Perhaps no other venue has promoted the name and the Wimbledon area more than the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Wimbledon, abbreviated AELTC, and its world famous “The Championships Wimbledon” tennis tournament. The Championships is the only event in the Grand Slam calendar played on grass courts. So, it is attracting on average half a million visitors each year.
Located on Church Road, Wimbledon, the All England Lawn club is a private club. Also it is one of the most exclusive sporting institutions in the United Kingdom. With a membership of about 560 and a waiting list of about 1,000 the odds of joining the prestigious club are slim. Former UK Number 1 Tim Henman was famously quoted stating that the “easy way” to join the club was to win the tournament.
In addition, honorary membership is granted to all singles champions, and the full and life members is capped to 375, all based on the number of seats in its original Worple Road stand, the original location of the club. Also there are 120 temporary playing members and 70 honorary members, including the Duchess of Cambridge, ex Bank of England governor Mervyn King and the singer Cliff Richard.
Lawn Tennis Museum
Accordingly, every year boys and girls from all over London apply to be a Wimbledon Ballboy or Ballgirl. So, from around 700 applicants 250 will be chosen. The aspiring applicants have to register for a pre-training programme and complete 14 modules before they can be considered; the average age for a Ballboy or Ballgirl is 15. In addition, for new applicants for the 2018 championship the deadline to register and complete 8 modules is by midnight on Friday 25th November 2017.
The club offers tours and a museum, opening hours are 10AM-5PM. Also the last admission to the museum is at 4:30 PM. Also concessions are available to senior citizens, students and registered unemployed.
This material has been researched and published by one of the Local Plumbing Company Wimbledon.