New Cambridge University courts
19th October 2013
The first competitive match has taken place on the new Rugby Fives courts at Cambridge University. In theory, the match was to have been Cambridge University against the RFA Club (represented by Andy Pringle, Hamish Buchanan, Dick Warner, Will Ellison, Marcus Bate and Ed Hatton), but in the end, the two teams were mixed in an attempt to produce a closer tie – and it did just that.
However, what it also did was to ensure that no one really quite knew who was playing for who; and, with a couple of students having to leave early before the full series of planned matches was completed, the overall result soon became academic. Indeed, such was the complex planning involved, that there was a brief period when the players believed the outcome would depend on the result of a table tennis match between Marcus and Will.
In the end, the result was immaterial; what really mattered was that all 12 players – and the various spectators – were united in their praise of the new facilities. The courts played superbly well, and it was even suggested that they could host the N/national Singles Championship in a couple of years time. We now look forward to the 'unofficial' joint opening of the courts scheduled for November 9th, when the Eton Fives Association will also run an event.