EFA Centenary ArtEFActs: Laws Of The Game Poster

(dated October 1950)

This poster was created to be hung at the back of the courts for consultation during games.

It sets out the ‘Laws of Eton Fives’ which were first drawn up by the EFA in 1931, and have subsequently been revised in 1950, 1965 and 1981. While the revisions clarify certain scenarios (e.g. lets), the laws have remained essentially the same for nearly 100 years.

The pedantic (and there are many among Eton Fives players) maintain that they are laws, not rules. As the turn-of-the-century commentator, FB Wilson, insisted: “One of the great games must have laws: rules are left to the more childish modern games.”

Such a distinction did not concern the Etonian Assistant Master, Arthur Campbell Ainger who, “in conjunction with several clear-headed friends”, formulated the first set of ‘Rules of the Game of Fives as played at Eton’ in 1877. However, the terminology used was so obscure that, according to A History of Eton Fives, “to a modern reader – even one well versed in the game of Eton Fives – [the rules] are incomprehensible.”

Fives is the only team sport played without an umpire*, even at elite level. As such, players must remain objective and fair in decision-making while actively trying to win, a state described by former EFA Researcher, Zach Hickmore, as “the player/official dichotomy”. Zach’s research into this requirement to self-officiate was published by the Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning in 2021. It shows that Eton Fives players have significantly higher levels of self-regulation than non-players, including those who play other sports.

*The version of the game played in Nigeria does have a referee, who acts as both an official and a commentator for the large crowds that attend tournaments.

Click on the thumbnail below to see the full poster.