It rained a lot during the Wimbledon Championships this year. While that frustratingly occurred on the days when my schedule permitted watching a lot of tennis, it nevertheless also revealed another unexpected aspect of the sport that brings me great joy. I actually like to watch rain falling on tennis courts. It creates a beautifully relaxing ASMR effect.
At Wimbledon, rain has the additional entertaining benefit of a complex ballet as the grounds crews have to disassemble the court accessories and quickly get the tarp in place. Since the speed at which that is completed can have a great impact on how quickly play can resume once the rain is over, the process is a model of teamwork and efficiency.
For example, one of the first things that occurs is the removal of the chair umpire stand — with the umpire still in it! That undoubtedly harrowing experience is necessary because the umpire has to cover the electronics in the chair and then climb down. That takes precious time. It is very satisfying to watch how quickly each member of the grounds crew performs their assigned tasks
It is also fascinating to watch the attention to detail and organization when the tarps are rolled back up and removed. The straps are meticulously folded and arranged to avoid any chance of becoming tangled when it starts to rain again. Additionally, the ends of the straps are consolidated into a single point on each side of the net, which allows one crew member to quickly pull the straps out across the court. That is more efficient than running back and forth to do that for each individual strap.
For Wimbledon, my favorite court to watch when it is raining is Court 18. It is one of the more picturesque outer courts on the grounds. Additionally, it provides a view of a walkway that gives a sense of how fans are moving around and whether their umbrellas are deployed. It is also the best court for viewing another subtle aspect of Wimbledon that brings me great joy. It is clearly visible in the screenshot below, though some zooming will be required on smaller devices.
This brings me to another contest. The first person to guess the subtle aspect of Wimbledon that is clearly visible in this picture that I geek out over will win a Fiend at Court embroidered hat. I will be accepting the first correct answer on the comments page for this post as well as the Facebook Page. I think this one may drag out, so watch for me to hop into the conversation to inject some hints.
- Rain Keeps Coming at Wimbledon, but the Court Crews Have It Covered, David Waldstein, The New York Times, July 8, 2023.
The contest is over, and the answer is posted here: https://fiendatcourt.com/wimbledons-rain-signalling-system/
Since there were no correct answers, I will be conducting a drawing from among the people who submitted guesses.
The correct answer will be revealed tomorrow (Saturday, July 20). If there isn’t a correct answer by then, I will draw one winner from everybody who submitted a legitimate unique guess. As one last hint… it is a powered electronic device.
Okay trying again here. There is a very unique 5-sided umbrella in the foreground. Definitely a bit of an unusual shape from the norm. Is that an England thing?
On the rain delay notification, the fact that they specified “BST”???
Is it the fact that the tarp is inflated to make the rain run off?
No. (But I really do like that aspect.)
Another hint. It is something technical that appeals to my engineering side.
the green/purple umbrellas
(Nope.)
It isn’t the flowers or the ivy. As a hint, it is something that is related to the rain.
I think it’s the beautiful ivy that is so prevalent around the edges of the court as well as crawling up the walls of several Wimbledon buildings, including the one in the background of this shot.
Is it the flowers around the court?