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VINTAGE & MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Oundle School, 20th April 2008 |
[posted 22 April 2008] |
The National Vintage tournament was held on Sunday 20th April at Oundle School, where the facilities for such an event were much appreciated on a cold damp morning. It was a record entry and a full day's fives was expected.
In the morning, the fact that it was provbably going to be a long day of Fives was guaranteed by Bob Sandie taking almost an hour to overcome Dick Warner in the first round, which was played over just one game. They met again in the final of the Plate about three hours later when Dick had his revenge in another long battle.
Meanwhile, the main competition went according to the seeding, with Dave Hebden just overcoming a newly qualified Jeremy Schroeter in one semi-final in three long games. Ever youthful and with deep reserves of stamina and experience, Dave still had some energy for the final with Wayne, but despite some excellent rallies, Wayne was simply too fast and too strong in the end.
In the Doubles, again the seeding worked, although Wayne and John East (partners again after a gap of probably 20 years) dropped a game to Warner and Grey as John slowly adjusted to playing fives again on some strange courts. Keith Puckle and Dave Hebden overcame some stout resistance from Ross and Hamilton in one semi-final, while Enstone and East caught a tiring Schroeter and McIntyre in the other.
Again, in the final, Wayne's speed and strength were the main difference as Dave finally tired a little, while John and Keith tried their best simply to keep the rallies going. Warner and Grey duly won the doubles plate.
Congratulations to Dick Warner for playing a total of five singles and five doubles matches in the day, but especially to the new young whippersnapper Bob Sandie with six matches of both Singles and Doubles in one day. There is probably a Health and Safety rule against that for Vintage players. Lastly, much thanks to Oundle School (and Tony Burrows) for allowing us the use of their excellent facilities and for their warm hospitality during a long day's Fives.
It was also good to see the high standard of fives in the Masters Championship (played on the same day), although only two pairs entered. In the end, Bev Boag and Douglas Rice beat Bernard Atkinson and David Bawtree in two games. However, all bodes well for next year, as a number of players edge over the 65 age threshold and it looks as though there could be four pairs taking part. The venue has yet to be decided, and this really depends on the numbers taking part in the Vintage. If the success of this year's event at Oundle is repeated it may be necessary to have the Masters on a separate day. Watch this space...
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| Vintage Championship results |
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SCOTTISH OPEN/WINCHESTER FIVES MIXED DOUBLES |
Loretto, Musselburgh, 3rd/4th May 2008/Bradfield College, 11th May 2008 |
[posted 19 April 2008] |
Entry forms for two upcoming tournaments are now available here on the RFA website. The first, the Scottish Open, takes place at Loretto School in Musselburgh over the weekend of May 3rd/4th, with the Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles taking place a week later at Bradfield College.
As usual, the Scottish Open is organised by Neil Roberts, with the singles on Saturday, followed by the doubles on the Sunday, when partners will be selected by a seeded draw. Meanwhile, Emma Howie is organising the Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles tournament on May 11th, where novices are especially welcome. Entry forms for the Scottish Open must be received by April 27th, and for the Winchester Fives tournament by May 1st.
For full details of both tournaments, simply click on the appropriate link below to download the official entry form. And, in case the writing on the Scottish Open entry form is illegible, we have also included a link to send an email direct to the organiser.
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Click here to download the Scottish Open entry form [Word document, 28KB]
Click here to email Neil Roberts Click here to download the Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles entry form [Word document, 32KB] |
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NATIONAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP (WOOD CUP) |
St Paul's School, 12/13th April 2008 |
[posted 13 April 2008] |
For the fourth year on the trot, the Wood Cup final was played out between Manchester's Y Club and the Alleyn Old Boys. And, for the third year on the trot, it was the Mancunians who came out as winners. While the eventual outcome was never in doubt, credit must go to the runners-up, who pushed the eventual champions far harder than many onlookers - and perhaps even they themselves - had expected.
As well as this , the Alleyn Old Boys can lay claim to another distinction over the weekend - the narrowest victory - when they beat a very strong RFA Club squad by just three points in the semi-final. The Y Club, too, had a tough semi-final, but can thank a devastating performance by their first pair - John Beswick and John Minta - for securing a 15-point win over the Executioners.
Come the final, and the two Johns seemed to have set the tone for the match with emphatic wins in their singles. However, the Alleyn Old Boys refused to lay down, and wins for Dave Hebden and Bruce Hanton meant that the Y Club led by just seven points going into the doubles.
In the first round of matches, honours were pretty much even, as both sides traded blows. Particularly impressive was the performance of Inigo Ackland, recent winner of the National Schools Championship and partnering Dave Hebden, a man more than 40 years his senior and the winner of more than 100 titles in his illustrious career. The youngster was totally undaunted by the opposition and was only too happy to give as good as he got from the hard-hitting Y Club players. A major talent for the future...
It was only in the reverse doubles that the match swung decisively the way of the Y Club. John Minta and his partner Phil Bishop (who had not played in the Saturday games and taken a while to get to the speed of the match) started to hit their stride and won both games against the Hebden/Ackland pairing. With John Beswick and Ben Taberner winning their first game as well, the result was put beyond doubt, and the Wood Cup could make the return journey up the M6.
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| National Club Championship results |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 11th April 2008 |
[posted 13 April 2008] |
The latest official RFA rankings, as prepared by Dave Hebden, have been published to take into account the results of the National Doubles tournament. And, the three most major moves come from players who reached the final. While Hamish Buchanan remains in a clear first place, his championsip-winning partner Robin Perry climbs eight places to fourth, just behind John Minta and Phil Bishop.
The other big movers are Ed Fuller and Matt Cavanagh, who did exceptionally well to reach the final of the National Doubles. Ed jumps five places to fifth, while Matt rises 10 places to eleventh. Also climbing a few places are Alan Beverly and Chrlie Brooks, who won the Plate competition. For the full details of the latest rankings, click on the link below.
The singles rankings - with James Toop in top spot - have not changed in the latest update, and the next rankings list to be published will be the end of season rankings. These will be calculated following the Scottish Open, which takes place over the first weekend of May.
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| Click here to see the latest official RFA doubles rankings |
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CFA QUICKFIRE DOUBLES TOURNAMENT |
Westway Sports Centre, London, 17th May 2008 |
[posted 11 April 2008] |
The City Fives Association are presenting the first Quickfire Doubles tournament on May 17. Allowing Rugby and Eton Fives players to compete together, it will take place at the Westway Sports Centre and, with spaces already reserved for a contingent of Irish handball players, entries are limited to 20 men's pairs and seven women's pairs.
It costs £15 per person (£12 for students) to enter, with six games guaranteed for each pair during the day, and the CFA will find you a partner, if you don't have one. Places are running out fast, so if you want to enter, download the official flyer or email the organiser, Peter White, using the link below.
