A grand total of 17 North Oxford players and 3 spectators took on the Fives equivalent of the Three Peaks Challenge on Sunday, playing Rugby Fives at Rugby, Eton Fives at Eton and Winchester Fives at Winchester all in the same day.
The day started with the journey North to Rugby and a 9am full English in a greasy spoon and ended 14 hours later after a well-earned drink in the Wykeham Arms and a curry at Gandhi's in Winchester in the evening.
The hours in between were filled with 250+ miles of motorway driving, a Rugby Fives tournament at Rugby, an Eton Fives tournament at Eton, a Winchester Fives tournament at Winchester and attempting to eat all of Karen's cakes. Different pairs were drawn at each venue with each winning pair receiving an edible prize. Each mini tournament was played over a series of timed knockout games and the Rugby Fives final was won by Nick Shaw and Mandie Barnes with a shock win over Stefan Nowinski and resident Rugby Fives \"pro\" Jonny Nelmes.
After the journey south and some lunch, Jonny made up for that disappointment by winning the Eton final alongside Spencer Chapman against Chris Lloyd and Emily Scoones. Nick Shaw was back on form at Winchester, however, teaming up with Harriet Allan to see off all comers and win the final final of the day against Karen Hird and Andy Bishop.
With everyone playing the same number of games at each venue, everyone's total points over the whole day were then added up to produce an overall winner. The closeness of the matches at all three venues was shown clearly in the final scores, with only 8 points separating first place from tenth. Much to his surprise, and to the delight of the rest of the group, club president Andy Bishop scooped the overall prize with a total of 78 points in the day, finishing one ahead of Ian Mitchell and Nick Shaw.
This was a fantastic day and one of the high spots in NOEFC's short history. In fact, what was originally conceived as a one-off is now being considered for a repeat, possibly in 2014. Thanks go to everyone who came and played, to the hosts who made us welcome at each venue, to our travelling band of spectators, timekeepers and general hangers-on and to those who did all of the driving.
Final Scores:
1. Andy Bishop 78
=2. Ian Mitchell 77
=2. Nick Shaw 77
4. Peter Scholey 76
5. Karen Hird 75
=6. Mandie Barnes 73
=6. Jonny Nelmes 73
8. Stefan Nowinski 72
9. Harriet Allan 71
10. Rosie Scott 70