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NATIONAL SCHOOLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 28th-31st March 2011 |
[posted 31 March 2011] |
This year’s tournament enjoyed a huge entry, 30% up on the average for the previous five years, with twenty-one schools initially submitting entries in at least one of the three age groups; and it was especially good to welcome a small contingent from Rugby. Ten of these schools had representation in one or other of the singles finals, and new names will have been inscribed on both the Under 14 trophies, as well as the Colts’ plate (which is in fact a goblet....?).
In the Open tournament, one player stood out from the field, and Luke Thomson (Christ’s Hospital) did not disappoint. His all-round game applied so much pressure to his opponents that few could get into the game at all: it was a credit to Nick Edmonds (St Paul’s) that he achieved as many as 12 points in the final. At one stage it looked as though both plate winners might also be from Christ’s Hospital, with Robert Mathias always favourite and taking the Griffiths trophy, but Jacob Ader of St Paul’s broke the stranglehold in the second plate.
In the Open doubles, there were several three-game thrillers from early on, and although the plate contained only five pairs, any one of them could have claimed to be hard done by in the main draw: an injury which caused the seeded Winchester pair to withdraw opened up the bottom quarter, and KCS made the most of the opportunity, also defeating Christ’s Hospital II before losing a semi-final to St Paul’s I. In the other semi-final SPS II produced a great effort against top-seeded Christ’s Hospital, and in the end the first pair could make no more inroads, with CH taking the final in straight games.
The Colts’ tournament was remarkable both for a huge entry and for a very high standard of play achieved by many who are actually Under 15 players. One of these, Sam Wyatt-Haines from Blundells, emerged as champion, defeating Ed Wylde (Winchester) in the final. His greatest challenge had in fact been in the quarter final, a repeat of last year’s Under 14 final, where Yul Kahn-Pascual (St Paul’s) eventually succumbed after an epic three gamer. The two plate competitions also both went to younger players, with Marcus Hunter of Rugby showing how quickly he has taken to the game in a tight finish against Ollie Thompson (Sedbergh), and Tom Walters of Whitgift visibly improving as the week went on to take the second plate.
The Colts’ doubles final was a rarity in this year’s tournament, one of only two matches (both finals) in which the loser of the first game came back to win in three. The experience of Brubert and Browett (Alleyn’s) appeared to be in the ascendant, but Wylde, despite an exhausting singles final in the morning) and Ganendra gradually asserted themselves to pull off the win. Some exciting fives was played in the earlier rounds, especially by Christ’s Hospital and Rugby, and a tense plate final was won by Sedbergh’s second pair, 16-14 against SPS III.
The Under 14 competition had a similar entry to last year, and the standard of play was again very high indeed. 2010 Under 13 champion Simon Whait (Loretto) was top seed, but he was unable to get past Elliot Webb (Tonbridge), coming off the back of a brilliant unbeaten first term of fives. Tristen McFarlane of St Paul’s, like Webb a relative novice, also impressed in reaching the semi-finals, but both were undone by the experience of the Derby Moor boys, Rob Whitehorn and Matt Blunden, who went on to play an extraordinary final, with three games of attritional rallying resulting in the end in a win for Matt. Both plate competitions contained a number of promising players and congratulations to the two winners Elliot Tebboth (Merchant Taylors’) and Sacha Thompson (Alleyn’s). The strength of the Tonbridge team continued to be apparent in the doubles, where pair I edged past the (presumably extremely tired) Derby Moor pair, and pair II similarly got home against St Paul’s I. The final did not produce any surprises, and pair III could not withstand the experienced Alleyn’s pair in the plate final.
Many thanks to all involved in organisation and support, especially to those school staff who were giving up holiday time (and rather more who were supposed still to be teaching!). The whole championship was played in an excellent spirit, with the highest standards of sportsmanship and manners on court and camaraderie off it. (This paragraph is identical to last year, and deservedly so!)
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National Schools' Championships results
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NATIONAL WINCHESTER FIVES MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Bradfield College, 8th May 2011 |
[posted 28 March 2011] |
Organiser Emma Howie is now accepting entries for the National Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles Championship, which will be held at Bradfield College on Sunday, May 8th. Entry costs £10 per pair, and the closing date is April 20th. The precise format of the event will depend on the number of entries, but plenty of Fives is guaranteed for all entrants, and novices are particularly welcome. For full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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National Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles Championship [Word file, 28KB] |
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NATIONAL SCHOOL GIRLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Marlborough College, Wiltshire, 1st May 2011 |
[posted 28 March 2011] |
After the successful introduction of the National School Girls' Championships in 2010, the second running of the event will take place at Marlborough College on Sunday May 1st. There will be four age categories – Seniors, Under 16, Under 14 and Under 13 – and organiser Alex Smith is now accepting entries. Players can play in different categories for singles and doubles, but only in one category for each; and, at this stage, each school is limited to four players per age group, but it may be possible to include extra players once entries have been received. The format will depend on the final number of entries in each age category, but will hopefully be a group stage of round-robin games followed by a knockout stage, with a plate competition in each category. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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National School Girls' Championships entry form [Word file, 68KB] |
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NATIONAL VINTAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Oundle School, Cambs, 20th March 2011 |
[posted 22 March 2011] |
John East reports: There were no air strikes, earthquakes or tsunamis near Oundle on 20th March, so that the Vintage Rugby Fives Tournament did not make the national news headlines. But, for the 15 enthusiastic contenders, this was nevertheless the place to be on that day to try to claim their place in history.
As usual, the Facilities provided by the school were excellent. The courts continue to improve every year, and if Tony Burrows has another attempt to take more wax off the walls this summer, as he hopes to do, they should be just about ideal. Given their position between the North and the South and the terrific indoor facilities provided, they are an excellent addition to our Fives Court stock; added to which, Tony provided the usual hospitality in the way of sandwiches, cakes and drinks, although we should not overlook Dickie Warner’s flapjack (Dickie demonstrating his more domesticated side here).
This year, the artwork at the Fives courts had some rather racy, but impressive, depictions of fives players in various stages of exhaustion and undress causing some surprise to a couple of female spectators. (I am not sure if they were commissioned by the RFA but perhaps they could be hired for the next RFA Dinner) Fortunately the models were somewhat younger than those on display on the courts that day.
Turning to the underlying excuse for this pleasant get together, it will come as no surprise that Wayne Enstone again won the Singles trophy, showing terrific agility and dexterity. However, it was wonderful also to have Ian Fuller attend his first Vintage tournament, and this meant that Wayne was pressed rather harder than usual in the final and had to move into a new top level of effort that we have perhaps not seen him display at the Vintage before. This made for an excellent first game, which Wayne won 11-7, but after that Ian’s efforts somewhat fell away and Wayne went through to win the second game easily, though not without some good rallies. As usual, the closest game in the singles tournament was the first round match between Dickie and Bob Sandie (which is now an annual event by popular demand), with Bob this year just shading it at 16-14, to win the prize of playing Wayne in the next round. Elsewhere the seeds marched through as planned, although Tony Hamilton had a good tussle with Brian Nithsdale.
In the Singles Plate, Dickie Warner triumphed rather comfortably in his group, while the other group was closer, with Martin Wilkinson catching Bob Sandie by surprise, but then tiring under the relentless efforts of Brian Nithsdale who also eventually wore Bob down to claim the right to play Dickie for the plate trophy. Dickie won the first game (which was meant to be the only game) 11-8, but then decided with Brian that any final should really be the best of three games, after which he lost the next game 10-12 before finally claiming the third to win the plate after a bit of a marathon for players of this vintage.
The Doubles provided some close matches. Bob and Brian had a good game against Neil Arnott and Martin Wilkinson, before meeting the old (but new to the Vintage tournament) pairing of Ian Fuller and Jeremy Schroeter, who in fact marched comfortably through to the final. In the other half, Wayne and Tim Lewis, the holders, won their first game 12-10, 11-4 against an odd pairing of the newest entry to the age group, Brian Kirk, and the longest-serving Vintage player in the tournament, Bernard Atkinson, still diving about the court like a young Veteran. He claimed that he liked the somewhat smoother surfaces at Oundle as they did less damage to his knees than many courts, although others of us thought that you were meant to play standing up, particularly in the Vintage class.
Wayne and Tim then dispatched Dickie playing with the organiser. The organiser definitely had concerns about how Dickie would cope with the Doubles after six long games of Singles, and indeed there were certain signs of fatigue, which occasionally manifested itself in an inability on Dickie’s part to leap out of the way of his opponent as quickly as is his wont. This irked Wayne, but nevertheless, although the games were reasonably hard fought and close, Wayne’s amazing ability to dance round the court and Tim’s steadiness on the right-hand side saw them though to their third successive Final. The organiser missed the first game of the Final, being engaged in the doubles plate, but with the score of 11-5, it seems that Ian and Jeremy were just too strong and steady for Wayne and Tim, and this was certainly the case in the second game, where Tim was visibly tiring. So it was pleasing to see two new names on this trophy, and Jeremy and Ian could be a tough pair to beat for some time.
The Doubles Plate was a single group of four first-round losers. East and Warner beat Kirk and Atkinson by the narrowest of margins having given away a sizeable lead, while Tony Hamilton and Euan Clarke, the holders, won two of their three games reasonably comfortably. Neil Arnott and – after quite a lot of hard singles – Martin Wilkinson were somewhat fading by this stage. So, the stage was set for the decider between Euan and Tony and the organiser and Dickie. It started as a very close contest for the first six points but then, at least to the organiser’s surprise, a long run saw East and Warner come almost straight through to 15-6 and the trophy.
My thanks must go the all the participants for making it such a hugely enjoyable day – it always is – and again to the School and Tony for providing their facilities, such a friendly reception and their hospitality. It all makes it a very easy tournament to run, but next year I will advance to a new level of fives, i.e. the Masters, and at that point I had always thought I would hand it over to a younger man; and the new boy in the group, Brian Kirk, has very kindly offered to step up to the plate (I know that metaphor comes from the wrong sport). I will certainly provide any help that is needed, but I feel sure that the organisation will at the least move towards a new level of technological efficiency, more in keeping with the 21st century.
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National Vintage Championships results |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 21st March 2011 |
[posted 21 March 2011] |
The RFA today published the latest singles and doubles rankings – prepared, as ever, on the Association's behalf by Dave Hebden – and the biggest moves come from Jonny Major.
The rankings take into account last month's North of England Championships, and it was Jonny's performance here – beating Dan Grant to reach the semi-finals – that propelled him 31 places up the singles rankings to 10th position. The only other move in the top 10 sees the champion in Durham, Dan Tristao, overtake John Minta to climb into third position. He now sits behind James Toop and Will Ellison, giving the top three a distinctly youthful feel.
Dan also makes good progress in the doubles rankings after winning the North of England championship, climbing six places to 10th, just one place behind Ady Lee, who also climbs into the Top 10 for the first time. There's no change to the top of the rankings above Ady, but the two biggest movers are Charlie Legget and Jonny Major, who climb up the rankings after good performances in Durham. For the full rankings, simply click on the link below.
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Official RFA rankings
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COLQUHOUN TROPHY |
Sherborne School, Dorset, 20th March 2011 |
[posted 21 March 2011] |
Despite some last-minute withdrawals reducing the size of the field this year, the second running of the Colquhoun Trophy produced some fine Fives.
Set up to commemorate the life of Charlie Colquhoun, former master-in-charge at Clifton Collge, and to promote schoolboy Fives in the South West, this year’s event was enjoyed by boys from Blundells, Malvern and Marlborough as well as the host school, Sherborne. As in 2010, there were Open and Colts categories, starting with a round-robin pool before going on to a knockout to decide the winner.
