A Day at Wimbledon

We all make mistakes...

Wanting to make the most of our time in London, Boyken, Steph, and we (Camille and Courtney) got up early to explore the city. After a quick breakfast in the hotel we took the tube to the Hyde Park area. Tour Guide Boyken led us through the sights, starting with Buckingham Palace. We strolled through the park and past the National Museum, catching glimpses of Big Ben and the London Eye. The group was meeting at the hotel at 10:30 (or so we thought) to leave for Wimbledon. As the meeting time grew closer, we saw a nearby Underground Train Station. We knew we probably should've gotten on the next train, but Tour Guide Boyken recommended we continue on through Covent Garden and take the train from the Underground Station he thought was just beyond the gardens. We blindly put all of our trust in the tour guide and continued on. Boyken seemed confident he knew how to make it back in time, so we did too. Not until he started checking his watch every thirty seconds did we start to worry. We soon realized that we did not know where the next Underground station was and we had to accept the reality that we were lost. Boyken decided to ask for directions. Down the block we heard sirens coming from a fire truck surrounded by five firemen. Boyken casually walked up to the nearest one and asked how to get to the closest Underground station. The fireman's response was something like "I'm kind of busy at the moment" and walked away.

We continued on and miracuously found an Underground station. The trains in London come quite often, but when you are in a hurry they can't seem to come soon enough. Finally we reached Russell Square station. Just as we were getting off the lift we saw the rest of the class getting on. We were all relieved we had caught up with them until we were informed that the meeting time was 10:15, making us incredibly late for one of the most anticipated days of the trip. Furthermore, Craig was still waiting for us back at the hotel. As the rest of the class went down to the trains, we ran back to the hotel keeping an eye out for Craig. Upon reaching the lobby; he was nowhere to be found. Lost for what to do next, we ran back to the station to try to get to Wimbledon ourselves. Luckily upon reaching the platform, we found Craig on his iPad, waiting for the train. Needless to say, the air was rather thick underground that day...

...a silent train ride later...

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the All England Lawn Tennis Club where the Championships at Wimbledon are held. We toured the many different courts and learned about the upkeep and care for the sacred grass on the courts. Here are a few fun facts:

1. The grass is cut to exactly 6 mm.
2. It takes the grounds crew 22 seconds to cover Centre Court in case of rain.
3. A lawn expert counts every blade of grass per square meter on nearly all the courts.
4. Membership fee is a mere 80 £, assuming you get selected to be a member by a committee that is secret. Needless to say, it would be easier to buy a racket, get good at tennis, and win the Championship...resulting in an automatic membership to the club.

On the tour we got to see the official press room and sit in the seats where the tennis greats are interviewed after world famous matches. Afterwards we met with the Wimbledon marketing director to discuss the marketing strategy at Wimbledon and the upcoming Olympic games.

At the end of our trip at Wimbledon, we went through the lawn tennis museum where we got to see the championship trophies and learn about the history of the game.

Our tour of Wimbledon has been one of our favorite days on the trip. This day not only taught us a lot about event management of tennis championships, but also the importance of time management : )