EFA Heads Down To Dorset

22/01/26: EFA Trustee Tom Leach recently took a trip down to Bryanston School in Dorset to find Fives alive and kicking in one of the game's geographical outposts.

Tom Leach reports: 

Bryanston’s three Fives courts are situated right next to the posh indoor sports hall located in the thick of school life. They are traditional outdoor courts with a covered, weather-proof run-off and whilst the black walls are initially a little gloomy, it does not take long for the eyes to get used to them whilst playing. Aside from the colour of the walls, the other most noticeable differences to courts I have played on elsewhere are: no bricks at the back of the court, no back step down out of the court and a buttress handrail with a more acute apex angle than usual meaning shots that hit it are much more likely to bounce back towards the front-wall than fly off to the back right of the court. The fact that the courts are ‘half-indoor’ also means you have the ‘St. Olave’s effect’ on the left and right courts – having to elect whether or not you wish to play the protective wall extension ‘in’ or ‘out’. No such issue on the more standard ‘centre court’, however.

Run enthusiastically by Master-in-Charge, Luke Pollard, and keen Rugby Fives player, Mark Belassie-McCourt, there is a core of mostly senior girls who gather regularly and, despite a lack of competitive matches with other schools recently, hold their own on the court. The Captain of Fives, Arnold, turned his hand to the sport initially after injuries on the rugby pitch got the better of him and admits that Fives at Bryanston is unfortunately often eschewed in favour of the more major outdoor sports with younger students pointed rather towards football, rugby, hockey and netball with Fives only really becoming an option in a pupil’s latter stages at Bryanston.

Given the quality of the courts and their high visibility and accessibility it is a shame that more attention is not given to the sport particularly in the earlier years but the staff and students are keen to restart some inter-school fixtures and play in the occasional EFA tournament so perhaps with a bit more interaction at that level and subsequent positive PR, Fives will continue to gain more traction in this part of Dorset!