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| Click here to email Peter White
And here to download the Quickfire Doubles Flyer [PDF, 1.2MB] |
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NATIONAL VETERANS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Christ's Hospital, Horsham, 5/6th April 2008 |
[posted 7 April 2008] |
Neil Roberts was too strong for the field in this year's Veterans Singles, beating Dave Hebden comfortably in the final with some very impressive fives, thereby securing his 3rd successive title. Outside of Neil's run to the title, there was plenty of fiercely contested fives, and although the entry was small this year, the play continued until well after 7.30pm on the Saturday evening.
This was not only down to plenty of tea drinking, but largely due to two epic matches involving newcomer Angus Hanton. Fresh from his workouts with his son Peter (recent U16 Schoolboy champion), Angus was able to demonstrate that he too was capable of winning silverware in beating redoubtable competitors Brian Nithsdale and then Bob Sandie on his way to 3rd place and the Single Plate. A magnificent performance!
Snow greeted the travellers on the Sunday morning, but all 6 pairs managed to fight their way through to the Christ's Hospital courts, and again a very good day's fives was enjoyed by all. Neil Roberts teamed up with the evergreen Wayne Enstone to power their way to win their 3rd title. Neil's mistakes could be counted on the fingers of one foot, while Wayne delighted the spectators with his unique brand of volleying and interceptions. Phil Atkinson and Brian Nithsdale did brilliantly to reach their first final, and they put up some stout resistance without being able to greatly trouble the great pair, who have a remarkable 28 National Doubles titles between them.
Stuart Kirby and Brian Kirk, who like Angus Hanton have also been practising with Schoolboy champions at Derby Moor (perhaps this is the way forward for the rest of us?), continued their domination of recent Veterans Plate competitions in beating Dave Hebden and Keith Puckle in the 3rd place play-off.
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| National Veterans' Championships results |
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NATIONAL OPEN DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Alleyn's School, Dulwich, London, 29/30th March 2008 |
[posted 30 March 2008] |
Playing in their eighth consecutive final, Hamish Buchanan and Robin Perry clinched their fifth straight National Doubles title with a win over Matt Cavanagh and Ed Fuller.
It was a win that came at the end of a weekend's top-quality doubles which had pitted the country's top pairs against each other – the top seeds joined by the pairs who come through the qualifying process. And, it's a sure sign of the closeness of the competition that not only did both semi-finals go the full distance of three games, in both matches the eventual finalists had to come from a game down to clinch their place in the final.
On one court, Hamish and Robin won through against Marcus Bate and Will Ellison in a repeat of one of last year's semi-finals. However, Marcus and Will – who themselves had reached the semis only after a three-game win in the quarter-finals – at least had the distinction of taking a game off the defending champions, which is more than anyone else has managed in this tournament for a good few years. Meanwhile, on the other court, spectators saw what must go down as the upset of the tournament, when John Minta and Phil Bishop (runners-up for the last two years) lost out to the scratch pairing of Ed Fuller and Matt Cavanagh, both arguably better known for their singles skill.
However, the final was to prove a match too far for Matt and Ed, as Hamish and Robin used their experience as a pair to overcome their opponents. Ed and Matt probed in vain for a weakness to exploit, but the defending champions continually failed to show one, always aware of where each other was on the court. Anything that went near Robin's right hand was returned with pace and power, while Hamish was able to hit attacking shots with either hand. Indeed, it was a run of crucial cross-court winners into the nick from Hamish in the second game that seemed to break his opponents' resolve and seal a throughly deserved fifth title for him and his partner. After such domination, their next target must surely be to go on to emulate the feat of Neil Roberts and Wayne Enstone, who won the title together for a record nine consecutive times from 1991 to 1999.
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| National Open Doubles Championship results |
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NATIONAL SCHOOLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 25/28th March 2008 |
[posted 29 March 2008] |
This year’s awkward Easter date made the entry smaller than usual, but 19 schools sent at least one representative. A feature of the year was that five of the six main finals were contested by two schools, Alleyn’s and St. Paul’s.
The Open Singles Pools brought the elimination of two good Paulines, Hine and Malone, who eventually contested the main plate final. In the match of the quarter-finals, Hoolahan (St. Paul’s) had just the better of a fine match with Brubert (Alleyn’s). Burrows (Oundle) did himself justice to reach the semi-final, where he went down bravely to Faber (St. Paul’s). Ackland (Alleyn’s) won his semi-final against Hoolahan, although the second game could have gone either way.
The final, a repeat of the West of England, brought together two very different styles. Ackland prefers to attack, while Faber has a more measured game, lacking only the devastating hit of his opponent. Ackland won the first game fairly comfortably, but the second was a tremendous battle, with the tenacious Faber refusing to give in while Ackland blew hot and cold in his efforts to put the ball away. In the end, it was Ackland who took the game and the match – but a third game might have told a different story.
The Open Doubles was contested by ten schools, but only two of them – Alleyn’s and St. Paul’s – looked like winning it. The semi-finals were neatly balanced, with each school’s first pair playing the other’s second. Both matches had their moments, although Alleyn’s I had much greater difficulty with St. Paul’s II, losing the first game and only just winning the next two.
The final was a knife-edge affair in front of a large and committed gallery. Faber and Hoolahan won the first game narrowly, but Ackland and Brubert fought back strongly to take the second. The third was extremely tense and could have gone either way, but the Alleyn’s pair found the strength to keep hitting the ball round the court and the skill to get it back often enough to win a famous victory.
The Under 16 event produced some excellent fives in its later stages. Four good players reached the Singles semi-finals, and although Hanton (Alleyn’s) beat Chase (St. Paul’s) with some ease, Kay (St. Paul’s) played well above his previous form to defeat Hill (Derby Moor) by a narrow margin over three games. Hanton, used to winning games easily, found himself with a real challenge in the final; but although Kay continued to produce some fine shots, he also tended to make unforced errors as the match went on, so allowing his opponent a breathing space. In the end, after a stiffer test than he has had in previous finals, Hanton proved a deserving winner.
The Under 16 Doubles contained the usual mixture of nonchalant skill and appalling error, with one or two close early matches and a rousing final to entertain the neutral and agonize the partisan. St. Paul’s I did well to defeat Alleyn’s I in one semi-final, but their second pair failed to trouble the Derby Moor pair in the other. The final went all the way, with Derby (Hill and Goodwin) taking the first game. St. Paul’s (Chase and Kay) came back strongly to win the second easily and looked the better pair for much of the third, but the Derby boys kept hitting the ball round and came with a late run to take the match by a couple of points. This, to add to the West of England title, was a great reward for the two young players and a tribute to the devoted coaching of members of the Derby Moor Club.
The Under 14s attracted entries from eight schools, and there was plenty of enthusiasm and not a little skill on show. Once again it was St. Paul’s versus Alleyn’s in the later stages, with the host school deservedly winning both titles this time. The Alleyn’s finalists (all actually under 13) fought hard in both singles and doubles but were eventually outgunned by their opponents.
Our renewed thanks go to St. Paul’s School for its hospitality, to Peter King and Sam Roberts for running the championships, to David Goodwin for doing the draw and to all those who came to support the four-day event.
