Wimbledon – perfect uncertainty management

New roof at Wimbledon

For years I’ve been using Wimbledon tournament as an example of really good uncertainty management: with all those games taking very different amounts of time, unpredictable rains (in 2008 man’s final was interrupted twice) – it is a scheduling nightmare. Yet, man’s final always happens on the 2nd Sunday of tournament (except for 2001 when it was raining on Sunday and final was delayed till Monday).

Wimbledon is scheduled for 13 days, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday with the middle Sunday a designated rest day. The five main events span both weeks, but the youth and invitational events are held mainly during the second week. Traditionally, there is no play on the “Middle Sunday”, which is considered a rest day. However, rain has forced play on the Middle Sunday three times in the Championship’s history: in 1991, 1997, and 2004. On each of these occasions, Wimbledon has staged a “People’s Sunday”, with unreserved seating and readily available, inexpensive tickets, allowing those with more limited means to sit on the show courts. Additionally, if the tournament is not completed by the end of the second Sunday, all remaining matches are postponed until “People’s Monday”.

Wimbledon on Wikipedia

Tight rules, uncertain conditions – great execution!

Now the problem with rains is fixed at its roots: roof at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. This does not fix the problem complete, as other courts are still under open skies, but weather area on Wimbledon’s home page gradually becomes less relevant.