In the Open section, Malvern’s Jamie Killick and Jamie Smart from Sherborne came through their pools with 100% records, and duly booked their place in the final after semi-final triumphs. In the first of these two matches, Jamie used his experience to record a comfortable win over his fellow Malvernian Adam Flattery, while in the second Jamie Smart beat Marlborough’s Will Kirkpatrick in an altogether closer match that was played in a tremendous spirit and displayed Fives of the highest quality.
Come the final, though, it was the class of Killick that shone through, and he went on to win comfortably in two games. The Plate, meanwhile, produced an all-Sherborne final, with George Gordon-Head going on to beat Alex Mitchell in two games.
Because of last-minute withdrawals, the Colts section was reduced to a single pool, with the top two qualifying for the main final and the other two playing the Plate final.
The result was a final between Alex Frosell of Marlborough (whose 100% record gave him top spot in the pool) and Jack Webber of Blundells. On paper, it looked like a dominant win for the Marlborough boy, but the scores are not an accurate reflection of the play: the rallies were much closer than the scores suggest. However, the Blundells squad didn't go home empty-handed: Harvey Scott beat Sherborne's Ed Dance to claim the Colts Plate, meaning that each of the four schools won some silverware in the day's competition – a fitting end to a fine day's play that showed off all the qualities Charlie would have appreciated.
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Colquhoun Trophy results
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UNDER 13s CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, 13th March 2011 |
[posted 17 March 2011] |
Organiser Peter de Winton writes: Although entries for the competition were down on 2010, both in terms of overall numbers and of schools entering, those who came enjoyed a spirited day of Fives and there were a lot of close matches, particularly in the semis and finals. It was good to see a large number of parents cheering on their sons, and there was an excellent atmosphere of co-operation between the schools, making the staging of matches run smoothly.
In the pool stage of the Singles, some clear winners emerged who went on to the knockout finals. Dawber from Alleyns was impressive, losing only one point in his four matches, and he and the other five pool winners all achieved maximum points. Although three of the pool winners were from Pilgrims, there was also one each from Alleyns, Blundells and Merchant Taylors.
In the knockout stage, the six winners already mentioned did battle with the two best second-placed players, who came from Rossall and Alleyns. The quarter-finals went with the seeding created by the pools stage, though Boissier of Pilgrims ran Scott of Blundells close, losing 15-12. The semi-finals were keenly fought: Scott took Dawber to three games and Kinnear won the inter-Pilgrims match with Bull 11-6, 11-9. In the final, Dawber started decisively and was leading Kinnear comfortably, only to put a number of services down and thus unsettle his rhythm and pace. Kinnear took his chance, raised his game and did not look back, winning 11-6,11-2. In the Plate, for the next eight best players from the pools, Tinkler-Davies from Alleyns showed superior fitness, playing steadily through his three matches and giving away only fourteen points in the process of winning the Tankard.
In the Doubles, as in 2010, the competition went straight to the knockout stage, with 14 pairs competing. Pilgrims 1 made decisive progress to the final, giving away only four points in two games. Alleyns 1 played three games to get to the final, and in the semi-final overcame stiff resistance from Blundells 1 to get through 11-7. The final was very closely fought, with many tight rallies, but with Pilgrims 1 showing the greater resilience and running out eventual winners. The play was of very high standard and augurs well for these boys in the future. Rossall repeated their achievement of 2010 by winning the Plate for first-round losers, defeating Pilgrims 3 by 15-12 in a close match.
My thanks to St. Paul's for allowing us the use of the courts and their excellent facilities, the coaches for their enthusiasm and flexibility over a long day, and to Frank Akerman for his tireless support in helping to run the show. In spite of the lower numbers, I am optimistic that participating schools generally benefited by playing others from a variety of abilities, and I would like to encourage all schools to enter, including those who do not feel confident that their boys to be among the winners, as their teams will get plenty of Fives anyway. I look forward to welcoming new schools, particularly those where taking part in the competition could give the desired impetus to developing the game further..
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U13 championships results
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WINCHESTER FIVES NATIONAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Winchester College, 13th March 2011 |
[posted 14 March 2011] |
A sizeable entry of 24 pairs contested the Winchester Fives Doubles for the Barnes Bridge trophy
at Winchester College, and the organiser reluctantly took a late decision to play games to 11 rather
than 15 in order to finish the competition at a reasonable hour.
Round 1 produced two cracking matches, the first won in three close games by the talented young
Wykehamists Ganendra and Kennedy, and the second, also a three-gamer, by the determined Derby
Moor combination of Kirk and Butler. The second round saw the entry of the seeded pairs, some of
whom were subjected to stern challenges but who all eventually won through to the quarter-finals.
By this stage, these pairs – some of them new combinations, others established ones – were all
accustomed to the buttress and the speedy new ‘5 star’ ball, and the play at times became
bewilderingly rapid. Austin and Rew, up from the West Country, provided Roberts and Tristão with
a real test before going down narrowly in three games; Lee and Marshall gave Fox and Minta a
good match, as did former champions Akerman and Mario Mohammed in their encounter with
Buchanan and Grant; and holders and top seeds Ellison and Hal Mohammed looked impressive as
they defeated Price and Pringle, the eventual plate winners, with something to spare.
The semi-finals contained the best fives of the championship, all four pairs playing with huge skill
and great pace. Countless shots, including many services, were completely unreturnable, directed as
they were into the area around the base of the buttress or the nick at the back or sides of the court.
Volleying from the right-hand court – always a feature of good Winchester fives – was also much
in evidence. This was the game at its best, full of variety and devoid of the long slogging rallies that
can render the Rugby version less than fascinating to watch. Both semi-finals went to three games,
and the winning margin in the third was a mere couple of points in each case, with the top and
second seeds coming through to face each other in the final, as last year at Bradfield.
The final itself was an anticlimax after such superb displays. Ellison and Mohammed continued to
play their best fives and overwhelmed Fox and Minta, who were unable to find an answer in either
game. This was the Wykehamists’ third successive win, and it opens the way to a ‘grand slam’ –
consecutive wins at all four venues – at Sedbergh next year.
We are most grateful to Winchester College for the use of their courts, and to Radcliffe & Co for
their generous sponsorship of the event.
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Winchester Fives National Doubles Championship results
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LADIES' WINCHESTER FIVES CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Winchester College, 12th March 2011 |
[posted 13 March 2011] |
STOP PRESS:
Eastbourne College teacher Kathleen Briedenhann won her first Fives title at the Ladies Winchester Fives championships, beating Alex Steel in two very close games to win the singles title. However, Alex didn't go home without a trophy, teaming up with former mixed doubles champion Anita Ganguly to win the Doubles title.
(Full report to come)
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Ladies Winchester Fives Championships results |
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RFA v BUCS |
St Paul's School, Banes, 6th March 2011 |
[posted 10 March 2011] |
The annual representative match between the British Universities & the Rugby Fives Association, took place at St. Paul's on 6th March, writes David Gardner.
It was again well contested with strong teams appearing for both sides. The No 1 singles spot saw the current BUCS champion, Dan Grant (UCL), taking on the past triple champion, Dan Tristao, whilst at No 2 former National Singles Champion Hamish Buchanan took on the BUCS runner up Ed Kay. Ed, in his first year at Cambridge, gave Hamish a very good run for his money, eventually losing out by just two points, 15-13. Tristao, however, proved to be much more in command, and overpowered Grant comfortably by 15-4.
Despite this, the lower order gained victories and the students ended the singles with, surprisingly, an overall lead of six points! Traditionally the RFA win the singles fairly comfortably and the students gnaw away at the lead for the rest of the day!
The first round of the Doubles saw the strong play from BUCS continue, with victories in two out of three matches, although only tieing the round on points at 34 all. Nevertheless, at the half-way stage of the match, the students were still clinging on to their narrow lead of six points gained in the Singles.
Hopes were soon dashed in the second set of Doubles, as the RFA stormed into the lead, taking all three matches very comfortably to establish a 27-point advantage with the final round to come. A spirited revival by the younger team kept the last six games to a mere 19-point deficit, with the match scores finally concluding at 235 to 189 in favour of the RFA.
There were occasions when the students should have done much better, and one cannot but reflect on missed opportunities, when a more positive, and indeed, at times, a more serious approach, might well have reduced the deficit considerably! In the end experience told, and the senior team ran out very worthy winners..
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RFS v BUCS results |
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NATIONAL VETERANS' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Christ's Hospital, Horsham, 9/10th April 2011 |
[posted 07 March 2011] |
Organiser John Hawke is now accepting entries for the 2011 National Veterans' Championships, which will be played at Christ's Hospital over the weekend of April 9/10th. The whole singles competition will be played on the Saturday, with the doubles taking place on the Sunday, and Plate competitions in both. Qualifying age is 45 years on or before 9th April 2011, and John is accepting entries until Sunday April 3rd. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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National Veterans' Championships entry form [Word file, 28KB] |
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NORTH OF ENGLAND OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Durham, 26/27th February 2011 |
[posted 28 February 2011] |
Dan Tristao not only retained his North of England Singles title in a repeat of last year's final, but he also teamed up with Hamish Buchanan to take home the Doubles title, writes organiser Ady Lee.
Match of the Singles first round was undoubtedly the Lee vs Legget game, which went on for over three hours (!) due to Legget's pre-arranged doctor's appointment between the first and second games. After losing the first game comfortably, Legget took the time in between sets 1 and 2 to change his strategy and eventually came through in three.
The quarter-finals looked to be going with seeding, although Legget again pushed Buchanan to a tight three sets before experience showed through. However, in the final game of the quarters, Jonny Major upset the draw by coming through against Dan Grant. Jonny came out the blocks quickly in the first set, and superb retrievals mixed with a slightly off-colour Grant meant he eventually won 11-9 in the third set.
The semis went with seedings, as Tristao comfortably beat Major and Minta defeated Buchanan, who was slightly jaded after his three-set game with Legget. The final was an excellent display of power hitting, retrieval and athleticism, which has come to underpin the modern game. After Minta stormed through the first set, Tristao had to change his strategy and eventually counter-punched his way to the second set. The third set came slightly easier for Tristao, as Minta was left with too much to battle against, given Dan's position of power early in the final set.
The doubles competition featured many pairs that were strong on paper, but largely untested, with only the Grant & Lee pairing regularly playing together. Such was the strength of the field that Minta & Price had to play Bate & Major in the first round, all four being recognised top-flight players.
The semi-finals went with seedings, which left the final between top seeds Buchanan & Tristao and second seeds Grant & Lee, who had reached their second consecutive doubles final after the North West Open in Manchester. Grant & Lee powered their way to a 10-3 lead in the first set and, despite a small fightback, they closed it out 11-9. During the second set, both Buchanan & Tristao changed to a more aggressive game, seemingly hitting winners at will as they closed out the set to 5.
The final set saw another change of tactic as Buchanan & Tristao eschewed the winners they were hitting in the second set in favour of waiting for mistakes to come through from Grant and Lee, who felt pressured to change tactics themselves. This patient approach showed through as the top seeds won the third set to 5.
Many thanks to all those that came to play in Durham. Your continued support means a lot to the RFA and I look forward to seeing you all again next year.
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North Of England Championships results
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VARSITY MATCH |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 19th February 2011 |
[posted 26 February 2011] |
A rejuvenated Cambridge won this season’s Varsity Match by a clear margin, recording the first light-blue victory since their four-point win in 2006.