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| Schools' Championships results |
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VINTAGE AND MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Oundle, 20th April 2008 |
[posted 29 March 2008] |
The entry forms for the National Vintage and Masters Championships are now available for download here on the RFA website. Both tournaments will be held on the new courts at Oundle School, with the Masters tournament organised by David Bawtree and the Vintage by John East. In both cases, entries must be received by April 13th (a week before the tournaments), but for full details simply click on the appropriate link below to download the official entry form.
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| Click here for the National Vintage Championships entry form [Word document, 32KB]
And here for the National Masters entry form [Word document, 44KB] |
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NATIONAL UNDER 13s CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, 16th March 2008 |
[posted 16 March 2006] |
After a hard-fought day of Fives, in which players from no less than seven schools took part, it was the boys of Alleyn's School who dominated the Under 13s Championships. Not only did they provide the winners of both the singles and doubles titles, they also provided the runners-up.
However, it's testament to the strength of the game all over the country that, in the singles competition, the eight players in the quarter-finals came from five different schools – Alleyn's, St Dunstan's, Merchant Taylor's, Rossall and Pilgrims. Nevertheless, the two semi-finals were all-South London affairs, with Alleyn's taking on St Dunstan's in both matches, and the two Alleyn's boys winning through. The final was a close match, with excellent skill on show from two such young players, but in the end it was Redmayne who came out as winner over Geberbauer.
In the doubles, too, the competition was fierce and, after the round-robin pool stages, places in the next round and Plate competition were won and lost by the narrowest of margins. Again, the semi-finals saw a strong showing from South London, with St Dunstan's and Alleyn's making up three of four pairs, but the fourth place went to a strong pair from Pilgrims School in Winchester.
Again, though, it was the Alleyn's boys who made the final – albeit only after tough matches against their opponents. And, here, the form book held true, with the school's first pair taking the title with a win in two games over the second pair.
Pilgrims and St Dunstan's didn't go home empty-handed, though. St Dunstan's Strutt-Clare did well to win the singles Plate, while the Pilgrims second pair won the doubles Plate in one of the day's closest matches, eventually beating St Dunstan's second pair 11-10.
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Under 13s Championships results
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PROPOSED NEW COURTS AT RUGBY SCHOOL |
The Crick Run, 9th March 2008 |
[posted 15 March 2008] |
The RFA has received the following report from Dick Warner, following his completion of the Crick Run to raise funds for the proposed new courts at Rugby School. We reproduce the report verbatim, with the natural proviso that the views expressed are those of Dick and not necessarily the RFA:
"Dick Warner succeeded in his foolhardy attempt on the oldest school run, the Crick Run, at age 57. Sunday 9th March brought very nice weather, thankfully, before the gales in the evening.
The ideal Saturday preparation - a marathon four-hour Fives match against St Paul's School, losing my singles to an 18 year old, and three out of the four doubles. But our IV won, so I'm - as usual - accepting the kudos.
Fine preparation, four hours' competitive Fives! The run itself was longer than I thought, a longish 10.4 miles, but the terrain was good and dry. Made a lot easier by my running mate, who had just eaten a macrobiotic meal of lentils before running, and spent most of the trip retching. I needed all my footwork to avoid the flying vomit! We came in in the shaming time of one hour 50 minutes, slightly slower than brisk walking pace. Winner did it in one hour and seven minutes.
What I was impressed by was the number of young Rugbeians (aged 15 and 16) running the Crick (rather than the six-mile Barby). Many of them seemed to have tucked into roast beef and Yorkshire pudding at the Whitelaw House reunion before setting out. How could they? And about 10 were girls, who all seemed to disappear in front of me. So not as effete as I had imagined.
And there were a lot of masters and mistresses running, which speaks of a
very motivated and enthused cadre of staff, which was good news to me - and
headmaster Patrick Derham started the run. All this spoke of good morale,
and therefore of commitment to fives, which was underlined by head of sport
Guy Steele-Bodger. The fives court project is in good hands.
I reckon that my run did more for raising awareness of the fundraising than
the fundraising itself, for which I only had 3 weeks to publicise. The
message had got out widely among the fives community, as well as the OR one. None the less, with your kind donations, I reckon I must have got the best
part of £2000 pledged.
Add to that promises from the Rugby Fives Association Charitable Trust, the Jesters' Club, an OR family and another anonymous donor, and we must
have £30-£40,000 staked, before the fundraising leaflet is mailed. Target
is a distant, but not unreachable £200,000, a lot less if everyone uses Gift
Aid.
The location for the courts has been decided – crucially in the Sports' Centre – and a very
highly rated master, Head of Chemistry, Trevor White, has been appointed to
run the fives. Target completion date is September 2009.
I'm enthused: and I've committed myself to taking a team to Rugby to play on
the new courts for five years thereafter, to give them some opposition. Join
me!"
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| Click here to find out more about the proposed new courts at Rugby School |
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WINCHESTER FIVES DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Sedbergh, 9th March 2008 |
[posted 09 March 2008] |
The newly enclosed courts at Sedbergh gave us a full day’s play in front of galleries of cosseted spectators, writes organiser David Barnes. Competitors arrived, admirably punctually, from far and wide, and play was only delayed during the course of the day by some extremely close matches.
Round 1 saw Maskell and Pringle give Buchanan and Minta – a new pair for this competition – some valuable practice at the Winchester game, while Kirk and Butler took their time over beating local lads Catlow and Sturla.
The quarter-finals went with the seeding, although Fraser and Purvis (4th seeds) had a tremendous battle with Mohammed and Ellison (5th) before coming home in the third. The semi-finals saw the undoing of the seeding committee. First, the holders, Akerman and Mohammed, went down in straight games to Fraser and Purvis, who looked in awesome form; and then past winners Fox and Hebden were defeated by the narrowest of margins in the match of the tournament by the increasingly solid pair of Buchanan and Minta.
The final was a classic, with the more elegant duo of Fraser and Purvis taking the first game, only to be pinned back, and finally defeated, by the power and accuracy of Buchanan and Minta in games two and three. The scores also reflect the extra fitness of two of the country’s top players in a three-game match, and it was remarkable that Fraser, who gets little tough opposition in Scotland, and Purvis, who plays infrequently, were able to keep pace with them for so long.
Congratulations, then, to John Minta, whose first Winchester Fives tournament this was, and to National Champion Hamish Buchanan, who finally adds the Barnes Bridge to his long list of titles! The plate, contested by eleven pairs, was won by Marshall and Ronan.
A plaque with a Latin inscription paying tribute to John Guthrie’s generosity to Sedbergh was unveiled by Headmaster Christopher Hirst, and John himself stayed on to present the trophies at the end of the tournament. Laurence Catlow’s long years of service to Sedbergh fives were also marked by a presentation. It was all a fitting end to a great day’s fives.
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| Winchester Fives Doubles Championship results |
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PROPOSED NEW COURTS |
Rugby School, 2009 |
[posted 05 March 2008] |
The RFA is delighted to report that there are plans for Rugby School to build new Fives courts. The campaign has great support among Old Rugbeians and, naturally, within the RFA. A site has been earmarked at the school, plans already exist and planning permission is being sought. The only stumbling block is money...
