wimbledon.org

UPDATE November 2003: Remember how lovely the weather was this summer and how us tennis fans missed a major part of it by sitting inside watching Henman!? Well make sure you do both this year and apply for tickets through the site now! The ballot closes at the end of December but you need to get an application form so get your skates on!! All entries go into a ballot and those drawn out will get tickets to the tournament next summer. Prices and days depend on the luck of the ballot but you might as well...good luck!!

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Have any of you found yourself in the situation where your at work, with no TV in the building, and desperate to find out who Tim Henmans beating (unless its already the semi-finals)? I certainly have and if you have too then the official Wimbledon Tennis tournament website, www.wimbledon.org, is the site for you.

The website is owned by IBM and full of any information anyone could want on the championship, from those sitting at home to those lucky enough to be going to the event itself.

~~Content~~

The home page, like every other page on the site, is surrounded by the same frames which mean that the menu bars available are visible, and therefore click-able, from wherever you are on the site. First impressions are good with the site designed using the famous green and purple Wimbledon colours, with the official Wimbledon emblem blazed across the top.

The top menu has eight different links, all of which has a scroll down table of contents when you place the cursor above them:

Home: Clicking on this link will always take you back to the home page. The home page contains an up to date photo from the latest match along with click-able headlines so that you can read the stories from that day. When matches are in play the home page will always show latest scores first and then the results of the most recently completed matches, including set scores. A link is also included for all the latest news from the championships. When play is finished, from the evening until it restarts the next day, a complete list of headlines appear containing links to the stories from that days play and previews of the follow days matches.

Scores: The scores section is a much more detailed scoring system than those matches shown on the home page and boasts a real-time scoreboard to help you keep right up to date with the scores as they happen. This is really excellent for any big tennis fans - although you do need java to run it, which is downloadable through the site.

Also under the scores section you can find all the results from completed matches, the championship draws, order of play for each court and a link to get the championship mobile service where you can receive info through your mobile phone. This whole score section is an excellent way to keep up to date with everything that is going on at the championship.

Players: The players section offers information on ever player in the tournament. Through the links you can find profiles on each player which contain everything from a brief overview to a detailed statistical list of their careers. The players section also includes lists of all the seeds, the complete competitor list for each event, a roll of honour of past winners and a regularly updated list of interviews from players. The interviews are available to download in audio or can be read straight from the site. The players section is excellent for those Tennis mad supporters who want to check up players achievements and records.

News and Photos: This section is a gallery of photos and news stories from this year’s event. The section is updated on a regular basis and an excellent way to find out exactly what is happening at the championship.

Audio/Video: This section offers a range of audio and video clips as well as a link to Radio Wimbledon. In this section you can listen or watch players interviews and view match clips, but be aware that some are available as free downloads whilst others are only available to subscribers. This is indicated by a symbol next to each link which can be translated via the legend at the side of the page. Radio Wimbledon is the official championship radio station and airs live commentary as well as interviews and news pieces.

Event Guide: The event guide offers links to everything that you could possibly want to know about this year’s championship from the TV schedules and prize money to past history and a virtual tour.

Tickets: The tickets section naturally contains information of ticket allocation for this year’s championship and also the application for those of you interested in next year’s event. Also under this link you will find information for anyone planning on going to the event with details on the associations policies (such as wet weather), travel information, map of the complex and guides for the disabled. This section is a must view for anyone who has tickets for championship or planning to go down and join the queues.

Shop: The shop is an online outlet that sells all the latest Wimbledon merchandise from clothing to bags and towels. Although it appears a little pricey all merchandise contains the official championship emblem.

On the left hand side of each screen is a menu that directs you straight to several pages that are covered above, but can be used a quick links from anywhere on the site. These are the real-time scoreboard, the order of play, the championship draw, the web cams and radio Wimbledon.

The right hand side frame is also visible on ever page and includes another link to the shop, details of competitions, and a link to the mobile services. Note that the competitions are free to enter via the Internet and doing this also gives you the opportunity to opt into the free daily newsletter. The newsletter is emailed every day and is an extension of the Internet site containing headlines and links to those stories.

~~Navigation and Layout~~

The site is fairly easy to get around and using the same frames on every page makes it easy to use. Most sections are easy to find although some of the menu titles are quite vague. The most common links on the site are often repeated under several sections, so are easier to find. The different headings allow the site to be well spaced out, especially considering it contains so much information. If at any time you are unable to locate something then a search facility appears on the top left of every page. This facility is excellent and nearly always locates the best page for what you type in.

~~Overall~~

Wimbledon.org is an excellent site and has everything the armchair tennis fan needs. The content is detailed and updated in real time so is never out of date. The design of the site, from the colours to the navigation, is top quality and very professional. Overall this is a must use site for anyone that follows the Wimbledon tennis championship.