British Universities singles finalist Kay gave Cambridge a good lead by defeating the veteran Ronan, playing in his sixth and final University Match, while the second-string singles resulted in a narrow win for Oxford’s Hine over Malone. Chase at three for Cambridge won well against Barnes, and the Oxford captain Baker, the only left-hander on either side, went down by a few points to Brubert at four after a lengthy battle.
Cambridge’s 23-point lead in the singles looked useful, if by no means decisive. As the doubles developed, it became clear that Kay and Chase, the reigning British Universities doubles champions, were the outstanding pair, and they defeated Oxford 1 (Ronan & Adcock) convincingly. However, Hine & Baker for Oxford combined well against the second Cambridge pair (Malone & Brubert), winning one of their games to love and restoring the balance of the match.
Cambridge’s third and fourth pairs this year were more experienced than their opponents, all of them new to the Varsity Match. This allowed the light-blues to settle more quickly and establish a good lead on points against their opposite numbers.
At halfway in the doubles, Cambridge had increased their lead to 47 points and looked safe. Oxford 3 (Barnes and McKelvie) would have none of this, defeating Cambridge 4 heavily; and the top dark-blue pair won both their games as well, giving just a glimmer of hope. But the irresistible Cambridge 1 and their reliable third pair (Kelly & Rowland) won all their games to ensure the lead was protected, the final margin being 37 points.
The Oxford Beavers were too good for the Cambridge Sparrows in the reserves match, retaining the ‘Fist of Iron’ trophy won three years ago. It was good to see each University bring a full complement of players this year. Congratulations to both captains on this achievement, and to Cambridge’s Charles Compton on leading a winning side.
Lastly, our thanks go to St. Paul’s School for providing the excellent venue – and equalling the record of nine Old Paulines playing in the top match.
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Varsity Match results |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 11th February 2011 |
[posted 26 February 2011] |
The RFA today published the latest official singles and doubles rankings, prepared for the Association by Dave Hebden. They reflect the results in the North West Open and Under 25s Championships, but not the North of England Championships, currently under way in Durham.
As a result, there is little change at the top of the rankings, with the Top 10 in both lists remaining much as before. The one major exception is Under 25 Doubles Champion Dan Grant, who climbs three places to seventh in the doubles rankings. His championship-winning partner Dan Tristao also climbs three places - up to 16th - to leave him two places behind fellow Old Pauline Tom Dean, whose semi-final appearance in the North West Open doubles lifts him to equal 13th.
Tom's fine win over Neil Roberts in the North West singles also results in him making good progress up the singles rankings - up six places to 16th, where he sits one place behind Under 25s quarter-finalist Ed Kay, who also jumps six places. The highest climbers, meanwhile, are Adam George and Peter Hanton, who both climb at least 10 places to sit just outside the Top 30.
To see the full rankings, simply click on the link below.
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RFA Singles and Doubles Rankings
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IAN ROBERTS' FUNERAL |
Giggleswick School, North Yorkshire, 14th February 2011 |
[posted 15 February 2011] |
The funeral and service of thanksgiving for RFA board member Ian Roberts was held yesterday in the beautiful chapel at Ian's beloved Giggleswick School. The building was full of mourners, including many from the Fives world, and they heard moving tributes from Ian's fellow Old Giggleswickian Judge David Stockdale and his brother, Neil.
They and the school chaplain spoke of a man who had been a brilliant scholar, a successful city lawyer and a genuine one-off. They also recalled his sharp wit and modesty, as well as his immense contribution to Giggleswick School, the OG Society and to Fives, both on- and off-court. It was wonderfully fitting that among the bearers were Ian's three team-mates from the White Rose Club, who together won the National Club Championship in 1991.
In conclusion, we can do little more than repeat the words of David Barnes: 'Ian's untimely death is a great loss to the [Rugby Fives] Association after all his devoted work on the Review, Charitable Status, Incorporation and so on – not to mention the Yorkshire Doubles, White Rose Club and many other Fives matters. The RFA will not be able to replace such a man.'
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NORTH OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Durham, 26/27th February 2011 |
[posted 13 February 2011] |
Ady Lee is now accepting entries for the North of England Championships, which are being held in Durham on the weekend of February 26/27th. There will be singles and doubles championships, with Plate competitions for both, and entries (by email or post) must be received by Feb 21st. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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North of England Championships entry form [Word file, 12KB] |
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LADIES WINCHESTER FIVES CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Winchester College, 13th March 2011 |
[posted 10 February 2011] |
Organiser Denie Hall-Wilton is now accepting entries for the Ladies National Winchester Fives Championships. The competition will take place on Saturday 12th March and will include both singles and doubles tournaments, with plenty of Fives guaranteed for all entrants, and novices especially welcome. For full details, click on the link below to see the official entry form.
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Ladies Winchester Fives Championships entry form [PDF, 80KB] |
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WINCHESTER FIVES NATIONAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Winchester College, 13th March 2011 |
[posted 07 February 2011] |
Organiser David Barnes is now accepting entries for the Winchester Fives National Doubles Championship, which is being sponsored for the first time this year by Radcliffe & Co Life and Pensions Ltd. The competition – for the famous Barnes Bridge trophy – will be held on the courts of Winchester College on Sunday March 13th, with a Plate competition for early round losers.
In another first for the competition, David is accepting entries (which cost £20 per pair) by email, and for full details, simply click on the link below to see the official entry form.
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Winchester Fives National Doubles Championship entry form [PDF, 60KB] |
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NATIONAL UNDER 25 CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Merchant Taylors School, Northwood, 5/6th February 2011 |
[posted 06 February 2011] |
The RFA has now received Dan Grant's full report from the Under 25s championships, which we reproduce here in its entirety. Before you sit down to read it, we recommend you get a warm beverage. This may well be the longest single report ever published on this site!
It’s not every day that the Fives courts at MTS are graced with such a remarkable array of young, attractive, talented, keen and well-dressed sportsmen. And indeed, the weekend of the U25s was no exception. However we did also see a bunch of Fives-lovers turn up from all over the country to compete in what is arguably the greatest and most challenging tournament of the year*.
So, this year, we mixed the format by having singles on Saturday and doubles on Sunday, and things got off to a shocking start. The preliminary round saw ALL the seeds knocked out, which left the draw wide open! On paper, thanks to reverse seeding (which encourages participation), this resulted in the strongest Plate competition ever! Much of the singles competition was of a high standard and things got off to a schedule-destroying start right away as the schoolboys Butler and Thomas fought it out in an epic – the former coming through in three. Another notable match in the early rounds was a feisty exchange between two of Durham’s finest, Gravatt and Ackland. Gravatt did well to take Inigo to three sets and almost had him until Jay was distracted by some terrible gone-wrong flair as Ackland, attempting a shot through his legs, missed the fives ball entirely, instead managing to hit balls of a completely different nature. This event also put some oomph into the prestigious Flair Competition, as Ackland’s 'self-harm' earned him high points for originality, which he then swiftly lost with heavy negative marks for ‘grace’.
This was the strongest U25s singles competition EVER, with not one, not two, but three top 10 players competing. Unhappily for the others, this pretty much meant that all the quarter-finals went as expected. However, credit goes to BUCS finalist Kay, who, facing his St Paul’s idol Tristao, pushed the scampering mongrel to 16 in the first. And so this left us with two blockbuster semis. In the top half of the draw, Ellison was set to play Burrows, and in the bottom half Tristao was to play the man he fears the most – Grant. Ellison, true to recent form where he has completely won everything (except the National Singles, but we don’t talk about that), smashed Burrows away with ease. Even though he was wearing a non-torn pair of tracksuit bottoms, Chris just didn’t have an answer to Will’s ferocious style of play. The other semi-fnal, however was not so clear cut. In true U25s form, where the best matches are always played in front of the smallest crowds possible, the two Dans took to the stage in front of David Barnes and Butler, who were in for a treat.
The first set was filled with remarkable shot-making and superb retrieval. Tristao pulled away at the end to earn a 14-10 lead, only to have Grant pull it back to tie the scores and then take the lead 15-14. Set point down, Tristao pulled some audacious serving out of his repertoire and the set ended with him winning 16-15. In the second, Grant came out guns blazing and took Tristao out 15-7. In the third, Grant started strong, forcing an 8-2 lead, but then Tristao changed his game plan and, after winning two ridiculously long rallies, began to dictate the play. He took the third 15-10 – a feat which prompted Grant to call him “a complete and utter [expletive deleted]”.
And so this set up a repeat of last year's final. Tristao vs Ellison. Last year was probably the most remarkable Fives final in history – Ellison losing in the 3rd set 16-14. After being 14-4 up. Last year, the game had everything: brilliant skill, fantastic retrieval, smart shot-making by both players. Would we see a repeat of such excitement this year? In a word: no. Tristao took it in two from an off-form Ellison. Interestingly, Dan is the only player who Will is still yet to beat. Maybe next year?
As for the plate, well, it was Adam George who pulled through in an epic win over Butler, winning 25 sets to 20 (Ed's note: if you want to understand the, err, unique format for this final, please ask Dan!). Remarkable stuff and many an avid viewer remarked that it was probably George’s time-outs that did it.
In 2011, the entertainment off-court was elevated to luxurious levels. As usual we had the every-expense spared buffet on offer, but we also had live commentary from Gareth Price and a jukebox which boomed the tunes out over the railings. Each player was entitled to their signature tune for court-entrance music, much like Maximus Decimus Meridius would have enjoyed in Gladiator. For example, in the final Tristao had ‘Tonight I’m Loving You’ by Enrique Iglesias, feat. Ludacris. Ellison had ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder. A full playlist is available on request, but it goes without saying that the anthem for the tournament was the Far East Movement’s ‘Like a G6’.
And so to the doubles. This year saw a much greater field, which is good (but not as good as it could have been). As expected, the seeds made it decisively through to the semi-finals, the only upset being the fifth seeded Kay and Chase having an excellent three-set slog-fest victory over Burrows and Ackland. The pair came through 14-16, 15-13, 15-11 in a long game which heard more grunting and sex-noises than Peter Stringfellow’s yacht on a summer’s day. When the match ended, Burrows’ arm sadly fell off and the walls were given some time to recover.
Alas, the BUCS champions couldn’t repeat their heroics against Ellison and Mohammed, who sliced through them like butter, which is no great surprise considering that this pair has been unbeaten in 18 months. An outstanding achievement. Could anyone beat these guys? Well, Grant and Tristao stepped up to the mark after toying with Ronan and Marshall in the other semi. Could the defending U25s champions beat the defending virtually-everything doubles champions??
What ensued was a remarkable final, lasting over two hours, watched solely by a brilliant Dick Warner. This was a game which all four players would later call ‘the best doubles game they’ve ever played in’, and for once, I’m not exaggerating.
Everyone played their best fives: solid, smart, delicate and precise. The first set was a real nail-biter. The annual impromptu pair of Double D took what seemed like first blood, going to a 14-10 lead, only to have the tried and tested pair of Will and Hall pull it back to 14-all. Then the score was 15-all. Then some truly remarkable serving happened. Each player served out both hands of the opposition with aces. This player has never seen anything quite like it. At length, it was the Dans who finally managed to get a finger on a serve and after a long rally, the bar was hit and the first set went to Grant and Tristao.
The second was a topsy-turvy affair. Dan Squared took a quick lead and may have become a bit complacent at 9-4 up. Will and Hal dug in and took it back to level pegging, before taking the lead and winning 15-12.
The break between the second and third set was slightly longer than the officially allocated three minutes, but you could not blame these players, who had already been on court for over an hour and a half and through five shirts between them. The tiredness began to show in the third as a few slow steps here and few mistimes there made all the difference. Eventually it was the two Dans’ skill of slightly better relentless retrieving and smart shot-making which began to cut through and to a rapturous singular applause from the rafters they won 15-7, the final shot being a heavy slice from Dan Grant, which was also the final shot of his U25s career – a fitting end to a great few years.
