Fives in Geelong
A report from Tony Hughes, International Officer, first published in the 1987/88 EFA Annual Report.
Planning the Visit
In December 1987, I was contemplating the onset of the English winter when by chance I received a letter from Richard Tyler suggesting holding a coaching course in Geelong, Australia. I considered the matter for at least one minute, and sent back my confirmatory reply.
I discovered on research that Geelong was close to Melbourne in the State of Victoia; well close by Australian standards, being a mere 50 miles away, and that the School was not even in Geelong but three miles out in Corio, pleasantly situated in substantial grounds overlooking Port Phillip Bay. The pictures of the courts which I held, revealed that whilst one was certainly not standard, the other appeared to be a satisfactory replica of the original court.
There were, of course, initial teething troubles; firstly the previous Master in Charge, the Australian Test cricketer, Paul Sheehan, had now left the School and not only was there nobody running the game, but the sport had ceased to be played a few years ago!
Arrival
We have, however, long discovered that this is a minor problem in coaching, and thus the Headmaster was advised that a Fives course would be taking place and, I am pleased to report, he gave the whole project his considerable support. Thus I set off from England with gloves, balls and kit for both of us, whilst Richard sailed serenly back from Tasmania having been re-united with his luggage from the Philipines. Our meeting at Melbourne airport was delayed by Australian Customs who spent forty minutes debating whether Eton Fives Gloves were leisure items or sporting goods!. Not unnaturally, they arrived at the conclusion that they were both and therefore suffered a double import duty. Such is the life of a travelling fives player. Once through Customs, we quickly found a man with a large placard bearing the words "Eton Five" and a large car to whisk us off from the bustle of Melbourne to the solitude of an Australian road.
The School had been advised that there was time for only six days coaching, and they should organise our schedule before we arrived to take full benefit from the time available. This they did admirably, and within an hour of our arrival we were given a daily programme of lessons which, for a school which did not play the game, was quite remarkable. In fact, this was not surprising when one appreciates that the organisation was in the hands of Alby Twigg, the Master of Corio, who catered superbly for our every need during our stay at the School, and always seemed to have the time for help, assistance and general encouragement; even when I managed to lose the Headmaster's keys to his own house!
The Courts
What can one say about Fives? Well, the main court is reasonably standard, uncovered and unlit, but in the Australian summer this is no problem. The ball, of course, moves quickly in the heat, and late in the afternoon the positioning of the Melbourne sun is such that you only see the serve going up and have to judge its angle coming down, and virtually play the cut by instinct. This certainly sorts out a smooth cutting action.
Lessons
We were provided with classes of boys and girls to whom we had to explain the game, and eventually reduced our instruction time down to a mere fifteen minutes, followed by a short game before the end of the lesson. We were worked suitably hard and the second day I found noticeably warm. Richard encouraged me by saying that it was probably 35 degrees centigrade and hot for Melbourne. We subsequently discovered it was 42 degrees and very hot for Melbourne!
The Australian boys have simply got total enthusiasm and we can only admire the way they accepted the challenge of a new sport, and actually competed with two experienced players. They would lose the first game 12-0 and immediately re-issue the challenge. Their attitude to competition must be second to none. They do, however, need to be tempered a little in mixed classes since they do not always observe the same graces to the girls as we do in England.
Teaching the Staff
By the end of the six days we at least got boys playing together on court and thoroughly enjoying the game. We did, however, concentrate our efforts on the teaching staff and, in addition to coaching something like 200 boys and girls in six days, we also played with some dozen members of staff. These games were most enjoyable and probably our greatest success was getting on court our organiser, Alby Twigg, and the Headmaster of the School, John Lewis. John, although a New Zealander, had in fact taught at Eton for nine years without being aware of the game, and had actually lived overlooking the original court. He is a very competent sportsman and both he and Alby took to the game immediately, and we were able to play on a second occasion before we left. John Lewis, I feel, actually "discovered" the game while we were there and on the last evening, got out his books on Eton to compare his court with the original court. Subsequently correspondence with the school shows there is a keen rivalry between this senior pair and the School players, and advice is being given 12,000 miles away as to how the staff pair may keep ahead.
Valette
The gloves and balls were bought by the School on our departure, and we think we can claim that we have introduced the game back to one of the sets of courts in the Southern hemisphere.
Richard and I would like to give thanks firstly, John Lewis and his wife, Vibica, who entertained us so well in their home, looked after us superbly and provided all the help and facilities we needed. John Lewis also arranged for us to visit and stay at Timbertop, the outback retreat of the School in the Victoia Alps.
Secondly, Alby Twigg was a delightful host and companion, and someone we would like to see in the other Fives venues around the world. In addition, we send our best wishes to Dick Johnson who plays the game better than he admits, and to Gilbey for provoking an erudite discussion in the Morris room on our first evening. Why he threw the empty port bottle across the room to end the discussion we shall never know.
The trip was well worth while, and I would encourage all other Fives players who are passing through Australia to try and play at the School, and indeed we hope to return at some time in the future.
Tony Hughes
International Officer
Eton Fives Association 1988
Constructed by Mike Fenn
7th May 2000
efa@etonfives.co.uk