OUTSIDE OF WORK

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OUTSIDE OF WORK

We delve into some of the more esoteric activities that our members get up to (or so they claim on their work profiles). This month Fiona Barnes tells all about Eton Fives.

How did I get into it?

I started playing Eton Fives while still at school. My brothers both played at Shrewsbury School and my father ran the local club and so I joined them. And I loved it so much that I’ve been playing ever since!

The club is now run by my older brother. My younger brother still plays too, but he has managed to escape from Shrewsbury and now plays mostly for the Windsor and Eton Club.

What is fives?

Most cultures in the world have invented games that involve hitting a ball against a wall with your hands. Fives is part of a family of handball sports that includes American Handball, Irish Handball, and the various Basque games, Pelota Vasca. In the Middle Ages, peasants played a game where a ball was hit against the walls of a chapel. These games were called ‘Fives’. Although the exact etymology is uncertain, it is most likely referring to the fingers on a hand as a ‘bunch of fives’. There are several versions of Fives such as Rugby Fives and Winchester Fives, as well as Eton Fives.

Eton Fives started, as the name might suggest, at Eton College, where the boys played their handball game up against the side of the school chapel. It is only played as “doubles”. Players wear padded leather gloves, since the ball (which is slightly large than a golf-ball and made of rubber and cork) is quite hard.

In the UK, most Eton Fives clubs are concentrated in the South East, generally playing on courts at various schools, but there are also courts at Westway Sports Centre (under the A40 in West London) and a handful in other more or less surprising places (Provence, Switzerland, Brazil, Malaysia, Darjeeling, Australia et al). It is particularly popular in Nigeria.

The Origins of the Court

The shape of the current court derives from one particular bay on the side of the chapel at Eton College (a bay being the area between the buttresses supporting the chapel walls). Most bays only required simple rules, but the bay at the foot of the chapel steps was different: the steps' handrail formed a hazard (seen on the left in the photo of the court). Furthermore, a landing between the two flights of steps extended the playing area.

By comparing the two images above, one can see that:

it is a three-sided court;

the front wall of the court is actually the side wall of the chapel;

buttresses form the side walls of the court;

the stone handrail for the steps up the side of the chapel juts into the court slightly and this is still the focal point of the game; and

sundry ledges and edges give the court a bit of extra interest.

By way of comparison, Rugby Fives is played in a court much like a squash court, whilst Winchester Fives is also played in a fairly plain court, but with a vertical kink in the left-hand wall.

Somewhat confusingly, the remnant of the stone handrail that projects into the left side of the court is called the “buttress”. It is roughly L-shaped, about shoulder high and is located at the step and extends into both the front and back courts.

The buttress is very complex in shape, with many slopes and angles. Where the buttress meets the step it forms a small three-sided niche, called “the dead-man's hole” or just “the hole”. This is a natural place to try to send the ball when playing, as it often results in an unreturnable shot. However, because it is very small, it requires great accuracy to successfully “kill” a ball in the hole.

Skilful players make great use of the features – especially the buttress – to confuse and deceive their opponents. Simple shots often become unpredictable ricochets. The front court is particularly difficult to play in, as the ball may easily change direction several times during its travel.

Needless to say, the design of the Eton Fives court makes it the most interesting version by a long chalk. The seemingly random hotchpotch of surfaces and angles of the Eton Fives court brings a “marvellous complexity” to the game. Therefore, even though Eton Fives is an extremely fast game, it is also a game of great skill. Players practised in its subtleties and nuances will nearly always beat those who rely mainly on brute force and speed. Perhaps uniquely amongst ball games, left-handed players are considered to have an advantage over right-handed ones, thanks to the court's idiosyncratic design. The ambidextrous, naturally, have a huge advantage over both, since shots may be played with either hand.

And now?

Apart from continuing to play at the Monday Fives Club in Shrewsbury, I usually play in the annual National Ladies (in action below) and occasionally in the Mixed Championships, as well as the Festival of the Northern Championships held at Shrewsbury.

In addition to our weekly local club games, Shrewsbury also hosts the annual Northern Championships, which is one of the big three tournaments and so draws in most of the top players. It’s called the Northern Championships despite Shrewsbury being further south than Repton, where the Midlands Championships are held!

To find out more about the game, or to take part, contact Andrew Mitchell on 07766 336264 or andrewmitchell@ btinternet.com. Fiona will be around on Monday 26th September and has invited the Society to form a group where we can all give it a go. This would be followed by the traditional visit to the pub of course! If you are interested, then please let Jennifer Richards (Jennifer.Richards@ pcblaw.co.uk) know. You can also see the Fives Courts at Shrewsbury School from the public footpath running through the School.

Other links:

http://www.etonfives.com/efa

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Fiona Barnes

Fiona Barnes is a partner at Wace Morgan Solicitors and specialises in Wills; Inheritance tax and estate planning; Trusts; Lasting Powers of Attorney & Living Wills; and Probate.

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