EFA
Rugby & Eton Fives Report 2002-2003
There are so many schools at which REFCA now assists or indeed runs the Fives, that it is not possible to report on the activities everywhere. The most exciting development this past year has been the very sudden and dramatic re-emergence of Fives at the two Rutland schools; Oakham and Uppingham. A revival of the game was anticipated at Oakham due to the arrival of Alex Aldous as the new Chaplain, but the explosion of Fives at Uppingham could not have been predicted.
Uppingham, a school which was a major player in this sport for decades, and a school which had for roughly one hundred years, used Fives extensively as part of their inter-house sports trophy system. At one time all the boarding houses at Uppingham had their own house courts. Fives died completely ten years ago and the remaining courts (the four school courts at Constable House) have been boarded up and at times, placed on death-row, only to be saved temporarily as storage rooms! Seth Bolderow joined Uppingham last year, and having learnt to play Rugby Fives in his previous teaching job at Blundell's school, was keen to get involved with the Fives at Uppingham. There were no courts available! Squash-court Fives appeared to be the only way forward. Not easy to get this running on an official footing, so the Fives remained very much on a back burner. The amazing break came when the new housemaster of "Brooklands", Chris Stevens, decided to clear all the junk out of the two long-forgotten house courts. The boys helped to load up the skips,and as soon as the job was done, these two beautiful courts, built in the 1870's, immediately became the focus of the Brooklands boys in their spare time. Chris got hold of an old box of gloves and balls - and that was it!!! Rules were made up, and games played at every opportunity. REFCA then volunteered the services of Howard Wiseman and Jon Fagan for a long weekend, so that everyone could learn to play the official rules and be coached across an on-going weekend workshop. Seth and Chris had arranged for girls, boys and staff from as many houses as possible to turn up at alloted times. The weekend was a huge success. New gloves and balls had been left behind, and soon after the visit, every house in the school had signed up for the House tournament, as well as a very large entry in the Staff & pupil tournament.
Jon Fagan was sent in on several weekends to coach at Uppingham, were pupil-pressure was meanwhile managing to open up other house-courts. By our third visit, one of the Fircroft courts had been cleared and was in constant use. By the end of the season, pressure from the Constable boys, as well as the need for more courts due to visiting tours and schol fixtures, had resulted in a promise to clear the four Constable courts and return them to their intended purpose. As a result, Uppingham will have seven courts back in service, with an enormous army of players school-wide waiting to do battle. A large and extremely talented Uppingham team appeared in the National Schools' Championship's at Eton - what a fabulous site!! Congratulations to Uppingham for making it back!! It should be pointed out that Chris Stevens was not a Fives player when he took over Brooklands. He did however immediately recognise the potential for an on-site sporting facility such as this, and did understand what a good game Fives was - knowing it to be a superb game for cricketers in the winter. Chris showed great foresight in opening up this facility and in emersing himself in playing the game and providing a lead for the boys. The Fives community, I am certain will be very grateful to Chris for what he has done. Congratulations also to Seth Bolderow for putting in tireless energy to make sure that everything was so well organised for the coaching visits and all the internal tournaments that he and Chris have run. Seth is now officially master-in-charge at Uppingham, and will benefit from the recent appointment of James Birch to the teaching staff at Uppingham.
Oakham, like everywhere else, does not possess Fives courts at the boarding houses. As a result, it was never possible for Alex Aldous to make a flying start with Oakham Fives in the way that it was taking off up the road at Uppingham. However, the three courts have been renovated, and are in a prominant position beside the playing fields. Furthermore, the courts are due to be turned into an indoor facility, so that the whole run-off area is fully enclosed and set up as a club-house and courts all in one. There is a large number of Fives team members already, and four of the older players, as well as Alex Aldous, took part in one of the REFCA tours to Switzerland this summer. The standard is rapidly rising. Alex already has the nine and ten year-olds from the prep-school playing. Starting this young ensures a high standard in a few years time. It is important that Oakham took part in the Nationals this year - their young players in the U12's especially, learnt a lot that day! It is likely that Oakham will have a REFCA Graduate assistant in place come this next season to assist with coaching the sport across the school, as well as the smooth-running of the team in school matches and events. Oakham have never appeared as a regular fixture in the fives world. This seems set to change, and it really is a very important step forward for Eton Fives to have both Oakham and Uppingham on-board.
Emanuel School took an enormous leap forward this past season. The experienced and strong sixth-form team had just left school, and were all playing regularly for the Old Emanuels, the EFA and also some of them were working for REFCA as coaches during their gap-year. However, numbers needed building in the remaining school team. Jon Fagan (Old Emanuel) and Howard Wiseman put in a great deal of time and energy in a bid to swell numbers. A great success!! A very large team was created at Senior, U15 and U14 levels, and matches were played every week in the Easter Term. The standard of the team is not yet desperately high, although there are a few star players, and the standard is rapidly rising. Emanuel have certainly become a very valuable fixture for many schools in the London area. Seven Emanuel players took part on a Swiss Fives Tour, and most team members took part in the National Schools' Championships. The courts at Emanuel (Clapham Junction) were used for more adult matches by the Emanuels this year. The courts play very well indeed, and the continued support from the Games department, Bursar and Headteacher will hopefully result in complete refurbishment quite soon - hopefully the courts will be turned into an indoor facilty as part of this work.
