THE AELTC

The AELTC

The Championships are controlled, managed and promoted by and on behalf of The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited ("AELTC") and LTA Operations Limited. The day-to-day operations of The Championships are led and conducted by the AELTC.

The AELTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Limited ("the Club") and, on 1 August 2011, acquired all the assets and undertaking of the Club in relation to The Championships.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited,
Church Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5AE
Tel: +44 (0)20 8944 1066

Board of Directors: P.G.H.Brook (Chairman), N.A. Basing, J.S. Dunningham O.B.E., R.M. Gradon, T.H. Henman O.B.E., I.L. Hewitt, Miss D.A. Jevans, Mrs. A.S. Jones M.B.E., Professor Sir Mervyn A King G.B.E., G.M. Newton, R.T. Stoakes, K.F. Weatherley.

Executives: I.R.Ritchie (Chief Executive), A.R.M Grier (Championships Director), R.G.Atkinson (Finance Director), M.J.Desmond (Commercial Director), M.W.C.Guntrip (Club Secretary), T.J.Wilson (IT Director).

AELTC and Museum Staff

The permanent members of the Executive include the Chief Executive, Championships Director, Financial Director, Marketing Director, Commercial Director, Information Technology Director and Club Secretary. There are also 50 other administrative staff, 16 permanent members of the ground staff (including the Head Groundsman) and a team of 33 buildings and services staff including the Buildings and Services Manager. The Dressing Rooms have a staff of four while 11 full and part-time staff are assigned to the Members' Dining Room.

There are four members of staff at the AELTC's Raynes Park sports ground and a staff of four, engaged in the Long Term Plan.

The Museum has 10 permanent staff.

A number of temporary staff support the AELTC in the busiest periods.

The Club

The Club was founded on 23 July 1868 as 'The All England Croquet Club'. Its name was changed in 1877 to 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' and in 1899 to 'The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club'. On 1 August 2011 the Club was converted into a company limited by guarantee under the name 'The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Limited'. The activities of the Club, as a private members' club, are conducted separately from The Championships.

Membership

Membership consists of five categories (a) Full Members, (b) Life Members, (c) Honorary Members, (d) Temporary Members, (e) Junior Temporary Members. Members under headings (a), (b) and (c) are limited to 500 in number. Honorary Members include past Singles Champions, other eminent Lawn Tennis players, benefactors of the Club or The Championships, and other persons who have rendered special service to Lawn Tennis. Temporary Members are elected from year to year and generally are active players who make regular use of the facilities and play in matches during their period of Membership.

Colours

The present colours — dark green and purple — were introduced in 1909 following the discovery that the previous Club colours of blue, yellow, red and green were almost identical to those of the Royal Marines. The decision as to why dark green and purple were chosen is not stated in the Club's records.

Grounds

The Grounds are owned by the All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc and consist of 19 grass court (including the Centre Court No.1 Court), eight American Clay courts and five indoor courts, two Greenset Velvelux and three Greenset Trophy. In Aorangi Park, there are 22 grass courts for practice before and during The Championships and two green acrylic courts. The total area, including the Club's car parks, covers over 42 acres.

Apart from the grass courts, the courts are used all year round by the Club members and LTA sponsored players. The grass courts are in play from May to September (except the Centre Court and other show courts which are used only for The Championships). The courts are lent to a number of clubs and organisations, mainly of a national character, for the staging of various events.

The area north of the Centre Court became known as Aorangi Park after the Club purchased the 11 acres from John Barker Ltd. of Kensington in 1967 and subsequently granted a lease to the New Zealand Sports and Social Club. Aorangi, meaning 'Cloud in the Sky', is the Maori name for Mount Cook.

Croquet

The All England Croquet Club was founded in July 1868 but being without a ground, the Club Croquet Championships were held at Crystal Palace in 1869. Late that year the Worple Road ground was secured and formally opened in 1870.

When in 1877 the inaugural Lawn Tennis Championship was held the title of the Club was amended to 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club'. Gradually interest in croquet declined and by the end of 1882 participation had ceased and 'Croquet' was removed from the Club's title. During 1896 the croquet players were invited to return. In 1899 the Club Championship was reinstated and 'Croquet' was restored to the Club's title, However, the upsurge in interest did not last long and after the 1904 Championship the game faded againalthough the Club retained the same title.

Croquet was not provided for when the Club moved to its present Church Road ground, and was first played on 7 September 1953 when a match was arranged with the Croquet Association to mark Coronation Year.

From 1957 to 2007, the croquet lawn (not full-size) was situated at the sourthern end of the Grounds, alongside the Church Road boundary fence. The Club Croquet Championship was reintroduced together with a Handicap singles event in 1960 and in recent year a golf croquet event was started. In the autumn of 2007 a new full-size lawn was created in the Southlands College ground which was opened on 19 Aptil 2008 by Professor Bernard Neal, President of the Croquet Association. Professor Neal was the Club champion 38 times between 1963 and 2005. David Godfree has acted as Hon. Secretary for the Croquet section since 1975.

In Remembrance

In the ground floor corridor of the Clubhouse is a plaque commemorating Club members who were killed serving in the two World Wars.

Contact the AELTC

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