Perhaps the busiest season yet for the Agency!! The most encouraging fact was that five schools came back to life, having been given up for dead some time ago:
- Wolverhampton Grammar school has made a flying start under the superb leadership of Old Wulfrunian, Mark Yates and are now busy planning their fixture and tournament list for the 07-08 season. Wolverhampton has proven once again what a fantastic co-educational sport Fives is – it fits the curriculum perfectly with regard to ball skills and co-ordination and is priceless as an all-weather facility that confines pupils into a small and easily regulated space. As with many other REFCA schools, Mark’s contract eanbles him to take full control of the coaching programme and to act as the Master-in-charge for the sport as well.

- St.Bee’s School on the Cumbrian coast has re-roofed their three superb courts, and taken on a full-time gap-year sports assistant whose job it has been to resurect Fives whilst assisting with every other sport and job in the school!! What a success this has been. David Smith put in outstanding service and enjoyed full support from the Games department and Tony Winzor, the deputy Headmaster. Tony is a very good Fives player (Old Wulfrunian), but has been too busy to run the sport. A couple of fixtures were played – Rossall school and St.Olave’s. More schools are lining up to tour to this most beautiful part of the country next season. Several pairs took part in the Northern Championships at Shrewsbury and played very well – the last time any St.Bees pairs played in the Northerns was 1984.

- Rossall School have eight beautiful Victorian Fives courts. REFCA supplied Rossall with two full-time sports assistants – Arun Kalra and Laura Harvey. They worked with great energy to re-establish the game to both girls and boys and happily, a dynamic new teacher at the school took on the title of Master-in-charge of Fives. Tom Root is the man – a great enthusiast for Fives and Cricket who has driven both sports forward and in whose hands the Fives will undoubtedly thrive and prosper. The Rossall Fives fixture list is now as big as any other sport and is peppered with tours and tournaments – even a REFCA Cricket and Fives Tour to Switzerland and Italy which takes place in July 07. Tom hasplans to visit St.Paul’s school in Darjeeling in the near future with some Fives team members as partt of a cultural visit to India.

- St.Bartholemew’s School in Newbury commenced with a coaching programme in the summer Term of 2006. They have developed very quickly during this past season, having benefited from the dedicated coaching and management of Steve Piper. A number of matches were played, and it was just fantastic to see a large entry from them in the Schools’ Nationals in both beginner and Girls’ categories. Again – girls Fives at this school, where the pupils subscribe to the course of lessons, has been very popular. At the four schools that run this coaching system, each school has the same take up from girls as the ratio of boys to girls in the school.

- Sutton Valence School, having lost their valuable six Rugby Fives courts a few years ago, have asked REFCA to resurect the sport on two very early courts which form part of the lower school playground. These courts are a wonderfully strong architectural feature from the building of this part of the school in 1868 with a bold tiled roof making them appear like a mansion house with a missing front to it! They are probably Bat Fives courts – three walls and a low line/bar to strike above. They are 20feet in each direction – almostr a perfect cube. Of course, the youngsters love the game – the 2007-2008 season is to see the launch of a Fives team that plays FIVES. They will play fixtures against schools playing all three main codes, and will make every effort to play at other venues with unusual courts. We will also be playing some Bat Fives, having made copies of the Willow Fives bat still held in the archives at Winchester college.

There are many reports from individual schools elsewhere, so it seemed sensible to just comment on those new to the Fives circuit this past season. These is however a very important lesson that has been learnt that is worth sharing with regard to Girls Fives. It would seem from experience at many schools now, that offering Fives as an option to girls, be they new to the sixth form or year 7, or even running them briefly through the courts in a sports carousel system, never gives much of a positive result at all.

In the past much praise and gratitude has been expressed towards all those teachers who run school teams up and down the country – for the countless hours and commitment with which they serve this great game. I wish to end this report by thanking all of the coaches who work full, or part-time, for the Rugby and Eton Fives Coaching Agency. This past season, eighteen of them have covered coaching work and management as far north as St.Bees, as far south as Brighton, and as far East as Norwich. Thank you so much for your fantastic hard work, without which the the sport would not be so vibrant and without which far fewer youngsters would be able to look forward to a lifetime of enjoyment playing this great game. The game thrives and is growing in our schools – many thanks for the role that you play.

Thanks to you all: Stephen Payne, Matthew Wiseman, Ryan Perrie, Ian Fuller, Mark Yates, Andy Pringle ,David Mew, Dominique Redmond, Steve Piper, David Smith, Arun Kalra, Douglas Foster, Laura Harvey, Peter Cohen, Anthony Theodossi, Mark Herring, Steven Lim and David Goldschmitt.

Congratulations to Douglas Foster, who will be joining Berkhamsted on the full-time staff from September, having worked there for two years as a Graduate gap-year Fives/sports assistant. This is great news for Douglas and superb news for Eton Fives also.

H.M.E.W.

Rugby & Eton Fives Coaching Agency Report 2006-2007 by Howard Wiseman
Created 19th January 2008 by Mike Fenn
efa@etonfives.co.uk

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