At a recent seminar on the management challenges of the recession, one bit of advice given to chairmen, to help them raise the morale of their organisations in these turbulent times, was “Smile!” Well, the Chairman of the EFA has no difficulty in smiling in reporting on 2008/09. This has been anoutstanding season, both in terms of achievements and innovation.
Our National Schools’ Championships played at Eton in March were contested by some 900 young people – a record number – from schools all over the country.
We have extended the reach and numbers of Ladies Fivesinto the ranks of girls at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, KESH Birmingham and Shrewsbury.
2008/09 has continued the trend I reported last year that more people are playing Eton Fives up and down the country than at any time in the past decade.
Communications
A key factor underpinning every successful organisation is outstanding Communications. In the 2008/09 season the
EFA drove a revolution in our communications:
FivesOnline continues to expand, and at the Schools’ Championships some 135 pupils playing in the Open who
are about to leave school – with the willing support of their Masters in Charge – gave their names, addresses and
contact details to the EFA. This will enable us to keep in touch with them at university and elsewhere, and so help to
draw them back into adult Fives instead of becoming lost to the game as has occurred to about 98% of school Fives
players until now.
We are completely re-sculpting the EFA website, under the expert guidance of Nick Bunyan.
Through the initiative of Gareth Hoskins, we have started the EFA Group on Facebook. This enables us to message every member of the group about events in the Fives world, and we can use the group page as a source of information for group members as well as any for other interested Facebook users. This already has over 290 members, the vast majority being either at school or fairly recent school leavers and exactly the people we want to be targeting to keep involved in the game, including a high percentage of female players.
Coaching
The support and improvement of coaching is at the heart of the EFA’s strategy to strengthen Eton Fives wherever it is
played. To this end a brand new booklet on coaching Eton Fives by Dale and Krystyna Vargas has been published as
an easy-to-read and very practical on-court guide to every coach on how to impart the skills, fun and motivation of the
game.
The booklet is addressed to coaches with little teaching experience, and should be particularly useful for any ‘outside’ coaches in schools, or for Sixth Formers who may be helping to coach younger players.
But I hope that its appeal will go well beyond the bounds of Eton Fives-playing schools.We all need a refresher from time to time, and the booklet is intended to serve a muchwider purpose in guiding more experienced coaches who I hope will find it helpful too.
The booklet is essentially about teaching. The technicalities of the game are only referred to as examples. For ‘How to play the game’ John Reynolds’s incomparable coaching manual remains the key reference work, and this is also available from the EFA.
Westway
We have embarked on a unique Partnership Agreement with the Westway Development Trust, to take Eton Fives and
1-Wall Fives into the Inner City. The new arrangements were negotiated throughout 2008, and the Partnership came into
force on 1st April 2009 under the leadership of our new Fives Development Manager there, Simon Thomas. This is a major
innovation for the game of Eton Fives. A full report of this development appeared in the Newsletter last February.
“The times of the trains shown above are not the times at which trains will depart. They are the times before which trains will not depart.”
But you know that depart they will!
Mark Williams, who – in addition to managing the Kinnaird Cup – ran the Schools’ Championships at Eton this year. No one else in the game could have marshalled nearly 900 young people and given them all such a well-organised and inspiring week.
Seb Cooley’s skill as a coach and enthusiast for Fives has made a huge impact at Eton in the short time he has been there, producing over 65 pairs for the new boys Fives, providing Eton with the School’ Open Finalists and raising the profile of the game at a school where, more than anywhere else, Fives must be seen to flourish.
Nick Bunyan has been indefatigable in deploying his skills in IT to the benefit of the entire Eton Fives-playing community.
Ronald Pattison is the source of a ceaseless flow of ideas to widen the bounds of Fives, whether on or off court, behind the scenes and in front of them in the cause of Fives.
James Toop drew up the strategic plan and Howard Wiseman the coaching underpinning for our unique partnership initiative with the Westway Development Trust of which our expectations are so high.
Gerald Barber and Paul Bowden have taken on the challenging responsibility for maintaining the EFA’s links with Headmasters and Masters in Charge of all Eton Fivesplaying schools.
The enthusiasm of Gareth Hoskins has given us the Facebook initiative; he has taken over the editorship of the Annual Review; and will shortly be taking over the role of Hon Sec of the EFA from Mike Fenn. He is owed a massive thank you for all that he does and all that he will do in future.
Rodney Knight, Richard Black and Dale Vargas have led a successful fundraising campaign on behalf of the Charitable Trust, and inspired a magnificent Eton Fives Reception at the RAC last autumn.
Mark Yates’ enormous energy has continued to strengthen Fives throughout the Midlands.
And finally, Martin Powell and Nick Jones are owed immeasurable thanks for all they continue to do to sustain the finances of the Association.
For all these reasons, I am confident that the Eton Fives Association will continue to go from strength to strength in the years to come.
R.P.F.B.
Chairman's Report 2008-2009 by Richard Barber
Created 10th December 2009 : Mike Fenn
efa@etonfives.co.uk