SOUTH WEST OPEN PREVIEW
AND DRAW
Blundells School, Tiverton, 30th July 2005
[posted 27 July 05]
An extremely high quality field will contest the season's first tournament this weekend. In both the singles and doubles, the South West Open at Blundells School in Tiverton will see three of the country's top four ranked players in action.
Top seed in the singles is current national champion Matt Cavanagh and, if the seedings work out, he will face Hamish Buchanan in the final, in a repeat of last year's epic encounter won by Matt. Also seeded to make the semi-finals are Paddy d'Ancona, twice a winner of this tournament, and current North West Open champion Phil Bishop.
Well before then, though, there are plenty of exciting contests in prospect. As early as the second round, for example, we could see clashes between players in the Top 20. John Minta will face Marcus Bate if they both win their first-round games, while Mike Hajialexandrou could tackle Dave Hebden at the same stage.
The doubles tournament, too, promises to be an extremely high quality competition. The players in the top two seeded pairs – Hamish Buchanan, Dave Hebden, John Beswick and Paddy d'Ancona – have all won this competition in the past, and Dave and Hamish are the reigning champions.
Mind you, they'll have to play well just to reach the final. The other seeds scheduled to reach the semis – an ex-Oxford pairing of Matt Cavanagh and James Bristow and the all-Mancunian duo of Phil Bishop and John Minta – are all ranked within the top 20.
In total, 15 pairs will play in the doubles, guaranteeing a combination of quality and quantity. Following on from last season's record numbers of tournament entries, it's an extremely encouraging sign and 2005/6's first tournament promises to be an excellent curtain-raiser to the new season.
Come back here in a week's time to see who picked up the silverware.
SW
Open 2005 draw [Word file, 32KB]
Back to
top
MARCHANT CUP TRUST FUND
[posted 18 July 05]
The Marchant Cup Trust Fund has collapsed
into the Charitable Trust. For further information,
see the PDF below.
Further
information [PDF, 1.8MB]
Back to
top
RECORD ENTRIES LAST
SEASON!
[posted 18 July 05]
Last season was a record for numbers
entering the major open fives events. We have
fairly complete records for the 7 open singles
competitions since about 1970 when there were
5 events (WofE, NW, NofE, Scotland, and the National).
Since then the SW and London have been added to
the schedule, and the graph below shows the variation
of entries over this period. The total for last
year was 195, just beating the previous record
of 192 (1991).
It's not just on the senior scene
where the game is flourishing. We had very healthy
entries in both the schools and U25 competitions
last year, and a record entry in the Universities
event where a total of 45 travelled to Edinburgh
to take part in the singles.
The various events have had fluctuating fortunes over the years with the West of England leading the way with its consistently high entry.
|
National
|
SW
|
London
|
WofE
|
NW
|
NofE
|
Scotland
|
Univ
|
U25
|
Last year
|
47
|
30
|
27
|
30
|
33
|
14
|
14
|
45
|
13
|
Average entry
|
30.9
|
24.8
|
26.4
|
44.6
|
25.5
|
20.5
|
12.3
|
28.7
|
14.0
|
Record
|
48
|
33
|
34
|
63
|
41
|
31
|
28
|
45
|
18
|
Back to
top
RFA AGM REPORT
15th June 2005
[posted 17 June 05]
This year's well-attended AGM saw Geoff Sherratt complete his successful tenure as President of the Association, with much progress made on several fronts, not least the formation of the Fives Federation, incorporation of the Association, and implementation of several court-saving projects. Last season also saw the highest level of tournament entries since records began in 1971.
John East was installed as Geoff's successor, with Chris Horrocks voted onto the Board as Deputy President.
Alex Smith and Andy Pringle also joined the Board as Bob Dolby and Johnny Nelmes stepped down, both thanked by John for their contributions.
AGM documents:
AGM
agenda [Word file, 28KB]
AGM
resolution [Word file, 28KB]
Financial
Report 04/05 [Word file, 28KB]
Income
and Expenditure 04/05 [Word file, 72KB]
General
Secretary's Report [Word file, 28KB]
Club
Report [PDF, 80KB]
Back to
top
SOUTHWEST OPEN 2005
30th / 31st July, Blundells School,
Tiverton, Devon
[posted 17 June 05]
Here are the passnotes and entry
form for the new season’s only summer tournament:
SW
Open 2005 passnotes [Word file, 40KB]
SW
Open 2005 entry form [Word file, 32KB]
Back to top
SCOTTISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
30th April / 1st May 2005
[posted 03 May 05]
Hamish Buchanan and Jeff Thomas were the big winners in the Scottish Open: each left Loretto with one title and a Plate win.