To which end, Old Rugbeian and keen Fives player Dick Warner is undertaking the Crick Run this weekend, Sunday March 9th, to raise funds for the project. He tells us it is a run he avoided like the plague in his schooldays, and suggests that Fives players past and present support the project by pledging fives-related amounts, £5, £55 and so on. To give, simply click on the link below to visit the relevant page on the school's website.
Naturally, there will be regular updates on the progress of the new courts, and the RFA will keep everyone fully up to date with everything that happens.
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Click here to sponsor Dick Warner's run And, click here to find out more about the proposed new courts |
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NATIONAL VETERANS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Christ's Hospital, 5/6th April 2008 |
[posted 03 March 2008] |
Organiser Dave Hebden is now accepting entries for the National Veterans' Championships, which will be held at Christ's Hospital over the weekend of April 5th and 6th. Singles will be played on the Saturday (starting at about 2pm), with the doubles on the following day from 11am, and there will be Plate competitions for first round losers in both.
To qualify for the championships, players must be at least 45 on April 27th 2008, and entries must be received by Sunday March 30th. Entry costs £10 for the singles and £20 per pair for the doubles, but players without a doubles partner are invited to send in a £10 entry fee, and the organiser will try to match them up with an appropriate partner.
Just one note: the organiser is away on holiday from March 13th to 29th and, although you can email him or leave messages in that time, Andy Pringle will try to answer any queries in his absence. For full details of the competition, please click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| National Veterans' Championships entry form [Word file, 52KB] |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 1st March 2008 |
[posted 02 March 2008] |
After his recent win in the North of England Championship, John Minta has closed the gap on the top four in the latest official RFA rankings. Prepared by Dave Hebden, the latest list shows James Toop still at the top of the pile, but Ed Fuller climbs into second after his win in January's North West Open. Matt Cavanagh and Hamish Buchanan complete the top four, but Minta is now just six points behind in fourth place. Indeed, just 14 points separate the top 5.
Elsewhere in the new rankings, Dave Fox climbs into the top 10 after finishing as runner-up in the Manchester tournament, while success in the Under 25s championship sees Adrian Lee, Steve Korris and Hal Mohammed make it into the top 20. Hal, also a semi-finalist in Durham, climbs 26 places.
In the doubles, Hamish retains his comfortable top position, with John Minta in second place. However , success for Ed Fuller (NW champion) sees him into the top 10, while Phil Bishop (winner in both the North and North West champpionships) climbs into third. Meanwhile Will Ellison (U25 winner) and Adrian Lee (runner-up in Durham) both make the top 20 after their recent successful runs, while Matt Bowness and Marco Skogh (semi-finalists in Manchester) also make good progress. For the full details of the new rankings, simply click on the link below.
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| Latest official RFA rankings |
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RFA v BUSA |
St Paul's School, 2nd March 2008 |
[posted 02 March 2008] |
In match where the final outcome was never certain, the RFA team just held on to its lead to score a win over a very strong BUSA representative squad. There were never more than a handful of points between the two teams during the course of a hard-fought afternoon, and only at the death did it become clear that the RFA had done enough to clinch a win - by just four points.
The day had started well for the RFA as they took a 13-point lead in the singles, winning four of the six matches. However, right from the start of the doubles, the BUSA team started to inch their way back. Although Hamish Buchanan and Charlie Brooks won for the RFA, wins for BUSA's Tristao & Furniss and Ellison & Mohammed saw the students narrow the gap.
In the second round of doubles, the match between Jones & Pringle and Ellison & Mohammed saw the spoils all-but shared. However, a good win for Beverly & Colton over Grant & Lee was more than enough to compensate for Buchanan & Brooks beating Tristao & Furniss. So, again, the students narrowed the gap, which meant there was everything to play for in the final round.
On one court, Beverly & Colton continued their fine form, with their hard hitting proving too much for Jones & Pringle, although the RFA pair did manage to salvage a crucial few points at the end. However, on the other two courts, the RFA pairs were victorious, ensuring a win overall, but by almost the narrowest of margins.
How different it all might have been, though. At one point, Buchanan & Brooks were 6-12 down in their final game, but they gritted their teeth and came through to secure a crucial win 15-12. Such a result was typical of the afternnon's play, with two very closely matched teams. Indeed, it was typical of the closeness of the competition that no one pair failed to win a game of doubles, but at the same time, no one pair won all of their games; and, overall, the 18 individual games were shared between the two teams. In the end, it was the cushion that the RFA built up in the singles that was crucial.
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| RFA v BUSA results |
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UNION BOAT CLUB |
Boston, USA |
[posted 02 March 2008] |
The Union Boat Club, Boston, has recently been in touch with the RFA, and we are delighted to report that Fives is now flourising at the club, with a well-attended club championship, exhibition matches at nearby schools and plans for a tour to England in September this year.
The Club itself has now joined the RFA and is gearing up for the 2008 season, when it expects to see some 30 players enter the Club Championship. As well as creating a Fives committee under chairman Nick Elfner, they are actively seeking new players and will be playing an an exhibition tournament this month at nearby Groton School, where there are four singles and four doubles courts, although not all are being used at the moment.
The Club is more than happy to welcome players from this side of the Atlantic, but are already planning a trip to this country in September and looking for potential opponents. If you are interested in hosting a team from Boston, please contact the RFA General Secretary, who is liaising with the UBC. But, in the meantime, if you want to see how the game is played in America, simply click on the link below to visit the UBC's own website.
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| Click here to visit the UBC website |
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NORTH OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Durham, 23rd/24th February 2008 |
[posted 24 February 2008] |
John Minta celebrated his comeback from injury in the best possible way by taking both the singles and doubles titles in the North of England Championships. In a repeat of last year's final, he beat Hamish Buchanan to win the singles championship, before teaming up with Phil Bishop to take the doubles title as well.
However, by the end of the tournament, he must have been sick of the sight of Will Ellison, as the young London student pushed him all the way in the semi-finals of both championships. First, Will took him to three games in the singles, and then teamed up with Marcus Bate to again take John and Phil to three games in the doubles. These two matches were, by common agreement, the games of the weekend. And, in the end, the finals were relatively easier affairs - even though the scratch pairing of Adrian Lee and Neil Roberts also took John and Phil to three games in the doubles final.
Overall, the tournament was a great success, with the highest number of entrants for many years and some notable performances. Hal Mohammed, for instance, did extremely well to beat fourth seed Marcus Bate in the first round and went on to the semi-finals, only losing to Hamish. If there was a sour note, it was that an injury to Dave Hebden prevented him playing with Hamish in the doubles. Jez Sinton gamely stepped into the defending champion's shoes – and reached his first open semi-final in the process – but he and Hamish couldn't beat the combined youth and experience of Lee and Roberts. And, they, in turn couldn't beat the Y Club pair, leaving the weekend's prizes to John Minta.
