General

• The All England Club sponsors a thriving junior tennis programme under the title of The Road to Wimbledon (since May 2001).
• The Road to Wimbledon’s mission is to encourage young people into the sport.
• The Road to Wimbledon also includes a number of existing schemes/activities for juniors at The Championships or during the year.
• These are in addition to the fact that every year the Club passes over the surplus - the profit - of The Championships to the Lawn Tennis Association for the development of British tennis throughout the country. 

Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI)

• Part of The Road to Wimbledon.
• The Club’s dedicated coaching team, headed by Dan Bloxham, leads the way in delivering tennis coaching and promoting a fitness lifestyle and sports education programme in Merton and Wandsworth schools.
• Since 2001, over 65,000 children have had a racket put in their hand. 50,000 milestone reached at Springate Primary School, Wimbledon, in April 2006.
• More than 300 visits made to local schools visited since 2001.
• Around 300 children per day attend free tennis coaching and skills sessions held at the Club 45 weekends a year – from 10.00am to 4.00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Squad of 45 selected players receive additional individual coaching before and after school. 
• AELTC now recognised as an official LTA Performance Centre as well as an accredited LTA Mini-Tennis Centre.
• At the Championships: Selected players from the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI) entertain spectators with a mixture of tennis exercises and general sports skills and drills on the middle Saturday.
• Around 250 children and their parents who have shown particular commitment and enthusiasm throughout the year will be invited to come to the Club on Saturday 17 June to see the players practising on the Championship courts.

National 14 and Under Challenge

• Part of The Road to Wimbledon – the first tournament was held in 2002.
• At national level, some 20,000 young players from 850 clubs competing in 2007. 
• The National Finals, 64 boys and 64 girls, made up of the 44 County winners and 20 best runners-up are due to be held on Wimbledon’s Championship grass courts, 20-25 August 

Museum Education Programme

• Part of The Road to >Wimbledon launched in September 2001.
• In the last year over 3,000 children have taken part in activities (total of 11,500 since 2002).
• Programme caters for 5-18 year olds and consists of Museum workshops, tours of the grounds and education room workshops directly linked to the National Curriculum.
• The Primary School Programme is fun, interactive and hands-on.
• Secondary School Programme, developed to meet the needs of students studying for GCSE and A-Level courses in Leisure and Tourism and PE, is very popular.
• Special Events programme offers regular costumed interpretation events and school holiday activities.

‘Playing for Success’ Study Support Centre

• Operating since early 2003, the Playing for Success Study Support Centre is a joint initiative between the Club, the London Borough of Merton and the Department of Education and Skills.
• Occupying a high-tech learning zone set in No. 1 Court, the SSC offers a stimulating after-school programme for pupils in Merton focussing on numeracy, literacy and IT and confidence raising activities. 
• Firm links established with over two-thirds of Merton’s local primary schools and the Centre also works with all secondary schools in the Borough.
• In the last three years, over 1300 students have graduated at PfS award ceremonies at the end of their courses.
• In addition approximately 350 pupils have attended holiday learning programmes during school breaks.

LTA Juniors

• Part of The Road to Wimbledon.
• As a further encouragement to British juniors, players from the LTA’s Futures Programme (boys aged 11-13, girls aged 10-13) will demonstrate tennis skills and exercises before play begins on the middle Saturday of The Championships. 

‘Play Tennis’

• The LTA’s Play Tennis area is to the south of Court 13. 

Children’s tickets

• Over 10,000 children attend each year specifically through dedicated junior ticket allocations to the 650 schools affiliated to the British Schools Tennis Association and as members of parties accompanied by an LTA licensed coach.

Ball Boys and Ball Girls

• Around 400 pupils from local schools compete annually for the prestige of being selected as one of the 220 ball boys/girls at The Championships. 

• Since 2001 the coin toss before each of the Singles’ Finals has been performed by representatives (usually a young person) of charities nominated by prominent people within tennis chosen by the Chairman of the Club.