Wimbledon 2009
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships, how I remember hearing about this wonderful event. My family was able to attend the matches when I was younger, and I can never forget hearing about how my brother met Steffi Graf.
While FI aims to bring you the local news, this summer we are changing it up a bit. How can we leave Wimbledon out of our news? June 22 will mark the open day of matches, and you can be sure that we will be earger to watch the magic unfold across our televisions and on the Internet. Below is a recent press release about the new courts. Check back as we near the tournment to learn more.
On the 21 of April, the All England Club, Wimbledon, confirmed that its new Centre Court retractable roof is on schedule to be ready in time for the Centre Court Celebration matches on Sunday 17 May, when Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters will be the first players to play under the new structure.
Final testing of the roof and air-management system is being carried out.
The air-management system has a vital role in controlling and stabilising the internal environment within the bowl – essentially controlling humidity and preventing either condensation on the inside of the roof or sweating of the grass – either of which would make the court slippery and unsuitable for play.
Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said: “We set out to make Wimbledon the world’s premier tennis event; the tournament the players most want to win, the tournament spectators most want to come to and the tournament everyone wants to watch.
“The new Centre Court roof project has been a sophisticated engineering feat. Much of the testing is complete and we are now making final adjustments ahead of the Centre Court Celebration event on 17 May. That event is an important part of the testing procedure and will enable us to see how both the roof and air-management system actually perform under live conditions with a capacity crowd.”
Additional Information
The new Centre Court roof comprises two distinct roof forms: the main fixed roof to the perimeter of the Court which is surmounted by a translucent retractable steel and fabric “concertina like” structure.
The design for the fixed perimeter is modelled on the 1922 dodecahedron form which provides the distinct intimate Centre Court atmosphere with a droop down leading edge to focus spectators’ eyes to the action on the grass court. The use of the translucent fabric for the retractable element affords natural light into the arena and in part retains the open-to-air quality of the 1920’s stadium.
The relatively lightweight steel truss and fabric retractable roof is set above the fixed perimeter roof so as not to impinge on the spectators’ view and perception of the grass court in either the open or closed mode. It also retains the 1922 dodecahedron roof form when viewed from the terraces below.
The roof is designed to provide appropriate playing conditions when the roof is deployed in adverse summer weather conditions; specifically:-
- Light – the translucent Tenara fabric will permit adequate levels of light for play in most daylight conditions; where natural light fails to meet the levels required, it is supplemented by a bespoke design sports lighting system (permanently installed on the trusses), which has been designed to provide compliant light conditions both for play and for media coverage. There are 72 indirect, truss mounted sports luminaires and 48 direct truss mounted sports luminaires. On the turf, horizontal lighting level is 3,200 lux and on the vertical (for service and shots in the air) is 1,900 lux.
- Wind – the roof can be safely deployed in wind conditions of up to 43 mph (69 kph).
- Rainfall – the roof is designed to be weathertight. Rainfall on the fabric roof is rapidly dispersed to the two sides as the top profile of the roof is a curve; at the sides the water falls into gutters and then into the main surface water drainage system.
- Internal environment – the air systems are designed to firstly control and then stabilise the internal bowl environment at the specified levels (24 degrees C +/- 2 degrees C, with 50% +/- 10% relative humidity based on ambient conditions of 27 degrees C with 72% RH; if ambient temperatures rise, the bowl temperature will be maintained provided ambient RH levels fall), to prevent condensation on the inside of the roof or sweating of the grass, and to provide a fresh air allowance into bowl of eight litres/second/person.
- Seats – the new seats are padded and more comfortable. The seats are wider and the spacing between them (centre to centre) has also been increased.
