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RFA CLUB PRESIDENT'S CUP |
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, 7th December 2008 |
[posted 30 November 2008] |
Due to the previously announced – and, as yet, unresolved – problems with the Post Office that have delayed the delivery of entry forms for the President's Cup, the organiser has asked us to make the form available here on the RFA website. And, we are only too happy to do so. However, given the short notice of the event, we recommend that anyone who wants to play should print out the form, fill it in and send it off as soon as possible. If not sooner!
This year's event is the 50th running of the tournament, so we are anticipating strong demand for the 32 places. However, despite the problems, the organisers will still only accept entries by post - email entries are NOT acceptable. Also, please ignore the closing date on the entry form! The event itself will start at 9.45am promptly on the Sunday morning, and although entry is free, the RFA welcomes donations to help cover the cost of court hire and refreshments. For full details, click on the link below to download the official form.
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| 2008 President's Cup entry form [Word file, 32KB] |
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Manchester, 29/30th November 2008 |
[posted 30 November 2008] |
After gruelling regional competition which had already produced a number of upsets and a record entry from the North, 16 competitors gathered at the Y club in Manchester to contest the 2008 Jesters' Cup. Despite foggy weather which meant two players, the first round was soon underway. All went to seeding, except Neil Roberts who secured a comfortable and impressive victory over Dave Fox. However Will Ellison prevailed only after a lengthy three-gamer against the resurgent Matt Bowness, who went on to win the plate. Not many could claim similar achievements with a perforated eardrum.
The quarter-finals did not fail to deliver: both James Toop and Ed Fuller were pushed very hard in a first game against Roberts and Ellison respectively, before their fitness and drive gave them each second game victories to love. The only disappointment was the withdrawal of Hamish Buchanan due to a back injury. Pick of the round, however, was John Minta’s epic struggle against Oxford student and BUCS winner Dan Tristao. A match that could have gone either way ended with a couple of minor errors by Dan and a very relieved John carrying the Manchester flag into the semi-finals jointly with Phil Bishop.
In the first semi, after some tense early exchanges John was unable to maintain this intensity and Toop completed a comprehensive and striking victory against him.The other semi-final was a different story and produced the longest, most tightly-fought match of the tournament. Despite the organiser’s lack of appreciation for their efforts, both Fuller and Bishop pulled out all the stops, ending in a nailbiting 16-14 victory in the third game for Fuller.
After restrained evening entertainment and refreshment, the finalists both arrived before 10am on Sunday for the 10.30am start, and right from the first rally there was no doubting their intensity. At first Fuller seemed wrong-footed and a little sluggish in the face of Toop’s relentless spin-assisted pressure on the side and back wall lengths. However he clawed back Toop’s early lead and with his accustomed determination took the first game 16-14.
Toop’s displeasure with himself was obvious and he upped his own consistency in the second game, as well as mixing up his play with more angled shots, which was enough to earn him a 15-9 win. However Ed was unfortunately unable to continue the third game to his usual standard after a heavy collision with the back wall, and played on nobly, despite obvious restriction to his movement. This should take nothing away from a final that truly displayed the best fives of the tournament, from the best players. James Toop now secures his place in the history books by holding simultaneously the Jester’s and Kinnaird Cups, national titles for the codes of Rugby and Eton Fives respectively.
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National Singles results Video clips of the tournament on Youtube |
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NATIONAL LADIES' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, London, 30th November 2008 |
[posted 30 November 2008] |
Manchester's Claire Knowles again dominated the the Ladies National Championships, taking both the singles and doubles titles – as she has done every year since 1999. Although she had a knee operation in the summer, she breezed through to the final of the singles without dropping a point, and then (in a repeat of last year's final) took the title with a two-game win over Emma Howie – for the loss of two points. However, it seemed fitting that one of Claire's victims should go on to win the plate, and Helen Toop duly made it a double day of celebrations for the Toop family (see above story) after claiming the plate by winning all her matches in the round-robin.
In the doubles, too, the final was a repeat of last year's. Defending champions Claire and Melanie Whitehead came through their semi-final for the loss of just a single point, while in the bottom half of the draw, Emma Howie and Irene Bravo (who had come over from Spain for the tournament) successfully overcame Sophie Palmer and Helen Toop. Come the final, though, it was clear why Claire and Melanie were defending champions: they took the title for the loss of just one point over two games, retaining the championship they first won together in 2000 – and haven't lost since.
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| National Ladies' Championships results |
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NATIONAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Qualifying: various locations, 10/11th January 2009 |
[posted 29 November 2009] |
Organiser Hamish Buchanan has just made available the entry form for the 2009 National Doubles Championship. The tournament starts with qualifying rounds, which will be held in various locations on January 10/11th, followed by the finals weekend at Alleyn's School in London over the weekend of March 28/29th. The four top-ranked pairs will be seeded straight into the finals, where they will be joined by four pairs from the qualifying tournaments. Entries close on January 4th, and the entry fee for each pair is £20, but for full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| National Doubles entry form [Word file, 36KB] |
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RFA v BUCS REPRESENTATIVE MATCH |
Christ's Hospital, 8th February 2009 |
[posted 29 November 2009] |
BUCS has now announced its team to face the RFA in the annual representative fixture. The match will take place in February 2009 on the courts of Christ's Hospital, and the following have been selected by BUCS after their performances at the recent National Student Championships in Edinburgh:
Daniel Tristao (Oxford & St. Paul's)
Will Ellison (Imperial & Winchester)
Hal Mohammed (Durham & Winchester)
Jonny Major (Edinburgh & St. Paul's)
Alex Griffiths (Durham & St. Paul's)
Inigo Ackland (Durham & Alleyn's)
Among the reserves are: Mark Gibbor (UCL); Chris Hay (Durham); Chris Burrows (Imperial) and Richie Murby (Glasgow).
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Manchester, 29/30th November 2008 |
[posted 25 November 2008] |
Organiser Ed Hatton has just published the draw for the final rounds of this year's National Singles Championship. Played in Manchester, these see the regional qualifiers join the top four seeds, who qualified automatically. James Toop and Ed Fuller are seeded to reach Sunday's final, but they will have to play some excellent Fives to do so, as the field contains a mouth-watering mix of youth and experience.
