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Home » Recreation And Sports Articles » Getting Into Wimbledon

Getting Into Wimbledon

Wimbledon. It's a word that stands for tennis at its best.

Although it is first of all the name of a London suburb, for millions of tennis fans around the world it is shorthand for sportsmanship, athletic prowess, and celebrity stardom. For the half-a-million or so people who manage to see at least some of the annual championship games in person, it also means a huge social event.

One of the great things about the championship tennis tournament played every summer at Wimbledon is that it's one of the few major sporting events for which the average fan (i.e, neither rich nor well-connected) stands a decent chance of gaining entry.

Interestingly, the Wimbledon games ultimately owe their existence not to tennis but to another, more sedate, game that was all the rage among the Victorians: croquet. You see, the private club that sponsors the world's foremost tennis championship was founded originally as The All England Croquet Club.

Founded in 1868, the club did not hold its first tennis championships until 1877. Those games were witnessed by a few hundred spectators in what is described as a "garden party atmosphere."

For a long time now the club's name has been The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and the Wimbledon championships are attended by more than 500,000 people as well as carried to millions around the world through mass media and the Internet.

The tournament starts six weeks before the first Monday in August and runs for approximately two weeks. Players from more than 60 countries regularly compete.

If you're planning to be in London during the two June or July weeks when the tournament is being played, getting in to see at least a match or two would be a marvelous experience for any tennis fan. So how can you score a ticket to this greatest of all tennis events?

If you definitely want to attend the next year's Wimbledon, you should enter the public ballot (or lottery) that is held each January for some of the Centre Court and No. 1 Court seats. You will need some luck to pick up a ticket this way, but it's worth a try. All it takes is obtaining the official application form and returning it by the deadline (the exact procedures and addresses are detailed on the Tops 4 Tennis Web site at www.tops4tennis.com/articles/wimbledon.html).

If you are successful in the drawing for tickets, you will be notified about four months before the beginning of the tournament and asked to send payment at that time.

Another way to get into the tournament is to purchase a travel package from one of the many companies specializing in tennis tours. Most of these Wimbledon packages will include transportation, lodging and perhaps some local side tours in addition to the tickets themselves. This is a convenient way to go to the tournament if you like the all-in-one approach to buying travel. If you're more of an independent traveler, it might not suit you as well.

You can find Wimbledon travel operators on the Web by searching on "Wimbledon tournament travel" or "Wimbledon travel package."

There are also a number of ticket brokers online, some of whom specialize in sporting events such as Wimbledon. They buy tickets from willing sellers and re-sell them to willing buyers, or alternatively they simply bring the sellers and buyers together to make their own deal. The brokers make their money through the fees or commissions they charge for this service.

Finally, you can also stand in line for tickets during the tournament itself.

Several thousand same-day tickets are put on public sale while the games are going on. You'll have to be present and willing to stand on line a long time to get one of these. In the end you might still miss out, but if you're in the area anyway and have patience, you should show up early and have a go at it.

If you're an avid tennis player or fan or both, Wimbledon is one event you should see in person at least once in your life.

See you courtside?

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

MLM Can Overcome Its Problems!

Let us discuss each of the problems that knockers of MLM raise.

1. MLM's recruit too many salespeople, who in turn will then attempt to recruit even more salespeople causing over saturation and participants to lose money.

This does happen with some MLM's which have a narrow range of little used products and can be detrimental to the participants.

However, if the MLM Company has a wide range of products and services and these are commonly used and well priced items then the problem does not arise.

2. Many companies involved in multi-level marketing are thinly veiled pyramid schemes only made legal by the presence of a product or service.

One has to be very careful to join only those MLM Companies that are genuinely selling products or services.

3. The ethical concessions necessary to be "successful" in many MLM companies are stark and difficult to deal with for most people.

If the products or services of the MLM Company are not what would normally be bought by your down line and they are not priced at or better than available elsewhere, without the participation discounts, then one must be cautious about pushing those products or services. Your morals and your friendships must remain more important than any dubious profits you can make with high priced or unwanted products sold to your unwilling down line.

4. Friends and family are targets for exploitation.

Friends and family should be treated as such and always as more important than any money you can make from them. Only offer them what would benefit them, not what would benefit you. Always think of their welfare first and foremost.

5. Meetings, tapes, seminars, videos, joining fees, annual fees and other costs

One has to be very careful not to join any MLM that costs too much to join or remain a member of. This is one of the biggest traps and the costs can sky rocket.

6. Minimum purchase requirements

This is another danger zone. One can land up with shelves and even rooms full of unwanted goods. One must try and stay away from MLM's that make unrealistic demands on new recruits.

7. Only a few at the top make money

This is a very important point and many MLM companies are guilty as charged. The structure is such that a few people at the top make very good money and this is advertised, published and used as the bait to get new recruits. These types of structures mean that most of the down line do not make money and infect get into debt and all sorts of problems.

Be very careful not to join any MLM that is top heavy and trumpet how much their top brass is making unless you are there right at the start. You will almost certainly lose your shirt.

8. MLM sells a dream

Yes, MLM's sell dreams and for some they come true. For most though it leads to disaster.

The dream is however a very good dream â€" ongoing passive income. This is more important than most people realize. Remember the saying about a rainy day? You may have your job and may be saving up, but there could come a "rainy day". For example, you could lose your job and you have to be prepared for that. One way is to build up an ongoing income with a good MLM.

Ok, now that everyone is frightened of joining the wrong type of MLM but is convinced they need an ongoing income, what can be done?

It is important to watch out for a few things when considering joining an MLM:

- Stay away from companies that have a "special niche" product even if it is the "best in the world".

- Stay away from companies that pay you for recruiting members

- Stay away from companies that have high priced products at the retail level, meaning the final consumer level.

- Stay away from companies that have too much of hype â€" they probably have something to hide.

- Stay away from companies that require you to buy minimum quantities every month to qualify for something or other.

- Stay away from companies that sell you their promotional materials and inspirational tapes at anything above what it would cost them.

- Stay away from companies that do not sell anything you would not normally buy or use.

- Stay away from companies that have only a few products.

Wow, is there any MLM Company left to consider? Yes, there are but they are a small percentage of the total. You have to hunt carefully and study every possibility.

However, the central thing is the dream of an ongoing income independent of your employment. There are many ways of achieving that and everyone must aim for it.

Email me if you want recommendations of companies that provide for the dream without the negatives.