In the plate Gravatt and Ward beat the schoolboys Parker and Thomas, who had performed exceptionally well that weekend. However, what they made up for in strong St Paul’s power, they lost in the flair competition, where neither scored a single point (step it up, St Paul’s!) The competition was looking for a truly exceptional outcome this tournament, which was a tough ask considering how far the bar has been raised over the past few years. The flair competition continues in its quest to advance the skill and range of shots possible in fives, and it was only really later in the tournament where the true masters began to go for it. George flaired it up with some stylish shoes, but that had nothing on Tristao who was on a mission to win the prize again after last year’s audacious ‘Intentional 16s’. He whisped his hair back and doggedly launched himself into the air before gracefully hitting a wrong-footer volley spin twizzler. But Grant wasn’t having any of it. In his semi-final he called upon all his experience on the international handball circuit and pulled quite possibly the best flair out of thin air. Back in September, Grant had stunned several hundred Spaniards and live TV cameras (perhaps not in a good way), with an innovative and groundbreaking ‘Tornado Serve’ in Llargues. This U25s he was on a mission to see if such a serve was transferable to fives. Having told Tristao exactly what to expect, he tossed the ball up to serve, spun around like a discus thrower in a full 360, before misjudging his footing on purpose and cleverly cutting the ball in a slice-tastic Ace. Tristao was dumbfounded and marks for Gloating were impossibly high. The Tornado Sizzling Slice Spectacular remains the greatest flair to date.
And that about concluded the tournament. It has been my pleasure to organise the Under 25s for the last four years and I’ve seen some of the best fives and camaraderie on the circuit to date. I hand the torch happily over to Chris Burrows who I’m sure will surpass himself and put on a tournament to rival the Olympic Games next year. I leave you with a serious note, however. Fives desperately needs keen and supportive players to see the sport persevere through the next few years. The future of the adult game depends on the schools and universities bolstering the youth contingent. The U25s is one of the greatest and funnest tournaments on the calendar and one in which like-minded players from all over the country can unite and compete and learn from some of the best players in the country. Although I’m pleased at the tremendous uptake this year from schools such as St Paul’s and Merchant Taylors’, and universities as far afield as Southampton and Edinburgh, I would expect more from the strong fives-playing bases such as Oxford, Cambridge and UCL, who did not enter an official contingent this year. Come on guys, you have no excuse!
*it is not likely you’ll win this argument.
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Under 25 championships results
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NATIONAL LADIES' CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 30th January 2011 |
[posted 30 January 2011] |
Claire Knowles continued her dominance of Ladies Rugby Fives, with another double in the Ladies Championships. By again winning both the singles and doubles titles, she has taken her tally of wins in the competitions to 10 – and remains unbeaten in both since first winning the titles in 1999. And, as before, she did more than just win the titles; she dominated the tournaments, without conceding a single point in the singles, while (with partner Melanie Whitehead, with whom Claire has won nine of her 10 doubles titles) she conceded just four points en route to the doubles title.
The entry for the championships (postponed from December due to snow) was bolstered by several girls from Eastbourne College, and Senior School Girl champion Tessa Mills did well to reach the semi-finals of the singles – her first adult tournament. However, the College's top performance came from teacher Kathleen Briednhann, who came through some very tough matches to claim a place the final.
In the quarter-finals, she put out England Handballer Anita Ganguly, before going on to face Alex Steel in what was reckoned to be the best game of the tournament. It was a superb match, full of powerful hitting, amazing retrieval and impressive athleticism from both girls, but in the end Kathleen was able to claim the win – always able to run down Alex's shots before finding the crucial winners. In truth, the final was probably a game too far for Kathleen, but it's to her credit that, in the face of such a dominant display from Claire, with a succession of winners hit to a perfect line and length, she always had a smile on her face.
In the doubles, too, it was much the same story, with Claire (ably assisted by Melanie) dominating the matches. They conceded just a point against Eastbourne's schoolgirl champs, Tessa Mills and Charlie Dodds, in the semi-final, before going on to face the untried partnership of Alex Steel and Anita Ganguly in the final.
Alex and Anita made a strong pair, with Alex's powerful hitting backed up well by Anita, who is more familiar with Eton Fives and 1-Wall handball, but visibly grew in confidence through the day. They had a fine win in the semi-finals against Kathleen and Eastbourne schoolgirl Anna-Louise Walters, but weren't able to overcome the defending champions in the final. Although the match was closer than the scores suggest, with many long, hard-fought rallies, there was never any doubt as to the eventual destination of the trophy.
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National Ladies' Championships results
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NORTH WEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Y Club, Manchester, 22nd/23rd January 2011 |
[posted 23 January 2011] |
STOP PRESS: Dan Tristao maintained his unbeaten record against Will Ellison to claim the second open singles title of his career at the NW Open yesterday. In fact, it was a good tournament for the younger players, with Dan Grant also reaching the semi-finals, and good wins in the early rounds for Tom Dean and Charlie Brooks – over Neil Roberts and Dave Fox respectively.
However, Will was able to claim his revenge in the doubles tournament, teaming up with Hal Mohammed to take the title with a win over Ady Lee and Dan Grant (who were appearing in their first ever open doubles final as a pair, after a fine win over defending champions John Minta and Phil Bishop in the semis). This now means that Will holds all six regional English doubles titles at the same time – quite some achievement. He was made to work hard for it, though, only reaching the final after a tough three-game win over the Old Pauline pair of Charlie Brooks and Tom Dean in the semi-final.
(FULL REPORT TO COME)
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North West Open Championships results
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2011 RFA DINNER |
The Queen's Club, London, 16th April 2011 |
[posted 13 January 2011] |
Following the success of the last RFA Dinner in 2007, the Association will be hosting another dinner this year.
Timed to coincide with the final rounds of the National Club Championship, specifically to encourage many of the competitors and spectators to attend, it will take place on the evening of Saturday April 16th at The Queen's Club in West London.
The thoroughly informal evening will include with no speeches, and non-RFA members and guests are very welcome to attend.
Tickets are available now, and everyone is encouraged to apply for tickets now, as a special early-bird (ie reduced price!) offer will apply on tickets bought before the end of February, and there will be a limited number of cheaper tickets available for those under 30 years of age.
To apply for tickets, download the application form (available below), fill it in and send it to the RFA's Treasurer, Ian Fuller, either by email or in the post.
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RFA Dinner ticket application form [PDF, 108KB] |
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NATIONAL UNDER 25s CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Merchant Taylors School, 5/6th February 2011 |
[posted 12 January 2011] |
Organiser Dan Grant is now accepting entries for the Under 25s Championships, which (after some debate!) are now confirmed to be held at Merchant Taylors over the weekend of February 5/6th. There will be singles and doubles championships, as well as some awards unique to these championships, such as the Best Flair Shot. For full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form..
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National Under 25s Championships [Word file, 32KB] |
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WEST OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Sherborne School, Dorset, 8/9th January 2011 |
[posted 10 January 2011] |
A good and very busy weekend at Sherborne - that was the verdict of organiser Lionel Lawson on the West of England Schools Championships, which enjoyed 78 entries from 14 schools.
The Senior Singles was won convincingly by Luke Thomson of Christ's Hospital. He was the top seed and and is a very talented and sharply focused player. He beat Max Frost from Derby Moor in the final 11-2, 11-1. Max, the third seed, had done well to reach the final by overcoming James Kennedy of Winchester, the second seed, in the semi-finals, 1-11,11-9,11-1.
The Colts Singles was slightly depleted as the first and third seeds from Alleyns (Brubert and Browett) withdrew as Brubert was unwell. The final was won by Matt Shaw of St Pauls (the second seed) who beat Sam Wyatt-Haines of Blundells (the fourth seed) 11-3, 11-3.
The Senior Doubles was won convincingly by Christ's Hospital who beat Winchester in the final 11-5, 11-4. Christ's Hospital's pair was the sparkling Luke Thomson ably supported by Adam Matthias. Winchester's pair were James Kennedy and Nick Baines.
The Colts Doubles was won by fourth seeds Winchester (Jerry Ganendra and Ed Wylde), who beat third seeds Blundells (Sam Wyatt-Haines and Jack Grandfield) 11-4, 11-4. Derby Moor (Rob Christie and Robert Whitehorn) had caused an upset in the quarter-finals by eliminating St Paul's 1 (second seeds) in a thrilling three-game tie, but then lost to Blundells in the semis.
The Senior Singles Plate was won by Alex Lewis of Rossall, the Colts Singles Plate by Ben Chua of Winchester, the Senior Doubles Plate by Bradfield (David Butler and Stuart Cummings) and the Colts Doubles Plate by Winchester (Ben Chua and Matt Hale).
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West of England Schools Championships results
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IRISH HANDBALL |
Irish TV, throughout January 2011 |
[posted 09 January 2011] |
RFA members may be interested in a six-part series of programmes being broadcast on the Irish TV channel TG4 this January. The GAA Handball Show represents a major coup for the sport's national governing body, the GAA, and will give wide exposure to all varieties of the game (which has many similarities with Fives). We also expect future programmes to include coverage of the Irish 1-Wall Championships and the Federation Cup, both of which featured English Fives players.
Although it is impossible for us in the UK to see the programmes when they are broadcast live, the programmes can be viewed using the player on the TG4 website. Simply click on the link below to take you through to the channel's website, where (at the time of writing) there are two programmes available to view.
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TG4's website |
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CROSS-CODE CHALLENGE MATCH |
Marlborough College, 2nd January 2011 |
[posted 06 January 2011] |
Fives history was made on Sunday Jan 2nd 2011, as North Oxford Eton Fives Club took on Marlborough Town Rugby Fives Club in a cross-code New Year Fives challenge.
Marlborough is lucky enough to have four Rugby Fives courts and two Eton Fives courts side by side, and 10 players from each club enjoyed an evening of mix-and-match doubles matches, switching effortlessly (in some cases, anyway) from the three-wall game to the four-wall code.
The North Oxford team featured 11-times Kinnaird Cup winner John Reynolds, as well as the secretaries of the EFA and RFA, Gareth Hoskins and Andy Pringle respectively. The success of the event can perhaps best be summarised by reporting that Andy won all of his Eton matches but lost all of his Rugby Fives games, with the reverse true for Gareth. Maybe a job swap could be on the cards?
A return match is scheduled for May on the Eton and Rugby courts at Iffley Road in Oxford, with both sides looking forward to the encounter.
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NORTH WEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Y Club, Manchester, 22nd/23rd January 2011 |
[posted 22 December 2010] |
Organiser John Beswick is now accepting entries for the North West Open Championhips, which will be held in Manchester over the weekend of January 22/23 2011. Both singles and doubles championships will be played, with Plate competitions in both, and entries (which cost £8 per person for the singles and £7 per person for the doubles) must be received by Saturday January 15th. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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North West Open Championships entry form [Word file, 12KB] |
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RFA CLUB PRESIDENT'S CUP |
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, 12th December 2010 |
[posted 13 Dec 2010] |
John Minta achieved something only one other person in the last 20 years has managed at the the 2010 President's Cup. Partnered by Clive Butler, he won the President's Cup for the second year running, after partnering Robert Grey to win the cup in 2009. Only Ian de Weymarn (in 2001 and 2002) has managed the same feat since 1990.