As well as reigning champion Hamish Buchanan, other former champions in the field include Neil Roberts and Phil Bishop - and just their first-round matches (against Dave Foxand Simon Fraser, respectively) look extremely attractive prospects for the spectators. Joined by the likes of Dan Tristao, Will Ellison, Chris Burrows and Hal Mohammed, all of whom played so well at the recent BUCS championships, a weekend of truly superb Fives is in prospect. For the full draw, click on the link below.
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| National Singles Championship draw [Word file, 176KB] |
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Edinburgh, 21st/23rd November 2008 |
[posted 24 November 2008] |
Oxford's Dan Tristao survived the luck of the draw to retain his BUCS title in Scotland, reports David Gardner. He had been unhappy that, due to the 'luck of the draw', all his previous matches had been at Loretto, and that his first match at Fettes was the singles final. Whilst accepting that this was just bad luck, his viewpoint clearly showed in the early stages of a fine singles final, where he was unsettled, and indeed outplayed, by a fine array of powerful, accurate and angled shots from his opponent, Will Ellison (Imperial), who was forcing errors, and generally outplaying the champion, who found himself 1-10 down after a short period of play.
Like all good champions, however, Dan settled down and slowly began to claw his way back into the match, forcing errors from his opponent and generally starting to take control of the rallies. After a lot of very high quality play from both players, Will was forced to concede the game at 15-12 and never really got back into control, losing the second game to 6. The gallery of spectators responded enthusiastically to the quality of play (although it could be argued that they were just trying to keep their hands warm !!)
The Doubles provided equal excitement and Will Ellison, partnered by Chris Burrows sadly extended his losing streak, despite Herculean efforts against the lower-seeded newcomers from Durham! Extremely powerful hitting from Inigo Ackland, plus some deft variations in pace and angle, combined with the dexterity and huge enthusiasm of partner Alex Griffiths, enabled the Durham pair to overcome the top seeds 15-8, 15-13 and become the new champions. Alex Griffiths will surely turn into a very high quality left-hander in the future, who will be sought after as a partner by many right-handed players!! It is perhaps interesting to note that the doubles winners also fell foul of the 'luck of the draw' and had no previous matches at Fettes either !!
Plate Honours went to Oxford with Sam Adcock (Oxford) taking both titles, partnered by David Park in the doubles. Particular comment must also be made of the efforts of Shafin Somji (King's London)who took a game off Sam in the singles final.
In a day of excellent fives, the spectators were the winners - being privileged to watch such quality play from our emerging young players. They should be congratulated on staying to watch for hours - although it might just be that they were frozen to the spot and unable to get away !!!
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| National Student Championships results |
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Finals: Manchester, 29/30th November 2008 |
[posted 22 November 2008] |
16 players gathered from across the north of the UK to contest what was one of the toughest northern qualifying tournaments for many years, writes organiser Phil Bishop. With the number of qualifying places unknown and an exceptionally high-quality field, some called it the “draw of doom”, and others simply fled to Mexico. Yes, there were only 15 listed on the draw, but one player, having told the organiser that he was not available, heard that his name was listed on the draw and duly arrived for his match, only to find that it was Fitz Walker who had entered – thanks, Terry (no relation).
A resolute squad of Durham players braved foul weather on the M62 in an early crossing of the Pennines, delaying the start. Eighth seed Chris Hay was first on court against Matt Bowness, and was caught cold in the first game, but rallied in the second with some tenacious retrieving and shot play. A third game looked imminent, but Matt put paid to his hopes and claimed his first victory of the day.
Meanwhile, the other seeded players prevailed to reach the quarter finals. Dave Fox was Matt Bowness’s next opponent. First game, Matt fought his way to game point with a comfortable lead, only for Dave to unleash a typical barrage of cunning winners to go game point up, before succumbing to Matt’s persistent retrieving and hard hitting. Matt comfortably secured the second game and well-earned qualification. The other semi-finalists – and hence qualifiers – were Simon Fraser, Neil Roberts (who overcame the resilient Marco Skogh) and Phil Bishop.
At this point, the losing quarter finalists, which included Hal Mohammed and Kevin Henry, enthusiastically – well pragmatically, anyway – embarked on a round-robin competition to determine the ranking order for the additional qualification places up for grabs. The problem with round-robins is that they can be far from conclusive. Hence, as Fox beat Mohammed, Mohammed beat Skogh, and Skogh beat Fox, the only thing that was clear was that no one could relax. Henry produced his best performance of the day to outwit Skogh, while an increasingly consistent Mohammed claimed victory over Henry. So all hung on the last game, and it was a relieved Dave Fox who scraped home 16-15 over an exasperated Kevin Henry, leaving Fox and Mohammed with 2 wins, Henry and Skogh with 1, and sending Dave Hebden’s computer into overdrive to determine the final ranking order.
Meanwhile in the main competition semi-finals, Phil Bishop beat Neil Roberts and Matt Bowness continued to show no respect for the rankings list, claiming the scalp of Simon Fraser. It was only in the final that the three previous hard matches finally took their toll on Matt, and after a tight first game, Phil ended up a comfortable winner. Matt’s achievement was all the more remarkable given that he was knocked down by a taxi in September and only returned to playing a few weeks ago. He hopes to be fully fit by the finals weekend.
The organiser thanks all who turned out and made the tournament such a success, and looks forward to extending some Mancunian hospitality to the other qualifiers on 29th November.
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| National singles northern qualifiers' results |
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NORTH OF ENGLAND WINCHESTER FIVES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Sedbergh, 9th November 2008 |
[posted 22 November 2008] |
The Tournament was again held at Sedbergh School this year, but the day marked the end of an era, as it was the last time that Laurence Catlow will organise the competition as Master in Charge of Fives there, as he will be retiring next year.
In view of that, he will take great delight in the fact that the main competition was won by two current Sedbergh pupils, Alex Elletson & Max Pimlott, who maintained their home advantage to triumph over a Rossall-based pair, Phil Brown & Alex Lewis, in a three-game final 11-7, 8-11, 11-5.
The Plate Tournament was won by another Rossall pair, Tom Root & Chris Metcalfe. Clearly a good advert for schools spending money wisely on improving their Fives facilities!
After the tournament, Laurence was presented by Grem MacIntyre with a book on fishing with Old Sedberghian connections – "My Rod, My Comfort" by Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart – as a thank you for his hospitality and organisation over the years.
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Edinburgh, 21st/23rd November 2008 |
[posted 17 November 2008] |
BUCS has now published a revised version of the draw for the National Student Championships, which we are happy to make available here on the RFA's website. The tournament, including both singles and doubles competitions, takes place over three days at three separate venues in Edinburgh, and for full details, simply click on the link below to download the official draw.