High Wycombe succeeded in pushing their Fives programme forward. Whilst it is difficult to operate with two courts that are open-air and have very damaged floors, nevertheless, the first matches were arranged against other schools this year. Robin Malacrida provided a very reliable and enthusiastic service, and the end result was a very keen and talented pair at each of U16, U15 and U14 level. Two pairs played in the Nationals at the end of the season, and Andrew Armitage (age thirteen) represented High Wycombe in a REFCA Swiss Tour. It must be said that he was one of the outstanding performers on the tour - both on the Fives court AND the cricket pitch!! Hopefully this high level of commitment by High Wycombe pupils will enable their Headmaster to move forward towards renovating the courts. Fives could then thrive at High Wycombe. Things are looking good!
Berkhamsted had an excellent season. The appointment of Peter White (Old Olavian) as a REFCA Graduate assistant to the sports department at Berkhamsted meant that they had an on-site Fives coach for the first time since Geff Tolchard retired three years ago. It was important to develop the junior team this year, as well as to continue the training with the seniors and U16's. Peter ran a Fives club during lunchtimes and after school, as well as during many Games lessons. Many matches were played at all ages, and three players travelled to Switzerland on Tour during the Summer. Richard Cooke (age 14) won the most improved player award on the Tour. This service has provided the security of regular coaching that this large team needs, and has allowed the Master-in-Charge, Martin Pett to thoroughly enjoy his job as Manager of the team. This service will be provided each year for as long as is required.
City of London School thrived under the leadership of Robin Nagy. They entered the Nationals with a large and very strong team. The first pair was potential seeding material, and they performed to a very high level indeed throughout the season, competing against the stongest opposition. Many of the CLS pupils played alongside the Old Boys - an easy arrangement that is looked after by Match Management - the Fives Diary service. Most recent CLS leavers are still playing for the Old boys and also several are playing at University. Mark Herring has helped to coach the CLS team this year - both at Westway, and also on the Westminster courts. He has done a great Job. Robin Nagy has been the figure soley responsible for bringing Fives back to CLS. He has done an incredible job, and it is unbelievable how high the standard is, the numbers are, and the enthusiasm is, given that they have no courts of their own. If ever courts are built in the CLS playground to re-instate the sport as a playground court-game as of old, as it was on the Blackfriars site, then there is no limit as to what they could acheive!!! Anyone wanting to donate some courts .... Just let me know!!!
Robin Nagy has completed his last season at CLS and is moving on to teach abroad. Robin leaves behind a strong team which is in safe hands for the future. A great acheivement. Fives owes him a lot!!! Robin is from a Rugby Fives background, but nevertheless, picked up the long tradition of Eton Fives at City of London School, and ensured that this was reinstated and that this will continue. On behalf of everyone who loves and cares about Fives; thank you so very much. I personally and publicly would like to thank Robin for several years of fun working together on the Fives. The Old Cits, your pupils, and Fives in general will miss you very much.
City of Norwich School is still going well, and managed to be well represented in the National Championships at girls and U15 boys' level. The coaching was not as regular as we would have liked last season. There was a late start in the Christmas Term due to problems at the Norwich end, but above all else there was a real problem caused by on-going illness from the Refca coach, which made the long journey from south London very difficult. Next year a real effort will be made to push Norwich ahead. The staff at Norwich are very supportive, and the Head of Games, Jan Watson is very keen to see the game prosper. It is very popular with both the girls and boys. Refca is going to run some weekend tours to Ipswich and Norwich this coming season in order to provide some home matches for Norwich, and possibly some weekend workshops/tournaments for the benefit of the Norwich youngsters. This is the school that would most benefit from some sponsorship - it would be fantastic to have some funds with which to run hire a coach to take matches to Oakham, Uppingham, Berkhamsted and to London venues. We will be working on it!! Steve Korris will be the coach next year- he will be ideal for the job.
Lancing College goes from strength to strength. The explosion of Fives the previous year resulted in the two abandoned back Fives courts being completely renovated. There are now four superb courts! A considerable amount of money has been spent turning these courts into indoor courts - the run-off now runs into the fully enclosed Fives clubhouse that looks something like a conservatory, with a settee, and soon to be added, trophy cabinets and oak boards for the names of Fives Captains and House Tournament results. There will also be notice boards and display boards for photographs from the Swiss tours and tournament group photos. There are lots of girls playing Fives at Lancing and the standard is now quite high. For the first time, Lancing entered a large number of pairs at Senior, U15, and Ladies levels into the Nationals - and all the pairs looked good! At long last Andrew Betts, the Master-in-charge has a very large and desperately keen team who can all play the game well - he looked really proud at the Nationals!! Quite right to!!! As well as the Nationals, Lancing College was represented at the Rossall Schools' Championships, the Northerns, London Championships, Ladies and Mixed, and also several players played alongside the Lancing Old Boys. Every week the fixture list was full - occassionally home and away matches were played at the same time for the first time. The official opening of the new Fives clubhouse/courts is this September on Old Boys' Day. Well done to the school team whose exploits have earnt them this fabulous award - of course none of this could have happened without the full support of the Headmaster of Lancing College. Many thanks to Dr.Tinniswood, the Headmaster, and to all of those who made donations towards the court refurbishment. There is no stopping Lancing Fives now - their team epitomises the principle of sport being there for enjoyment first and foremost!! Many of their players have also already become very experienced and tenacious competitors. Rugby Fives continues to be played on the squash courts at Lancing as well. This is an excellent over-flow when all the Eton Fives courts are full and noticeably develops everyone's left hand play very quickly. Matthew Wiseman will be joining Howard on the coaching team at Lancing next year.