In truth, it was only in the final that John and Clive were truly pushed. In the earlier rounds, John's ability to protect his weaker partner and hit clean winners from all over the court – combined with Clive's determined resistance – meant that no pair scored more than 9 points off them in a single game. The final, though, was a different matter, and in Jay Gravatt and Ed Kay (a last-minute replacement for a sadly flu-ridden Dick Warner) they came up against an evenly matched pair whose play belied the fact that they are both first-year university students.
For the most part, they were able to cope with John's power and target Clive. However, it's credit to Clive that he was able to withstand the battering and maintain rallies long enough for John to find the crucial winners - and that's what finally told. Jay and Ed often looked as if they might nick a game, only for John to find a vital nick – although it was perhaps fitting that the final winning shot (a perfectly weighted side-wall, front-wall drop shot) was played by Clive. The challenge is now on for John to go on and become the first person ever to win the President's Cup three years in a row...
If the final was eventually a victory for experience, elsewhere in the tournament young players shone through. The Mates Plate final, for instance, featured two students and one schoolboy, and it was the combination of Imperial student Chris Burrows and St Paul's schoolboy Theo Parker who emerged victorious. Theo's Colts doubles-winning partner Sam Russell also picked up a trophy, partnering organiser Gareth Price to a win in the Love Mug over Dan Grant and Guy Matthews.
The final match on court also saw a fine youngster on show, but in the end Derby's Max Frost and his partner Bhaswar Baral had to give second best to Ady Lee and Stuart Kirby. As ever our thanks go to Merchant Taylors for hosting the event, and to Gareth Price for successfully organising a superb event, despite the best efforts of illness and injury to scupper his plans.
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President's Cup results
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NATIONAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Regional qualifying tournaments 8/9th January 2011; finals – Alleyn's School, Dulwich, 2nd/3rd April 2011 |
[posted 10 December 2011] |
Organiser Hamish Buchanan is now accepting entries for the 2011 National Doubles Championship. As in the last few years, the top four ranked pairs entering will be seeded straight into the finals, which will be held on 2/3rd April 2011 at the newly enclosed and heated courts at Alleyn's.
The preliminary stage will be played over the weekend 8/9th January 2011, and depending
on the number of entries received, qualifying rounds will take place in London, the South West and The North. These tournaments will produce four pairs, who will join the top four ranked pairs at the finals weekend.
Entry – which costs £20 per pair – closes on January 5th, and a partner-finding service is available. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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National Doubles Championship entry form [Word file, 36KB] |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 9th December 2010 |
[posted 10 December 2010] |
Christ's Hospital schoolboy Luke Thomson is making all the headlines with the publication of the latest official RFA rankings, prepared by Dave Hebden. By winning the plate at the National Singles Championship – and claiming some notable scalps along the way – he has jumped up 36 places to 13th in the singles rankings. That's a remarkable achievement for a player still at school.
Ahead of him, there's little change, with James Toop and Will Ellison – winner and runner-up in the National Singles – cementing their first and second positions at the top of the rankings. John Minta remains in third spot, while Dan Tristao and Matt Cavanagh round out the top five, but with Matt's semi-final appearance at St Paul's seeing him close the gap to fourth place.
The only other tournament to be reflected in these rankings is the BUCS championships, so there's no surprise that the other big climber is Ed Kay, runner-up at Oundle after scoring a fine win over Chris Burrows in the semi-finals. He jumps 27 places to sit just outside the top 20.
At the same time, Ed's win in the BUCS doubles also pushes him well up the doubles rankings. He now sits in 23rd place, with his title-winning partner Tom Chase a new entry in 31st place. Also climbing are the BUCS runners-up, Charles Legget and Peter Hanton, but as there has been no open doubles tournament since the last rankings were published, the top 20 remains unaltered, meaning that Will Ellison ends the year in first place. For the full details, click on the link below or in the left-hand menu.
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Latest official RFA rankings
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 4/5th December 2010 |
[posted 05 December 2010] |
James Toop cemented his position as one of the most successful Rugby Fives players with a win over Will Ellison in this year's national singles championship. By winning his third title in a row, he became the first person since the great Wayne Enston to win three successive titles; and, in securing this title for the fourth time, he moved to second equal in the list of all-time winners, level with Eric Marsh and John Pretlove. Only Wayne has won the title more often.
It was fitting that James and Will should contest this year's final, as they have dominated the singles game this year. Indeed, this was the third successive tournament in which they had played out the final. However, whereas Will won in the London and West of England Championships, today was very much James's day.
Although Will started the final brightly, going into a 3-0 lead, James soon pegged him back, and from then on, he put in a dominant performance, going on win the first game 15-5. His pace around the court and dogged retrieval, along with the ability to spin the ball tight against the wall (limiting Will's ability to play attacking shots) seemed to demoralise and tire his opponent, who wound up playing shots that smacked more of frustration and fatigue than aggression; and, when Will did play his familiar hard cross-court boasts, they didn't quite catch the nick and James's pace allowed him to reach them, attack and take up a dominant position at the front of the court - from where, more often than not, he proved deadly.
The second game, on the other hand, was an altogether closer affair. Will changed tactics and tried to keep James more at the back of the court, and it was a successful ploy - the two were rarely more than a few points apart as the game progressed. Then, with the game poised delicately at 10-9 to Will, there was huge rally, which seemed to decide the outcome of the match. It was possibly hundreds of shots long, as each player probed for a weakness, but it was James who came out on top.
This seemed to sap Will's resolve, and although he won rallies to earn the right to receive, a couple of serves into the nick at crucial points by James demoralised him further. In the end, James took the game 15-11, and the cry of 'Yes!' as he did so could probably have been heard many miles away.
It was a classy and sporting final, played in tremendous spirit in front of an appreciative crowd, and was a fitting end to a weekend of fine Fives. Right from the first round, there had been fine games, with the pick of the early clashes probably being Dan Grant's three-game win over Tom Maconie.
Overall, the seeding generally held true, with the top eight seeds reaching the quarter-finals, and three of the top four reaching the semi-finals. The only 'upset' (although that is far too strong a word) was Matt Cavanagh's victory over fourth seed Dan Tristao in the quarter-final. However, he was turned over by James in the semi-final, as was last year's runner-up John Minta, who was beaten to 4 and 9 by Will.
However, elsewhere in the tournament, there were clear signs that James and Will can't rest on their laurels, as young players put in some strong performances. BUCS semi-finalist Charlie Legget pushed Dan Tristao hard in the first round, but perhaps the most amazing performance came from Luke Thomson, who went on to win the Plate - a remarkable achievement from someone who is still a schoolboy.
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National Singles Championship results
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 4/5th December 2010 |
[posted 02 December 2010] |
Organiser Ed Hatton has published the draw for the final rounds of the National Open Singles Championship, where 16 players will be competing for the Jesters Cup. It's at this stage that the top four seeds – defending champion James Toop, along with Will Ellison, John Minta and Dan Tristao – are joined by the 12 qualifiers from last month's regional tournaments.
A fine weekend's Fives is in prospect, although it's still possible that the weather could cause the draw to change before the first ball is hit in anger. Nevertheless, there are some mouth-watering clashes in just the first round: Chris Burrows will face Marcus Bate, while newly crowned BUCS champion Dan Grant will tackle Tom Maconie, and former champion Hamish Buchanan will have a tough game against Marco Skogh.
James Toop will start his game against Christ's Hospital schoolboy Luke Thomson, who came close to upsetting Tom Maconie in the qualifying tournament, while second seed Will Ellison (already a three-time singles title winner in 2010) will start off against RFA General Secretary Andy Pringle. The first round is completed by ties between former champion Matt Cavanagh and Ed Hatton, and Dan Tristao and BUCS semi-finalist Charles Legget of Durham University.
If the seedings are to be believed, we'll see James face Dan Tristao in one semi-final, with Will and John playing out the second. However, there could well be upsets...
We'll have a full report on here by the end of Sunday, and if you want to keep up to date with the latest results, keep an eye on the Fives Federation Twitter feed using the link below.
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National Singles Championship final rounds draw [PDF, 112KB] Fives Federation Twitter feed |
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Oundle, Northamptonshire, 26/28th November 2010 |
[posted 28 November 2010] |
An entry of 49 for the Singles and 23 pairs for the Doubles, representing 13 educational institutions, made for another high entry, although several regular teams were missing - including Leeds, Exeter and Warwick. However, it was excellent to see Cambridge competing again with a very strong entry – in fact they were represented in both the Main & Plate Singles finals, and won the Doubles Title!
Despite the onset of the 'arctic' spell of weather, conditions at Oundle were fine, with plenty of cold, frosty and a little icy weather, but only a dusting of snow one morning, However it is to the credit of most of the participants, particularly those from the North, that they arrived reasonably on time for their matches on the Friday morning.
Only a small group, who arguably had the easiest journey (by rail from London), found it impossible to adhere to the time schedule. As it happens, they also found timekeeping a problem throughout the weekend, so I doubt if it had much to do with the weather !!!
Our thanks are again due to Oundle School for hosting the event, the first time on their new facilities. Although they had considerable teething problems, the recent de-waxing of the walls has made considerable improvements to the bounce of the ball, and if they are able to fit a further wax removal into the schedule in the future, the facilities will become some of the best in the country. The excellent pace of the courts, the warm viewing and waiting areas, and the constant supply of warm drinks, made it a definite bonus for spectators and players alike!
Durham had, perhaps, the greatest overall depth, with four Singles and three Doubles quarter-finalists. However, it was last season’s Schools Champions who had the final say, with the Cambridge Doubles pair of Chase & Kay coming straight from the Schools to win BUCS at the first attempt, whilst Kay almost achieved the 'Double' losing only at the last hurdle to Grant (UCL) in the final.
The Plate Singles saw a Southampton victory by Steven Coffey over Charles Compton (Cambs) while the Plate Doubles went to a 'mixed' pairing (Adam George St. Andrews & Dan Murray of Middlesex) over Imperial - Chris Burrows & Jun Yamazaki.
It was certainly good for the tournament, and the game in general, that seven Universities were represented in the four finals, rather than being dominated by just one or two institutions.
Thanks go also to our regular team of organisers – David Barnes, Chris Horrocks, and Wayne Enstone – who provided much valuable assistance and much entertaining banter throughout the weekend!!
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National Student Championships results
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OSWESTRY SCHOOL FIVES COURT |
Oswestry School, Shropshire, 27th November 2010 |
[posted 28 November 2010] |
November 27th was an auspicious day at Oswestry School, when their recently refurbished Fives court was officially reopened. Originally built in the 1880s, and refurbished thanks to a donation from an Old Oswestrian, the court was declared open at a ceremony by Dr John Taylor 00 (1933-41), the oldest winner of a Fives Tournament in the OO records who was able to attend the school's Founder's Day celebration.
Following the ceremony, four members of the RFA – John Minta, Clive Butler, Stuart Kirby and Andy Pringle – staged some demonstration matches for the benefit of the crowd. They found the court in excellent condition, fast, well-lit and with a true bounce. It's about three-quarters the size of most courts, but that should help the children to learn the full game.
For more details, click on the link below to see a report on the school's website, or see the pictures of the court on this website's Gallery, which you can find by clicking the link in the left-hand menu. .
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Oswestry School's website
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FEDERATION CUP |
Imperia, Italy, 13/14th November 2010 |
[posted 22 November 2010] |
After England Handball’s groundbreaking year in 2009,writes captain Ady Lee, I did wonder whether 2010 would prove to be a much tougher journey on the way to challenging for honours in the top international competitions. This year’s progress has taught me I must not doubt myself or my stellar group of England Handball charges in our quest to be become the top handballing nation in the world. We may not yet have the high levels of talent on court that the Americans and Puerto Ricans display, but you’d struggle to find a group of players outside Team England who crave success more than us.