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| 2008 National Student Championships draw [Excel file, 56KB] |
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RFA CLUB PRESIDENT'S CUP |
Merchant Taylor's School, Northwood, 7th December 2008 |
[posted 13 November 2008] |
The organisers of the annual President's Cup have been in touch with the RFA to advise us that, due to problems with their local Post Office, the entry forms for the tournament will only be sent out this weekend. For some reason, although the letters were originally taken to the Post Office to be sent out two weeks ago, they have just been returned, unfranked and unsent. Quite why, no one is sure, but the organisers assure us that the letters will be sent out over the coming weekend - and compensatoin sought from the offending Post Office. However, if no RFA member has received their entry form by the middle of next week, please get in touch with the General Secretary.
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Sherborne, 25/26th October 2008 |
[posted 13 November 2008] |
Anyone who missed the singles and doubles finals at the recent West of England Championship can now see them online - thanks to Ed Hatton. He has posted several minutes of action from both finals (and from various other matches at Sherborne and from the London Open) on Youtube, and you can find them simply by clicking the link below.
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| Click here for Ed Hatton's page on Youtube |
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SCHOOLS' WINCHESTER FIVES DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Winchester College, 9th November 2008 |
[posted 00 Month 2006] |
This tournament attracted a high-quality entry of 12 pairs from six schools, with more than half the matches going to three games.
All six schools had pairs involved in lengthy first-round encounters, so the organiser was relieved when, after a break for the two-minute silence for Remembrance Sunday, the quarter-final matches
saw wins in straight games for the four seeded pairs.
The semi-finals were both excellent three-gamers. Winchester I played their best fives to defeat top
seeds St. Paul’s I, and Alleyn’s I had to call on all their resources to beat St. Paul’s II.
The final was always likely to be a close one, and in the end it was fitness and determination that
saw Peter Hanton (with a damaged right hand) and Adam George come home in the third game
against Winchester’s Luke Squire-Smith and James Lane. Congratulations to both pairs on a
superb final, and to Alleyn’s on their first win in this event. A strong plate entry saw a good Malvern pair beat the promising Winchester III in the final.
Renewed thanks go to Winchester College for the use of their courts and facilities.
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| Schools' Winchester Fives Doubles results |
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Edinburgh, 21st/23rd November 2008 |
[posted 09 November 2008] |
BUCS has published the draw for the National Student Championships, which take place in Edinburgh later this month. Included are players from many of the country's top Fives-playing universities, as well as competitors from universities where Fives is not active - Glasgow and Warwick, for example.
In the singles, reigning champion Dan Tristao and Will Ellison – both ranked in the national top 10 – are seeded to meet in the final, but there should also be strong challenges from the likes of Hal Mohammed, Jonny Major and Mark Gibbor. The doubles competition sees Dan team up with Ed Ronan, as he attempts to repeat his double victory of last year, but there are many strong pairs in the draw. The Imperial pairing of Will Ellison and Chris Burrows are top seeds, but second seeds Hal Mohammed and Chris Hay are one of a number of strong pairs from Durham.
For full details of the matches, simply click on the link below to download the official draw.
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| BUCS Championships draw [Excel file, 280KB] |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 30th October 2008 |
[posted 02 November 2008] |
There has been some significant change in the RFA rankings following the recent West of England Championships. Singles champion James Toop has regained top spot in the singles rankings, but the most major move comes from Dan Tristao, whose run to the final has shot him up nine places to sixth. Equally important is the fact that this ranking determines the four automatic qualifiers for the final rounds of the National Singles Championships, and Dan's defeat of Matt Cavanagh has pushed the 2004 and 2006 champion into fifth place, meaning that John Minta leap-frogs him, and qualifies automatically for the final rounds.
Although it may look a little confusing that Matt has dropped a place after losing to Dan in the semi-finals at Sherborne, whereas Hamish Buchanan (who lost to Dan in the quarter-final) retains his third place, Dave Hebden, who compiles the rankings for the RFA, explains: "The answer is that other results over the last couple of years come into account in the 'performance adjustment'. Hamish had two good wins against players with high points last season, which has balanced the effect of the Tristao defeat to some extent. Matt did not have any such wins last year and so the defeat had a greater affect. Also, Hamish has more ranking points this year (18.5) than Matt (13), and this is also a factor in keeping his ranking fairly high."
In the doubles rankings, the West of England champions James Toop and Marcus Bate make good progress up the top 10, while the runners-up also climb: Will Ellison moves up to 7th, while Hal Mohammed jumps eight places to 17th. At the same time, Dan Grant and Ady Lee also see their rankings improve after a good run to the semi-finals in Sherborne, while Plate winner Tom Maconie is a new entrant in the rankings, just outside the top 50. For the full rankings, simply click on the link below.
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| Latest official RFA rankings |
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SCHOOLS' WINCHESTER FIVES DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Winchester College, 9th November 2008 |
[posted 02 November 2008] |
Organiser David Barnes has published the draw for the annual Schools' Winchester Fives Doubles Championship. The tournament will be held at Winchester College, and sees 12 pairs competing for the title. In all, six schools will be represented – St Paul's, Alleyn's, Malvern, Winchester, Bradfield and Marlborough – with the first pirs from the two London schools seeded to meet in the final. For full details, click on the link below to see full draw.
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| Schools' Winchester Fives Championship draw [PDF, 52KB] |
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NATIONAL OPEN SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Qualifying: Various, 15th November 2008/Finals weekend: Manchester, 29/30th November |
[posted 27 October 2008] |
Organiser Ed Hatton is now accepting entries for the National Singles Championship. The competition starts with three regional qualifying tournaments on Saturday November 15th, and finishes in the finals weekend, which will take place in Manchester over November 29/30th. For full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| National Open Single entry form [Word file, 40KB] |
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Sherborne, 25/26th October 2008 |
[posted 26 October 2008] |
The 2008 West of England Championships will be remembered not just for James Toop’s first double of the season, but also as the tournament when a group of young players came of age. Despite a field containing many seasoned campaigners, both the singles and doubles finals (and the singles plate final, for that matter) were contested by players of less than 30 years old.