Westminster School now enjoys larger numbers than ever before! This coming season, the team is due to expand even more. Having reached bursting point with their present facilities, Fives is now going to expand across to the Westway sports centre on two afternoons each week, so that both the three Westminster and the four Westway courts are all used at once. The standard has risen again this year, and the weekly evening elite squad practice run by Matthew Wiseman has made a big difference towards technical ability, confidence and desire to compete. The use of more courts this coming season will soon turn the Westminster team into a very large and well trained outfit. Mike Milner is doing a great job here as Master-in-charge - he will soon have one of the largest school teams in London. As always, Westminster were very well represented in the Nationals, with good performances all age levels.
The Lyceum Alpinum in Zuoz has recently gained a superb roof over three of its courts (see international report). This will enable Fives to be played all year round. What the Lyceum has lost recently is its top two years of players, due to a change in the Swiss educational system. Therefore, there is a re-building programme going on at the moment in the Fives team. We have had a superb coaching team of Mark Herring, Douglas Foster, George Cambell (also the Cricket Professional) and Seb Cooley working at the Lyceum. This team is in place until October 2003, and by then the numbers will be very high again. Over sixty players, representing some ten schools visited the Lyceum this summer, so that they enjoyed regular home fixtures at both Fives and Cricket. This has helped to enthuse the Lyceum team, who happened to win all their cricket and Fives matches - very narrowly. All matches are balanced by the addition of coaching staff to the Lyceum teams as and when required. The Games staff and school system is still very commited to the playing of Fives. Zuoz is now fully established as the perfect touring base - there will be four REFCA tours next year - do let Howard know if you are interested in your school being represented, or wish to direct your players to us as individuals (i.e. Not specifically representing your school).
Squash Court Fives continues to play a very important role at St.Olave's and Lancing College, both in terms of sustaining numbers, but also in developing a good all-round technique. This is of course the answer to anyone wishing to play Fives at sports centres or Universities. Refer to www.glovesandballs.com for squash court Fives balls.
New developments have been the tours to Rutland - now that both Oakham and Uppingham are back! St. Olave's and Emanuel both ran seperate tours to Rutland, and had a great time. Ask Howard how this could best work for the standard of your players.
Stronger links have been growing in recent years between the Rugby Fives and the Eton Fives Associations. On the ground, many barriers have been broken down that previously existed between these two codes of the same sport. Players have now increasingly swapped across the codes, and some tournaments are even designed to draw both codes together. It is great to see that Matthew Wiseman and Hamish Buchanan (top Eton and Rugby Fives players respectively), have both entered the World Handball Championships in Ireland this coming October, and have paired up in the Doubles. Perhaps for any Eton Fives follower who still has reservations about the two codes mixing - think back to the highlight enclosed in this report. Oakham, Uppingham and City of London too, have all been brought to life by Rugby Fives players, who luckily share the view that it is one sport, both with two specialist codes, just as tennis players may specialize in Clay court tennis or Grass court tennis. Without this understanding, we would certainly still be without those three schools!!
Finally, thank you to all the REFCA staff who have worked tirelessley in so many schools,and who have travelled so many miles in order to carry out their work. The Swiss Tours (see seperate report by Dominique Redmond) were an outstanding success - some sixty youngsters safely there and back across three weeks, with a huge amount of fun on the way!! Many of my old staff came back for these tours and I thank you very much. Thanks in particular to:
Matthew Wiseman (brother/ Old Olavian), Jon Fagan (Old Emanuel), Robin Malacrida (Old Emanuel) , Ben Lovett (Old Christs's Hospital), Mark Herring (Old Berkhamstedian), Sanjaya Ranasinghe (Old Olavian), James Toop (Old Olavian), Seb Cooley (Old Olavian), Doug Foster (Lancing Old Boys), George Cambell (Lancing Old Boys), Erica Tadman (Old Bullers Wood), Kerry White (Old Bullers Wood), Daniel Grant (Old Merchant Taylor's), David Goldschmidt (Old Cholmelian), Dominique Redmond (Westway Football).
H.M.E.W.Rugby & Eton Fives Coaching Agency Report 2002-2003 by Howard Wiseman
Created 9th September 2003
efa@etonfives.co.uk