All England Lawn Tennis And Croquet Club

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) is the organization that, along with Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), looks after the management of Lawn Tennis Championship Meeting - the Championships. In effect, 12 members from AELTC and 7 nominees from the LTA form the Committee of Management that runs the Championships. The Committee, in turn, forms sub-committees, to look into the individual aspects of the tournament, like catering, ground, press and broadcasting, marketing, ticket allocations, etc. Seven full-time executives and the Club staff serve onboard the sub-committees.

About The Club
A private club that takes the shape of a not-for-profit organization, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was established in the year 1868, as 'The All England Croquet Club'. Nine years later i.e. in 1877, it was given its present name, as it hosted the first Lawn Tennis Championships - a gentlemen's singles event. The event was witnessed by an audience comprising of 200 people, each of whom had paid a shilling to watch the final round. The first championship gave the world a winner in the form of Spencer Gore. AELTC has been situated in Church Road since 1922. The funds generated by the club, from hosting The Championships, are used for the purpose of developing tennis in Great Britain.

Club Membership
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is made up of 375 full members, apart from a number of honorary members. The honorary members include the past single champions as well as the people who have been recognized for their illustrious service to tennis. Then, there are 100 temporary members, elected on a yearly basis. These members comprise of active players, who can make use of the club on a regular basis and are also in a position to play in club matches, as long as their membership is valid. The members of AELTC also have the right to purchase two tickets for each day of The Championships. This is one of the main reasons why the membership is kept limited only.

Club Grounds
There are a total of 19 grass courts under All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which are inclusive of the Centre Court and No. 1 Court. Apart from that, the club boasts of five red shale courts, three Continental clay courts, one American clay court and five indoor courts (comprising of two Greenset Velvelux and three Greenset Trophy). There are 22 grass courts in Aorangi Park, which are used for the purpose of practice before and during The Championships, along with two acrylic courts. Keeping in mind the grounds available with AELTC, along with the car parks, the club boasts of an area of 42 acres. The club keeps on improving its grounds, on a constant basis.

Use of Courts
Almost all the courts of All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are used by the club members and LTA sponsored players, with the only exceptions being the Centre and No. 1 Courts. All the grass courts are available for play during the months lasting from May to September. As for the Centre Court and No. 1 Court, they are used only for the purpose of The Championships. On occasions, AELTC courts might be used for organizing events and tournaments, by various other clubs and organizations. Then, the club also plays host to Davis Cup ties, on an occasional basis. In the past, it was also the venue for The Wightman Cup, for the final time in 1972.