Indeed, right from the first round of the singles, young players were making a name for themselves, as Chris Burrows – playing in his first tournament since leaving Oundle – defeated Ben Taberner. In the end, though, it was the eight seeds who made it through to the quarter-finals; and, in the bottom half of the draw, it was the higher seeds who reached the semis, John Minta and James Toop securing reasonably comfortable wins over Harry Akerman and Dan Grant, respectively.
It was in the top half, however, things were less clear-cut. First, fifth seed Will Ellison took fourth seed Matt Cavanagh to three games before the higher-seeded player won through. And, then, the form book was well and truly upset, as eighth seed and reigning BUSA champion Dan Tristao beat current national champion Hamish Buchanan in three tightly fought games.
The contrast between the resulting semi-finals could hardly have been more marked. The match between James and John was a no-holds barred affair, both willing to trade blow for blow, going for their shots and mixing sheer power with deft touch and spin shots. John took a good lead in the first game, only for James to save game-ball, fight back and nick the game 12-10, before white-washing John in the second.
Next door, the pace may have been less frenetic, but the play was no less skilful. If John and James’s match had been a boxing bout, Matt and Dan’s was a game of chess, each player probing for a weakness, retrieving superbly and displaying immense patience as they waited for the chance of a winner. Belying his relative lack of experience at this level, Dan fought back from 10-7 down to take the first game, and was never headed as he took the second game – and the match – against the former national champion.
In the final, the first game was very tight, but James just shaded it 11-8. However, for the second game, James began to be a little less defensive, moving into the ball earlier, and the change in tactic was enough for him to take the game 11-2 and regain the title he had won last year. The singles plate, meanwhile, also went to a young player, with Ady Lee beating Hal Mohammed.
As in the singles, so in the doubles, the eight seeds reached the quarter-finals – and three of the top four made it to the semis. The exception were sixth seeds Ady Lee and Dan Grant, who avenged their defeat in the London Open by putting out the third seeds, Chris Jones and Andy Pringle. However, they couldn’t continue their winning form in the semis, and lost to Marcus Bate and James Toop in two games.
In the top half of the draw, there was a real shock, as Will Ellison and Hal Mohammed played superbly to beat the London Open champions, Hamish Buchanan and Ben Taberner, convincingly in two games. However, the young ex-Winchester pair weren’t able to recapture their semi-final form in the final, and right from the off, Marcus and James took control of the match. The combination of Marcus’s steady power and good choice of shot with James’ willingness to take the ball early on the volley seemed to rush their opponents, who weren’t able to generate much pace from the ball and saw themselves forced into mistakes. In the end, James and Marcus (last year’s runners-up in this tournament) took a comfortable win.
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| West of England Championships results |
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LADIES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, 30th November 2008 |
[posted 20 October 2008] |
Melanie Whitehead is now accepting entries for the Ladies National Championships, which will take place at St Paul's School in Barnes on Sunday November 30th. Both singles and doubles tournaments will be played on the same day (starting at 10.30am and using the G6 ball), and players of all sorts of Fives are very welcome to take part, with Melanie also offering a partner-finding service for anyone without one. The closing date for entries is Monday November 17th, but for full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| Ladies National Championships entry form [Word file, 32KB] |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 13th October 2008 |
[posted 13 October 2008] |
After his win in the London Open, Ed Fuller has regained top spot in the official RFA rankings. The latest standings, which are prepared for the RFA by Dave Hebden and published today, show that Ed has just edged past James Toop (runner-up in the London Open) into first place. However, with most of the latter stages of that tournament going to form, there is little other change in the Top 20. Lower down, though, Alleyns schoolboy Adam George is a new entry after finishing as runner-up in the Plate.
In the doubles rankings (which also take into account the recent Yorkshire Open), the top three remain the same, with Hamish Buchanan followed by Phil Bishop and John Minta. However, London Open doubles champion Ben Taberner jumps up to fourth, and there is good progress in the Top 10 from both Marcus Bate and Will Ellison, who were runners-up in London. Meanwhile, Kevin Henry and Wayne Enstone (semi-finalists at Giggleswick) make good jumps in the Top 20. For the full details of the latest rankings, simply click on the link below.
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| Latest official RFA rankings |
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YORKSHIRE OPEN DOUBLES |
Giggleswick, 11th October 2008 |
[posted 13 October 2008] |
The pupils seemed a friendly lot at Giggleswick as we congregated for the Yorkshire Open, writes Ian Roberts. All the girls waved at us, as did most of the boys. Then we realised that the entire local population of midges had descended on Giggleswick to view the Tournament and that it was a case of ‘not waving, but swatting’. Nevertheless, our reception was friendly; the weather held good to dry any residual damp in the courts; and for the first time, we were able to enjoy excellent changing facilities in the School’s superb new sports hall abutting the courts. That all ran smoothly was a great relief after the enforced abandonment of the 2007 Tournament, due to adverse weather conditions.
Play started promptly, and continued without a break or the disruption caused by any of the 12 pairs insisting on playing 3-gamers. Indeed, the only incidents were injuries; Tim Widdop’s attempt to play a turning shot through an opponent wrenched his arm and led to him serving left handed for the rest of the competition; and Charles Lamb developed a nosebleed as a result of an errant ball played by his partner striking him in the face. (Callous spectators composed tabloid headlines on the lines of – “lambs to the slaughter” or “sacrificial lamb”, or simply commented, “I didn’t realise that Fives was a blood sport”). Richard Price who photographed all aspects of the day with enthusiasm, recorded the episode with all the aplomb of a war correspondent manqué. Nevertheless, concerned readers can be assured that no players suffered serious injury in the running of the Tournament.
Two pairs from Derby Moor attempted to confound the organiser by declining to declare their pairings in advance of their arrival, stating merely that both pairs would be of roughly equal standard. They thus had only themselves to blame for appearing in the draw as “Derby Dossors” and “Moor Marauders”. However, the accuracy of their assessment of the relative strengths of their two pairs was proved when they ended up playing each other in the Plate, resulting in a hard fought 16-14 game, the closest of the day.
Back in the main competition, the seeds won through to the Semi-Finals, but Widdop’s injury enabled Minta & Bishop to secure a swift passage to the Final, whereas Hebden & Buchanan had to work harder to secure the opportunity of defending their 2006 title. Perhaps weakened by the harder Semi, they lost to John Minta and Phil Bishop at the final hurdle in a fast moving and hard-hitting Final, leaving the Mancunians to secure the historic JH Whitley Trophy.