The singles competition pretty much followed the form book, with the top three seeds – Hamish, Neil Roberts and John Beswick – safely reaching the semi-finals.
However, the fourth quarter-final provided the best game of the tournament: a three-game marathon between fourth seed Dave Hebden and Ian Purvis. In a match for the connoisseurs, they combined power, width and length with astonishingly deft touches and amazing retrieving. The watching crowd was enthralled and, for a few minutes at least, some of them stopped moaning about the size of their B&B's bedrooms. The match could have gone either way, but Ian just prevailed in a tight third game.
His reward was a semi-final against Hamish. And, although he wasn't able to win, Ian can be happy that he scored more points against the defending champion than anyone else.
The second semi-final saw a fine win for John Beswick over Neil Roberts, setting up a final against Hamish, which was anything but the one-sided match the scores may suggest.
In fact, John was playing extremely well – well enough to take a game off Neil to love in the semi – and there were countless long, hard-fought rallies. But, no matter what John threw at him, Hamish always had the answer, and emerged a deserved winner.
The following day saw an equally hard-fought doubles tournament, with partners drawn according to their performances in the singles.
This led to plenty of close matches but, in the end, the Manchester YMCA provided three of the four players in the final. And it was the all-Manchester pairing of Jeff Thomas and Kevin Henry who came back from a game down to win a war of attrition against Roger Butterworth and Dave Hebden. The look of pain on Roger's face as the match went into the third game was matched only by that on John Beswick's as he saw his lift back to Manchester get even later.
After winning the singles Plate, it was Jeff's second piece of silverware of the weekend – matching Hamish, who had partnered John Hawke to the Doubles Plate.
Nevertheless, Jeff's performance will be remembered not for that, but for an on-court cry in the singles that has already entered fives folklore. Like many before him, he was being run ragged by the relentless precision of Dave Hebden when, after a particularly tough rally, he turned to the crowd and wailed: 'He's got me on a piece of string!'
Hear it on a court near you soon...
Scottish
Open Championships results
Back to
top
SCOTTISH OPEN PREVIEW
AND DRAW
30th April / 1st May 2005
[posted 27 April 05]
Fourteen players will compete for the final singles championship of the season this Saturday in the Scottish Open. And again, there's a strong field, with entries from London, Manchester and Yorkshire as well as Scotland.
Last year's finalists, Hamish Buchanan and Neil Roberts, are seeded to meet again in this year's final, but they will need to survive some tough challenges for that to happen – not least of which are their potential semi-final opponents. Neil is seeded to meet his regular doubles partner, John Beswick, while Hamish could meet Dave Hebden, his team-mate in the Alleyn Old Boys side which won the Wood Cup earlier this month.
Local interest centres on John Cooper, who faces last year's plate winner Andy Pringle in the first round, and former Loretto schoolboy Ian Purvis, who is up against Roger Butterworth. Ian may not play that regularly any more but, as any of the Jesters who faced him on their tour in February will testify, he is still a force to be reckoned with, especially on the courts where he learned the game.
In what would be a fascinating battle, he will face Dave Hebden in the quarter finals if both players win their first-round games – against Roger Butterworth and Jeff Thomas respectively.
Elsewhere in the draw, Alex Smith will be looking for revenge over Graham McIntyre after Graham and his partner (a certain Hamish Buchanan) beat Alex and his partner on their way to winning last year's doubles title.
Phil Reynolds has the unenviable task of facing John Beswick in round one, while the final match in the first round features John Hawke and Kevin Henry, the latter of whom won both the singles and doubles plate in January's North West Open.
Scottish
Open 2005 draw [PDF, 24KB]
Scottish
Open 2005 draw [Word file, 32KB]
Back to
top
NATIONAL VINTAGE AND MASTERS
CHAMPIONSHIPS
23rd / 24th April 2005
[posted 26 April 05]
David Hebden has won his 100th national and regional fives title. He and Keith Puckle beat Bernard Atkinson and Bob Dolby in the Vintage Doubles 15-8,15-8 on Sunday, 24 April. He then also won the Vintage Singles, beating Bill Avenell, taking his total of triumphs to 101. Bernard Atkinson and David Bawtree won the Masters Doubles.
Dave is a former National Singles and Doubles Champion, winning his National Singles title by beating the seemingly invincible Wayne Enstone in 1979. Renowned for the apparently supernatural accuracy and power of his right hand as well as phenomenal retrieval, for many years Dave formed an awesome pairing with another great singles champion, Ian Fuller, but has also partnered many other players to tournament triumphs. His longevity has been extraordinary as has been the continuing quality of his play, but Dave is possibly as well known for his sportsmanship and encouragement of several generations of young fives players.
