Varsity Match 2016: High Class Blues Fives
07/03/16:
Men’s Blues Match. Rodney Knight reports:
After a fine display of fives from the Oxford and Cambridge Blues teams in this much anticipated encounter, it was the Light Blues who proved convincingly on the day to be both better prepared for the contest and to have real strength in depth this year in their men’s squad.
Hutchinson & Taylor into the Kinnaird Semis
Old Salopians Ian Hutchinson and Ed Taylor claimed the last Kinnaird Cup semi-final spot at Eton on Saturday with a comfortable three game win over Old Westminsters Laurie Brock and Ed Rose in their postponed quarter-final match.
2016 Torch Trophy Trust Awards
04/03/16: Congratulations to EFA Director Paul Bowden, who yesterday received a Torch Trophy Trust Award from HRH Prince Michael of Kent and Torch Trophy Trust President Sir Bobby Charlton for his work as EFA Director i/c School Fives and at the Westway Sports Centre.
Gown Beats Town To Win The EFA Trophy
29/02/16: Finals day of the EFA Trophy often produces some of the most exciting matches of the season and the 2016 edition certainly delivered its fair share of thrills and spills at Eton yesterday, ending in an Oxford derby in the final, with Gown defeating Town as the University side won the competition for the first time ever.
Ladies Championships 2016: A Record-Breaking Entry
Ian Mitchell & Mandie Barnes report:
On a bracing February morning, 37 pairs – continuing the record-breaking trend – assembled for the 2016 Ladies Eton Fives Championships. 15 of these pairs took part in the main championships, divided initially into three pools of five, before a knockout stage to determine which two pairs qualify for the final, which will be held later in the season.
Kinnaird Cup 2016
22/02/16: The qualifying rounds of the 2016 Kinnaird Cup took place at Eton over the weekend; 29 pairs entered the main tournament and the depth of quality of the entry was the best seen for several years, with 29 of the 35 players featured on the current ranking list taking part, alongside one or two very strong players from outside that list. A further 24 pairs entered the Sunday competitions, which with a bit of doubling up meant a very healthy 49 pairs taking part across the weekend.
Universities Mixed 2016: Roses Are Red, Trophies Are Dark Blue
15/02/16: What better way to spend Valentine's Day than playing mixed Fives? None according to the pairs who made it to Highgate on Sunday for the 2016 edition of the Universities Mixed pairs tournament. There were representatives from Liverpool, Durham, UCL, City, Cambridge and four pairs from Oxford - a reflection of the strength in numbers of the Oxford club this year.
A Fives Revolution
Eleven-time Kinnaird Cup winner John Reynolds give his verdict on the 2016 Barber Cup final and how the game has changed in recent years:
The game of Eton fives is undergoing many changes: a women's game is establishing itself, the game's first public courts have been built at Westway, there has been a resurgence in court-building (at Newbury, Cambridge, Berkhamsted), there is a network of coaches that has helped the game revive and thrive at dozens of schools around the country – and we’re wearing better fives gloves.
Alan Barber Cup 2016: Lucky 13 for the Olavians
Mark Williams reports:
15/02/16: The Salopians marshalled a strong side to play the Olavians in the Alan Barber Cup Final at Eton on Sunday.
Dunbar and Cooley Show Northern Composure
08/02/16: The 2016 Northern Tournament took place on Saturday and Sunday with 55 pairs braving the traditional Shrewsbury cold, wind and rain to produce the equally traditional fantastic weekend of Fives. The main tournament saw a small but high quality field battle it out in a terrific series of matches, with the final a repeat of the pre-Christmas London Tournament, Tom Dunbar & Seb Cooley taking the title for a sixth consecutive year with a win over James Toop & Tom Gallagher.