Fives is a game that I had never heard of, until two years ago when four courts were built at the Westway sports centre. I never thought that I would ever put on a pair of gloves, let alone manage to play the game. Luckily, I was offered the chance to accompany Matthew and Howard Wiseman on two of the Swiss tours in June/July 2003.

I went on these trips knowing nothing about Fives only that you put on a glove and hit a small ball around a three walled court! I went on two trips the first with students in year eight and nine from St Olaves, then with a mixture of schools including as High Wycombe Royal Grammar School, Oakham, St. Olave's and Emanuel. These trips offered the students and me many things. I got the chance to get an insight to a game, which has been limited to people due to the difficulty in getting access to courts. I also was able to learn the points system and some basic shots. The students who came received plenty of match play and the chance to make improvements in their game.

As well as playing Fives the Swiss tours also offered a fun healthy week which also included mountain bike riding, day trips to St Moritz, official matches in cricket and Fives, as well as internal matches in football and tennis.

Both trips that I went on consisted of students of various ages from as young as thirteen and a maximum of sixteen. All the activities that took place were suited for all different abilities within the groups.

At the end of each trip after talking with members of staff and the students I had discovered that they had played more Fives in the one week than they would have played in one year. The staff and students had noticed a distinct improvement in their games as I had seen in mine.

The trip offered a week of fun for all those involved, from the students to the coaching staff, and even me! Much of the credit for this is due to the efforts of Howard Wiseman and his coaching team, without whom, this trip would not have been nearly as sucessful!

Hopefully, having seen the success of these tours, as well as the developments of courts becoming more widely available to more people, existing Fives players will be able to improve their game, and also open up the game to attract new players as well!. The tours were really enjoyed by all and hopefully with trips like this on offer, will attract new players and keep the keen and wanting to play as it has done for me.

D.R.

Swiss Tour 2003 by Dominique Redmond, Tennis Coach, Westway Sports Centre
Created 13th September 2003
efa@etonfives.co.uk

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