The Reception last evening, sponsored by Rensburgh Sheppards, was a huge success and many many very complimentary messages have since been received. Some 170 supporters, friends and sponsors were in attendance. The two short two speeches were spot on: exactly the right sentiments and length. The flow of drinks was nicely judged and the canapés delicious and plenteous. The service was attentive and charming. Congratulations to all concerned – especially Trustees Richard Black and Derek Whithead who carried the major workload.
Many congratulations on both arranging and winning the first Ladies Fives match at Ipswich. Good to be there when history is being made. We will have to work on how we take the O.I. Ladies Fives forward - all ideas gratefully received. Any volunteers for Ladies Secretary?
For the benefit of those copied in - Annabel Griffiths and Eleanor Ward O.I.'s beat Lina Thompsell and Lizzie Burgess Cambridge University 12-1, 12-0, 12-3. The match incidentally was played on the Mike Fenn court, now splendidly decked out with ceramic embossed name plaque , fitting one might say.
Annabel, also at Cambridge, will be representing Cambridge at next Saturday's University Championships at Highgate and would be pleased to have any O.I. support if anyone is in the area."
It is an outstanding achievement and follows in the footsteps of the great sportsman K C Gandar Dower. In 1932 Kenneth Gandar Dower partnered fellow Harrovian, G R McConnell, to win the Kinnaird and in the same year he also won the Rugby Fives Amateur Singles Championship for the Jesters Cup. The story goes that when Gandar Dower proposed entering the Rugby Fives tournament he was ridiculed with comments that he did not even know the rules of the game. His response was that he would by the time he reached the sem-finals!
Richard Barber, Chairman of the EFA, reports "I know that everyone will share my delight in his achievement and I have sent James multiple congratulations on behalf of us all - and indeed of the whole Eton Fives-playing community!"
My thanks must go to Mr P Blackburn for letting us borrow some gloves and use the courts. I have not played proper fives since leaving Repton in 1972 so the game we play is taken from the rules but is not for the "purist"!
Last years champions of J Holberry and R Collins were knocked off their perch by N Wainwright and R Patel (who is the first of the juniors to play). This year we introduced 4 new people to the game who will be returning next year with guests of their own. We hope to have another event over Xmas with the juniors and another in May.
The Fives was followed by tea at The Repton Tea Rooms and then the evening commenced with the players and their wives meeting at the Manor House in Quorn and then a Double Decker bus took them to a Restaurant near Loughborough . The bus returned at midnight and wiggled its way through the Leicester countryside dropping off the participants in the early hours of Sunday morning.
We will be running this again next year if anyone wishes to participate.
My thanks must go to Mr P Blackburn for letting us borrow some gloves and use the courts. I have not played proper fives since leaving Repton in 1972 so the game we play is taken from the rules but is not for the "purist"!
Last years champions of J Holberry and R Collins were knocked off their perch by N Wainwright and R Patel (who is the first of the juniors to play). This year we introduced 4 new people to the game who will be returning next year with guests of their own. We hope to have another event over Xmas with the juniors and another in May.
The Fives was followed by tea at The Repton Tea Rooms and then the evening commenced with the players and their wives meeting at the Manor House in Quorn and then a Double Decker bus took them to a Restaurant near Loughborough . The bus returned at midnight and wiggled its way through the Leicester countryside dropping off the participants in the early hours of Sunday morning.
We will be running this again next year if anyone wishes to participate.
At first there was one open air court attached to the building known as Botany Bay (now the Art School). No photographs exist of this court and we do not know which variety of the game was played.
In 1879 a new court was built on the end of the Pavilion with the money left over from a memorial fund for the Matron Mrs Arkell, who died in 1875. For this reason it was known as the Arkell Fives Court. The court had no back wall. This court was in use until it collapsed in 1929. The earliest set of rules we have, from 1881, makes it clear that this was a Rugby Fives court.
In 1909 two new Fives courts were constructed next to the school’s new Gymnasium (now the Music School), and they are still there to this day. They are Rugby Fives Courts and are said to be on the large side (“suitable for lobbing”). As late as 1898 there was a bat fives tournament as well as hand fives.
I hope this is of interest. It does not look like Egerton brought Winchester Fives to Bloxham but he did introduce a strange version of football (Winchester football) to Bloxham which was played until 1874, when the school changed to Association football (and then to Rugby in 1921).
The health of School Fives in the Midlands can be seen in the Spring Schools Fives Ladder held at King Edwards Boys School
"I have just purchased a 1897 Eton Fives 'House Trophy'. It will be given each year to the winners of our December gathering at Repton. Hope this will get the numbers up to 30!"
According to the school's website, and a plan of the school on there (www.kes-stratford.org.uk/visitors/documents/visitor_info.pdf), there does still seem to be a court in existence at the school. According to the RFA records, it's a Winchester Fives court, but I'm not sure how active the game is at the school.
"Gymnasii Novi Pilaris Etonensiym Opibus Inchoati Fundamenta Posuit. Edvardus Craven Hawtrey STP Regaie Scholae Etonenis Magister Informator. Prid. Non Dec. A D MDCCCXL VII."
Text is in Latin, Greek, German, French and Italian. It is signed and dated in ink by the architect Henrico Currey. Contains one lithograph with three elevations of a Fives Court.
