Wimbledon and the Local Community
Wimbledon, on the southern edge of London, is world famous for its tennis championships. The All England Lawn Tennis Club does its bit for the local community.
Dateline: 22nd May 2003

Tim Henman
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The All England Lawn Tennis Club continues to be active in providing support in a variety of ways to the local community, especially the London Boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth.

This is in addition to the fact that every year the Club passes over the surplus - the profit - of The Championships to The Lawn Tennis Association for the development of tennis throughout the country. Highlights this year include:

The Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI)

• Part of ‘The Road to Wimbledon’ (the Club’s junior tennis programme)
• Sponsored and run by the Club in liaison with Merton and Wandsworth Councils
• The number of children who have had the chance to experience the game at their school through a special Club coaching team has increased from 12,000 to around 19,000
• The number of Merton and Wandsworth state schools taking part has increased from 24 to 32
• Some 2,500 children have now attended free tennis coaching and skills sessions held at the Club most weekends (since 12 May 2001)
• 19 children who have shown particular talent have had further training and skills sessions at the Club and, of these, six were recently taken for a week’s intensive training in La Manga, Spain
• Selected players will again have the thrilling chance to play at The Championships before play starts on the middle Saturday (28 June). The youngsters will be performing a mixture of tennis exercises and general sports skills and drills on Court 14
• Around 250 children who have shown particular commitment and enthusiasm throughout the year will be invited to come to the Club on Saturday 21 June to see the players practising on the Championship courts
• Extra impetus will be given to the WJTI by the appointment of Dan Bloxham (from 12 May 2003), as the full-time junior coach at the Club. Dan is a leading junior coach, who has already successfully delivered a large part of the Club's local junior tennis programme.

National 14 and Under Challenge

• Part of ‘The Road to Wimbledon.
• Number of young players set to participate risen to 13,000 from 10,000 in 2002
• 96 more clubs taking part bringing total to 696 (600 in 2002)
• Club and county qualifying singles competitions held from April-July 2003
• 44 County Finals for the winners of each club closed singles event
• National Finals involving 96 players (48 boys/48 girls) held on the Championship grass courts at Wimbledon, August 18-23 2003.

Museum Education Programme

• Launched in September 2001 and part of ‘The Road to Wimbledon’
• Over 1000 children have taken part in the specially developed workshops directly linked to the National Curriculum and which capitalise on the Museum’s facilities and artefacts
• Offers a fun, interactive and hands-on learning programme in unique surroundings for children up to age 11
• Puts the All England Club and lawn tennis at the heart of the History, Science and Art curriculum and QCA Schemes of work
• Includes the History of Lawn Tennis, Victorian Wimbledon, Health and Fitness, and Players in Action
• A specially equipped classroom is available to schools, set within Centre Court.

‘Playing for Success’ Study Support Centre

• New joint initiative between the Club, the London Borough of Merton and the Department of Education and Skills, run by the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
• Occupies a state-of-the-art IT suite set in Centre Court
• Offers a stimulating after-school programme for pupils in Merton focussing on numeracy, literacy and IT
• Consists of enjoyable tennis–related activities, including tours of the grounds and Museum visits as well as award ceremonies to celebrate pupil achievement
• First stage of pilot project completed April 2003, fully operational in September 2003
• Aims to involve 300 children in the first year of operation.

LTA juniors to play on Centre and No.1 Courts

• Part of ‘The Road to Wimbledon’
• As a further encouragement to juniors, players from the LTA’s Futures Programme (boys aged 11-13, girls aged 10-13) will be putting on a demonstration of tennis skills and exercises on Centre and No.1 Courts before play begins on the middle Saturday of The Championships.

LTA national squads

• Part of ‘The Road to Wimbledon’
• A national junior girls’ squad, coached by LTA National Coach Nick Brown, has been based at Wimbledon throughout the year for training and practice.

Wimbledon Park Tennis Courts

• Local tennis players and residents will benefit from a new agreement with Merton Council whereby the Club is paying for the re-surfacing of the 10 artificial grass courts in Wimbledon Park.
• These courts form part of the Championships’ reserve practice facilities in case of bad weather.
• Merton Council will be responsible for their maintenance for the next 10 years.
• Work is in progress and the courts are scheduled to be ready for use by mid-May (see separate press release for full details).

Dressing the Area around the Club

The Club has again sponsored the many hanging baskets and planters that beautify Wimbledon Village and surrounding roads including Southfields.

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