Wimbledon Tennis AELTC  

Wimbledon Tennis AELTC and MIW

In summer 2017 Wimbledon AELTC (All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club) became one of the UK’s first premier sporting venues to take action on waste plastic. Seeking ways to enhance visitor experience while reducing the large amount of waste produced on site, managers took the decision to install free-to-use bottle fillers and drinking fountains across the club’s grounds. MIW Water Cooler Experts won the contract and completed the job before the start of 2017’s tennis season.

The Brief

A venue as prestigious and internationally recognised as Wimbledon demands exacting standards. Having secured the contract, MIW had to ensure that all work undertaken not only answered the brief but met with the requirements of the venue.
 

  • The contract was to oversee and implement a rolling programme to fit drinking fountains and refill stations across the site, both indoors and out.  MIW would be required to advise on the siting of units, the type of units installed and any necessary adaptations.
  • The drinking equipment needed to be able to cater for a large number of users – the site receives in excess of 39,000 visitors daily during the Wimbledon tennis grand slam tournament. Each unit also needed to be user-friendly, low maintenance and adhere to strict water authority guidelines.
  • All equipment needed to be customised to merge into the Wimbledon aesthetic prior to installation.
  • All site work needed to be completed prior to the opening of Wimbledon’s 2017 Championships on Monday, 3 July.

The Process

MIW’s work for Wimbledon AELTC began with a site visit. The complete tournament ground was assessed to find locations both suitable for installation and most likely to generate high usage, thus most dramatically impacting on potential plastic waste reduction. 7 locations were identified, and an initial 2 sites selected for installation totalling 13 water stations.

Given the extremely high footfall at Wimbledon during the annual tournament, MIW recommended Halsey Taylor bottle fillers for both indoor & outdoor locations. The Halsey Taylor units are durable, weather-proof and vandal-resistant. Selected models allow for hands-free use, helping to maintain unit hygiene, while working quickly with a laminar flow to reduce potential splash-back, spillage and waste. WRAS-approved (Water Regulation Advisory Scheme), both sets of units were also fully compliant with the stringent water authority guidelines MIW obtained from the club’s Technical Division. BIM (Building Information Modelling) files were provided so Wimbledon’s Project Management Team were able to fully appreciate both the technical specifications and the eventual aesthetic impact of the installations.

MIW worked closely with the Wimbledon Project Management Team throughout the contract to understand the special requirements of the site, organise any necessary equipment upgrades and ensure that the equipment would be able to withstand the enormous footfall and potential use during peak times.

Once the locations and models had been selected, the most challenging part of the brief was to ensure that the bottle fillers adhered with Wimbledon’s dress code – a prerequisite RAL 6005 green – without reducing the outdoor filler’s weather-proofing. MIW arranged for each unit to be hand-painted with a specially prepared RAL 6005 textured powder-coat finish prior to installation. E-coat emersion ensured that the units maintained their durability.

Once installation began, MIW worked to – and updated – a location map for the site.

The Completed Project

The fitting was completed by installation contractors across the AELTC Wimbledon tournament grounds. Adhering to a strict timetable and working with the Wimbledon Project Management Team, MIW was able to complete delivery on budget and ahead of schedule. Every outdoor bottle filler was customised to meet the demands of the brief and the location.

Wimbledon covers 42 acres and consists of 18 grass courts, eight American Clay courts, five indoor courts, two Greenset Velvelux and three Greenset Trophy. Centre Court can accommodate 14,916 spectators, making it the ninth largest single tennis stadium in the world. The Wimbledon Grand Slam is the second busiest tennis championship worldwide, with only the US Open attracting more visitors.