26/06/18: The Eton Fives Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Will Thomas as its first professional Regional Organiser. He will be responsible for the development of Eton Fives in the Thames Valley region, with an initial focus on Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
He will maintain and develop the existing local club which plays on the courts at St Bartholomew’s School, Newbury, and is available to support the School in increasing the number of students playing. He will aim to increase awareness of the game in the region by recruiting some of the nearby schools to play Eton Fives at St Bartholomew’s, attracting newcomers and exploring other ways of making these courts a regional hub for the community.
Will joined the existing local club last year and has been actively involved in promoting the game and encouraging several newcomers to become regular players. He lives a few minutes away from the courts.
Commenting on the appointment, Julia Mortimore, Headteacher at St Bartholomew’s School, said: “I am delighted that there is now a professional organiser in place to ensure that our local Eton Fives Club will flourish, and to help attract further local schools to use the School as a regional hub. Following the building of the new courts in 2013, Eton Fives has become increasingly popular amongst the School students, and we are keen to ensure that it keeps its place within the School’s extra-curricular activities.”
The funding for the position was obtained through grants from the Eton Fives Charitable Trust and matched funding of donations from members of the Eton Fives Community by Greenham Trust.
This appointment is a milestone for the Eton Fives Association, as it seeks to put the running and organising of the game on a more stable and sustainable footing through its FiveStar programme, which aims to triple the playing membership by 2024.