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| North of England Open Championships results |
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VARSITY MATCH |
St Paul's School, 16th February 2008 |
[posted 16 February 2008] |
Although the two sides were within a point of each other after the singles, Oxford again had greater depth this year, and all their pairs played well in the doubles to win the match with some ease.
The top singles attracted a large gallery and was a class apart, with Beverly, the Under 25 champion, playing irresistibly to defeat his conqueror in the British Universities singles, Tristão. Furniss and Lebon at two renewed their acquaintance from last year, with the Cambridge captain just winning this time. So Oxford needed the points from three and four, and they duly got them, with Jennings and Park defeating Jones and Ladak respectively and almost restoring the balance – Cambridge leading by just one point at lunch.
The doubles had the same pattern as last year. Cambridge 1 (Beverly and Lebon) played well to win three out of four games, but their second pair lost all theirs and were virtually wiped out by BUSA champions Furniss and Tristão. Oxford’s third and fourth pairs played impressively to take seven of their eight games, some of them by large margins, and although Cambridge never gave up, it was clear at a fairly early stage in the afternoon which way the match was going.
Congratulations to Oxford on a deserved victory, and top marks to both sides for punctuality, dress and sportsmanship on court. Many thanks also to St. Paul’s School for hosting the match and continuing to provide a sizeable percentage of the participants!
In the reserves match, Oxford Beavers were again too strong for Cambridge Sparrows, although the match was better fought than last year.
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| Varsity Match results |
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VARSITY MATCH |
St Paul's School, 16th February 2008 |
[posted 13 February 2008] |
The captains of Oxford and Cambridge have announced their teams for the annual Varsity Match, which takes place at St Paul's School, London, on February 16th.
Playing for last year's winners Oxford will be S Adcock (Eastbourne and St. Edmund Hall),
E Emmett (St. Paul's and Christchurch),
J Furniss (St. Paul's and St. Edmund Hall), R Holl (Winchester and Worcester),
A Jennings (St. Paul's and Corpus Christi),
D Park (Sherborne and St. Catherine's), D Tristao (St. Paul's and Lincoln)
and E Wilman (Giggleswick and Hertford).
Meanwhile, representing Cambridge will be Alan Beverly (Girton),
Richard Lebon (Trinity),
Chris Jones (Emmanuel),
Alqahir Ladak (Christ's), Malcolm Reid (St. John's),
Paul Simister (Trinity),
Charles Compton (St. John's), and
Rupert Walter (St. John's).
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WINCHESTER FIVES NATIONAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Sedbergh School, 9th March 2008 |
[posted 10 February 2008] |
Organiser David Barnes is now accepting entries for the Winchester Fives National Doubles Championship, which will be held on the newly enclosed courts at Sedbergh School on Sunday March 9th. Entries must be received (by post only) by February 22nd, and cost £20 per pair, including the cost of lunch. For further information, and to download the official entry form, just click on the link below.
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| Winchester Fives National Doubles Championship entry form [PDF, 1.7MB] |
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NORTH OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Durham, 23rd/24th February 2008 |
[posted 06 February 2006] |
Organiser Adrian Lee is now accepting entries for this year's North of England Championships, which will again be held in Durham. The singles tournament will be played on Saturday February 23rd, with the doubles tournament on the following day, and entries must be received by Wednesday 20th. There is no entry form as such; instead, simply click on the link below to send an email to Adrian, saying that you want to play and leaving him your mobile phone number so that he can contact you in the event of any last-minute changes. Likewise, if you need any recommendations for places to stay, Adrian (a Durham graduate) will be only too happy to recommend some...
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| Click here to email Adrian Lee |
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LADIES' WINCHESTER FIVES/LEEDS INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENTS |
Sedbergh, 8th March 2008/Leeds, 15/16th March 2008 |
[posted 5 February 2008] |
Entry forms for two more tournaments are now available to download from here on the RFA website. One is for the Ladies' Winchester Fives tournament, and the other is for a brand new competition, the Leeds University Invitational Student Fives Tournament.
The Ladies' tournament takes place at Sedbergh School on Saturday March 8th (the day before the men's tournament, which is to be held at the same venue) and will run from about 11am to 4pm. It is organised by Denise Hall-Wilton, and entries must be received by Friday February 15th. For further details, please download the official entry form using the link below.
The second tournament is being held to mark the resurrection of Fives at Leeds University, and James Marshall is inviting students from around the country to take part in singles and doubles tournaments that will be held on the weekend of March 15/16th. There is no entry fee as such, but the University asks that every doubles pair donates a (preferably new) G6 ball. For all the information about the tournament, just click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| Click here for the Ladies' Winchester Fives entry form [Word document, 28KB]
And here for the Leeds University tournament entry form [Word document, 28KB] |
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UNDER 25 CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Merchant Taylors School, 2nd/3rd February 2008 |
[posted 3 February 2008] |
After some trauma behind the scenes, the Under 25s Championships eventually got off to a successful start and proved to be a fantastic tournament that saw some superb fives, writes Dan Grant.
The action took place at Merchant Taylors School, which was a bit nippy, but perfect for viewing. There was an excellent turn out from all over the country, featuring weathered veterans and several new faces.
Saturday saw the “Singles of Pringles” kick off. The standard was excellent and, for the most part, play matched the seedings, albeit with a few upsets, including an good win for Ed Ronan over an injured Mark Gibbor in the 2nd round.
In the top half of the draw, Alan Beverly once again powered through to the final, and it was the bottom half where things really got interesting. Dan Tristao was the man to watch, and the BUSA champion readily progressed to the semis, where he met second seed Dan Grant. This turned out to be one of the best and certainly the most unusual matches of the tournament. Over two hours of quality fives, which unfortunately nobody saw because it went on so late, Dan T held off a comeback by Dan G to win the first game. The second went to Dan G and then, in the third, disaster struck: the school’s annual theatrical production was going on behind the fives courts and, apparently, the constant thunking of the ball was not representative of the true sounds of Ancient Greece, so play was suspended half-way through the game. The match resumed on Sunday morning where young Dan T closed out the match in style to progress to the final.
And, if the semi was good, the final was something else: a proper three-game epic, which totally messed up the day’s scheduling! Beverley and Tristao both retrieved relentlessly and hit everything up, so the rallies were superb. Tristao scampered round the court and played some excellent width, and Beverly’s rangey arms powered the ball all over the place! Beverley just took a tight first set tightly, only to see the second won by Tristao just as tightly. In the decider, Bev hit a mean streak after a long stalemate and closed out the match, despite a good fight, to retain his trophy and complete a hat-trick of victories. The plate competition was also strong, since the field in general was very strong this year. In the end, Chris Hay won in straight sets over Tom Dean.
The doubles was another fine event, and featured a first round deathmatch between Durham's first and second pairs – eventually won by the former. The BUSA champions, Furniss and Tristao, managed to get to the semis, where they eventually lost in 3. But the shock of the tournament was Will Ellison and Steve Korris, who, having previously never played together, beat top seeds and defending champions Beverly and Brooks to progress to the final, where they met the England pair of Adrian Lee and Dan Grant.