In the next-door court, another hard-hitting game was in play, as the two Durham University pairs who had triumphed in their respective blocks did battle for the White Rose Wine Coaster in the Plate Final. They emerged after the first game thinking it was all over now, before being ushered back on court by the organiser to comply with the “best of 3 games to 15” rule of the competition. Although Alan Bowden & Charlie Leggett improved their score in the second game, it was not quite enough to prevent Chris Hay & Hal Mohammed re-emerging to claim the Coaster.
After a hard day’s Fives, no Yorkshire Open would be complete without a visit to the superheated snug of the Black Horse where the restorative properties of Taylor’s Landlord Bitter were once again demonstrated, before those remaining repaired to the dining room for a late suppers.
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| Yorkshire Open Doubles result |
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Edinburgh, 21st/23rd November 2008 |
[posted 29 September 2008] |
The organisers of the National Student Championships are now accepting entries for the tournament, which will take place in Edinburgh towards the end of November. Prospective players should note that entries must be received by October 23rd, and that they will only be accepted by post.
Both singles and doubles competitions will be played, and it is expected that the competition will start at mid-morning on the first day (Friday November 21st). However, exact timings and venues can only be confirmed once the full number of entrants is known. For further details, and to download the official entry form, simply click on the links below.
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| Student Championships information [PDF, 52KB]
Student Championships entry form [Excel file, 632KB] |
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OWERS TROPHY |
St. Paul's School, Barnes, 27th September 2008 |
[posted 28 September 2008] |
After coming agonisingly close to winning for the last two seasons, the Old Paulines finally left Barnes with the Owers Trophy this year. It was their first win in the tournament, and came at the expense of the Alleyn Old Boys, the defending champions and a team who were going for a third successive title.
The day had begun with nine teams playing a round-robin format in three groups of three. From the very start, in the first two groups, the Alleyn Old Boys and Old Paulines immediately showed why they were the top seeds, both winning their groups to claim a place in the semi-finals.
In the third group, however, things were much closer, with the group winner only decided in the final game of the final match between the Old Eastbournians and Old Merchant Taylors. Despite losing that game, the OMTs scored enough points to clinch the match and top the table. But, there was good news for the OEs, who had done enough to also qualify for the semi-finals as best group runners-up.
Come the semi-finals, it was the top two seeds who again showed their class, losing only a single game each: the Alleyn Old Boys took a comfortable win against the OEs, while the Old Paulines beat the OMTs by almost 20 points, to set up a repeat of the previous two years' finals.
However, the outcome was to be very different. Whereas, in past years, the AOBs' first pair had been able to score big wins and establish a lead the Old Paulines couldn't claw back against their second pair, this year, the AOBs' first pair (Hamish Buchanan and Dave Hebden) only won one game – and that was 16-15. So, although it was one game apiece midway through the match, the Old Paulines went into the second half with a lead, thanks to Ady Lee and Alex Griffiths' 15-6 win over Inigo Ackland and Peter Hanton.
In those return games, Inigo and Peter again played Fives of a standard that belied their youth and relative inexperience, but Dan Tristao and Charlie Brooks won through 15-9; and, with Ady and Alex claiming a notable win over Dave and Hamish, the match – and the trophy - was the Old Paulines'.
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| Owers Trophy results |
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YORKSHIRE OPEN DOUBLES TOURNAMENT |
Giggleswick, Yorkshire, 11th October 2008 |
[posted 25 September 2008] |
Ian Roberts is now accepting entries for the Yorkshire Open Doubles tournament, which takes place at Giggleswick School on Saturday October 11th. Play will start at 11am, with a Plate competition for early-round losers, and the whole competition will be played on the same day, with a meal to which all players are invited on the Saturday evening. Those who entered the abandoned 2007 tournament qualify for a reduced entry fee of £4 for the 2008 tournament, but it costs £8 for everyone else (or £10 for non-RFA members). All entries must be received by October 9th, and Ian offers a playing partner-finding service for anyone who needs it. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| Yorkshire Open entry form [Word file, 44KB] |
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Sherborne School, Dorset, 25/26th October 2008 |
[posted 16 September 2008] |
Peter Dunscombe is now accepting entries for October's West of England Championships. The singles and doubles tournaments are taking place over the weekend of October 25/26th, but players should note that, after a few years in Clifton, the competition is returning to Sherborne (and, one imagines, the bar of The Digby Tap) this year. Entries must be received by Tuesday October 14th, but for all other details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| West of England Championships entry form [Word file, 32KB] |
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OWERS TROPHY |
St Paul's School, London, 27th September 2008 |
[posted 14 September 2008] |
Organiser Alex Smith is now accepting entries for the 2008 Owers Trophy. The annual competition will be held at St Paul's on September 27th and is open to teams of Old Boys from schools. The final format of the tournament will depend on how many teams enter, but it is expected to start with a series of round-robin group matches, with the top teams qualifying for the semi-finals, and everyone else able to enter the Plate. Each match will be between teams of four and, while the team cannot be changed during a match, it can be adjusted between matches, so it is perfectly permissible for teams to enter a 'squad' of players. For full details of the competition, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| Owers Trophy entry form [Word file, 40KB] |
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LONDON OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Alleyn's School, London, 6/7th September 2008 |
[posted 07 September 2008] |
It looked very much like a case of history repeating itself at the 2008 London Open. Not only did Ed Fuller win the singles title for the third year on the trot, Hamish Buchanan and Ben Taberner also retained the doubles title they had won in 2007. In all, that made it the eighth consecutive year that Hamish had won the London doubles title - with five different partners.
This year's London Open was also remarkable for the quality and quantity of the field that played over two dark and drizzly days in South London. The country's top five singles players were all in the draw for the singles, while the doubles draw featured half of the top 16 from the latest doubles rankings.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, it was the top eight seeds who made it through to the quarter-finals of both competitions, the top four contested the semi-finals, and the top two played out the finals. However, that's not to say the top seeds had it all their own way. In the singles, for example, eighth seed Chris Jones only made it into the quarter-finals after a titanic three-game battle with Mike Hajialexandrou, while the third seeds in the doubles, John Minta and Kevin Henry, were narrow winners in their quarter-final against Ed Hatton and Steve Korris - a match that really could have gone either way.
