Ladies' Winchester Fives Championships
Bradfield, 9th March 2014
Denise Hall-Wilton writes: The organiser was quite gleeful at having sixteen entrants and two possible spares on the evening before the tournament. But on the day the head count revealed one player short and several names had changed. What's new?
There was a diverse range of skills, ages, home clubs and fives codes. The youngest player was a year 10 schoolgirl, the eldest was, well, senior! Rossall, Shrewsbury, Blundell's, Marlborough Club, Eastbourne and Sedbergh were all represented, as well as London-based venues.
Doubles were first on the agenda and it was the first group who had one of the best matches. Fiona Barnes and Karen Hird, last year's winners of the Bradfield Bowl, drew Anna Hanson and Madeline Raynor. It was well contested, but Anna and Maddy had a respectable loss and headed for the plate.
The rest of the first round matches were more clear-cut, as were the semifinals, with Alexandra Steel and Kathleen Briedenhann looking in ominous form. In the final, Alexandra and Kathleen were the eventual winners, beating Fiona and Karen 15-4 15-4.
Vicky Westwood found herself partnerless for the first round of the doubles plate. However, as Wendy Carling had been knocked out of the main competition by that stage, she paired up with Vicky to play in the plate. This was hardly conventional but didn't seem to upset the seeding.
Anna Hanson & Maddy made good use of their entry to the doubles plate, beating Polina Pavshinkskya and Karina Valieva 15-6, and then Vicky and Wendy in the final by the closest score of the day, 15-11.
Next, a historical note. Although Winchester Fives is more of a doubles game, the first Winchester Ladies Tournament at Sedbergh in 1988, initiated by Michael Haslam (Melanie Whitehead's father), turned out to be a singles event, because only five brave souls, all from Bradfield, had made the long trip north. So the Crayke Cup, named after the Haslams' home village in Yorkshire, became a singles trophy with Melanie very supportive of Fives ever since.
Two years later, at Bradfield, enough players had been recruited to make a good doubles event, so the Bradfield Bowl was born. Both competitions have continued to be thoroughly enjoyed, and the Bowl has even been through two versions, as the space for the winners' names ran out!
The first round of the 2014 singles competition gave most contestants a chance to glow! A hearty ?round robin' plate competition awaited those knocked out of the first round. This acted as a second tournament with a more relaxed emphasis, and it resulted in a decisive win for Vicky Westwood.
The main singles competition threw up the surprise of the tournament. Maddy Raynor survived a tough route to the final overcoming two seeded players along the way. And what a good final it was. She had the daunting task of playing against Kathleen Briedenhann, who does tend to win things!
Maddy hung on as if her life depended upon it and was never going to give up, but the inevitable happened, as Kathleen won a well-fought battle in style, 15-4 15-4.
Maddy runs Fives for girls at Rossall School, Fleetwood, and she brought a group of them along to play in the tournament. Immediately on their return home to Lancashire a message was received: \"Thank you so much for a lovely competition today. All the girls thoroughly enjoyed it, but are very sore and tired now\". The organiser felt much the same!
We don't normally have a guest to present the trophies, but as I was standing down from organising Fives competitions I invited a very special guest, Paula Smith, to do so. Paula had dominated ladies Fives including winning the Crayke Cup 15 times between 1988-2003, before she had to retire through injury. While records are made to be beaten, Paula's even greater achievement lay in recruiting large numbers of men and women to play Fives, and her example is truly one to follow.
RESULTS
Singles
1st Round: Karen Hird bt Karina Valieva 15-1; Madeline Raynor bt Wendy Carling 15-2; Rose Arnold w/o; Fiona Barnes bt Anna Hansen 15-0; Kathleen Briedenhann bt Polina Pavshinskaya 15-0; Melanie Whitehead bt Bella Temkina 15-0; Anna Marland bt Ashley Ibbitson 15-5; Alexandra Steel bt Vicky Westwood 15-8.
2nd Round: Madeline Raynor bt Karen Hird 15-12; Fiona Barnes bt Rose Arnold 15-9; Kathleen Briedenhann bt Melanie Whitehead 15-3; Alexandra Steel bt Anna Marland 15-3.
Semi-Final: Madeline Raynor bt Fiona Barnes 15-4; Kathleen Briedenhann bt Alexandra Steel 15-4
Final: Kathleen Breidenhann bt Madeline Raynor 15-4, 15-4
Plate: Vicky Westwood
Doubles
1st Round: Fiona Barnes & Karen Hird bt Anna Hansen & Madeline Raynor 15-6; Melanie Whitehead & Wendy Carling bt Polina Pavshinskaya & Varina Valieva 15-0; Anna Marland & Rose Arnold bt Ashley Ibbitson & Bella Temkina 15-2; Alexandra Steel & Kathleen Briedenhann bt Anna Marland & Rose Arnold 15-0
Semi-Final: Fiona Barnes & Karen Hird bt Melanie Whitehead & Wendy Carling 15-1 15-0; Kathleen Briedenhann & Alexandra Steel bt Anna Marland & Rose Arnold 15-0
Final: Alexandra Steel & Kathleen Breidenhann bt Fiona Barnes & Karen Hird 15-4, 15-4
Plate: Anna Hansen & Madeline Raynor