The first set was tightly fought and eventually, after some hard hitting and crafty nicks, Ellison and Korris powered through. The second set was a lot shorter and the new pairing deservedly won – both players winning their first major tournament. Congratulations also go to the young school paring of Hanton and George, who won the plate.
It was an excellent weekend of fives and congratulations to all those involved. The prize for the best novelty towel went to Dan Colton and he’ll be looking to top it next year, when the tournament will hit new levels of wonder!
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| Under 25 Championships results |
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NORTH WEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Y Club, Manchester, 26/27th Month 2008 |
[posted 27 January 2008] |
Ed Fuller completed the first double of his life at the 2008 North West Open. After beating Dave Fox in two games in the final of the singles tournament (retaining the title he won last year), he then teamed up with Phil Bishop to overcome the local pairing of Bowness and Skogh to also claim the doubles title. It was Ed's first ever doubles title, but the triumph completed a hat-trick of wins in this tournament for Phil, who had won the doubles title for the last two years with John Minta.
For all that, though, some of the most interesting stories happened earlier in the tournament. In the singles, for example, local star Bowness took Hamish Buchanan all the way in the quarter-final, with the new national champion only squeezing through 12-11 in the third game of an epic battle. Likewise, in the second quarter-final, Dave Fox took three games to dispose of John Beswick, while doubles partners Phil Bishop and Ed Fuller showed each other no mercy in the semi-final, with the young Londoner (and defending champion) finally winning through to a final against Dave Fox, who had beaten Hamish in two close games.
In the final, Ed duly lived to his 'Duracell Bunny' nickname, running and running, and proving just too strong for Dave. This was a notable result, not just because Ed had retained his title, but also (as organiser John Beswick pointed out) he thus became the first 'Southerner' to retain the North West singles title.
To add insult to injury, Ed then proceeded to go on to destroy another myth: that he couldn't play doubles. He and partner Phil Bishop breezed through the early rounds to set up a semi-final against former national champs John Beswick and Neil Roberts. It was another three-gamer, but Phil and Ed eventually came through after losing the first game, Phil back to his best and hitting the like a bullet with both hands.
This set up a final against the all-Manchester pair of Skogh and Bowness, who had upset the form book and beaten reigning London Open champions, Hamish Buchanan and Ben Taberner, in the semi-finals. Mind you, although it only went to two games, the match could hardly have been closer: the Manchester needed to score 12 points in both games to win. Sadly, they couldn't maintain that resilience in the final, and the Fuller/Bishop combination won through comfortably in two games.
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| North West Open Championships results |
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NATIONAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Finals: Alleyn's School, 29/30th March 2008 |
[posted 15 January 2008] |
After a day of hard competition in London, three pairs have made it through to the finals of the National Doubles Championship, where they will meet the top four seeds (who qualify automatically) and one pair who qualified from the South West region.
Comfortable winners of the London qualifying tournament were Marcus Bate and Will Ellison, who reached the semi-finals of the main competition last year. Runners-up on the day, but also making it through to the last eight, were the scratch pairing of Matt Cavanagh and Ed Fuller, who had a tougher root to the final, beating the hard-hitting pair of Colton and Gibbor before going on to put out reigning Under 25 champions Alan Beverly and Charlie Brooks in the semi-finals.
To clinch the final place in the last eight, the two losing semi-finalists played off. And, after two tight games, it was the England international one-wall Fives pairing of Dan Grant and Ady Lee – who had only reached the semis in the first place with a narrow win over Steve Korris and Ed Hatton in the quarter-finals – who won through in two games, beating Alan and Charlie 15-13 in both.
In the last eight (to be played at Alleyns on the final weekend of March), these three pairs will be joined by the long-standing pair of Jim Hughes and Alex Rew, who qualified from the South West, as well as the top four seeds: defending champions Hamish Buchanan & Robin Perry, John Minta & Phil Bishop (runners-up for the last two years), Paddy d'Anconca & Ben Taberner, and Chris Jones and Andy Pringle.
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| National Open Doubles qualifying results |
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RFA BOARD |
London, 1st January 2008 |
[posted 14 January 2008] |
The RFA has appointed a new General Secretary. Replacing Ian Fuller, who stood down at the end of last year, is Andy Pringle, who has been a board member for some three years (with specific responsibility for the RFA website) and President of the Executioners Club for most of this century.
The RFA would like to express its gratitude to Ian for all his hard – and often un-noticed – work on behalf of the Association during his years as General Secretary, and is delighted that he will remain on the board of the Association as Honorary Treasurer. However, the official handover has now happened, allowing Mrs Fuller considerably more room in her house, so if any member has any query regarding the game, the website or anything fives-related, they should pass it on to Andy, either via the link below or from the Contact Us page. All correspondence is gratefully received.
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| Click here to send an email to Andy Pringle |
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WEST OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Sherborne, 5th/6th January 2008 |
[posted 11 January 2008] |
85 boys from 13 schools competed in the West of England Schools' Championships, but no single school dominated the list of winners. Alleyns took both the Senior and Colts singles titles, St Paul's won the Senior Doubles title, but there was a first in the Colts Doubles championship, where boys from Derby Moor Community Sports College won a title for the first time in the school's history.
That win came courtesy of Ashley Hill and Anthony Goodwin, who beat Alleyns in a three-game final. The same two schools also provided the finalists in the Colts Singles championship, but this time it was
a win for the London school, with last year's winner Peter Hanton retaining his title with a win over Hill.
Alleyns also took the Senior Singles title thanks to a hard-fought win by second-seeded Inigo Ackland over the top seed, Jamie Faber from St Paul's. Revenge came in the Doubles final, though, where St Paul's (Faber and Tim Hoolahan) beat Alleyns (Ackland and Richard Lowe) in a tight three-game match.
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| West of England Schools Championships results |
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NORTH WEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Manchester Y Club, 26/27th January 2007 |
[posted 21 December 2007] |
Players can now download the official entry form for the 2008 North West Open Championships. Organised by John Beswick, the tournament (including singles and doubles championships) will take place in Manchester over the weekend of January 26/27th. Entries must be received by January 12th, but for more details, simply click on the link below to download the entry form.
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| North West Open entry form [Word file, 12KB] |
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NATIONAL DOUBLES/UNDER 25 CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Nationwide, 12/13th January 2008/Merchant Taylors School, 2nd/3rd February 2008 |
[posted 16 December 2007] |
Entry forms are now available here on the RFA website for two of the first tournaments of 2008. The qualifying rounds of the National Doubles will take place over the weekend of January 12/13th and, depending on the number of entries received, qualifying tournaments will be played in London, Manchester and Bristol. The four top-ranked pairs will reach the finals weekend (March 29/30th) automatically, with four pairs from the qualifying rounds joining them. For further details, download the official entry form using the link below or contact the organiser, Hamish Buchanan.
