Local Sports Clubs Drawing Diplomats by Alan B. Nichols Sunil Lal couldnít imagine a week without exercise. As a press counselor with the Embassy of India, he volleys information to reporters and others who seek the official embassy position on various U.S.-Indian issues. At least twice a week, and more often if he can help it, he and three colleagues engage in volleying of another kind. The foursome are all members of the Regency Sport and Health Club in McLean, Va., where during lunch they typically play a brisk game of round robin doubles tennis. ìI have to have my exercise,î said Lal, 45, who has been posted in Washington, D.C., for nearly two years and has been playing tennis and golf for many more. ìI have a sedentary job, and it is important for me to get regular exercise. It helps my work and keeps my mind fresh.î Maryse Coutsouradis can attest to that. The agricultural attachÈ with the European Commission Delegation in Washington always manages to take time from her busy schedule to go to The Sports Club/LA, where she is a member. At the club, located within an easy walk of her office, Coutsouradis lifts weights, rides a stationary bicycle, a nd attends a few of the 104 free weekly classes for members, including yoga, kick boxing, aerobics and body sculpture. Lal and Coutsouradis are two of a growing number of foreign diplomats in Washington who stay fit at local sports and fitness clubs around the metropolitan area. There are an estimated 50,000 foreign diplomats in Washington, who collectively represent a sizable market for local member-based sports clubs, and these clubs are directing their marketing efforts accordingly. The Sports Club/LA downtown location offers discounts for embassy personnel, including half off the $600 initiation fee. In addition, if five or more diplomats from an embassy sign up, their individual monthly membership rate drops from $135 to $120. As a result of this focused marketing program, the club has seen a spurt of new diplomatic members from the Qatari, Brazilian and Mexican embassies, among others, and the European Union, which has approximately 25 club members. Located next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on 22nd and M Streets, NW, close to Embassy Row, The Sports Club/LA is a $40 million, 100,000-sq.-ft. complex that includes two swimming pools for lap swimming and aqua aerobics, four international squash courts that host regular competitions, two full-size basketball courts that convert to a soccer field for weekly and tournament play, a full-service spa, state-of-the-art weight and exercise machines, and space for some 100 classes in different disciplines. Styled as ìan urban country club,î the club also has a comfortable lounge complete with gourmet cafÈ-restaurant and a television bar. It is a relaxed environment where members can socialize or talk shop after a rigorous workout. The club, which is open seven days a week and has 40 trainers on a staff of 300, also sponsors a round robin embassy soccer tournament each summer and keeps about 200 squash enthusiasts busy with regular tournaments. ìAs the cutting-edge health and fitness club in the area,î said club general manager Jim Bunnell, ìThe Sports Club/LA offers area diplomats a world-class fitness destination, but moreover, we are dedicated to giving our members a comfortable place to socialize, work out and relax.î He added, ìOur soccer and squash programs have really taken off due to the suggestions and enthusiasm of our international members, whose ideas also encouraged the diversification of our group exercise schedule to include belly dancing and alternative forms of yoga.î Malcolm Hopker, deputy head of administration at the European Commission (EC), has personally encouraged 21 EC delegates to join The Sports Club/LA. ìPeople who exercise work better and have a joie de vivre,î said Hopker, a former British naval officer and defense consultant who is a member of the club. Coutsouradis, one of Hopkerís recruits at The Sports Club/LA, finds that the club, with all its facilities and class offerings, has piqued her interest in a broader number of sports and exercise programs. ì[The club] has been very good for me,î said the French official, who grew up with such sports as gymnastics, swimming and tennis. ìThe many classes give me flexibility in terms of my schedule. I take classes in the evenings after work as well as on weekends. There is no question I feel better by exercising.î Rodrigo Labardini, a counselor of special affairs for the Mexican Embassy, is one of seven Sports Club/LA members from the embassy. An insatiable squash enthusiast who also swims and spends time on the rowing machine, Labardini noted, ìI try to play as much as possible, and no matter how much I play itís not enough. Squash is very physically demanding and explosive. It requires getting a jump on the ball and hitting it hard. Itís a socially acceptable way I can release tension. ìAfter my workout, I am more ready to get back to work,î added the Mexican diplomat, who normally works out during his lunch break. One of the advantages of a sports club, according to Labardini, is that it presents a culture of sociability and exercise where people with a similar interest in staying fit can socialize, get acquainted and rub elbows. He says that on a couple of occasions, he has gained some ideas about how to do his job better as a result of casual conversations with people during a workout. These experiences notwithstanding, Labardini noted that the sport and health club culture in the United States is, in general, different from that of Mexico and other countries. ìIn the U.S.,î he said, ìpeople tend to work out and leave, as they are usually pressed for time to get to their afternoon appointments. This leaves little time for sheer socializing. In Mexico on the other hand, a lunch can easily take two hours. Thatís because the culture places a value on food as something to be enjoyed and not just consumed in order to keep the body moving.î Labardini also said that other cultures place a higher value on people knowing and learning from each other in more than just a strict business sense. ìIn the States,î said Labardini, ìpeople consume exercise like they do food.î If the American way of sports is a bit more serious than in other countries, it is not discouraging a large number of Washington-based diplomats from frequenting the sports clubs. ìQuite a few of our members are from embassies, including the Saudi Embassy,î said John Pilkenton, membership director at the Regency Sport and Health Club in McLean. ìI just hired a Brazilian,î the director added, ìand his concern was that his English was not very good. I told him not to worry because many of our members donít speak English as a first language.î According to Pilkenton, the majority of diplomatic members, such as the Embassy of Indiaís Lal and others, are primarily interested in racquet sports, but they also like the ìfamily atmosphereî of the club. ìI signed up a woman whose husband is high up in the Japanese Embassy,î Pilkenton said. ìOnce you get the reputation as a facility with a lot to offer, the word spreads quickly.î ìDiplomats like the multipurpose clubs. They are generally not attracted to just a gym atmosphere,î added the Regency Clubís general manager, Bill Makrigiorgos. Although some diplomats are entirely open about their interest in fitness and working out at local sports clubs, others prefer to keep a low profile. A spokesman for Goldís Gym at the Connecticut Avenue location said that the club has ìa lot of diplomats but they would prefer that no one know that theyíre here.î Alan B. Nichols is a freelance writer in Bethesda, Md. Exercising for the Whole Family Ambassador of the Netherlands Boudewijn J. van Eenennaam is a very busy man, but he doesnít neglect his exercise. Every morning before work, if he is not traveling, he goes to The Sports Club/LA in Washington, D.C., where he does reps on the rowing machine and stationary bike before retiring to the steam room to read the newspaper. His wife, Jellie van der Steeg, is equally fitness-oriented, attending workouts daily at the club. Their daughter, Kim, 10, is a champion swimmer who recently took three silver medals in her age class at a major competition in Holland. For three weeks before the meet, Kim worked with Sports Club/LA trainer Johan Setterberg, who was on the Swedish national swim team in the mid-1990s. Setterberg had Kim practicing state-of-the-art techniques, including the cycle setówhich involves swimming four lap sets in succession using varying stroke styles and speedsóand underwater sculling drills designed to improve a swimmerís feel of the water. These techniques not only improved Kimís conditioning, but also increased the power and efficiency of her stroke. As for Jellie van der Steeg, she said, ìIím a regular at the club. Our lifestyle consists of much eating and drinking. For me, working out is not only a pleasure, but a necessity.î --Alan B. Nichols