As Team Leader of tennis at London 2012 it's so good to see all the facility development of so many sports well underway and I recommend you look at the website www.london2012.com to get an update.
What has been done with all the Olympic venues in terms of the redevelopment and regeneration has been amazing.
I deal with the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the London Organising Committee (LOCOG). In its simplest form the BOA are responsible for the teams' participation at the Games and LOCOG are responsible for the facilities and organisation of the Games.
I recently attended a Team Leaders meeting at the BOA which was really beneficial as I caught up with all the issues around the teams, met the other Team Leaders and heard what their plans are for the Games,
Some of the key issues discussed by the Team Leader at the BOA included;
Team selection and preparation, test events, security, transportation during the Games, accomodation at the Olympic Village, team clothing, team members agreement, media and social network issues, accreditation during the Games, opening and closing ceremonies as well as a host of other issues relating to the Games and particularly the Village.
Then there are the IOC protocols at Wimbledon where the tennis will take place. The AELTC will look very different during the Games with coloured clothing, different technology and the involvement of commercial companies. It will also be quite a change for the practice courts to be situated in front of the clubhouse instead of over the back in Aorangi Park.
Security will be tight and Park & Ride will come into play a lot more as tickets for the Games will include public transport on many occasions.
The general public are becoming increasingly aware of the Games as tickets are now on sale and when people see the facilities and transport links around the Olympic Park I feel they will be very impressed!
Apply for tickets for the London 2012 Games.
Also at the Team Leaders meeting I captured some video interviews with several Team Leaders across a variety of sports and asked them all the same question, namely ‘what impact will the 2012 Games have on your sport?’
All of them replied that their sport's participation in the Games will have a great impact on their sport and for most it is the biggest and most prestigious event they will be involved in.
For British Tennis it will also be a special occasion. I appreciate that, as a sport, tennis is fortunate to have a number of major events in the calendar but my views are that more and more of the very top players enjoy the Olympics, see it as a very positive opportunity to win a medal and welcome tennis being in the Games. Additionally, for the smaller nations, tennis at the Olympics draws in interest and additional funding from their governments to develop their sport.
In GB the players will be desperate to get into the selection criteria qualification based on the world rankings of the ATP/WTA and even get close enough to the ranking cut to be given an ITF spot that are available for additional eight singles places besides the 56 main draw direct acceptances.
I envisage we will have representation in men's and women's singles and doubles and for the very first time mixed doubles will feature in the Games as well.
So although there are some 519 days to go until the Paralympic Games and 486 days to go before the Olympics, the organisation from LOCOG is all on track, within budget and many sports are soon to have their test events to try out their Olympic participation in similar conditions.
Team preparation for many sports is in full swing and players are positioning themselves to qualify for the selection criteria.
The British team's tennis ranking cuts will not be finalised until 11 June 2012 directly after the French Open but I can assure you our players are all going to be trying to raise their ranking over this next year to try to gain selection.
Find the latest information on tennis' Olympic and Paralympic participation.
Paul Hutchins
Team Leader Tennis 2012
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