Meanwhile, the Under 25s tournament will now be played over the weekend of February 2nd/3rd, after being moved forward a week. However, as announced in the RFA Pocket Book, the tournament is being organised by Dan Grant and will be played at Merchant Taylors. The closing date for entries is January 22nd, but for full details simply download the entry form using the link below.
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Click here for the National Doubles entry form [Word document, 36KB] And, click here for the Under 25s Entry form [Word document, 32KB] |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 14th December 2007 |
[posted 16 December 2007] |
Following his win in the National Singles Championship (see below) Hamish Buchanan has moved up to third place in the official RFA rankings, prepared by Dave Hebden. Runner-up James Toop remains in top spot, but the top four players (also including Matt Cavanagh and Ed Fuller) are now covered by just five points – an incredibly tight position.
Elsewhere in the rankings, several other players also benefit from successful campaigns in the National Singles Championship. Both Marco Skogh and Chris Jones makes good progress in the top 20, while Plate winner Simon Fraser jumps up to 22 and there are good moves for Ed Hatton, Steve Korris and Simon Maskell, as well as from Tom Maonie, who jumps straight into the top 30.
The recent BUSA Championships also provided a good boost to some players' rankings. Dan Tristao, a double winner at the tournament, jumps straight into the top 20 of the singles rankings and (with partner Jack Furniss) straight into the top 30 doubles. Elsewhere, Dan Colton, Chris Hay and Rob Holl head up the singles rankings, while losing finalists Hal Mohammed and Will Midmer jump up the doubles table.
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| Click here to see the full official RFA rankings |
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PRESIDENT'S CUP |
Merchant Taylors School, 9th December 2007 |
[posted 10 December 2007] |
Phil Atkinson and Jon Abecassis combined superbly to lift the President's Cup with a tough two-game win over Ollie Stone-Lee and Brian Kirk. For Phil, it was his second win in the tournament (his first came in 2002) and he remains one of just four players to have lifted every trophy on offer at the event.
The pair looked a force to be reckoned with right from the off, winning all their matches on the way to the final in two games and only once conceding more than 10 points in a single game. Crucially, they combined a left-hander and a right-hander, and opponents struggled to find a weakness in their game. Phil served beautifully and dominated the left-hand side of the court, hitting a good length as well playing some lovely deft touches off the side wall, while Jon was almost faultless on the right-hand side, hitting with power and accuracy.
Ollie and Brian, on the other hand, had an altogether tougher route to the final, only clinching their place a 16-14 win in the third game of their semi-final. Despite that, they went on to push their opponents hard in a gripping match that was full of great play and drew a warm round of applause from the spectators. But, while Ollie and Brian could claim the distinction of being the pair to score the most points off them, Jon and Phil alway had the edge and duly completed a worthy victory.
Almost inevitably, though, this wasn't the last match to finish. On the next-door court, the losing semi-finalists from the main competition went on to meet in the final of the Mate's Plate. And, again almost inevitably, the match went to three games. Andy Pringle and Matt Hanney came back strongly to level the match in the second game, but faced some superb serving in the third game that effectively stopped them scoring. So, it was the pairing of Alex Smith and Bruce Hanton who doggedly held out to clinch the day's final piece of silverware, only coming off court at 8.30pm after their 12th game of the day.
The event's other two trophies went to Tony Burrows and Ed Ronan, who won the T Pot, and to Richard Fetherston and Hamish Buchanan (winning the Love Mug), the latter picking up a trophy at the event for the third consecutive year.
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| President's Cup results |
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NATIONAL OPEN SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 1st/2nd December 2007 |
[posted 05 December 2007] |
Ferocious competition was the consistent theme of the 2007 National Singles championships. This had also been true in the qualifying rounds, with players of the calibre of Marcus Bate and Simon Fraser having to work hard even to earn a place in the finals. Half of the first-round matches of the last 16 went to three games. Particularly notable was the match between Simon Fraser against Hamish Buchanan, a repeat of their meeting in the 2001 final, and with the same result, a win for Hamish. Simon went on to comfortably win the plate, though, and hopefully he will continue to be seen in competition more often. Bate was visibly pleased and exhausted after a gritty win against d'Ancona.
At the quarter-final stage, one of the few disappointments of the day struck. John Minta, in excellent form throughout the season and on the day, twinged a muscle in his shoulder and was forced to retire. Phil Bishop went on to carry the flag for Manchester in a well-contested semi-final against James Toop, but John was inevitably frustrated to not have a shot against the Number 1. Hamish had by now gained some rhythm in a close match against Marcus Bate, as had Matt Cavanagh against Will Ellison, and James Toop had hit top form in efficiently dispatching Chris Jones. He maintained the seeming fitness edge of not having played a three-gamer on Saturday by beating Phil Bishop in a close two-game semi-final, whilst on the other side of the draw Hamish Buchanan finally triumphed in a mammoth 3 gamer against Matt Cavanagh, after being prematurely discounted by certain spectators.
The final on Sunday morning appropriately showcased the highest quality fives to be found; James' invention, disguise and unpredictability against Hamish's consistency, retrieval and adaptability. These were also the qualities which determined the pattern of the match. In the first game, both played exacting length and width to extend and test each other's precision. Some exceptional pressure-volleying brought points for James, but neither was able to achieve a significant points gap and Hamish edged out the game 15-13. As the second game progressed, it became apparent that, in response to James' round-the-wall shots and tactical spin, Hamish was consistently able to adapt and anticipate more often than not. It's true that a shoulder injury reduced James' power on the right hand side, but this should take nothing away from the laudable achievement of Hamish in both substantially neutralising James' weapons and winning in two very close games. Both men's fitness was exceptional, and Hamish walked away a worthy champion for the third time.
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| National Open Singles results |
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LADIES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 2nd December 2007 |
[posted 05 December 2007] |
This year we had an excellent entry of 17 in the singles and 16 in the doubles. We had a contingent of five from Durham University and four from UCL amongst others. Out of the total entry, only four had played in ladies Rugby Fives tournaments before, making seeding a bit of a lottery!
We started with the singles tournament, where yet again no-one was able to equal the excellent playing by Claire Knowles who dropped only one point in the contest and made it appear virtually effortless despite an ongoing knee problem. Emma Seton proved a strong number 2 seed in the bottom half of the draw but was only able to take one point in the final. The singles plate was deservedly won by Irene Bravo, our only schoolgirl entrant, currently in her final year at Malvern College.
In the doubles tournament, Claire Knowles and Melanie Whitehead dominated the top half of the draw, although the Eton fives pairing of Sophie Palmer and Claire Rymarz put up a strong fight. The bottom half was dominated by the first-time pairing of Emma Seton and Irene Bravo, who proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The final was closer than it has been in recent years, with Claire and Melanie winning through 15-4, 15-8. The doubles plate was won convincingly by Helen Toop (crossing over from Eton fives) and Gemma Reece.
