LOCOG Ready for Wimbledon Conversion; No Guaranteed Security for Games

London 2012 Ready for Wimbledon Conversion

LOCOG tells Around the Rings that the major concern for tennis at London 2012 is ensuring the courts at Wimbledon recover in time.

The Wimbledon Championships started Monday with the sun shining down on bright green courts that will hopefully look the same once the Games start on July 27.

With the men's final of this year's championship on July 8, LOCOG only have a short amount of time to prepare the courts and dress the venue for the Olympic competition.

"There is nothing major to build; there’s no temporary venues or anything that have to go up," a spokesperson for LOCOG told ATR.

"The main thing we will have to do is re-seed the show-courts, because the baseline will be pretty balled up but that’s mainly the only thing we have to worry about."

Another task for LOCOG will be to strip the All England Club purple and green colors that adorn hoardings around the grounds and replace them with London 2012 branding. But this will be a simple and fast process, LOCOG said.

A significant area of concern around the entire London Olympics has been security, and this is something that will be addressed at Wimbledon also.

A 500ft no-fly zone, which extends in a radius of 0.75 nautical miles, has been imposed over the SW19 club this year.

LOCOG will also reconfigure the entrance so that Olympic organizers can accommodate their security measures for all who enter the venue.

But the 20-day Wimbledon conversion challenge isn’t concerning LOCOG at this stage.

The spokesperson added: "There isn’t that much to do. We are quite lucky that it’s a venue that is used to hosting competition all year round."

It is, however, the first time that Wimbledon will have hosted two major tournaments in such quick succession. After the trophies are handed out on July 8, a 28-strong team of groundsmen will plant pre-germinated seeds into the courts to restore the scuffed surfaces.

No Guaranteed Security for Games

The head of Britain's MI5 security service claims the Olympics is not an easy target but anti-terror chiefs must guard against the unexpected.

Jonathan Evans said there was "no such thing as guaranteed security".

"The dog you haven't seen may turn out to be the one that bites you," he was quoted by London's Evening Standard newspaper.

He said security preparations for the Olympics had gone well but added: "The Games present an attractive target for our enemies, and they will be at the center of the world's attention in a month or so.

"No doubt some terrorist networks have thought about whether they could pull off an attack."

Evans indicated that individuals sympathetic to al Qaida's cause were perhaps the most serious concern.

The security service will be fully staffed for the Olympics with 3,800 on board. "A lot of hard work still lies ahead and there is no such thing as guaranteed security. But I think that we shall see a successful and memorable Games this summer in London," he was quoted as saying.

First British Women's Football Team

The first-ever Team GB women's Olympic football squad was unveiled Monday at Wembley Stadium by the British Olympic Association.

The 18 players include only two non-English players, Scotland's Ifeoma Dieke and Kim Little.

The squad blends youth and experience. It includes 33-year-old striker Kelly Smith, the all-time leading goalscorer for England with 45 goals in 111 internationals. The Arsenal Ladies player overcame injury troubles to earn selection. Ellen White, Rachel Yankey, Stephanie Houghton and Kim Little were all part of the Arsenal Ladies squad that won the inaugural 2011 FA Women’s Super League.

Hope Powell will manage the side. She took charge of her 150th match as England's national coach against Slovenia last Thursday. Her first match overseeing Team GB will be a warm-up against Sweden at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium on July 20, as part of a double-header which will also see the British men’s team face Brazil.

"Narrowing my squad down to 18 was very, very tough because of the caliber of player we’ve got coming through now," Powell said. "But we were very extensive in our scouting and our research and I believe we have got an excellent squad in terms of quality, balance and strength in depth. They are all current internationals with plenty of experience.

"This is a great chance for these players to be involved in something huge and it gives us a great platform to further raise the profile of the women’s game."

Women’s football made its first appearance on the Olympic program at the 1996 Atlanta Games. London 2012 marks the first time that a Team GB women’s football team will compete at the Olympics.

Team GB's women kickstart the program of Olympics competition when they play New Zealand at the Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on July 25 – two days before the opening ceremony. Britain will take on Cameroon at the same venue on July 28, before completing their group stage fixtures against Beijing 2008 silver-medallists Brazil at Wembley on the July 31.

Andy Hunt, the British Olympic Association's chief executive and Team GB chef de mission, said: "Having the opportunity to field a women’s football team at the Olympics is a truly historic moment for us.

"The squad includes veterans that have played for some of the best club sides in the world, right through to those whose potential is still blossoming – but for all of them, the opportunity to represent Great Britain at a home Olympic Games is a new and unique experience. We all share their excitement in being part of the legacy of London 2012."

He added: "The whole country will be behind the team when they kick off against New Zealand, and hopefully they can set the tone for a successful Games by getting off to a winning start."

The Olympic women’s football competition runs from July 25 to Aug. 9, with the gold medal match at Wembley that day.

Six venues will be used for both the men's and women's football tournaments: St James’ Park, Newcastle; Old Trafford, Manchester; Hampden Park, Glasgow; the City of Coventry Stadium; the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff and Wembley.

The 12 competing nations are divided into three groups of four, with the top two from each group and the two best third-placed teams qualifying for the knock-out quarter-final stage.

The U.S. are the most successful women’s football team in Olympic history, having won gold in three of the four tournaments to date. Norway, who triumphed at Sydney 2000, are the only other winners.

Unlike the men’s tournament there are no age restrictions for the selection of athletes for women’s football. The men's squads will mostly be comprised of U-23 players; three over-age players are allowed.

Pendleton Eyes Gold, Retirement

Britain's Victoria Pendleton, one of the poster girls of London 2012 who won gold in track cycling at the Beijing Games, says she will step away from the sport after this summer's Olympics.

The 31-year-old, who has nine world titles to her name, is gunning for three more Olympic golds in the velodrome at London 2012.

But Pendleton told the BBC that she'll likely take a complete break from track cycling after her third Olympics at which she's taking part in the individual sprint, team spirint and keirin in London.

"London feels like the right place to say 'thank you very much'. No one will begrudge me of having a normal life," she said.

Torch Relay Update

The Olympic Torch will travel 77 miles through 16 communities on day 39 of its journey to the London Games.

On its way from Sheffield to Cleethorpes, the Flame will visit the Magna Science and Adventure Centre and Don Valley Stadium.

A total of 130 torchbearers will carry the Flame on foot and by train to this evening’s celebration at Meridian Park.

Reported by Mark Bisson and Christian Radnedge

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.