16/01/23: The last two events in the EFA Junior Individual series took place yesterday, with nearly 100 U14s from nine different school taking part in simultaneous competitions at R/repton and Highgate.
Karen Hird at R/repton and Howard Wiseman at Highgate did a fantastic job marshalling the hordes and organising them into a series of short matches with players swapping partners and opponents each time creating new inter-school pairings in every round. The most successful players then went through to pla in the final at each venue; the R/repton event also had a large contingent of girls playing, meaning that there could be both a boys and a girls final.
Howard Wiseman reports from Highgate:
A wonderful, enthusiastic group of budding young Fives players arrived all on time and ready for action at the Highgate courts. 42 pupils made their way from QE Barnet, Berkhamsted, St.Olave’s, Eton College and Mill Hill. The standard was terrific, with the first round packed with close matches; an early indication of what was to come.
Very high scores were achieved by players from all schools, but after six rounds, only one player had won all of their matches.
The final was played between a pair of Olavians vs a pair of Eton boys and the young Etonians proved too strong and won by a convincing score.
It was an absolute delight to see so many children enjoying sport together…complete strangers pairing up to play a game that they enjoy; all played with the most generous of spirits and support of each other. A big thank you to Highgate for allowing the use of their splendid courts, and to the staff and parents who gave up their day to help with transport and support on the day.
Each school was very impressive in their own way; each fielding some amazing players! Berkhamsted deserve special mention for the determination of just one lad to turn up by himself… and he was amazing! Mill Hill, for producing the best group of players at this age that I have seen them produce in many years; including one excellent young lady! St.Olave’s for the massive improvement from their lower-end players this season; Eton College for having so many strong players. QE Barnet never cease to amaze… how with just one court they can produce so many young players who are so good and who so clearly, absolutely love playing the game! All present with the help of parents, and all playing with fantastic commitment, skill and flair! Their top player was mesmerising to watch! Making Seb Cooley look like a giant; this tiny lad seemed to return every cut and volley everything with either hand. Amazing!
It was an absolute pleasure to run this event, and I wish to thank Gareth Hoskins for his excellent organisation that brought together close to one hundred U14 boys and girls at the same time across the Highgate and R/repton venues.
Karen Hird reports from R/repton:
At the same time as the tournament at Highgate, a delightful mix of 45 pupils gathered at R/repton - 28 boys and 17 girls from four schools meant that a mix of rounds consisting of different combinations of schools and genders were played and resulted in close matches throughout the day, with 17 of the 55 matches finishing 12-11.
After five rounds, the four top-scoring boys and the four top-scoring girls qualified for the finals. None of the girls had managed to win all five rounds - in fact, Bella (who qualified in first place) lost two of her games – which meant that points picked up in lost games were all-important and it was the Shrewsbury girls who proved most adept at this, with Millie and Willa proving too strong for Bella and Arianna in an all-Shrewsbury final.
Qualification for the boys’ final was a different story: two Ipswich boys (Daniel and Callum) had scored maximum points across the day, and another Ipswich boy (Alex) had made it into third place after dropping only one point. Sadly, the fourth placed qualifier (Sam, Shrewsbury) was forced to withdraw from the final due to injury, meaning some quick maths by the organiser to separate the five boys (two from Burford, one from R/repton, one from Ipswich and one from Shrewsbury) who had all tied for fifth place with 57 points. This meant that Daniil (Shrewsbury) paired up with Daniel in the final against Alex and Callum, and it was the Ipswich-Shrewsbury combination who managed to overcome the all-Ipswich pair in a tight final.
The very best of fives was shown as the finals were ongoing, with some watching but the majority jumping on court with the new friends they had made across the day, leaving the organiser thinking she should have just left it to the players all along!
The school Fives season now moves on to the team and pairs competitions, starting with the Hughes Cup and Pett Plate (team three pairs competitions for U15s and U13s respectively) and then the qualifying rounds for the N/national Schools' Championships, which culminate in the main tournament week at Shrewsbury in March.