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| Ladies National Championships results |
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NATIONAL OPEN SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 1st/2nd December 2007 |
[posted 29 November 2007] |
Organiser Ed Hatton has published the draw for the last 16 of the National Open Singles Championship, and there are some mouth-watering clashes in even the first round. Pick of the games loooks like being the match between former champion Hamish Buchanan and Simon Fraser, a repeat of the 2001 final when Hamish emerged as champion for the second time.
As well as Hamish, there are three other former champions in the draw and two of them – James Toop and defending champion Matt Cavanagh – are seeded to meet in the final. If there is a disappointment, it's that London Open champion and former number 1-ranked Ed Fuller is injured and cannot take his spot in the draw this year. However, there is still real strength in the draw, with no less than four top players from Manchester's Y Club (including 2005 champion Phil Bishop), as well as Simon Maskell, Tom Maconie, Will Ellison and Ed Hatton, all of whom are making their first appearance in the final rounds of the tournament. To see the full draw, click on the link below.
Play is due to start at 10am on Saturday December 1st, with the quarter- and semi-finals on the same day, followed by the final on Sunday, when the National Ladies' Championships will also be taking place. With the prospect of some fine games, spectators are more than welcome to come and enjoy the action.
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| National Open Singles draw [Word file, 52KB] |
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ITALIAN OPEN HANDBALL CHAMPIONSHIP |
Nizza Monferrato, Italy, 16/18th November 2007 |
[posted 29 November 2007] |
On the 16-18th November, a crack team of English handball players headed over to Nizza Monferrato (near Milan and famous for its wine) for the Italian Open Handball championships, writes Dan Grant.
One-wall handball is basically a very simplified version of fives, allowing people from around the world, with their different variations of handball, to compete on common ground. In a nutshell, there is one wall and a court. You have to hit a big blue bouncy rubber ball against the wall and into the court – a rally generally follows. You can play singles or doubles, though this weekend, we only played doubles.
England's first pair was a made up of two Eton fives players – Pete Cohen and David Mew – and the second pair was Rugby – Dan Grant and Adrian Lee – and each adjusted to the game in various ways. The secret of handball is to be good at volleying and to have super-fast reactions near the front wall (where the Eton duo excelled), but you also have to be able to hit it low (the best shot is to hit the nick where the wall meets the floor) and powerfully – a Rugby skill. This was the first time most of us had played competitively against other nations, so the whole weekend was a superb learning curve and we all noticeably improved as the weekend went on.
The experience was a little bit surreal, with an FA Cup-style draw done for the group stages on the Friday night – the Italian version however, consisted of 4 wenches fishing names out of various wine glasses – and then on Saturday the competition commenced. There was a flag procession for all the nations in front of 200 screaming fans and we were filmed for local television.
We would be competing against the Welsh, Irish, French, Belgians, Dutch, Basques, Italians and Americans. Pete and David had a good victory over the home team in the group stages and then put up a good fight in the plate. Dan and Ady also played very well, and although they lost all their group matches, fortunately they didn't finish with the wooden spoon, because they beat the Welsh on points!
In the end, England's first pair finished 16th out of 21 (having annihilated the Belgians) and our second finished 18th – after destroying the Netherlands in the Bowl competition. Although this may not seem too good, considering it was the third time we’d ever played, we were pretty happy with our progress. Things can only get better from here on and, come the world championships in 2009, the smart money is definitely going to be on us to win (probably).
In the end, the USA dominated and thrashed everyone, since one-wall handball is actually their native sport. It was a great experience and it was awesome to meet so many people from around the world. Thanks to Ady, the England team had by far the best kit and we made every other country jealous; Milan being the capital of fashion, we had to get our priorities right! But the highlight of the weekend had to be the French getting red-carded in the quarter finals for disorderly conduct. Excellent.
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NATIONAL STUDENT & BUSA CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Christ's Hospital, 23rd/25th November 2007 |
[posted 26 November 2007] |
There were excellent attendances at the 2007 BUSA Championships from several universities, particularly Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Leeds and London, but it was also very pleasing to see appearances form Southampton, Edinburgh and Bristol. In the end, though, three of the four titles were won by Oxford, with Dan Tristao in his first year winning both the main Singles and – partnered by Oxford captain Jack Furniss – Doubles titles.
Although only two of the Main singles matches went to three games, these both took place late on Friday, delaying the organisers’ eating and drinking! Will Midmer lost narrowly to sixth seed Mark Gibbor, and ninth seed Chris Hay beat eighth seed Jonny Major.
The two singles semi-finals on Saturday afternoon were completely different in style. Cambridge’s Alan Beverly battled through against Bristol’s Dan Colton in two hard-hitting games, packed full of aces and back-wall nick winners. However, the second match, between Imperial’s Will Ellison and Dan Tristao, illustrated well how a slightly slower ball rewards the positioning of your opponent around the court and then killing them off with delicate drop-shots. Tristao demonstrated this in a near-perfect second game against the highly rated Ellison.
The final was something special, with Tristao’s accuracy and ability to get his shots to hug the wall more than a match for Beverly’s power on both sides. Alan fought bravely in his attempt to retain the title, but was eventually undone by a very nimble opponent.
Whilst 14 of the 16 seeds made it through to the last 16 of the singles, the doubles created a few surprises. Cambridge pairs had won five of the last six BUSA titles, but Durham’s second pair of Chris Hay and Adrian Love beat Cambridge’s first pair in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, top seeds Hal Mohammed and Will Midmer (also from Durham) moved serenely through to the final, beating Tim Barlow and a badly injured Jonny Major from Edinburgh in their semi-final. Oxford’s Furniss and Tristao also moved steadily into the final, beating the vanquishers of Cambridge in the semis.
The final was always going to be tense, with both pairs having plenty of experience and a left-right combination. Durham took early leads in both games, but Oxford reeled them in and eventually took the title with some excellent hitting, producing several superb outright winners along the way.
The singles plate went to Durham’s Charlie Legget, who beat Oxford’s Alistair Jennings in three close games. Having lost his doubles partner Allan Bowden to injury and only able to play in the doubles plate, the victory was all the more sweeter. The doubles plate kept the scorers busy, eventually going to Oxford’s Sam Adcock and David Park, despite the former’s entire fives kit ending up in Hastings on the last Saturday night train! In another three-gamer, they overcame their Varsity rivals, Cambridge’s Alqahir Ladak and Paul Simister.
Christ’s Hospital was an excellent location for the competition and thanks must go to Bill Avenell and the School for allowing us the 6th form centre for the competitors to relax in. Thanks must also go to all the players, supporters and organisers. BUSA have funded and helped the RFA organise the competition for several years now and it was great to have Vikki Scott, BUSA’s Sports Programme Manager, supporting on finals day and congratulating the winners as they received their medals and trophies from Chris Horrocks CBE, the RFA President.
This Universities competition would probably never have started had it not been for David Gardner’s organisation 47 years ago, and it certainly would not run as smoothly as it has done over the years had he not been at the helm every year since then. This was David’s 48th BUSA tournament as organiser, with the 49th likely be in Edinburgh.
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PRESIDENT'S CUP |
Merchant Taylors' School, 9th December 2007 |
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