Dave's contribution off the court has been as significant as that
on it, with his recent very successful stint as
president of the RFA, and his continuing production
of the rankings list.
Dave's achievement of his century of victories puts him in an exclusive
club with Wayne Enstone. Neil Roberts stands at
99 victories!
Back to
top
UNDER 25S CHAMPIONSHIPS
5th / 6th March 2005
[posted 22 April 05]
This year's tournament moved to Denstone College, close to Uttoxeter and Alton Towers. Despite the theme park's closure the organiser provided similar thrills/shocks with his frantic driving over the weekendÖ
A slightly smaller entry of 13 for singles meant 4 groups of round-robins to maximise games. Seeding for the quarters was on points' difference, Bristow and Bate cruising through their early stages. The organiser surprised himself with a solid display earning a 3rd seeding. Despite rather favourable results earlier in the season and a dodgy shoulder on his opponent's part, Ed MMC succeeded in out-huffing and puffing the organiser for the 2nd time in three years. Bristow was made to work against Rich Nichol's crisp volleying, and Grant outlasted his nemesis of schoolboy days, Korris. He went on to challenge but fail to overcome the Bristow juggernaut in the semis: Bate meanwhile had cruised through his quarters and semis against a cramped and hurt MMC, much to the organiser's chagrin.
A tired Bristow went on to prove his mettle against a fresh and eager Bate. The former Oxford captain seemed a little nervous and unfocused, probably unhelped by the deterioration of the balls, but Bristow, the current captain, held his nerve and won in a gritty, consistent fashion. Armitstead impressively snatched the plate from his Durham compatriots.
The doubles involved 5 pairs only so again a round-robin was employed. Bate & Bristow did well to comfortably win their games so soon after completing the singles final on Sunday morning; Hatton & Korris could also be pleased with their performance after a scare against Grant & McGairl. Bate & Bristow were generally on top in the final, but their dominance and control was challenged more than once by some determined baseline rallying from Hatton & Korris. Ross & Nichols took a deserved plate.
It was a pleasure to have Geoff & Wayne spectate and present the prizes, and we certainly hope to have stimulated interest at the school.
I cannot end however without expressing the competitors' and my own disappointment at the lack of an entry from Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. I am very happy to listen to students' suggestions about venue and timings, particularly to do with the Varsity match. Durham, next year's venue, is an attractive town, has excellent courts, and as we all know, a great bunch of guys in the fives club. I hope that Edinburgh in particular but also Oxford and Cambridge will make an effort next year to support a competition that the competitors and the organiser put a great deal of effort into.
Under
25s Championships results
Back to
top
WINCHESTER FIVES DOUBLES
CHAMPIONSHIP
13th March 2005
[posted 19 April 05]
Winchester
Fives Doubles Championship results and report
[PDF, 88KB]
Back to
top
NATIONAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
(WOOD CUP)
16th / 17th April 2005
[posted 18 April 05]
As thousands of athletes fought their way round the east of the city in the London Marathon, across town St Pauls hosted a struggle every bit as tough, in which Alleyn Old Boys reclaimed the Wood Cup with a win against Manchester YMCA.
The final was a tense battle between the two sides that have dominated this competition in recent years, and a fitting end to a hard-fought tournament: so hard-fought, in fact, that two of the quarter finals were won by just five points.
Eventually, though, the best two teams won through to the final. And, it was the superb form of the National Doubles champions, Hamish Buchanan and Robin Perry, that saw the Londoners through to a win.
It was only at the last, though, that victory was certain, and the singles showed how close the match would be. With the four games shared between the sides, the YMCA went into the doubles just four points ahead.
Almost immediately, though, the tide began to turn. In an epic encounter that combined delicate touch, devastating power and amazing retrieval from both sides, Hamish and Robin always had the edge over John Beswick and Ben Taberner, winning two games for the loss of twelve points. So, with honours all-but even in the other court, Alleyn Old Boys went into the second round of doubles four points up.
It was in the next game that the match was effectively won, when Hamish and Robin blitzed Phil Bishop and Kevin Henry. Conceding just one point in that first game set them on the road to an overall victory that was sealed by an 11-6 win in the second. Ben and John restored some pride with an 11-9 win over Dave Hebden and Bruce Hanton, but by that stage, Alleyn Old Boys had an unassailable lead and won by 17 points.
