Paul Bowden reports:
24/01/19: The Fifth Annual Girls’ Festival took place at Eton on 23rd January 2019. Although the weather threatened and it was seasonably cold, 36 pairs (the highest yet) from six schools enjoyed a non stop afternoon of fun Fives.
They spent the first part of the afternoon in mixed pools and then were regrouped according to their results. This meant that all the girls enjoyed many short games against a wide variety of opponents.
In addition to the Schools where Girls’ Fives is well established (Berkhamsted, Highgate, Holyport and Shrewsbury) it was great to welcome two pairs each from Cranleigh and Mill Hill. Some of the Cranleigh girls in particular had not played since there were in the Prep School three years ago and they showed that time had in no way diminished their skill and zest for the game.
All the girls were smiling, polite and enthusiastic and a great credit to their coaches and their schools.
A big thank you to Faye Kerr for organising the afternoon and to George Thomason and Eton College for hosting the event.
I very much hope that they will all be taking part in the appropriate events at the N/national Schools' Championships and will continue to enjoy the game for many years ahead.