At the beginning of last summer school term an Eton Fives Club was started at the four courts in Orpington Kent. For a long time I have wanted to see this wonderful game and the marvellous facilities at Orpington, opened up to all who wish to play fives. A number of parents, whose sons play at St Olave's School, were very interested in playing both for their own amusement and also to encourage their sons' progress in the game. Furthermore, various people who had seen fives being played at the court in High Elms during the Bromley May Day celebrations, had made it known that they would be interested in playing.

The idea of the new 'Fives Club' is to provide courts, gloves, balls, and above all, coaching, on one evening a week at very little cost to those taking part. Friendly games are played during a substantial part of each weekly two-hour session, following the introduction of a new 'shot' or aspect of the game which is coached and practiced first. In this way, after ten weeks (one term), players would have some grasp of the basic tools with which to enjoy a game of fives. The club will meet thirty weeks in the year. I felt that the first ten weeks would be best introduced in the summer term, despite being 'out of season'. When new to the game of fives, it is better to be too hot than too cold! The ultimate aim of the club is to establish a fixture list against other clubs, and to enter a team into the fourth division of the league at an appropriate time.

Thankfully, I am able to report that these ideas seem to have been a success so far. Given that most things develop from a modest beginning, the response has been very good indeed. The first five weeks had attendances of fourteen, sixteen, seven and eleven players. The second five weeks averaged ten People per week, but these had been changed to a less popular evening. From September the club will return to Wednesday evenings, and attendance should return to its original numbers. As well as the adult members, four different schools are represented within the club. This makes the possibility of a Bromley Borough Schools' Fives Team a very real proposition, and could lead to more schools entering the National Championships. Numbers in this area are certain to grow as more friends come to see what the game is about.

Adult members will increase at the end of this autumn term, if only because there will be more parents of new Olavian boys who will be learning the game. Advertising in the local press is an option which has not yet been used, but should work well if required. Why not join us! The courts are very accessible by both road and rail.

It is early days yet, but the signs are very promising. So far, twenty-eight people have received coaching, and played the game to some degree. None of these had ever played before. The younger members are almost impatient to play matches against other sides and there is already a solid core of regular players in the club. The Fathers and Sons, and also the Ladies and Mixed Competitions are sure to benefit from extra entries from this club.

In closing I would like to thank the Headmaster of St Olave's School for his support, and for the use of the fives courts. The Old Olavians' Fives Club has also helped in various ways, for which I am very grateful. My thanks are also due to the Eton Fives Association for their active encouragement with this project.

H.M.E.W.

Goddington Club - Early Beginnings by Howard Wiseman
Created: 9th February 2006 by Mike Fenn
efa@etonfives.co.uk

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