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 Changes
for the 2003 Wimbledon Tennis Championships
The
All England Lawn Tennis Association is constantly looking for
ways to improve the Wimbledon Championships for spectators and
players. Find out what has changed this year.
Dateline: 22nd
May 2003
Middle Saturday
Safety concerns over the size of the Middle Saturday queue have
resulted in measures being introduced to try to limit the numbers
of people queuing overnight on Friday. The move comes after
a review of the queuing operation with the Police and Local
Authorities.
The queue has grown to the extent
that, in 2002, an estimated 9000 people – an increase of
6000 on other days - camped out overnight in Wimbledon Park
and the surrounding areas.
Enormous practical problems of
maintaining control and ensuring the health and safety of such
numbers (overcrowding in the Park resulted in a serious incident
last year) have reached a critical stage.
This year’s arrangements
for the middle Saturday will be no different from those on the
first nine days of the event:
- The number of Centre Court
tickets on sale on the day will be around 500 (as opposed
to 2000 last year) in line with No.1 and No.2 Courts.
- There will be no discounts
for on-day sales
Wimbledon is the only major sporting
event in the UK at which premium tickets are specifically reserved
for sale on the day at the turnstiles. The 1500 Centre Court
tickets previously allocated for sale on the day will be redistributed
on a 50/50 basis to the benefit of the public ballot, which
is open to everyone, and British tennis via the The Lawn Tennis
Association’s (LTA) 114 performance clubs.
Chris Gorringe, Chief Executive
of the All England Club, says: “The Wimbledon queue has
become a legendary part of the event itself and it is a tradition
we dearly wish to retain. At the same time we have a serious
responsibility for the safety of all those coming to The Championships.
“The huge popularity of
Middle Saturday has resulted in overnight queues of nearly unmanageable
proportions prompting increasing concern that safety could be
compromised if the numbers queuing overnight kept rising. We
are therefore introducing measures to try to reduce the numbers
and our message to spectators is clear.
“As there will be fewer
Centre Court tickets on sale at the gates on the Middle Saturday,
you are encouraged not to travel to the Club on Friday night,
but to come on Saturday morning instead when there should also
be plenty of ground tickets still available at the turnstiles.”
Additional information
- Middle Saturday: Originally
introduced by the Committee in 1992 to encourage families
and recreate the unique atmosphere of the previous year when
play took place on the Middle Sunday for the first time.
- Public ballot: Open to everyone.
Owing to demand for Wimbledon tickets, the public ballot is
still regarded as the fairest way to distribute Show Court
tickets. It has always been substantially oversubscribed.
- LTA accredited performance
clubs: A GB wide network of 114 targeted clubs (anticipated
154 by Wimbledon 2003) with the emphasis firmly on delivery
of the best junior performance programmes .
Security
- There will be NO Left Luggage
facilities inside the grounds.
- All Left Luggage facilities
will be relocated outside the grounds at several locations
on the Golf Course, Car Park 1 and St Mary’s Church car
park.
- Spectators are advised to
bring as little luggage with them as possible.
- Spectators should be prepared
for extra searches, including of the person, at all entry
points.
Wimbledon Film
- The Club has entered into
an agreement with the production company Working Title Films
to assist in the making of the film Wimbledon, a romantic
comedy starring Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman) and Paul Bettany
(A Beautiful Mind).
- Some scenes will be filmed
during this year’s Championships followed by extensive
filming at the Club during July and August.
- This film, scheduled for release
in autumn 2004, will bring the excitement of tennis to a wider
audience and help promote the sport.
Technology at Wimbledon
- Mobile users worldwide will
be able to access the Wimbledon website, which will be optimised
for their PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).
- For the first time dedicated
full match commentary from Radio Wimbledon, the Official Championships
Radio Station, will be available.
Park and Ride Service
- A second public Park and Ride
service will be introduced this year complementing the existing
service based at Motspur Park.
- Parking will be at St George’s
Park, Wandsworth.
- Cost is £10 per car,
£15 per minibus.
- Free bus transfer provided
to and from the Club.
Television
- Two important new contracts
have been signed in the USA with NBC and ESPN.
- NBC Sports has agreed a four-year
extension of its contract making this year its 35th consecutive
year as Wimbledon’s network rights holder in the United
States.
- ESPN has agreed a four-year
agreement for television and multimedia coverage of The Championships
reaching 87 million homes in the USA.
- Together they will provide
not only around 150 hours of live TV coverage of The Championships,
but also extensive marketing benefits to the Club's official
suppliers and merchandising programme in the form of TV commercials
on the Wimbledon telecast.
Bowing/Curtseying on Centre
Court
Following discussions
on the subject over several years and in accordance with the
wishes of HRH The Duke of Kent, the Club’s President, it
has been agreed that the time is right to discontinue the tradition
of players bowing/curtseying to members of the Royal family
on entering or leaving the Centre Court. The only exceptions
will be for HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales.
Junior Championships
Junior matches will
start at 11.00am (as possible) on the outside courts in the
second week.
Wheelchair Tennis
Following the popularity
of the wheelchair tennis exhibition matches that have been staged
on Court 14 on the morning of the Ladies’ Singles Final,
an additional wheelchair tennis exhibition match is scheduled
to be played on Sunday 6 July, ahead of the Men’s Singles
Final.
Practice Courts
In accordance with
the players’ wishes to be able to practise on site, two
more practice courts on the Lower Terrace in Car Park 4 will
be available in Aorangi Park, bringing the on-site total to
16. A further six grass courts for 2004 are under construction
at the Club’s Southlands College site, which is adjacent
to the other practice courts in Aorangi Park.
Coin Tossing Ceremonies
Young people from nominated
charities will again perform the coin toss before each of the
Singles’ Finals. The
Stroke Association has been nominated by Miss Angela Mortimer
(Ladies’ Singles Champion 1961) for the Ladies’ Final
on 5 July. SPARKS (SPort
Aiding medical Research for KidS) has been nominated by Mr Buzzer
Hadingham (former Chairman of the Club) for the Men’s Final
on 6 July.
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