The first breakfast meet of the year!
20.02.2022Great to see so many of our members out and...
Welcome to East Coast Mini Club
The Premier Mini Club based in the East of England, covering Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Our members all share a devotion to the Mini, both Classic and BMW - big or small we love them all. We are lucky to have some of the finest examples of both Mini groups in our club and our members have a vast experience and knowledge base of both Marques.
We welcome you to browse through our site to see exactly what we get up to and when, including our local meets, national shows. Join us on Facebook too and get involved in discussions and all things Mini related.
If you like what you see, why not join the club to get exclusive access to participate in club shows and activities, also discount benefits from our fantastic club sponsors.
Club History
East Coast Mini Club was formed in 2004 with a vision to create a club where EVERY kind of Mini and owner was welcome.
The Club was formed mainly due to the lack of clubs at the time accepting the new Mini into the clan, and so 'Suffolk Mini Club' was born in September 2004. By the following December, the Club had attracted enough local members to arrange the first meet and on a cold wet windy Sunday afternoon, 6 New Mini's met in Tesco's car park Ipswich. By February 2005 the Club had attracted more members and it became obvious that demand for such a club was much greater than first thought.
By this time we had gained members from Essex and Norfolk and the name 'Suffolk Mini Club' already seemed dated. The free basic website just was not coping with demand. In March 2005 the Club was re-branded East Coast Mini Club with the intent to cover a much wider audience taking in neighbouring counties Essex, Norfolk & Cambridgeshire, and even now we continue to grow.
The website was becoming ever more popular and a great way for members to stay in contact outside monthly meets. It soon became apparent a new website/forum was required, if the Club was to continue to grow and develop. The .co.uk domain name was quickly acquired and the new website forum was launched with great success.
The web now offered our members access to enthusiasts of all kinds with a knowledge base second to none. It soon became popular not only to Club members, but others located all over the country and even in other countries. Our Facebook page has over a 1000 likes from all over the world
The most important aspect however, is that the Club has brought together a grand mixture of great characters both young and old with something very important in common.
In 2011 it had become obvious that the club was now much much more than the idea that had been created back in 2004. It had a full paying active membership who were demanding more than the original founders could actually cope with. After a Series of discussions it was decided that the it was time the Club was formulated into a fully fledged members club, with a constitution and committee that could cement its future for the long term.
In July 2011 an election was held and members were asked to submit nominations for a new committee. The election followed and a new committee was formed. Following the election a new club constitution was professionally written and latter adopted, which now forms the foundation of the Club today. Future Club Committee elections will take place on an annual basis.
The Club committee are made up of all ages and disciplines, which helps steer the new Club structure in the right direction for the future, working hard to provide paid members with value for money and a range of meetings, events and activities throughout the year.
In the year 2012, it was been decided that the website has now once again aged and requires updating to meet the current demand of the world wide web, and maintain the needs of its members. This site sat in front of the forum and acted as a landing page with key information on it for members to find.
As the club continued to grow and the online community changes the club created a Facebook group which thrived with members and non-members all mingling and sharing Mini related stories. It soon become clear that a change was needed in order to restructure our core activity of events and align ourselves properly with the social media channels used by all.
In 2015 it was passed that a new site would be built around the management of events and bringing all our core activities into one place. This one place can then be used to push out to other mediums such as Facebook. This would allow us to manage and maintain our Club more easily and allow room for growth and really give us the edge to adapt to changes.
In the current year (2019) this is the site you are now using and now we plan our Club activities and meetings for the year ahead. Scheduling more meetings than ever, holding the biggest Eater Charity Run than ever before.
The Club has come a long way since its very humble beginnings back in 2004, and is now so well established it has been recognised throughout the country as the Premier Club for Mini Owners in the East.
Thank you for taking the time to read this brief history of ECMC, but the book is still being written and I hope you decide to join us and be part of the next exciting page in the Clubs History.