Team England flew out on the Thursday from a miserably cold and wet Heathrow Terminal 5 and arrived on the balmy French Riviera at Nice airport in the early evening after a briefly delayed flight. The objective was to break through the glass ceiling and establish ourselves as minimum fourth in the world after this tournament. After some brief confusion as to where our RFA spectator Dick Warner was (Nice has two terminals!) and rather embarrassingly holding up the Belgian and Basque teams, who’d been waiting a few hours for us, our bus set off for Imperia, northern Italy, in the region of Liguria. What should have been a delightful drive through the mountain roads much-loved by Top Gear presenterswas sadly ruined by the darkness, but I’m assured it really is a cracking hour-long drive. We arrived just in time for a quick bite to eat and a catch up with our American counterparts who’d flown in 24 hours earlier.
The next day was supposed to be spent training in earnest for the weekend ahead and playing our traditional Ashes fixture against the Australians, but unfortunately the three venues where the Fed Cup was to be held were being hosted by three local schools. It being a Friday, our battle grounds were being used by swarms of Italian children, so we were forced to seek alternative entertainment for the day before the opening ceremony in the evening. The English squad took the time to explore Imperia and discovered a delightful coastal town resplendent with its own cathedral high up on a mountain. Handball tours don’t normally allow players enough time to fully explore the cities they’re playing in, so this was a nice change from the norm. Highlights included discovering what very much looked like two-thirds of an Eton Fives court on the back of Imperia’s cathedral, as well as Dick spotting a new mountain swift he’d never seen before.
The evening's opening ceremony allowed for an introduction of all the teams and also a brief discussion as to the first steps needed to gain handball inclusion into the 2016 or 2020 Olympic Games. At this point, Dick gleefully discovered he could suddenly understand Italian and helpfully translated everything our hosts were saying straight into a microphone for Irish TV to be broadcast at a later date. Peter Worth from the EFA also arrived at this point to support Team England’s cause. The full roster of teams for the men’s tournament was USA, Puerto Rico, Ireland, England, Mexico, the Basque region, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, France FFJP, France FFJB, Belgium FRNP-KNK, Belgium WBF and two host Italian teams. The women’s tournament included USA, Puerto Rico, England, the Basque region, Netherlands & Italy. The draw pitched England’s men in Group D with France FFJB and Belgium FRNP-KNK and our women in a group with USA and the Basques. For the men, the three other groups each contained four teams, which meant England would have to beat each team in Group D twice to be able to progress.
Play began in earnest on Saturday morning with an easy victory for England men against France FFJB and Cohen and Grant secured easy singles wins before Grant and Lee paired up to secure a win in the doubles fixture for a good start and 3-0 whitewash in our first fixture of the tournament. This result was replicated in the repeat fixture later in the day where Cohen and White won their respective singles matches before Cohen and White wiped the French aside in the doubles too. The men followed this victory up with a similar scoreline against Belgium FRNP-KNK, but it was evident now that the courts were playing like glass and it was proving particularly hard to change direction without losing one’s footing. The repeat fixture saw England drop their first game as Cohen showed a rare temporary loss of form coupled with a frustrating loss of footing to lose a tight singles game against the Belgian no. 2. He did however avenge this defeat by pairing up with White to convincingly beat the Belgians' top doubles pair. The important point is that England had qualified top of their group to reach the quarter-finals of the Fed Cup.
England's women had a similar result in their first round, as White and Rees rolled over the Italians with ease. There then followed a tough fixture against the Americans, who lived up to their top seeding and beat England, leaving us with a must-win fixture against the Basques, a team we’d never beaten in all three years of international play. White won her singles convincingly to get England off to a great start, which meant that if Rees won hers, a quarter-final berth was assured. Unfortunately, she went a few too many points down at the beginning of her match and, despite a late comeback, she was defeated by the tightest of margins, meaning it all came down to the doubles match. Thankfully, the girls held their nerve and walked out comfortable winners to ensure their place in the next stage of the main competition.
England’s next fixture was against the other rival Belgian side, Belgium WBF, which gave us the bizarre record of having played a Belgian team at an effective world championship no less than three times in one day! Grant gave his teammates a few scares by going 6-0 down to the Belgian’s elder statesman, but then went on an unanswered run of points to close the game out 15-6. Cohen was keen to prove that his blip in the previous match was a mere anomaly and showed all his power, poise and guile to put away his tricky Belgian opponent. One spectacular point in particular to set up match point springs to mind and demonstrated just how important the match was to Cohen personally. A semi-final berth secured and a minimum world ranking of fourth, Grant & Lee then went ahead to put the icing on the cake by totally blowing away a vanquished Belgian doubles pair. The result meant that, for the first time ever, England would have both their men and women competing for the top prize in team handball.
Both men and women’s teams were lined up against Puerto Rico, with the other semi-finals lining up as USA vs Mexico (men) and USA vs Netherlands (women). While the results of these semi-finals may read as one-way traffic as Puerto Rico came through with two wins, much was learnt by both our men and women’s players for whom it’s rare to be able to step onto court with such talented athletes. Realistically, we were never meant to challenge the no. 2 seeds on paper, and there was no shame in the final result against them. Importantly, though, the respective defeats set up a 3rd/4th playoff match against Mexico for the men and the Netherlands for the women.
England women were off first and White streaked into the lead in her match against the Dutch no. 1 with a string of strong serves and “1-2” kill shots which delighted the crowd. However, in a classic case of the game of handball never being what it seems, the Dutch player than started a ferocious comeback, and if it hadn’t have been for Kerry’s experience from the Fives world that pulled her through to win, she may have come second best. Rees unfortunately started slowly in her singles match and, perhaps wary of the Italian TV crew behind her, seemed a little nervous, but slowly started forcing her grip on matters. Sadly, though, a late surge of points from the Dutch no.2 meant that the playoff win would be decided by the doubles fixture. The girls gave it their all and showed great retrieval to keep things tight, but were edged out in the end by a jubilant Dutch pair, who perhaps on the day played a little better than our girls.
It was the men’s task to try and exact revenge for our women – and it was against the much-fancied, but largely unknown, Mexican team whowere exclusively three-wall handball players, and unbelievably had never played 1-wall handball before the Federation Cup. Grant was up first against their 20 year-old wonderkid and for the first 10 points was completely blown away by the Mexican hurricane. This was nothing to do with Grant’s play, but more a sign of quite how special the Mexican player is. After a strategic time out followed by some crowd interaction skills from Grant, he slowly began to work his way into the match, and the final score shows both respectability and also some of his own flair. Cohen’s secondary singles match was a much more close-run affair, as he mixed up outrageous attack with stubborn defence to eventually go down by a mere handful of points. His opponent, while not quite as mobile as their no. 1, still possessed an ingrained know-how as to how to kill the ball from various court positions that he’d picked up from his many years on the three-wall court. By this point, the spectators were settling into their seats in preparation for the final of USA vs Puerto Rico in both the men’s and women’s competitions, but they had one last treat as Grant and Lee – along with the Mexicans – treated them to a flair-filled doubles match. Despite the best efforts of the Italian referees to close out the game early so the final could go ahead, the players persevered, much to the delight of the crowd; and, as the Mexicans finally closed out the match 15-10, both Mexicans and English were happy with their weekend’s work. The women’s final was eventually won convincingly by USA 2-0 while the men’s final went the other way as Puerto Rico defeated Team USA.
There was nothing left to do in the evening, but to go and celebrate England’s new highest-ever world ranking by furthering international handball relations in the nearest watering hole. Regardless of our performance on-court, Team England has always found a ready ability to excel at this particular part of international handball tours. Many thanks to Dick Warner and Peter Worth for attending the tournament as respective RFA and EFA spectators, and also to my hard-working and hugely talented squad of players – not only those that were selected for the tour, but all those that have trained with us this year. Special mention also to Marianne Rees for successfully embarking on her first representative international handball tour. Everyone can be very proud indeed of Team England’s most successful year to date.
The full England teams were:
Men: Ady Lee (Capt., RFA), Pete Cohen (EFA), Dan Grant (RFA) & Peter White (EFA)
Women: Kerry White (Capt., EFA) & Marianne Rees (EFA)
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RFA CLUB PRESIDENT'S CUP |
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, 12th December 2010 |
[posted 21 November 2010] |
Following the success of the email-based entry system which was pioneered last year, we will be continuing with it for this year's RFA Club President's Cup.
The entry form is being distributed by email and here on the RFA website, and we ask everyone who would like to be considered for an entry into the competition to apply to the organisers by email. If you do not have access to email, they will also accept entries by telephone. They will acknowledge receipt of every application, and all entries must be received by Sunday November 28th. Then, on Monday 29th, a random draw will take place to select from the applicants the 32 players who will compete on the day, as well as a list of reserves, all of whom will be notified immediately of their successful application. For full details, simply click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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2010 President's Cup entry form [PDF, 68KB] |
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NORTH OF ENGLAND WINCHESTER FIVES TOURNAMENT |
Sedbergh School, Sedbergh, Cumbria, 14th November 2010 |
[posted 21 Nov 2010] |
Eight pairs entered this year's tournament, writes organiser Jon Liddiard, including both an adult and a pupil pair from Derby Moor, two pairs with a mixture of players from the White Rose Club and the Manchester Y Club, and staff and pupil pairings from Sedbergh.
The group stages went largely as expected, resulting in the following semi-finals: Minta/Sandie vs Lidiard/Waugh and Butler/Christie vs Christie/Baxter. The Sedbergh staff and pupil pairing was always going to struggle against a Minta/Sandie pairing that was taking more and more to the Winchester form of the game with every shot. Despite early cause for optimism with the first game locked at 3-3 for some time, the Sedbergh pairing were comfortably beaten in the end. The second semi-final pitted the two Derby Moor pairs against one another, including a father/son clash! The adult pairing showed all their experience to frustrate and eventually roll over their young, but talented opponents.
As last year, the final was an excellent showcase for the finer points of Winchester Fives, with much buttress work and volleying in evidence. Both pairs made good use of the right hand player near the front of the court, resulting in some epic and high quality rallies. Having taken the first game 11-4 in a best of three contest, John Minta and Bob Sandie looked as though they might comfortably sweep aside their opponents to claim the title they missed out on in last year's final. A comeback looked on the cards, however, as the Derby Moor pairing of Clive Butler and Richard Christie stormed ahead to a 7-3 lead in the second game. Hopes of a dramatic reversal were short-lived, however, as Minta and Sandie stormed their way through to an eventual 11-8 victory, sealing the match and taking home the trophy.
Thank you to all who entered, particularly those that travelled long distances to be there. I hope to see the same faces next year as well as a good number of new ones!
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Regional qualifiers 20th November 2010; Finals, St Paul's School, Barnes, 4/5th December 2010 |
[posted 11 November 2010] |
This is just to remind any prospective players in the National Singles Championship that they must send their entry to organiser Ed Hatton by Wednesday November 17th. That includes those who qualify automatically by being in the top four places in the national rankings, and is regardless of which of the regional qualifying tournaments anyone will be playing in. For the official entry form, simply click on the link below.
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National Singles Championship entry form [Word file, 60KB] |
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Oundle, Northamptonshire, 26/28th November 2010 |
[posted 11 November 2010] |
Two weeks ahead of the tournament, BUCS has published the draws for the National Student Championships, which will be held at Oundle School. The competition will include both singles and doubles, and a new winner is guaranteed in the singles as Dan Tristao (champion for the last three years) has now left university.
