Paul Bowden reports:
07/03/23: After a week of not knowing how many teams would be present, or even whether there would be enough for a competition, it was remarkable that four complete teams finally appeared on time on Sunday for a great afternoon of fives.
I would like to express my appreciation to all those who made this possible: Aldenham agreeing to host at a late stage and rustling up a second team at short notice (not to mention the very welcome pizzas that Andy Stephenson kindly organised for the end of the competition), Ipswich for managing to get from one player confirmed on Friday to a full team whilst also competing in the Williams Cup on the same day and R/repton for travelling so far with huge enthusiasm and showing their improving skills as the game once again thrives at the school.
The format was a round-robin with each team playing two games against each of the other teams.
As it turned out, the first round held the key match between a very young Ipswich team and the older Aldenham A team. Aldenham 1st pair were the strongest pair present and won all their matches fairly comfortably. The second pair match was close but the Ipswich second pair had not yet reached peak performance and Aldenham won two well-contested games 12-7, 12-9. The only other pair scoring maximum points on the day were the Ipswich 3rd pair who played very cohesively and steadily throughout.
Both of these teams won their second matches relatively comfortably and with Aldenham A to play Aldenham B in the final round, everything seemed set for an easy ride to the trophy. Whilst the A team 1st and 3rd pairs won as expected, the second pair match developed into a very social and relaxed affair with the B pair shading the first game 12-11 and leading in the second. At this point, the A pair realised what was at stake and recovered to win.
This meant that Aldenham won the trophy for the second time, defeating the holders Ipswich by 15 points to 14.
It was great that Dale Vargas was able to be there to watch much of the play, which was of a really good standard, and to present the trophy to the winning team.
We now look forward to the next edition of what we hope will be a biannual competition in September when we hope to see more teams taking part.