Wimbledon Ideas and Inspiration
If Wimbledon inspires you to bring tennis into the classroom, perhaps some of these ideas will help.
First off, a bit of trivia: when were the Olympic Games last held at Wimbledon?
Well, London has hosted the Olympics twice before in 1908 and 1948, with tennis being played at Wimbledon at the ’08 games.
Then there’s some more ideas to explore in the classroom:
Why are tennis balls fuzzy? Hint: it’s about control with the racquet, more than just air resistance. And of course tradition: rubber was invented after tennis in the 1800s, so early tennis balls needed a soft covering. Have a look at Yahoo Answers. You could extend this and use our speed of the tennis ball experiment to compare a smooth with a new/rough ball.
Why are balls in other sports designed the way they are? Think about rugby versus footballs, or squash balls versus tennis balls.
Real Tennis – why is it not more popular, and what would it need to make a revival? (If you’ve never heard of real tennis, check out Real Tennis rules. If you have a Real Tennis court, or even a squash court near you, you could use it in our Geometry of a Tennis Court lesson.
How many left-handed winners have there been at Wimbledon – does being left-handed affect your ability to play tennis, or any other sport?
How did a 1907 murder feature Wimbledon in its history? (Read the full story here) Write a mystery that takes place at this year’s venue (or perhaps another sporting event).
What are Wimbledon profits used for, and why?
Explore simple machines by building a machine that will lift a tennis ball 50 centimetres, using: tennis ball , 2 plastic cups, 0.7m of string, broomstick, 50 pennies, cello tape, scissors, table, meter stick.
Why does Wimbledon have ‘official suppliers’? Why are they not called ‘sponsors’? Explore the role of sponsors at sporting events and their effect on athletes and supporters.
