Challenged by their President to raise £5000 towards the proposed Cambridge University Rugby Fives courts, Ed Kay, captain of CURFC, organised and ran a 24-hour sponsored Fives Match at St. Paul’s School on Friday/Saturday 14/15 December.
Over the course of 61 games, the Rest steadily built a commanding lead over an increasingly tired group of undergraduates. Ed Kay played some seven hours of Fives, Will Sloper getting on for nine! The Rest were represented by an array of extraordinary talent: the youngest was the N/national U13 champion Julian Hanton, the oldest the venerable David Barnes. Hamish Buchanan gave a master class in Doubles play late on Friday evening; Dan Tristao & Gareth Price vied with each other to forfeit sponsored points in the early hours; three boys from Bedford School drove down with their master to play the three-hour pre-breakfast stint; five-times N/national Singles Champion James Toop and top-ranked Doubles player Will Ellison teamed up on Saturday morning. Dave Hebden and Bob Dolby dusted off trusty gloves for cameo appearances.
Ed Kay got the Best Flair Shot Award for an overhead, retreating windmill shot against Toop & Ellison; Richard Lebon won the One-Point Chief Sparrow’s Challenge; Dick Warner got the First Prize for Flapjacks; Joe Gribble left his gloves behind; Sam Russell didn’t get out of bed; George Barnes got a rosette for the Most Naff (Oxford) Kit; Richard Kemp got the Most Persuasive Fund-raiser Award.
Sums remain to be done, but £5K looks a safe bet.
RESULTS
4pm-6pm: Peter Judge & Will Sloper lost to Joe Gribble & (Ed Kay) & Rupert Mathieu: 9-15, 11-15, 12-15, 14-16, 15-4 ([61-65]
6pm-8pm: Tom Chase & Will Sloper lost to Dick Warner & Henry Jefferies: 4-15, 5-15, 13-15, 7-15 [29-60]
8pm-10pm: Jamie Lane & Matt Chipping lost to Charles Compton & Fred Kelly: 15-6, 14-16, 9-15, 7-15 [45-52]
10pm-Midnight: Ed Kay & Jacob Brubert lost to Hamish Buchanan & Chris Burrows: 5-15, 8-15, 8-15, 9-15, 6-15 [36-75]
Midnight-2am: Peter Judge & Jamie Lane lost to George Barnes & Julian Aquilina: 15-13, 1-15, 3-15, 7-15, 8-15, 10-15, 15-7 [59-95]
2am-4am: Ed Kay & Tom Chase beat Dan Tristao & Gareth Price: 15-5, 15-11, 14-16, 15-13 [59-45]
4am-6am: Jamie Lane & Jacob Brubert lost to Theo Parker (& Ed Kay): 8-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-9, 15-12, 2-15 [66-79]
6am-9am: Will Sloper, Matt Chipping & Peter Judge beat Matthew Jamieson, Chris Davey, Olly Jones & Dan Sorensen: 15-12, 15-9, 10-15,15-9,15-9,6-15,15-11 [91-80]
9am-11am: Robert Mathias, Will Sloper & Tom Chase lost to Richard Lebon, Malcolm Reid & Iain de Weymarn: 13-15, 2-15, 6-15, 14-16, 6-15 [41-76]
11am-1pm: Ed Kay & (guest) Charlie Brooks lost to James Toop & Will Ellison: 11-15, 8-15, 2-15, 8-15, 4-15 [33-75]
1pm-2pm: Ben Quarry & Robert Mathias lost to Richard Kemp & Dave Hebden 7-15, 8-15 [15-30]
2pm-3pm: Robert Matthias & Will Sloper beat Peter Hanton, Julian Hanton & Richard Kemp: 9-15, 15-3 [24-18]
3pm-3.45: Robert Mathias & Will Sloper lost to Matt Shaw & Tim Edmonds: 4-15, 0-15, 7-15, 11-15 [22-60]
3.45-4pm: Ed Kay & Ben Quarry beat Bob Dolby & David Barnes 12-10.
Match Score CURFC 593 - The Rest 820