At least there was some consolation for the YMCA as, on their long journey home, they could listen to that other great Manchester club – the Red Devils of United – smash four goals past Newcastle to clinch a spot in the final of the FA Cup.
National
Club Championship results
Back to
top
NATIONAL VETERANS CHAMPIONSHIPS
2nd / 3rd April 2005
[posted 11 April 05]
This year's Veterans Championships at Christ's Hospital was once again blessed with glorious weather, and nine participants assembled keenly on the Saturday to do battle for the Singles.
The outstanding match of the day was a first round contest between new entrant Richard Kemp and ìDidsbury rangerî Brian Nithsdale, with Brian showing great determination and stamina to win 11-8 in the third after well over an hour's play. Richard went on to win the Plate comfortably.
Jeremy Schroeter polished off a tired Brian in the top semi while Dave Hebden won through against John East in the other half. The final was closely fought early in each game, but Dave, benefiting from having had more recent fives than his opponent, pulled away in each game to win 11-3, 11-4.
There were several epic struggles in the Doubles and it was good to see Ian Puckle back on court after a lengthy absence from competitive fives. Ian and Phil Atkinson won an excellent encounter against Stuart Kirby and Brian Kirk, with the losers going on to retain their Plate trophy.
In other first round games, John East and Bernard Atkinson were pressed hard by Brian Nithsdale and Ian Roberts, while Jeremy Schroeter and Chris Horrocks won a 3-gamer against Arnott and Wilkinson. But the outstanding match was the semi in which East and Atkinson triumphed against Schroeter and Horrocks 14-16, 15-8, 16-14 to reach the final.
Top seeds Dave Hebden and Keith Puckle
had a more comfortable passage to the final and
this was perhaps significant as they proved too
strong for their battle weary opponents. There
were however some excellent rallies, and it was
remarkable that all four players in the final
were of 'Vintage' age, with Keith putting on a
typically steady and crafty exhibition of fives
to become the oldest ever winner of the Veterans
Doubles.
All the competitors enjoyed the excellent Christ's Hospital facilities and made a valiant attempt to consume the plentiful provisions, a task made more difficult this year by the regrettable absence of Bob Sandie!
National Veterans Championships results
Back to
top
SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIPS
30th April / 1st May 2005
[posted 07 April 05]
Entries for the Scottish Championships
are due in soon – click here for details
and more info on the competition:
Scottish
Championships pass notes [PDF, 40KB]
Back to
top
NATIONAL CLUB KNOCKOUT
(WOOD CUP) PREVIEW
16th / 17th April 2005
[posted 24 March 05]
National club knockout champions Oxford Past face Bank of England as they try to retain their title.
The first round draw for the Wood Cup sees their strong rivals Alleyn Old Boys take on Old Merchant Taylors while Manchester YMCA play Old Paulines.
There will be fierce local rivalry
in the South West. Tavistock's Deep West club
are drawn against Bristol's West of England outfit
and Exeter face Winchester's Wessex club.
A North versus south contest is promised in London, where UCS Old Boys play traditional foes the Executioners.
The RFA will by vying with Christ's
Hospital for their place at the 16/17 April finals
weekend. Another previous winner, Halifax's White
Rose Club, plays Derby Moor.
Details
of Wood Cup draw [PDF, 32KB]
Back to
top
THE CYRIAX CUP NATIONAL
DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
19th / 20th March 05
[posted 21 March 05]
Spectators flinched and the faint-hearted
looked away as Hamish Buchanan and Robin Perry
retained their national doubles title in a frenetic
victory over Paddy d'Ancona and Ben Taberner.
An air raid siren rather than calls of 'yours'and
'mine' would have been more suited to this hard-hitting
contest.
It was not a case of blind power – more a
case of targeted smart bombs often defused by
spectacular retrieval from both sides – to
the delight of the crowd.
The 50-minute first game was tightly-fought throughout
but Hamish and Robin just had the edge to find
the winners at the crucial times and came out
15-12 victors.
Heavy artillery
Paddy and Ben took the initiative in the second
from the start, dominating with a mixture of hard-struck
angles and dogged consistency.
At 10-4 they appeared to have reduced Hamish and
Robin to trying just to tire out their opponents
for the decider.
But the champions rediscovered their form, with
Hamish's cross-courts and Robin's artillery bombardment
combining to level the scores at 10-10 and edging
on to take the trophy.
Other highlights from the tournament included
the return of the old Clifton partnership of Johnny
Nelmes and Gareth Rees – who reached the
semi-finals after an impressive win over Matt
Cavanagh and John Hayes.
