Wimbledon 2009: How To Queue (Standing & Surfing)

With Rafael Nadal losing his own private "nobbled knee" contest, Wandsworth's own Andy Murray stands his best chance so far of winning the Championship at the All England Club, or, this year, Wimbledon 2009 to you and us.

Last year, when some were caught on the hop, we brought you up to date news about how the queueing system had changed and advice on tactics and protocol. Much of that remains true, and the main points are:

there is a single queue from Gate 3

there is camping overnight in Wimbledon Park for an expected 2,000 people per night

campers are woken at 6am by Wimbledon stewards

around 7:30, 1,500 or so coloured wristbands are distributed indicating entitlement to a ticket for Centre, No. 1 or No. 2 court

at least 6,000, and as many as 9,000, general entry tickets are available, but by 10am there will already be more people than that in the queue

on joining the queue you receive a dated and numbered card that you must keep until the turnstile

sales are strictly one ticket per person and cash only

you may take in only one bag, which must be soft-sided and measure no more than 18” x 12" x 12" (45cm x 30cm x 30cm).

neither equipment nor another person may hold a place for anyone unless there has been prior negotiation

Every evening around 8:30pm about 500 Centre Court tickets are made available via Ticketmaster for the following day's play at £40 each. Returned Centre Court tickets may also be available at the same price

It's good to hear that the Wimbledon organisers are warming to their overnight tented village:

Lighting and improved toilet facilities have been installed, there is catering and a high level of stewarding to create a more comfortable ‘camping' experience.

Indeed, they are believed to have stepped in to save particularly early queuers (as in last Friday) from being hoiked off the local streets by Merton council on those legendary health and safety grounds before the park facilities were fully up and running . The British Tennis site will help you identify whereabouts in Wimbledon park to actually find the queue, though watch out on opening day as "Tiger" Tim Henman himself is out to select one lucky queue member to play a match on one of the hallowed courts. This won't be against semi-permanent semi-finalist Tim, obviously, but rather against his unbeaten protegé, Alesha Dixon, of songstrel and Strictly Come Dancing fame under the banner of a well-known purveyor of orange squash. We're guessing all the sets will have to go to "SEVEN!".