Top seed in the singles is his Under 25 doubles-winning partner Dan Grant, who has now returned to university. However, there again looks to be some real depth in the draw, with the likes of Richie Murby, Chris Burrows and last year's national schoolboy champion, Ed Kay, also in the draw.
In the doubles, meanwhile, Durham's Inigo Ackland and Alex Griffiths will be top seeds, and going for their third consecutive title – something that no pair has ever managed in this competition. However, as in the singles, there are plenty of strong pairs in the competition, not least Inigo's brother Dan, who is playing with Dan Grant, and could face his brother in the semi-finals.
For the details, simply click on the link below the download the full draw.
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BUCS Championships draw [Excel file, 84KB] |
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SCHOOLS WINCHESTER FIVES DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Winchester College, Hampshire, 7th November 2010 |
[posted 07 November 2010] |
Seven schools supported the tournament this year, and the general standard was good, reports organiser David Barnes. The buttress game and the slightly slower French ball brought out the best in the competitors, as brute strength
was not enough. Accuracy was at a premium, and the best players soon discovered that movement
up and down the court, plus judicious volleying from the right, is the way to cope with the extra demands that the buttress places on them.
It was good to see Merchant Taylors’ and KCS in the competition, although the latter were reduced
to one pair by a half-term injury. The remaining pair played very good fives, defeating Winchester
II narrowly to reach the semi-final. Blundell’s young pair – both still only 14 – were very unlucky
not to reach the plate final, but time is on their side, and they will be favourites to win this
competition – among many others – one day.
Of the Winchester Fives-playing schools, Tonbridge and Radley brought a pair each, and the hardworking
Tonbridge players were the deserving winners of a very evenly balanced plate competition
which cruelly exposed the organiser’s mathematical deficiencies.
As for St. Paul’s and Winchester, the standard remains high, and all three pairs from each school
had their moments. The final was a much better match than the scores show, but the Wykehamists
deserved their victory by slightly superior retrieving and attacking, and by making fewer unforced
errors. Having won a close first game, they achieved what few school pairs can manage – to keep
the initiative throughout the second game and not to allow their opponents a run of points.
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Schools Winchester Fives Doubles results
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NORTH OF ENGLAND WINCHESTER FIVES TOURNAMENT |
Sedbergh School, Sedbergh, Cumbria, 14th November 2010 |
[posted 6 November 2010] |
Jon Liddiard is now accepting entries for the North of England Winchester Fives tournament, which will take place at Sedbergh School next weekend. The doubles-only competition will be played on Sunday November 14th, starting at 11.45 to allow players to attend the school's Remembrance Day service before play.
The exact format of the competition will depend on the number of entrants, but it is expected to start with a round-robin group stage in the morning, followed by a knockout in the afternoon.
For full details, see the entry form, which you can download using the link below.
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North of England Winchester Fives tournament entry form [Word file, 36KB] |
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NATIONAL LADIES CHAMPIONSHIPS |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 5th December 2010 |
[posted 01 November 2010] |
Organiser Melanie Whitehead is now accepting entries for the Ladies National Championships. To be held at St Paul's School, Barnes, on Sunday December 5th, the event will include both singles and doubles championships on the same day.
The entry fee is £8 for RFA members (£10 for non-members and £5 for schoolgirls), and entries close on Wednesday November 24th. For full details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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National Ladies Championships entry form [Word file, 32KB] |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 28th October 2010 |
[posted 29 October 2010] |
The recent run of successes for Will Ellison is reflected in the latest official RFA rankings, prepared by Dave Hebden, as Will now moves ahead of John Minta to second place in the singles rankings. James Toop, however, remains well clear in top spot.
The latest rankings take into account the West of England Championships and the Yorkshire Open Doubles, so there's not huge movement in the singles rankings. The two most major moves come from Hal Mohammed, who climbs into the top 20 after reaching the quarter-finals in Clifton, while Ed Brooke jumps up to 30th after winning the Plate in the same tournament.
There's more movement in the doubles rankings, with James Toop up into the top ten after reaching the final in Clifton. Will Ellison, meanwhile, cements his position at the top of the rankings, almost 10 points clear of the second-placed Hamish Buchanan. Charlie Brooks and Alan Beverly also see good rises after the semi-final appearance in Clifton, but it's success at Giggleswick that sees the largest jumps: John Beswick, Neil Roberts, Richard Christie and Stuart Kirby all make good progress. For full details of the latest rankings, click on the link below (or in the left-hand menu).
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Latest official RFA rankings
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Regional qualifiers 20th November 2010; Finals, St Paul's School, Barnes, 4/5th December 2010 |
[posted 26 October 2010] |
Organiser Ed Hatton is now accepting entries for the National Singles Championship. As usual, there will be a series of regional qualifying tournaments leading up to the finals weekend, where the last 16 (12 qualifiers plus the top four in the national rankings, who qualify automatically and will be seeded in the top four positions) will compete for the biggest singles prize in Fives.
The regional competitions will take place in London, Manchester, Devon and possibly Edinburgh, and each has its own organiser. However, Ed is collecting all entries ahead of the tournaments.
The seeding for the qualifying competitions will be based on the rankings, and the number of qualifiers from each region will depend on the size and strength of the entry for that region.
Entry costs £15 for RFA members (£17 for non-members) and the closing date is Wednesday 17th November. For further details, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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National Singles Championship entry form [Word file, 60KB] |
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Clifton College, Bristol, 23rd/24th October 2010 |
[posted 24 October 2010] |
By taking both the singles and doubles titles at the West of England Championships, Will Ellison extended his winning streak to seven titles in his last seven events. His two Clifton wins came after previous double wins in the London and South West Open Championships, as well as in the recent Yorkshire Doubles tournament.
Will's wins were the culmination of a fine weekend of high-quality Fives, as evidenced by the fact that the singles Plate (for first-match losers) included such names as England Handball captain Ady Lee, Alex Rew, Charlie Brooks and the eventual winner, Ed Brooke.
There were plenty of close matches throughout the tournament – Jim Hughes was involved in three-game matches in both the first and second rounds, for instance – but in the end it was seven of the eight seeds who reached the quarter-finals (the only unseeded player to make it this far was Hal Mohammed, who had beaten Ed Hatton in the second round); and the top three seeds (James, Will and John Minta) made comfortable progress into the semi-finals. The one major upset, though, came when Dan Grant put out former national champion Matt Cavanagh with a gritty win in three games. Dan also pushed James hard in the first game of their semi – he even had game-ball at one stage – but in the end James came through to face Will, who had beaten John 11-4, 11-5 to set up a repeat of last month's London Open final.
The two players may have been the same, but the Clifton match was very different to the one at Merchant Taylors. Indeed, James took the first game in the final and and had several match points in the second before a major comeback saw Will take the game and send the final into a deciding third game. Here, he raced into a big early lead before James pegged him back. However, showing real confidence and strength of character, Will held on to win the deciding game 12-10. It was an amazing match: two hours long and described by the admiring RFA Deputy President Dick Warner as the best game of singles he had ever seen.
Will and James were on opposite sides in the doubles final, too - partnered by Hal Mohammed and Marcus Bate respectively. It was a repeat of last year's final at this event, and the first game was a real nail-biter. James and Marcus made the early running and had several chances to win the game – they were 10-6 up at one stage – but Will and Hal remarkably fought back to take the game 12-10. The second game was close, too, but Will and Hal always had their noses in front, and they closed it out 11-7 to retain the title they won in 2009.
If there was a disappointment, it was that an injury to Hamish Buchanan had prevented him and John Beswick taking part, but overall there was no lack of quality in the doubles tournament. Two first-round matches went to three games, while Jim Hughes and Alex Rew had the distinction of taking a game off the defending champions in the quarter-finals before losing in three.
Again, it was the top eight seeds who made the quarter-finals, but here there were some slight upsets, with fifth seeds Grant & Lee – a long-standing partnership – beating the previously untried partnership of Hatton and Minta, while Brooks & Beverly beat London finalists Dean & Pringle in two hard-hitting games. Sadly for these winning pairs, however, they weren't unable to upset the seedings in the semi-finals.
The Plate, meanwhile, was also worthy of mention, with particularly strong performances from younger players. In the round-robin stage, the most crucial match was between the Derby youngsters Max Frost & Anthony Goodwin and recent London school-leavers Jay Gravatt & Henry Jefferies. The Derby boys came through 12-10 in the third game, before going on to take a more comfortable two-game win in the Plate final, securing their first ever piece of silverware in adult Fives.
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West of England Championships results |
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OFFICIAL RFA RANKINGS |
London, 17th October 2010 |
[posted 18 October 2010] |
The latest RFA rankings show a momentous change: for the first time since the end of the 2003/04 season, Hamish Buchanan is not on top of the doubles rankings. Instead, following wins in the South West and London Open Championships, it's Will Ellison who now takes the number one spot in the doubles rankings, ending a six-year run for Hamish in the top spot.
Indeed, although the latest rankings (prepared for the RFA by Dave Hebden) only take into account the South West and London Open championships (and not the recent Yorkshire Open), the results are enough to see some major changes in the rankings. As well as Will taking over in first place, his London partner Hal Mohammed moves up to fifth place, while RFA General Secretary Andy Pringle climbs to eighth after reaching the semi-final at Blundells and the final at Merchant Taylors. Andy's partner in London, Tom Dean, moves up 16 places to 15th, while just two places ahead of him is Chris Burrows, who rises 15 places after partnering John Minta to the semis in both the South West and London Opens.
Wayne Enstone is another big riser – up 15 places to 16th after finishing as runner-up in Blundells – but the two biggest climbers are Ed Hatton and Gareth Price, up 23 and 29 places respectively.
By contrast, there's rather less major movement in the singles rankings. Despite losing in the final of the London Open, James Toop remains well clear in top spot, with John Minta staying in second place. However, following his wins in the London and South West Opens, Will Ellison moves up into third place, closing in on John's second place. A little lower down, meanwhile, Tom Maconie and Marcus Bate both climb three places to 10th and 11th spots, while Kevin Henry's quarter-final appearance at Blundells sees him up seven places and back into the top 20.
For the full rankings, simply click on the link below or in the left-hand menu.
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Latest official RFA rankings
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YORKSHIRE OPEN DOUBLES TOURNAMENT |
Giggleswick School, 16th October 2010 |
[posted 17 October 2010] |
STOP PRESS: Hamish Buchanan and Will Ellison lived up to their billing as the country's top-ranked doubles players by winning the Yorkshire Open Doubles tournament - their first event playing as a pair. The tournament started with a round-robin, and then moved into a knockout stage. Will and Hamish beat John Minta and Phil Bishop in the semi-final, before going on to take the title with an emphatic win over Neil Roberts and John Beswick in the final.
(Full report to come)
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Yorkshire Open results
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NEW COURTS OPENED |
Rugby School, 9th October 2010 |
[posted 10 October 2010] |
More than 100 guests gathered at Rugby School on Saturday October 9th to mark an auspicious day: the official opening of the school's two new Fives courts.
During the morning, the crowds were treated to two exhibition matches – on one court, four Old Rugbeians did battle (Dick Warner, David Urquhart, Ian Jackson and John Harland), while on the other court two of the game's rising stars (Under 25 champion Dan Tristao and Will Ellison, double winner at September's London Open) took on two of the game's greatest ever players, Wayne Enstone and Hamish Buchanan.
After these matches, the guests (including donors, as well as members of the RFA and EFA) were treated to a lunch, at which the school's current headmaster, Patrick Derham, said a few words, before the courts were officially declared open by John Evans, master in charge of Fives at the school from 1968 to 1973. After that, the courts were free to all, and after several of the current schoolboys and -girls had tried their hand at the game, members of the RFA took the chance to try the new courts.
