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Under 21s: All The Young Dudes

01/02/16: The 2016 Under 21 tournament took place at Eton yesterday and was an absolute cracker, with heroes everywhere. The star man of the men's tournament was James Piggot along with his Dark Blue partner James Cobb who responded well under pressure to beat Cambridge opponents Riki Houlden and Alistair Stewart in an absorbing final, having them dancing in the street in Oxford until late into the night. The ladies tournament featured a wide range of players from the experienced Highgate girls down to some promising youngsters and even absolute beginners from Shrewsbury and Oxford. There were no changes at the top of the order, though, with a repeat of last year's result in another all-Highgate final, Phoebe Bracken and Amira Reimer beating Marjolaine Briscoe and Carolina Valensise.

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Gray and Watts Win in Ipswich

The 2016 edition of the Ipswich Tournament was won by OIs Oli Watts and James Gray, who beat Seb Cooley and his Ipswich schoolboy partner Tom Conway in the final after an excellent weekend's Fives, which proved that this tournament - first played in 1979 - is in fine fettle and flourishing more than ever.

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Feb 2016: Third Berkhamsted Girls Festival

Paul Bowden reports:

On Tuesday 26th January 2016 44 girls from seven different schools gathered for the third Girls’ Fives Festival at Berkhamsted. Oakham and Aldenham were not represented this year but, in addition to Berkhamsted, Shrewsbury and Stowe, there were girls from St Olave’s, Charterhouse, Ipswich and St Bartholomew’s. The seven school target set last year was met: perhaps we can aim for nine next time!

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James Leonard: An Obituary

Jan 2016: James Leonard was a remarkably gifted man, both intellectually and athletically. He was undoubtedly one of the best Eton Fives players never to have won the Kinnaird Cup, if only because of his limited availability due to other commitments.

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EFA Trophy 2016: Slippery When Wet

25/01/16: The qualifying rounds for the 2016 EFA Trophy took place at Eton on Sunday with the damp and slippery courts almost giving Fives a bad name and the ten teams livin' on a prayer as they tried to cope with conditions and reach the semi-finals.

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Dec 2015: Fancy Dress Fives at Aldenham

Phil Lyndon reports:

Players at the Aldenham Heath Fives Club turned out in fancy dress last night (Tuesday 22 December) for an evening of fun and frolics in the pouring rain. The theme this year was superheroes. Club secretary Phil Lyndon said: “It was a miserable evening for fives with the rain being blown into the court by the wind and the floor like an ice rink. However, the superheroes of AFC brought their superpowers to bear with one court not finishing until gone 10pm.”

Jan 2016: Homerton Win Cambridge Cuppers

Riki Houlden reports:

On Sunday 24th January, 15 players came to the Cambridge University Sports Centre Eton Fives courts for Eton Fives Cuppers 2016, the tournament’s second year. The tournament is very informal when compared to Cuppers in many other sports, and focuses mostly on participation and getting a lot of fun games – the top men’s players are not allowed to partner with one another, and mixed pairings and the entry of beginners are strongly encouraged through the use of the “Osen revision of the Wiseman rules”.

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"Age shall not weary them..."

Simon Woolfries reports:

09/12/15: The most recent edition of the VOI v VOW* fixture produced a successful evening yesterday at Westminster with the VOI six winning 3-0 in spite of the OWs turning out two ‘juniors’ (by agreement). The victorious VOI side think that their team might well be the oldest three pairs ever turned out for a bona fide fixture by anyone and they challenge the Fives world to come up with an older six! The combined age was 386 with Nick Bunyan the youngest at 60 and Nigel Cox (of course) the oldest at 70. 

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Olavians and Salopians in the Barber Cup Final again

Congratulations to the Olavians and the Salopians, who won their respective Barber Cup semi-finals at Eton yesterday and who will meet again in this year's final on February 14th, with the Olavians looking for an astonishing 13th consecutive win.

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London Tournament 2015: A Shuffling Of The Pack But Cooley And Dunbar Are Still The Aces

07/12/15: The 2015 London Tournament at Harrow at the weekend was a huge success with a total of nearly 50 pairs taking part in the main competition and festival tournament over the course of the two days. It was business as usual for Seb Cooley and Tom Dunbar, who retained their title with ease, but further down the list there were some significant upsets, some intriguing results and some interesting narratives created that will continue to play out at the Northern tournament and the Kinnaird Cup later in the season.

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