About Wimbledon

The Lawn Tennis Championship Meeting is under the joint management of The All England Tennis and Croquet Club and The Lawn Tennis Association.

The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club

The Championships are run by a Committee consisting of 12 AELTC members and 7 nominees from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). Preparation for The Championships begins directly after the preceding meeting, implemented by seven full-time executives and their staff. Over 6,000 people attend The Championships in a working capacity. These include a temporary staff of several hundred, who are directly employed by The All England Lawn Tennis Club, and others who are provided by firms, contractors, voluntary bodies and public services, as well as representatives of the media. In short, during the Fortnight at the end of June and the beginning of July, the Club is a hive of activity, squarely in the eye of the sporting world. The All England Lawn Tennis Club Church Road Wimbledon London SW19 5AE

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

The museum offers a glimpse of how the original medieval real tennis has now become a multi-million dollar professional sport played all over the world. Open year round, the Museum includes memorabilia from many famous players and includes tours of Centre Court, featuring a state of the art Audio/Visual Theatre showing highlights of great players in action. Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

Committee of Management

A Committee of Management consisting of The All England Lawn Tennis Club Committee (twelve members) and seven nominees of The Lawn Tennis Association, form sub-committees for all major aspects of the meeting, e.g. catering, finance, ground, information technology, press and broadcasting, marketing, order of play, ticket allocations, transport, etc. The Club provides the staff back-up. The Committee: AELTC – T.D. Phillips (Chairman), P.G.H. Brook, J.S. Dunningham, R.M. Gradon, I.L. Hewitt, Miss. D.A. Jevans, Mrs. A.S. Jones, MBE., Mr M.A. King, Mrs. M.B.H. Macpherson, G.M. Newton, J.C. Tatum, K.F. Weatherley. LTA – S.G. Smith (President), P.W. Bretherton, Miss V. Gooding CBE, D.P. Howorth, Sir Robert Phillis, C.M. Thomson, C.R. Trippe.

Preparing for The Championships

The preparations for The Championships start directly after the preceding meeting. Improvements are considered by the Committee of Management and the decisions taken are implemented from then onwards. Grass renovation to the Centre and No.1 Courts starts immediately after The Championships and on the other courts during August and September. Between Championships, the Club has regular meetings with officials from the London Borough of Merton - within which the Club is situated - and other interested parties, to consider traffic and queueing problems experienced during the Fortnight and to monitor progress on remedies recommended. Maintenance of Courts The Centre Court and No.1 Court are re-sown each year, where necessary, as soon as possible after The Championships. Contrary to popular belief, they are not re-turfed. The outside courts, although used considerably more throughout the year, are also oversown. Merchandising The Wimbledon Merchandising programme was started by The All England Lawn Tennis Club in 1979 and has three objectives: to increase awareness of Wimbledon throughout the world to further enhance the image of The Championships to provide additional funds for the development of lawn tennis The All England Lawn Tennis Club has 24 licensees in 7 countries. The principal products licensed are tennis and casual wear, footwear, tennis rackets, bags and balls. In addition, the Club licenses a select range of luxury products such as towels, fine leather goods, sunglasses, crystal, jewellery and luxury food products. In the UK, there is a Wimbledon “Shop in Shop” in Harrods as well as duty free outlets at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The Club now has 20 Wimbledon shops in China under franchise. The trademarks of the Wimbledon crossed rackets and flying “W” are registered in some 42 countries. Wimbledon merchandise is available on the Website. Wimbledon Shop

Staff for The Championships

Referee's Office The Referee (Andrew Jarrett) is the arbiter on any question involving interpretation of the rules of the game. He also runs the Qualifying Competition. He and his assistants are responsible for putting matches onto court, recording and displaying results, allocating the duties of umpires and line judges, and undertaking a variety of other duties connected with the programme of matches. Crowd Management The Association of Wimbledon Honorary Stewards is responsible for crowd management and acts as ‘host’ to the public, directing, advising and giving help and guidance to visitors. The members marshal the queues (inside and outside the grounds) and supervise the seating of spectators with the assistance of volunteer Service personnel on leave and a contingent provided by the London Fire Brigade. The presence of Honorary Stewards at Wimbledon originated in 1927, but it was not until June 1950 that the Association was formed. The present membership is approximately 150. Service personnel were first used in 1946 and members of the London Fire Brigade in 1965. Consultants The Club engages the International Management Group, who assist with a number of on-site agreements. They are responsible for television rights, the official film of The Championships and matters relating to merchandising. Bell Pottinger are retained to advise on and assist with all matters relating to communications with the press and public. List of Staff An approximate list of official and staff engaged for the duration of The Championships is as follows: Ball Boys and Ball Girls 290 Ball Distributors 7 Carpenters, Electricians etc. 6 Catering Staff 1600 Court Attendants 128 Court Officials 335 Dressing Room Attendants 18 Electronic Scoreboard Operators & Data Collectors 46 Ground Cleaners 75 Groundsmen and Maintenance Men 46 Honorary Stewards 150 Left Luggage Attendants 30 Lift Operators 30 Office Cleaners 75 Physiotherapists 13 Practice Court Attendants 6 Press Staff 18 Referee's Office 16 Security Guards 480 Service and London Fire Brigade Stewards 490 Speed of Service Operators 8 Toilet Attendants 112 Transport Service Drivers 310 Website 15