Graves Cup - Ipswich

For those unfamiliar with the Ipswich Tournament, it is organised on an individual entry basis with pairings determined by the organiser with the intention of creating as many evenly-matched pairs as possible. Whilst most of those participating have an Ipswich connection, we are indebted to those outside the OI Club and the School whose presence provides a dimension that is invaluable.

Strangely, recollections of the Tournament centre less on the Fives and more on the social side: Pete Scholey arriving with masses of bottles of beer and lager; Courtney Friend at the Saturday evening Dinner toasting the Tournament as being the best (in his opinion) in the Fives calendar; and Courtney and Seb Cooley swapping roles for the Sunday morning with Seb red-eyed and fragile avoiding talk of breakfast and Courtney lively and alert (well – relatively).

Fifteen pairs competed in the 25th Ipswich Tournament for the privilege of having the Graves Cup engraved with their name. Looking down the pairings is always interesting even for the organiser. Will anyone be able to beat Seb Cooley and partner? We know that Seb can pretty much cover the court on his own but will some of the evenly matched pairs such as Tom Fletcher, Alex Dunlavey, be able to exploit his weaker partner? In the event, it was Tim Fletcher (Ipswich School) and David Freestone (O.I.) who beat Gareth Hoskins (O.I.) and Chris Oakley (Ipswich School) 12-9, 15-14, 12-9 in a well-contested final.

There was an unanswered question as to whether it had been Hoskins and Oakley who had seen off Seb Cooley in the Sunday morning semi-final 12-7, 12-8, 12-3 or whether it was really Tim Fletcher’s astute use of the port bottle the night before that had done for the young Olavian. The other semi-final had been a battle of brothers with Tom Fletcher (O.I.) and Alex Dunlavey (Ipswich School) pitted against the eventual winners. Although unable to take a game, the scoreline of 12-10, 14-12, 12-9 indicates a close encounter.

In the Plate A final Steve Freeman and Peter Forrest (O.I.'s) beat Steve Burnell and Tim Wyndham (O.I.'s) 7-12, 15-12, 12-9 and in Plate B, Simon Woolfries (O.I.) and Alex Bowditch (Ipswich School) beat Peter Boughton (O.I.) and Dominique Redmonds (Westway) 12-9, 9-12, 13-12.

One of the most satisfying aspects of the Tournament is always the visible benefit to the pupils who take part. This year it was particularly apt for Tim Fletcher to win, not only because his game has come on so much during the year but also because of the tremendous effort he has put into supporting the game at the School. Attendance of 32 for the Saturday evening Dinner was a healthy number and we were most grateful to Courtney Friend as always for his cabaret and to Pete Scholey for providing such excellent evidence of his brewing ability. As always, thanks are due to Ipswich School for its hospitality in providing us with such excellent facilities.

Main Competition
Semi-Finals:
T L Fletcher (School) and D M Freestone (Ipswichian) beat
T S Fletcher (Ipswichian) and A Dunlavey (School)
12-10, 14-12, 12-9
G J Hoskins (Ipswichian) and C Oakley (School) beat
S K P Cooley (Olavian) and J Cawthorn (School)
12-7, 12-8, 12-3

Final:
T L Fletcher and D M Freestone beat
G J Hoskins and C Oakley
12-9, 15-14, 12-9

Plate A Final:
S Freeman and P Forrest beat
S Burnell and T Wyndham
7-12, 15-12, 12-9

Plate B Final:
S A Woolfries (Ipswichian) and A Bowditch (School) beat
P V Boughton (Ipswichian & Staff) and D Redmond (Westway)
12-9, 9-12, 13-12

P.V.B.

Graves Cup Report 2003-2004 by Peter Boughton
Created 26th September 2004
efa@etonfives.co.uk

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