In the end, though, it was the top four seeds who won through to the semi-finals. So, in the top half of the singles draw, James Toop faced Matt Cavanagh in amazingly topsy-turvy game. After losing the first game to love, Matt came back to take the second for the loss of just two points, only for James to take the decider 11-4. In the bottom half of the draw, meanwhile Ed Fuller proved just too strong for Hamish Buchanan, hitting the ball low and hard, as well as displaying incredible athleticism around the court.
The final was a superb match, full of deft touches, powerful hitting and amazing speed around the court. And, although Ed wasn't in the best of health – he would later describe this match as 'the biggest ordeal' he had ever faced on a fives court - his relentless running, retrieving and accurate hitting won the day.
In the doubles semi-finals, fourth seeds Chris Jones and Andy Pringle – who had prevailed in a tight three-game quarter-final match against Ady Lee and Dan Grant – pushed the defending champions and top seeds hard, and were close to taking the first game. But, in the end, the sheer firepower of Hamish and Ben was too much. On the next-door court, meanwhile, Will Ellison and Marcus Bate completed a good win over the Manchester pair of Minta and Henry to reach their first open championship final as a pair.
However, they weren't able to finish the day with their first title. Although they played superbly against the defending champions, retrieving for all they were worth and never afraid to attack their opponents when they had the chance, again it was the sheer relentless quality of the left- and right-handed pairing of Hamish and Ben that won the day.
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| London Open Championships results |
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ONE-WALL FIVES SUMMER FESTIVAL |
Westway Sports Centre, London, 31st August 2008 |
[posted 04 September 2008] |
36 Eton and Rugby fives players, including eight one-wall players with international experience, participated in the inaugural One-Wall Festival in London on the last day of August.
Titles up for grabs included singles and doubles for both men and women, as well as a mixed doubles event which the men qualified for by losing in the first round of the plate! The format was 10 minute timed games, the winner being the player or pair with the most points. With 106 games to get through, everyone was kept busy on court all day and plenty of handball was had by all.
The day started with a brief explanation of the rules for first-timers, who were quickly thrown in the deep end with competition starting shortly after 10am.
After a grueling six hours of handball, the last game of the day saw Andy Pringle and Thomas Curtin face up to Steve Korris and Inigo Ackland in the men's doubles final, with Steve and Inigo emerging victorious in a match of outstanding quality. Andy also reached the semifinals of the singles – a unique achievement.
The men's singles went largely to the form book, with Pete Cohen and Adrian Lee, England's two most experienced international players, making the final. Pete eventually pulled clear after some early trading of points to close out the match.
The ladies singles was won by Kerry White, proving her class after reaching the final of the Irish National Championships earlier in June, defeating Ash Lumbard. Not to be outdone, Ash and Helen Toop won the ladies doubles with wins over both Kerry and Gemma Reece, and Emmalina Thomspsell and Anita Ganguly.
In the fiercely fought mixed competion, Kerry partnered Stuart Kirby of Derby Moor, against Helen and David Bowden in the final. Kerry and Stuart emerged victorious in a match with excellent athleticism demonstrated on all corners of the court! The men's singles plate was closed out by Daniel Clydesdale-Cotter, securing victory after a 5-match unbeaten run.
There is a One-Wall Fives session held indoor at Westway every Tuesday from 8-10pm – all welcome so please do come along!
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 21st August 2008 |
[posted 23 August 2008] |
Ahead of the London Open, the RFA has published its latest singles and doubles rankings. Compiled by Dave Hebden, these take into account the results of the South West Open Championships. However, due to the relatively small entry and the lack of surprises in the competition, there is minimal movement in the positions. The most notable moves are from South West singles champ Hamish Buchanan – who jumps over Matt Cavanagh to take third place in the singles rankings – and from Chris Jones, who partnered Hamish to the South West doubles title and climbs six places in the doubles rankings as a result.
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| Click here to see the full rankings |
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ONE-WALL FIVES SUMMER FESTIVAL |
Westway Sports Centre, London, 31st August 2008 |
[posted 25 July 2008] |
The City Fives Association is now accepting entries for its Summer Festival of One-Wall Fives at the Westway Sports Centre, London, on Sunday August 31st. The day will include both singles and doubles tournaments (with the pairings for the latter chosen on the day), and both men and women of all standards are welcome to enter. Entry costs £10 per person, and each person is guaranteed four matches during the course of the day. For full details of the tournament and how to enter, simply click on the link below to download the event's official flyer.
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| CFA Summer Festival flyer [PDF, 344KB] |
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LONDON OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Alleyn's School, Dulwich, 6/7th September 2008 |
[posted 21 July 2008] |
No sooner is the list of tournaments for the forthcoming season published than we have the entry form for the London Open. Organised by Tom Maconie, the singles and doubles tournaments will be held at Alleyn's School in Dulwich over the weekend of September 6th and 7th. Entry costs £10 each for the singles, and £20 per pair for the doubles, but for full details of the competition, please click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| London Open entry form [Word file, 36KB] |
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RFA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE |
London, 21st July 2008 |
[posted 21 July 2008] |
Players are encouraged to have their diaries at the ready, as the schedule for the RFA tournaments in the 2008/09 season has just been published. Although there are still a couple of details to be finalised, the schedule for the first part of the season is set in stone.
Following on from last month's South West Open, the next RFA tournament of the season is the London Open, which will be held over the first weekend of September. That will be followed by the Owers Trophy, the Old Boys' tournament, on the final weekend of September, and we particularly encourage team managers to start collecting their teams for that.
Other points worth noting regarding this season's schedule are that the West of England Open Championships return to Sherborne after a couple of years in Clifton, and that this year will mark the 50th running of the RFA Club President's Cup. For the full schedule, simply click on the link below, and keep checking back here for the latest news and tournament entry forms.
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| Click here for the 2008/09 tournament schedule |
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PROPOSED NEW COURTS AT RUGBY SCHOOL |
Rugby School, July 2008 |
[posted 7 July 2008] |
As every RFA member will know from the General Secretary's report at the AGM, there are exciting plans to build new Rugby Fives courts at Rugby School. Naturally, the RFA is delighted to help the scheme in any way it can, and at the moment the only stumbling block is the question of finance.
The School has recently sent out leaflets to many Old Rugbeians in an effort to raise the necessary funds, and we make no apology for making those same leaflets available here on the RFA's website. The prospect of Rugby Fives returning to the school that gave the sport its name is one that we are hugely excited about, and we encourage every RFA member to contribute to this scheme. Any contribution is welcome, and can be made even more worthwhile thanks to Gift Aid.