And from the West, Jim Hughes and Alex Rew almost
sent John Beswick and Neil Roberts home early:
they were 10-0 up in the third before the former
champions found the discipline and pressure needed
to squeeze into the semi-finals.
Cyriax
Cup National Doubles Championships results in
full
Back to
top
RFA'S NEW WEBSITE
17 March 05
Let us know what you think! Contact
Paddy d'Ancona at pat.dan@virgin.net or andy.pringle@mac.com.
Back to
top
NORTH OF ENGLAND OPEN,
DURHAM UNIVERSITY COURTS
26th / 27th February 2005
It was three hundred miles north but this year's
Durham final was an all-Alleyns affair.
Hamish Buchanan notched up his fifth victory in
six years (and three in a row) as he beat Ed Fuller
11-5, 11-8 in the final.
Fuller the Father already has his name engraved
several times on the trophy and The Son looked
determined to emulate his feat as he brushed aside
the local knowledge of Adrian Lee in the quarter-finals.
He started his semi-final against Nick Austin
in similar vein, taking the first game 11-1. Austin
soon started finding the back wall nicks to level
the match in a tight and tense 12-11 second game.
And at 9-3 in the third he looked on course to
thwart the Fuller ambitions before the bouncing
Ed ground his way back into the match and into
the final – 11-9.
The other half of the draw had tight tussles of
its own from the start.
Having survived a three-game encounter with Ed
Hatton, Rico Nicholls slumped to 11-0 in his first
game against Buchanan.
But the Durham student suddenly got the measure
of the national number three with some sharp Eton
fives-style volley winners and was only nudged
out 12-11.
Elsewhere, Dave Hebden made uncharacteristic errors
as he lost his first game against Ollie Stone-Lee.
Those mistakes were reduced in the second and
by the third had been transformed into winners,
with the legendary Hebden right-hand seemingly
omnipresent in an 11-2 win.
Dave could not put quite the same pressure on
Hamish in the semi final, losing 11-0, 11-3.
It set up a final where Hamish's sustained
pressure was enough to keep Fuller under the cosh.
The rising star's late rally in the second
could not prevent an 11-5, 11-8 defeat.
The plate final was won by the ever-energetic
Ed Hatton beating another Durham student, Rob
Ross, 11-3, 11-0.
The doubles saw a student dream come true as Nicholls
and Lee and defeated all-time master Wayne Enstone
and the fast-improved Kevin Henry in a gripping
battle.
The wake-up call for the young pair came in the
semis, where Buchanan and Austin proved just too
powerful and accurate, despite the impressive
shot play and retrieval of Nicholls and Lee, who
lost 11-5, 11-7.
The other semi saw Stone-Lee and Hebden make their
first final together (although Hebden, with his
98 titles, has seen rather a lot in other company)
beating Tim Widdop and the hard-hitting Steve
Korris 11-4, 11-3.
Stone-Lee and Hebden felt it was all rather too
good to be true as they opened the final with
a 11-4 first game. Sure enough, the pressure started
to build in the second.
Thwarted on their only match point by an outright
Austin winner, they trailed 3-10 in the third
and a recovery of sorts only slowed Buchanan and
Austin's 11-9 final game defence of their
title.
The plate competition saw Ed Hatton and Ed Fuller
stop Enstone winning what must be the first plate
title of his illustrious career. Hatton's
two pints before the match may not have been the
best preparation but he still won his second plate
of the weekend.
Ollie Stone-Lee
Back to
top
NORTH WEST OPEN
29th / 30th January 2005
Phil Bishop won the North West Open
Singles with a three-game victory over Hamish
Buchanan. Hamish and Robin Perry beat Ben Taberner
and Paddy d'Ancona in three-game Doubles final.
Full report to come.
Back to
top
JESTERS CUP NATIONAL SINGLES
CHAMPIONSHIPS
4th / 5th December 2004
Matt Cavanagh is the new Rugby Fives
national singles champion, beating James Toop
6-15, 15-4, 15-3 in the 5 December final.
Defending champion James struck an array of spectacular
angles in the first game but hindered by a painful
left arm found Matt too much as he combined consistency
and pressure with clean winners in the later stages.
It is the second year running that the fifth seed
has won the tournament – despite the fact
they face what is, on paper at least, one of the
hardest paths to the final. The amount of tired
faces and bodies at St Paul's on Saturday
was testament to the strength in depth of this
year's field, with no easy matches in a high
quality draw. The overall entry of 47 players
was the highest since 1991.
Jesters
Cup National Singles Championships results in
full
Back to
top
|
