What to Do if You Want to Work at Wimbledon
Wimbledon
November 1, 2018
From the all-star tennis games to the strawberries and cream, there’s a lot to like about Wimbledon. The only problem, for many would-be attendees, is the cost of buying tickets and the slim chances of being drawn in the public ticket ballot.
Unless you have a significant budget or amazing luck, attending Wimbledon isn’t particularly easy. The ballot is hugely oversubscribed while the iconic Wimbledon queue requires camping out overnight – something not everyone can do.
Luckily, there’s another way to see Wimbledon without buying tickets, entering the public ballot or waiting in the queue. Every year, thousands of people get jobs at The Championships, giving them a great, albeit busy, view of the entire tournament.
Jobs at Wimbledon range from catering and cleaning services to data collection and security. In this post, we’ll look at what you need to do if you’d like to work as part of Wimbledon, whether as a retail assistant or as a Wimbledon official.
What jobs are available at Wimbledon?
A huge range of jobs are available during The Championships, although most aren’t open to the public. Some jobs are filled by companies and official suppliers, while a range of positions, including ball boys and ball girls, are filled by students.
The jobs available at Wimbledon range from catering and cleaning to ticketing and security. Some positions are filled by the All England Club directly, while others are managed by private recruiting companies and suppliers.
In this guide, we’ll share information on the hiring process for seven different jobs at Wimbledon: catering, court attending and cleaning, data collection and support, driving, security, retailing and officiating.
Joining the Wimbledon catering team
Wimbledon is famous for its food and drinks, and there’s no better way to get into the spirit of Wimbledon than by joining the catering team. Several hundred service staff are involved in Wimbledon every year in tents and at the courts.
The official catering company for The Championships is FMC Catering. Every year, FMC supplies over 2,000 catering and service staff to The Championships, many of whom are seasonal staff hired specifically for Wimbledon.
You’ll need some level of hospitality experience in order to apply, whether as a chef or service staff. If you think you’d be a good fit for the catering and service team at Wimbledon, submit an application on FMC Catering’s website.
Becoming a cleaner or court attendant
Just like catering and service,Wimbledon is managed by an official supplier, all of the cleaning and court attendance at The Championships is taken care of by a third party company – in this case, LSS.
Wimbledon-related jobs run from the beginning of May until the end of August and range from housekeeping to administration. If you have previous housekeeping or event attendance experience, you can apply to join the housekeeping team.
In order to qualify, you’ll need sufficient industry experience and availability during the pre-event and tournament period. If you’d like to apply, submit your CV and job application on the LSS website.
Working as a Wimbledon data collector
Do you have serious tennis knowledge? Wimbledon involves a huge amount of data collection and analysis; from calculating the average number of strokes in each rally to working out whether or not a shot was actually in bounds.
If you have serious tennis knowledge and want to be involved in The Championships as a data collector, consider applying. Three people are required for every court as a tennis rules expert, a data collector and a radar gun operator.
Data collectors are required for the entire tournament, from the first rounds all the way to the finals. If you have the skills for the job (one of them is an LTA rating of 3.1 or more) you can apply to become a data collector here.
Transporting players as a driver at Wimbledon
Since hundreds of players take part in Wimbledon; the All England Club operates a private transport service that makes getting to and from the event easy for players and officials alike.
If you have five years of driving experience, a manual driver’s license and excellent knowledge of London; you could qualify as a driver and potentially help players get to and from The Championships.
Wimbledon drivers are managed by Corniche Events, which operates a fleet of cars for The Championships. If you have driving experience and think you’d be a good fit for Wimbledon, you can fill in an application form at the Corniche Events website.
Keeping Wimbledon safe as a security guard
Wimbledon is one of the sporting world’s most prestigious and high-profile events, and as such it requires an extensive security presence. If you have lots of experience as a security officer, you could work at Wimbledon as a temporary security guard.
While most security officers at Wimbledon are returning staff, a number of workers are recruited each year. The official security company of The Championships is G4S Security Services, which recruits new staff every year.
If you have a valid SIA License and experience working as part of a security team in the past, you can apply for Wimbledon security jobs online. Browse available jobs at the G4S careers website and see if any security positions appeal to you.
Working in the Wimbledon Shop as a retail assistant
A huge amount of merchandise is sold at Wimbledon every year, making retailing an important aspect of The Championships. If you have retail experience, you could join the Wimbledon Shop team to work at The Championships.
All of Wimbledon’s retail stores are managed by IMG Ltd. Applicants need to have a reasonable level of retail or customer service experience and enjoy working beside other people in a busy environment.
Unfortunately, applications for Wimbledon 2019 are currently closed. However, if you’d like to join in Wimbledon in the future as a retail assistant; you can submit a job application using IMG Events UK’s website.
Joining Wimbledon as an umpire or official
More than 300 umpires take part in Wimbledon. Approximately 270 umpires are recruited from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) every year; alongside 60 other umpires recruited from other countries.
In order to become a Wimbledon umpire, you’ll need an expert understanding of tennis and serious training before The Championships. You’ll also need to have an active membership with the Lawn Tennis Association.
Although umpires aren’t recruited for Wimbledon specifically; there’s a chance that you’ll be hired for Wimbledon as an active LTA umpire. Learn how to apply to join the LTA as an official on the official Wimbledon website.
Have you got what it takes to work at Wimbledon?
Working at Wimbledon is a great way to experience The Championships without waiting in the queue or entering the public ballot. However, it’s also a demanding job that requires a lot of effort, energy and professionalism.
If you’ve got the experience, attitude and work ethic to be a great member of the Wimbledon team; submitting your application for a job at The Championships is a great way to experience Wimbledon up close as a member of staff.
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