To make a donation, and to get the latest information on the scheme, simply click on the links below to download Rugby School's leafelts. And, keep an eye on this site in the future, where we will advise you of all the latest developments.
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| Fives at Rugby School [PDF, 680KB]
Donation form [PDF, 96KB] |
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2008 IRISH HANDBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Sligo, 27/29th June 2008 |
[posted 03 July 2008] |
The first Handball tournament of 2008 saw Team England head off to Sligo for the Irish Singles Open, writes Dan Grant. There were 13 of us in total – 8 guys, 4 girls and 1 physio. Physio Steve was an excellent asset to the team, who supplied us with cracking banter and a variety of cunning treatments, all involving ice.
The weekend saw some excellent handball – most of it from the Irish, but thankfully some from the English too! In the men’s C group, the Price brothers (Gareth and Richard) and Anthony Theodossi all powered through into the second round, although Gareth and Anthony sadly progressed no further. Rich, on the other hand, managed to reach the quarter-finals, an excellent achievement.
The other five men – Ady Lee and Dan Grant (Rugby Fives), Peter White, Peter Cohen and Dave Mew (Eton Fives) – were perhaps a little optimistic to enter the main tournament. Many of us got absolutely creamed in the first round, except captain Pete Cohen, who managed to get a foothold in his match and ended up winning in a nail-biting finish, thereby heading into the main quarter-finals. Here, unfortunately, he too was undone.
In the Open Plate Competition, the whole England team were pretty much drawn against each other. Dan managed to dispatch Chalky White and a by now almost crippled Ady Lee on his way to the final, where for 5 minutes he was on level pegging with a multi-award winning Irish handball champion. Unfortunately, his other 15 minutes were less impressive, and after losing by a score which shall not be published here, he did however pick up the runner’s up trophy – the first silverware ever to be won by the England team!
Although some of the ladies also found it hard going – Emmelina Thompsell and Anita Ganguly both lost in the first round, and although Ashley Lumbard won her first ever game, she unfortunately never managed the second – Team England’s greatest success came in the Ladies Open.
Simply, Kerry White stole the tournament, and proved her skill by reaching the final. Her athleticism, down-the-line shots and top blocking proved too much for many an Irish lass. In the final, it is fair to say she was outclassed by a very impressive young lady, but all was not lost because, as runner-up, she won England its second piece of silverware!
In short, it was an excellent weekend. Our hosts’ hospitality was brilliant and we thank them for letting us compete. Their friendliness and genuine appreciation means that we’ll be back next year when, after 12 months of practice and tournaments, we intend to do a lot better! Guinness all round and kudos to an England team which is going from strength to strength…
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Click on the following links to see some of Richard Price's photos from Ireland:
And here to see some of Ady Lee's photos:
Volume One
Volume Two Volume Three |
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SOUTH WEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Blundell's School, Tiverton, 28/29th June 2008 |
[posted 29 June 2008] |
It was a case of quality rather than quantity at the South West Open Championships. And, at the end of the new season's first competition, it was Hamish Buchanan's quality that shone through and secured him two more titles.
However, if the spectators thought the relatively low numbers of players would mean a lack of competition, they couldn't have been more wrong. The top three seeds in the singles were all Top 10-ranked players, and the rest of the field were closely matched. In the pick of the first round matches, for example, Chris Jones took on Alex Rew, and the Londoner only came through 12-11 in the third game. He then pushed third seed Will Ellison all the way in the quarter-final, only to lose
11-9 in both games. There was another close quarter-final between Kevin Henry and Marcus Bate, with Kevin coming back from a game down to clinch the match with 11-9 wins in the next two games.
That set up a meeting with a Hamish Buchanan in one semi-final, while Will met Phil Bishop in the other. In the top half of the draw, Hamish had a comfortable win, but it was a very different story in the bottom half. Will took the first game decisively and then raced into a strong lead in second, before Phil staged a stirring comeback. However, the lead was too strong, and Will claimed a 12-11 win in the second to secure a place in his first ever Open final. Here, though, he was the one who made the slow start, and Hamish raced through the first game and opened up a big lead in the second. But, just as in the semi, that was the cue for a major fightback, although again it was in vain. Hamish's lead was too big, and although closed the gap, Hamish clung on to secure the few points he needed to take the second game – and the title.
Disappointingly, only six pairs entered the doubles, but again it was the quality that shone through. The pick of the two quarter-finals was the match between Alex Rew & Jim Hughes and Kevin Henry & Wayne Enstone, where Alex and Jim raced through the first game, only for the Manchester pair to secure a semi-final place with narrow wins in the next two wins. Wayne, in particular, was in superb form, but he and his partner couldn't repeat the trick in the next match, and lost out narrowly to the relatively untried partnership of Hamish and Chris Jones.
In the bottom half of the draw, it was another untried partnership that took the second final berth, but only after an epic battle. Phil Bishop and Andy Pringle were playing together for the first time, and this showed as they lost the first game to the more established pair of Will Ellison and Marcus Bate. However, Phil and Andy came back with revised tactics, and took the next two games to clinch the match. Come the final, however, it was the opposite story. With the first game evenly poised at 8-8, Phil hit a rich vein of form, and reeled off a succession of superb winners to take put himself and his partner a game to the good. Then, in the next two games, it was Hamish and Chris who changed their tactics, and their pressure on Andy told, forcing the RFA Gen Sec into errors and – with Phil's big shots not quite hitting the same nicks as in the first game – it was the two Londoners who were able overcome their opponents' spirited defence and close out the match to take the title with clear wins in the second and third games.
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| South West Open Championships results |
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RFA AGM |
London, 18th June 2008 |
[posted 26 June 2008] |
The 82nd Annual General Meeting of the RFA took place on June 18th in the offices of Clifford Chance in London. It was the first to held under the Association's new General Secretary, and both he and the President marked the occasion by formally thanking Ian Fuller, the previous General Secretary, for his work.
During the meeting, there were no comments on the General Secretary's report, and the annual accounts were accepted (see below for details of both). In addition, five board members – David Barnes, David Gardner, Paddy d'Ancona, David Fox and Ollie Stone-Lee – were re-appointed as Directors after retiring by rotation. At the same time, Peter de Winton was re-elected as Auditor, and David Barnes was re-elected as Honorary Archivist.
