Eton Fives at the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz
Extract from the Lyceum Alpinum Magazine 1981The Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz has the enviable reputation of being one of the few educational establishments outside England to participate in the traditionally English game of Eton Fives.
The game originated in the 19th century at Eton College. The boys would gather each morning in a courtyard before entering the School chapel, and to occupy their time, would use the confines of the chapel wall to play a basic game of handball. Rules developed, and the game gained in popularity with the result that the original courts were built by Eton College in 1840 on the lines of the chapel confines. As more people began to take up the game, further courts were constructed at Eton, and also at other public schools in England.
Some 150 years later, the design of the court has remained unchanged, and consists of a front and two side walls, with the front of the court being separated from the back of the court by a raised platform known as the "top step". On the left-hand wall is a shaped buttress forming the main obstacle of the game, and between the face of the buttress and the side of the top-step is a further aiming spot known as the "dead man's hole", representing a drain on the original court on both the left and right-hand walls which produce further aiming points, and the height above which the ball must be hit on the front wall is marked by a ledge 138cm from the floor.
The sport must of necessity be played in pairs, and each game lasts for 12 points with an option of extension if the score reaches either 10 all or 11 all. A match consists of the best of five games and may take up to three hours. To the casual spectator, the game appears complicated, and indeed not particularly fast, but when played by leading players, it is undoubtedly the fastest of all court games, and substantially quicker than squash.
The ball, slightly larger than a golf ball, and made of cork and rubber, is hit by the players with their gloved hands. The game requires a substantial amount of bending, stretching and twisting, and the various obstacles on the court always serve to keep the players thinking about the outcome of their opponent's shot.
The sport was first introduced to Lyceum Zuoz in 1923. Three courts were erected within the confines of the school buildings so that they remain today a feature of the school architecture. Plaques at the side of the courts tell us that the first House Fives Championships were held in 1923, and provide an immediate link with England since, of the first school pair, one, Nigel Blakstad, was a schoolboy from King Edward's School, Birmingham.
The game continued to be played at the school with the active and enthusiastic support of Mr Gordon Spencer, so much so that the school undertook tours in the 1930's to Public Schools in England, such as Harrow, Marlborough, Eton, and there was a visit to the school by two representatives of the British Fives Association in 1933. In the 1950's and 1960's, the school was often visited by the "Old Citizens" from London and Berkamsted School, and players from the Lyceum did, in fact, participate in the English Public Schools Championships in both 1956 and 1957. Such was the support for the game within the Lyceum, that upon the death of Mr Gordon Spencer, the Old Zuozers Club erected in his honour a further three courts in 1965, situated away from the school buildings, known as the "Spencer" courts, providing the school with six standard Eton Fives courts, in fact, more than in most British schools.
The game has been played in England for about 200 years, and the popularity of the game is increasing rapidly. This interest is now being passed to the Lyceum, since two of the best coaches in the game come to teach Fives at the school each year in June. Tony Hughes, captain of the 1981 England side, and nine times British Champion and Richard Lambert, the current England Under-21 captain. Both players are old boys of King Edward's School, Birmingham, renewing the connection between the two schools going back half a century.
With the coaching that the school has received over the past few years, there has been considerable improvement in the standard of play at the school. In April, 1981, the Keeper of Fives, Christof Marpmann came to England for individual coaching prior to the International Team Championships held at Eton College in May. Both C Marpmann and G Paffrath represented Germany in these Championships and M. Hoegl and T. Luxemberger were selected for the rest of the World side. Although these players were fairly comprehensively beaten in the Tournament, they gathered a wealth of experience which will be of benefit to their countries in the future, and of course, to the development of Zuoz Fives at present. At the college the game is played with enthusiasm, the Rondell courts being constantly in use, and the lighting facilities enable the game to be played throughout the darker evenings. The coaching has produced several up-and-coming young players who, by playing in National championships will hopefully represent their countries in future years. In addition, the enthusiasm for House competitions, and individual competitions is encouraging and the standard of today's Fives is higher than ever before, and with future annual visits by the leading players guaranteed, the progress which has been made in the past three years can be capitalised on to the fullest extent.
It is gratifying that many of the school players enter the German National championships which were won in 1980 by players then of the Lyceum and it is hoped that in future the school will compete in the English Schools Championships on a comparable level with English Schools. A recent development is that the game is now played by several of the teaching staff who are learning that it is certainly not as simple as it looks, and not only has the Rektor taken to the court in the last two years, but also the game is now played by certain members of the female population at the school. The school must be proud that it is maintaining one of the strongest of English traditions.
Constructed by Mike Fenn
20 November 2001
efa@etonfives.co.uk