Rydal Fives Keeps The Welsh Flag Flying

11/05/26: The 2026 Welsh Invitational took place at Rydal Penrhos over the weekend, with a group of school sixth formers showing off their skills alongside assorted visitors.

The visiting contingent this year consisted of EFA Secretary Gareth Hoskins, giant of the game Seb Cooley, ex-Rydal gapper Stephen Thatcher, tournament debutant Stefan Nowinski and the intrepid Lancing contingent who drove up all the way from the South Coast - Matt Davis, Kristiana Smilovska, Henry Steele and Alex Abrahams.

They were joined by the school's best Fives players for two tournaments, one on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday morning on the school's four courts. Both tournaments followed a similar format, with a series of mix and match games between different combinations, culminating in a final between the four top performing players.

Saturday saw an all-Rydal final with Fflur & Keira trimphing over Kenan & Amelie, their win the result of superior cut returning and the margin of victory undoubtedly helped by the run of the ball at times. Fflur was back in the final on Sunday, but in a much tighter battle as she and Toby lost an 11-12 sudden death thriller against Amber and Matt Davis.

A Fives weekend in Colwyn Bay in the May sunshine is always a treat for those visitors who make the trip and all enjoyed their weekend of Fives and the traditional Saturday night meal at Pen Y Bryn. The school numbers have dwindled a little in recent year but this year's cohort played extremely well and with great enthusiasm; the fact that all but one are U6th formers puts a real onus on the school to start producing the next generation of Rydal Fives players and to continue the success that this geographical outpost of the game has had in the 15 or so years since the courts were brought back into use. We're looking forward to seeing a new group of youngsters playing when we come back next year!

Our thanks go to Ryan Kirby and everyone at Rydal for organising things and making us so welcome.

Saturday Final

Fflur & Keira beat Kenan & Amelie 12-2

Sunday Final

Matt & Amber beat Fflur & Toby 12-11