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DERBY MOOR INVITATION DOUBLES |
Derby Moor, 22nd June 2008 |
[posted 26 June 2008] |
Players from Derby Moor Fives, Alleyn Old Boys, the White Rose Club and the Manchester Y Club contested the 5th Derby Moor Invitation Tournament. After several matches in two Pools, Phil Bishop and Jimmy Goodwin were beaten in a close, hard-hitting semi-final by David Hebden and Max Frost (DMF U14), while next door Bob Sandie and Ashley Hill – who has already won two Doubles titles this year – got the better of Ian Roberts and Richard Christie in a lengthy tactical battle.
The final was marked by a remarkable performance by the young Max, who withstood a huge amount of pressure from Ashley and Bob, trying their utmost to keep Dave out of the game. However, the pressure told in the end, with an exhausted Max and Dave going down in two games. Plate A was won by Brian Kirk and Anthony Goodwin (DMF U16), Plate B by Tim Widdop and Matt Gilbert (DMF U16). Grem McIntyre – two-time Scottish champion – and Rob Grey won the Wooden Spoon by default!.
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RFA AGM |
London, 18th June 2008 |
[posted 03 June 2008] |
Notice is hereby given that the 82nd Annual General Meeting of the Rugby Fives Association will be held on Wednesday, 18th June 2008 at 7.30 pm at
the offices of Clifford Chance, 4 Coleman Street, London EC2.
Members should have received the relevant paperwork, either by Royal Mail or email, but for those who have not, you can click on the links below to download all of the documents. Also, if you have not yet received the documents and are a fully paid-up RFA member, the most likely reason is that the General Secretary does not have your current postal and/or email address. So, if you think that may be the case, please contact the Gen Sec with your latest details.
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RFA AGM agenda [Word document, 52 KB]
AGM Resolutions [Word document, 32 KB]
General Secretary's report [Word document, 76 KB]
Financial report [Word document, 28 KB] Balance sheet [PDF, 3.3 MB] |
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RFA OFFICIAL RANKINGS |
London, 18th May 2008 |
[posted 26 May 2008] |
The RFA has today published the final rankings for the 2007/08 season (prepared by Dave Hebden) and they see James Toop and Hamish Buchanan top the singles and doubles rankings respectively.
After a strong season, in which he won two championships and was runner-up in the National Singles, James takes over from Matt Cavanagh, who drops to third. Ed Fuller again finishes a season one place below the top spot, while National Champion Hamish Buchanan winds up in fourth place. Meanwhile, John Minta (also a winner of two titles this season) is closing in on the top four in fifth place.
Lower down the order, Will Ellison caps a fine season by securing ninth place, while Neil Roberts returns to the top ten after reaching the final of the season's last event, the Scottish Open. Also making good progress over their position at the start of the season and into the top 20 are Harry Akerman, Simon Fraser and Dan Grant, while Dan Tristao is the highest new entry at 15.
In the doubles rakings, the top spot is occupied – as it has been for the last four seasons – by Hamish Buchanan, with a clear lead over his closest challengers, the Manchester duo of Phil Bishop and John Minta. The biggest mover in the top ten is Ed Fuller (winner of the North West Open and runner-up in the National Doubles), but James Toop and Marcus Bate also make good progress to reach seventh and eight respectively.
At the same time, Will Ellison and Adrian Lee move into the top 20, while North West runner-up Matt Bowness, Under 25 champion Steve Korris and BUSA champion Jack Furniss all make it into the top 30. For full details of the latest rankings, simply click on the link below.
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| Latest official RFA rankings |
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SOUTH WEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Blundell's School, Tiverton, 28/29th June 2008 |
[posted 06 May 2008] |
The entry form for the 2008 South West Open Championships is now available here on the RFA website. Organised as ever by Wayne Enstone, both singles and doubles competitions will start on Saturday June 28th (please note that this is an earlier than usual date for this tournament), with Plate competitions for early-round losers in both. Entry costs £10 per person for each tournament (or £13 for non-RFA members) and completed entry forms must reach the organiser by Monday June 16th, but for full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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| South West Open Championships entry form [Word document, 32KB] |
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SCOTTISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Loretto School, Musselburgh, 3rd/4th May 2008 |
[posted 05 May 2008] |
John Minta claimed his second double of the season with victory in both the singles and doubles tournaments at the Scottish Open. It was a truly dominant display in the singles, with a comfortable two-game win over organiser Neil Roberts in the final. And, while some said that he enjoyed the luck of the draw in facing players in the semi-final and final who were exhausted by their exploits in the previous round, the truth is that no one could live with his combination of pace around the court, powerful hitting with both hands and sheer agression, always keen to take the ball early on the volley.
If the final was between two men from the North of England, it was good to see a strong Scottish contingent at Loretto. What's more, two of them reached the semi-finals. Edinburgh University's Johnny Major had an excellent win over Andy Pringle in the quarter-finals, before being demolished by the Minta steam-roller in the semis, while Caldeonian Club stalwart Simon Fraser found a determined Neil Roberts just too strong in the semi-final after making comfortable progress to that point.
There were fewer Scots in the following day's doubles championship - still the only open doubles tournament where the pairings are selected in a seeded draw - but again it was Simon Fraser who saw the greatest success. After a round-robin between all five pairs, he and partner Graham Butterworth (who had spent the entire day looking just moments away from a major coronary, and more than once ended a rally on his knees) went on win the Plate Doubles, claiming the unique wooden Smith Plate in the process.
The main final was contested by what were clearly the two strongest pairs from the round-robin: John Minta and his partner Grem McIntyre took on Dave Hebden and Charles Lamb. And, what a match it was, with never more than a few points between the pairs. Certainly, if John had expected a repeat of his relatively comfortable win in the singles, he was to be very disappointed. Grem and John edged a tight first game before Dave and Charles came back to win the second - again by a narrow margin.
In the decisive third game, it was a tremendous and fascinating battle, with Dave and John desperately trying to find winners and protect their partners, while Charles and Grem did their very best to return whatever was hit (and occasionally belted!) at them. It was a magnificent game, with a real mixture of shots and styles: John's familiar power play was matched by Dave's subtlety at the front of the court, and all four players were charging round for all they were worth.
Almost inevitably, the game went to the wire, and Charles and Dave had a couple of match points at 10-9 up. However, Charles was served out and a potential match-winner from Dave clipped the top of the bar, putting John in, and he duly saw out the final three points to clinch his second title of the weekend.
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| Scottish Open Championships results |
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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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