U14s Flourish As Richard Barber Cup Falls Victim To The Weather

12/01/26: Over 70 U14 players from 12 different schools took part in two fantastic U14 Individual tournaments on Sunday, but sadly the Richard Barber Cup had to be called off because of the weather.

With a large amount of snow having fallen in the Midlands courtesy of Storm Goretti and the two Shrewsbury teams (half of the field along with Ipswich and Eton) unable to travel to Eton, sadly the decision was taken to call off the Richard Barber Cup.

Happily, the U14s proved themselves to be a more hardy bunch, travelling to Highgate and Repton for two fabulous competitions to wrap up the EFA's Individual Tournament series for 2025/26.

46 girls and boys were on court at Highgate School and it was fantastic to have so many schools represented: Highgate, Westminster, St.Bartholomew’s, QEB, St.Olave’s, Eton College and Ipswich, who changed venue at the last minute with concerns about the Repton courts sweating. The standard was terrific, with the less experienced players visibly improving from set to set. Only four out of 46 players managed to win in all six one-set rounds, demonstrating how high and level the standard was.

Despite the weather, a slightly reduced Repton event went ahead on a smaller number of courts and although Wrekin had to drop out late on, there were still a good number of players there with Shrewsbury, Prestfelde, Repton, KES Birmingham and Wolverhampton Grammar all represented, encouraging signs for the health of Fives in the Midlands.

Many thanks to Highgate School and to Repton for hosting these events which are so beneficial to those that take part and to Howard Wiseman and Karen Hird for running them so well on behalf of the EFA.