requiring realignment of some of the Championship courts
Construction of the new stadium for Court No. 2 is well underway
Westchester to WIMBLEDON
compared to my previous season, I requested a tournament course and something a little more challenging. So, I moved up to New York to work at Westchester Country Club, home to the Barclays Classic, to complete my final six months.
During my time in the USA it became clear to me the difference between our industry and theirs, and this served to make me even hungrier for education and experience. I returned to the UK in September 2004 to begin my BSc (Hons) in Turfgrass Science. I spent the next three years as a student buried in books and debt (violins please). Shortly before completing my degree a summer position at the All
England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club became available. I was instantly in contact with the club and lined up a position starting the week after my final exam. My employment at the club began at the end of May 2007. With the commencement of the All England Lawn Tennis Championships only four weeks away everything was in tournament condition; all that was required of me was to learn how to mow the required number of lines within the markings and off we went. If only it was that simple.
The courts at Wimbledon are currently a blend of three perennial ryegrasses (Aber elf, Aber imp and Pontiac). At this time in the season (May/June) the courts
are mown at 8mm on an almost daily basis. After mowing the courts are then marked out. This requires a two man team, one to assist the marker with the positioning of the strings for a perfect line, also to mop away any paint that may have been tracked by the mowers. The other operates the marker. The Championship courts are cut using Toro 1000 series pedestrian mowers and the courts marked with a compound in a wheel to wheel line marker as they produce clean crisp white lines. Practice courts are cut using Toro 1600 series pedestrians plus 3250D triplex machines.
At this point in the season each team member is allocated a job that they will
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