facilitate venue capacities we are now taking online bookings via our website, and launched the CHPRSL APP! If you haven’t got the APP vantage yet, ask us in Club on your next visit, or find out more www.chprsl. com.au/chprslapp In the absence of a progressive line up of live entertainment, we are enjoying providing great experiences in line with all the broadcast sport on our BIG screens, available in both ‘The Park’ bar and ‘The Arena’. It’s been really exciting to see the Club environment creating fun experiences for our patrons. The footy season and Spring Carnival days have really demonstrated how we are bringing the big screen action to life in the Club!

Everything we do, we do with your well-being in mind, and as it has been safe to do so we have reintroduced a few activities, such as Cash Housie, Community Raffles and Trivia Nights. HP Fitness has also begun running a few classes with a full timetable to be launched for the New Year!