Would you be able to tell me anything about this, please? As a printed document, I assume a number were printed, although as they were individually signed by the architect, probably not too many were done. The courts were built in 1840, but remodelled in 1847. Perhaps these drawings relate to the remodelling?"
(Webmaster: A response has been sent to Michael providing historical background to the origins of Eton Fives and suggesting he contacts the Eton College archivist Penny Hadfield for further information.) See School Articles for sight of this historic document.
The court is shown in Douglas James' 1961 book A History of Haverfordwest Grammar School. Unfortunately, the photograph is taken at an angle such that the inside of the court is not clear. As I remember it, it was like that shown in your "Court Diagram Showing Salient Features".
Seven members of staff took part in an introductory/training day at the Westway Centre under the guidance of Howard Wiseman. Most of us had never stepped on a fives court before and were in for a pleasant revelation. All of us enjoyed the simple progression of activities – some gently competitive, some mutually supportive - that led to the playing of near full-rules matches by the end of the afternoon. From the point of view of those involved, we had a most enjoyable and useful inset day. From the school’s point of view, we have more staff interested in our fives programme. This was an inset day we will repeat.
Brian Smith
Some 60 members and their guests enjoyed a splendid end of season dinner at Bekynton, Eton. Chairman Richard Barber provided an upbeat report on successes of the year ranging from the 900-strong entry and collection of pupil details at the National Schools’ Championships, the new website developments, advancement of Ladies Fives to the importance of communication and the need to listen to the membership. Richard thanked individually those members who had provided a major contribution during the past twelve months thus ensuring that the Association goes forward into next season on a high. The proceedings were brought to a close with the presentation of trophies by host Mark Williams and Secretary Mike Fenn to the season's competition winners followed by an impromptu speech by Ronald Pattison. Our thanks go to Michael Constantindi for his splendid organisation, to host Mark Williams and to Ronald Pattison and others who were instrumental in helping to ensure the success of the event.
"Dear Peter
Thank you for your recent enquiry concerning Fives at KAS. You are in luck: the two courts have not yet been demolished! They were built 1926/7 on ground leased to a club, the members of which seem to have comprised parents, pupils and ex-pupils of the school.
The archives contain match reports from 1928.
It seems that the club was short lived, because the Annual Report of 1929 reveals that the school had taken back control. After the war, there are reports of repairs to the fives court in 1949. I understand that they remained in use until the 1960s. I have been with the school since 1983, during which time they have sadly been derelict. Recently, they have housed portacabins, variously used for music lessons and storage."
From Brian Rance, Archivist, King Alfred School
Sadly the courts are to be lost as part of the school redevelopment plans although it is likely that the name will be retained - 'The Fives Court Building'
Two Old Citizens - Alex Kasterine and John Reynolds - were there representing the EFA. John Reynolds won the tournament in partnership with Filippo Variola - joining a list of players which includes Seb Cooley, Grant Williams and Howard Wiseman to do so.
Zuoz school itself sent a group of keen and skilful players including a strong girls' contingent.
Among others present at the event were Benny Oei, 85 this weekend. One-time sugar mogul Benny has been a friend of fives for many decades.
If anybody is visiting Geneva and fancied a game at the courts, at a City Green sport complex in a suburb called Veigy which is just over the French border, they could contact Filippo at Mobitex@borade.com.
Since early 2009, both the EFA and the RFA now have an official presence on Facebook. The brainchild of Gareth Hoskins (EFA) and Andy Pringle (RFA), these online groups are an attempt to unite all Fives-playing Facebook users in one place, where they can post photos, comments, news items, results, information and video clips which are all instantly accessible to other Facebook users. They are also meant to complement the existing EFA and RFA websites and reach out to Fives players who might otherwise be lost to the game.
The early indications are positive: after a concerted early recruitment drive followed by the user-driven ripple effect of social networking sites, the EFA page on its own has quickly acquired nearly 300 members. Most excitingly, these members are not generally speaking the “usual suspects” people who are already EFA members and who are already closely involved with the game. The vast majority of members are under 25 (unlike the group creators!); many are still at school or are recent leavers or students. The obvious benefit of this is that it may go some way towards solving the perennial problem of losing contact with players as they leave school and never seeing them in the adult game. The first big tests will come next season when the Facebook group is used for the first time as a recruitment tool for the Universities Championships in an attempt to extend it beyond its Oxbridge stranglehold and also for the newly revived Under 21 and Under 25 Championships.
Already the group has produced some interesting feedback. As group creator I have already received queries from an Old Cranleighan currently at university and trying to find somewhere to play; from a recent school leaver in China keen to pick up the game again on their return and from a Berkhamstedian wanting to return to the game after 30 years away. Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg.
If you are a Facebook user but not yet a member of either the EFA or RFA groups, then a simple search for Eton or Rugby Fives should point you in the right direction. Further searching will undoubtedly lead you to other related groups; several clubs have their own group as do the CFA and Handball. And if you can’t find one for your club, why not start it yourself and help spread the word!
M.R.F.
Miscellanea Report 2008-2009 by Mike Fenn
Created 12 December 2009 by Mike Fenn
efa@etonfives.co.uk