To see pictures of the day's activities and the new courts, click on the Gallery link below.
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RFA Gallery
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NATIONAL STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Oundle School, 26/28th November 2010 |
[posted 05 October 2010] |
BUCS officially started to accept entries for the National Student Championships on September 28, and teams now have a month to enter the tournament. Entries will close on October 28, with details of the event being posted on November 16. For further details, simply click on the link below to visit the BUCS website.
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National Student Championships entry form on BUCS site
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OWERS TROPHY |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 2nd October 2010 |
[posted 03 October 2010] |
Appearing in their fifth consecutive Owers Trophy final, the Old Paulines took advantage of their strong squad to regain the trophy they last won in 2008.
In all, six teams took part in the Old Boys' tournament, resulting in more than 25 players – many of them not regulars on the competition circuit – taking to the St Paul's courts. The event started with the teams splt into two round-robin groups of three, and the top four teams soon established their dominance.
In the first group, the Alleyn Old Boys (three-times winners of the event, and formed of a remarkable squad of three members of the Hanton family and one Buchanan) took top spot after a narrow win over the defending champions, the Old Pilgrims. Meanwhile, it was a similar story in the second group, with the Old Paulines finishing on top after beating the Old Eastbournians. These four teams would go on to play in the knockout semi-finals.
That meant that the remaining two teams – the Old Oundelians and (making their debut in this event) the Old Rugbeians – would play out the Plate Final. Sadly, there was no fairytale for the Rugby boys, just a week ahead of the official opening of the new courts at their school, as the Oundelians (Charles Lamb, Chris Burrows, Alex Smith and Doug Roberts) took a convincing win.
There was further disappointment in the main draw, where an injury to one of the Old Pilgrims meant that their team was forced to withdraw and concede their semi-final match to the Old Paulines, gifting them a place in the final. Here, they would face the Alleyn Old Boys, who had secured a 13-point victory over the Old Eastbournians in the one remaining semi-final.
Come the final, though, it was soon obvious that the strength of the Old Paulines' squad – they had the luxury of being able to play Sam Roberts and Henry Jefferies in the early rounds, before subbing in Dan Tristao and Tom Dean to play alongside Alan Beverly and Charlie Brooks in the later rounds – would win the day. Tom and Dan made swift work of dispatching the AOBs' father-and-son pairing of Angus and Peter Hanton, and although Hamish Buchanan and Bruce Hanton made Alan and Charlie work hard, it was the Old Pauline pair who won the game, giving their side a 13-point lead at the halfway point of the final.
That was effectively the end for the AOBs, and in the final two games, their spirit seemed broken. The by now-dominant Old Paulines won both games convincingly, securing the title with an overall winning margin of 37 points. Harsh, perhaps, but no more than they deserved on a day when no team managed to win more than a single game against them.
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Owers Trophy results |
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NORTH OF ENGLAND WINCHESTER FIVES CHAMPIONSHIP |
Sedbergh School, Sedbergh, 14th November 2010 |
[posted 01 October 2010] |
The RFA has decided to change the date of the North of England Winchester Fives Championship, and the event will now take place on November 14th (not the 7th, as it says in the recently published RFA Pocket Book). However, both the venue and the organiser remain the same: Sedbergh School and Jon Liddiard respectively. Further details and the entry form will be published here online as soon as possible. .
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OWERS TROPHY |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 2nd October 2010 |
[posted 01 October 2010] |
Anyone who can't make it to St Paul's School, but wants to keep up to date with the latest action in this weekend's tournament can do so using 'micro-blogging' site Twitter. The Fives Federation has set up its own Twitter account, and it will be shared by the RFA and EFA to allow real-time updates from the associations' events. It was successfully trialled at the London Open Championships, and the Owers Trophy will be the second event to be covered. To see the feed, simply click on the link below.
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Fives Federation on Twitter
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OWERS TROPHY |
St Paul's School, Barnes, 2nd/3rd October 2010 |
[posted 22 September 2010] |
After publicising the date of the event through the Facbeook social networking site, organiser Alex Smith has now made the entry form for the 2010 Owers Trophy available here on the RFA site.
The annual competition for Old Boys' teams takes place over the weekend of 2nd/3rd October at St Paul's School. Its exact format will depend on the number of entrants, but it will start with a round-robin and conclude with a knockout to decide the winners. There will also be a Plate competition.
Each school can have a squad of any number of players, from which four are chosen to play each match. Those players can swap between matches, but not during a match. And, one player cannot play for more than one team: eg if a school has more than one team, each player must nominate which team he plays for.
For full details of the event, click on the link below to download the official entry form.
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Owers Trophy 2010 entry form [Word file, 40KB] |
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LONDON OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Merchant Taylors School, Northwood, 18/19th September 2010 |
[posted 19 September 2010] |
It was a weekend packed full of surprises, but the 2010 London Open was a tour de force for Will Ellison. He produced a superb performance to defeat reigning champion James Toop in the singles – ending James' two-year unbeaten run in singles tournaments in the process – before teaming up with Hal Mohammed to win the doubles title as well.
From the word go, in fact, Will had looked in ominously good form, and he went on to record astonishing wins in the quarter- and semi-finals. In the last eight, Will faced Dan Grant (a top-10 ranked player) and beat him without conceding a single point; then, in the next round, it was John Minta's turn to feel the Ellison heat, going out of the tournament 11-2, 11-2.
Elsewhere in the draw, though, there were much closer matches. In the last 16, it took three games for Marcus Bate to overcome England handballer Pete Cohen, and for Hamish Buchanan to dispatch Charlie Brooks, while in the previous round an all-England handball clash saw Christ's Hospital schoolboy Luke Thomson edge out Gareth Price in three games.
In the end, though, the top three seeds (James, John and Will) made it into the semi-finals, accompanied by fifth seed Matt Cavanagh, who had taken three games to secure his quarter-final win over Hamish. What was remarkable, however, was how one-sided both matches were. After Will's emphatic win over John Minta, James did better still, conceding just a single point in beating Matt.
The final too started in a way that no one expected: Will took the first game to love, simply blitzing James. Will had an answer for anything James could throw at him, and then went on to hit some glorious winners. The second game was rather different and – seemingly thanks to a change of tactics that forced some mistakes from Will – James took an early lead. However, gradually Will clawed his way back, overtook James and went on to clinch the win. It was remarkable performance, not just because it was Will's first win over James in competition, but also because it was James' first defeat in singles competition since losing to Ed Fuller in this tournament two years ago.
Still, if that was an upset, it was nothing compared to some of the results in the doubles - a competition which this year featured a record number of participants. And, perhaps chief among those was Luke Thomson and Pete Cohen's win over Hamish Buchanan and Matt Cavanagh – third seeds this year and winners of the title in 2006 – in the last 16. Then again, perhaps as much a shock was the previously untried pairing of Gareth Price and Dan Tristao beating first Charlie Brooks and James Bristow in the last 16 before going on to edge out second seeds James Toop and Marcus Bate in the quarter-finals.
That left the bottom half of the draw wide open, and it was the hard-hitting left/right pairing of Tom Dean and Andy Pringle who benefitted. They beat Luke and Pete in the quarters, before going on knock out Dan and Gareth in the semi-final to clinch their place in the final. This semi was remarkable in its own right, and could set trivia fans scurrying to their record books: when was the last time a semi-final was contested by an unseeded pair and the sixth seeds?
In the top half, meanwhile, three pairs stood out, and the top seeds, Will and Hal, made ominously strong progress to the semi-finals. Here they faced Chris Burrows and John Minta, who had only just come through against Dan Grant and Ady Lee in an epic three-game encounter in the quarter-finals. However, John and Chris weren't able to repeat their heroics in the semi, dispatched clinically by Hal and Will.
Although the final featured a perhaps-surprising line-up, there was no doubting some of the quality on show. With both pairs featuring left-/right-hand combinations, there were precious few weaknesses to pick on, and the early points were shared. However, as the games wore on, Hal and Will began to eke out a lead they would never lose, finding the crucial nicks, hitting the winners and being able to retrieve what Tom and Andy could throw at them. Hal's stubborn defence was particularly impressive in the face of sustained attack.
In the end, it was a deserved win for Will and Hal in two games, and saw Will secure his second successive 'double', having picked up both the singles and doubles titles at the South West Open in July.
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London Open Championships results
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YORKSHIRE OPEN DOUBLES TOURNAMENT |
Giggleswick School, 16th October 2010 |
[posted 14 September 2010] |
Entries are now being accepted for the Yorkshire Open Doubles tournament, which is to be held at Giggleswick School on Saturday October 16th. The whole tournament will be played in the course of the same day, and afterwards the host White Rose Club invites the players to sample some 'traditional Yorkshire hospitality'.
Organiser Ian Roberts asks for all entries to be received by Thursday October 16th, and will help to match players with a partner for the tournament, if they do not already have one. Entry costs £8 per person (or £10 for non-members), and for full details click on the link below for the official entry form.
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Yorkshire Open Doubles tournament entry form [Word file, 52KB] |
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2010 EUROPILOTA CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Valencia, Spain, 8/11th September 2010 |
[posted 11 September 2010] |
England's handball players claimed the biggest prize of their lives last night, when they won the European 1-Wall Championship in the 2010 Europilota Championships.
After emphatic wins against Belgium and Italy in the group stages, they then secured an equally emphatic win against the Netherlands in the semi-final. The result was that, in the final, they faced the host nation, Spain, who had also won through without dropping a single game.
The final itself was broadcast live on Spanish TV and played in front of a crowd of 600 baying spectators – of whom only 10 were baying for England – and with countless friends around the world watching online. Nevertheless, England (represented by the RFA's Ady Lee and Dan Grant alongside the EFA's Peter Cohen) staged a remarkable comeback from two match points down and went on to claim the title.
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Click here to see the report on the official website
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Clifton College, Bristol, 23rd/24th October 2010 |
[posted 7 September 2010] |
Organiser Peter Dusncombe is now accepting entries for the West of England Championships, which will take place at Clifton College next month.
The singles will be played on the Saturday and the doubles on the Sunday, as usual.
All entry forms and fees must be received by first post on Thursday 14th October. The entry fee this year is £14 for the singles and £20 per pair for the doubles. However, for members of the RFA who have paid their 2010/11 membership fee and full-time students, the cost is reduced to £12 for the singles and £16 per pair for the doubles.
For full details, simply 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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2010 EUROPILOTA CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Valencia, Spain, 8/11th September 2010 |
[posted 7 September 2010] |
A team of England handball players, including the RFA's Dan Grant, Gareth Price and Ady Lee, as well as reigning Ladies' Winchester Fives champion Kerry White, is heading out to Spain today to take part in the 2010 Europilota Championships in Valencia. Here, they will take part in four sports: 1-Wall Handball, Galotxa, Llargues and The International Game.
The team has high hopes of success in the 1-Wall tournament (which is being played on Friday), not least because they have considerable experience of playing the game. However, they are rather less versed in the intricacies (and rules!) of the other games, so will be looking shock the unsuspecting locals. Both Llargues and The International Game are best described as Five-a-side hand tennis, but that is selling the games short! Mind you, the team has at least been coached in these; they are yet to play Galotxa.
You can keep up to date with the action online by clicking on the links below. Various players have Twitter feeds, as do England Handball themselves, while there will be live and recorded video coverage available through Spanish TV.
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Click here for England Handball's Twitter feed
Click here for Dan Grant's Twitter feed
Click here for Ady Lee's Twitter feed Click here for Spanish TV coverage
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