There's an app for that...

What's this, has Dr Joe finally lost it? I must say going to the late night showing of Prometheus didn't help my state of mind, although it was the woman next to me who actually screamed. Yes you're right about the picture, certainly not a tennis ball and the wrong type of racket. It so happened that a recent badminton coaching session coincided with a rather exciting match on Centre Court. Andy Murray was a set and a break down against David Ferrer and then I had to go out.


It was a surprisingly good turn-out as most people opted to miss the match in pursuit of badminton greatness. Luckily I had already downloaded the new Wimbledon 2012 app and was able to keep the whole class up to date on the live scores, all they way to 5 all in the fourth set when the rain came down.  Sometimes I really love my phone!

The type of cloud we do need

You may remember that back before the Championships started I wrote about my fascination with what cloud services do for Wimbledon. Given the weather we've been having at SW19 I am sure there is scope for a lot of witty cloud-related word play, but just for once I'm not going to let myself get distracted by this opportunity.  I have actually been reading some blog posts by Doug Clark, the cloud leader for IBM UK and Ireland, and I wanted to share his 'A new spin on Wimbledon' post with you.  This simply lays out the benefits for the AELTC and other events of using cloud, and the fact we're probably all doing it without realising!

SecondSight on to Centre Court

Following on from the 2011 pilot on Court 18, IBM has been using player movement tracking this year on Centre Court.

With IBM SecondSight, it is possible to track the fastest moving players and how their performance changes, set by set and match by match. The system can provide new data that could help players, coaches, commentators and fans alike; and, add a new dimension to fan's understanding of the science of tennis.

“This year a completely new website takes the understanding and insight into the Wimbledon Championships to a whole new level,” said Alan Flack, IBM’s Programme Executive for Wimbledon. “Using the power of cloud computing each individual data point is integrated instantaneously to deliver a powerful experience for fans, players, coaches and officials alike.”

Keeping control

A line judge calls a ball good.
© Neil Tingle_AELTC

A couple of days ago, Dr Joe posted on this blog about the ground staff at Wimbledon; and yesterday it was the ballboys and ballgirls. So it seems only fair that the other, often unsung, heroes of the Championships get a mention too - the umpires and court officials.

There are 335 officials at The Championships working as chair umpires, line umpires or off-court staff. These officials cover more than 650 matches played during the Fortnight.

There are 240 British officials, all members of the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) and approximately 70 overseas officials from all over the world, including the team of six ITF/Grand Slam Chair Umpires that officiate at all four Grand Slams and two ATP Full Time Officials.

Around 42 chair umpires are assigned each day, with the other officials working as Line Umpires. Chair Umpires normally umpire two matches a day, although not necessarily on the same court. Line Umpires work in teams and there are two line teams per court. These line teams work on a timed rotation (75 minutes on, 75 minutes off), with nine Line Umpires per team on court officiating on Centre Court, No. 1 Court, No. 2 Court, No.3 Court and Court 18, and seven line umpires on the other courts.

The Chief Umpire, Jenny Higgs, is responsible for the organisation of umpires for The Championships. Her role is to assign and supervise all of the officials each day. A custom-made computer system and a team of assistants help this process.

Chair Umpires use computers to score the match, with each point scored being displayed automatically on the wimbledon.com website. Net cord machines are used by the Chair Umpire on all courts, and the Hawk-Eye electronic system is used on Centre, No.1, No.2 and No.3 Courts to allow line calls to be reviewed.