ETON FIVES
RUGBY FIVES
ETON FIVES
Background
Eton Fives is a hand ball game, played in a three-sided court by both
sexes of all ages. Players wear padded leather gloves, since the ball
is quite hard. It is in the same sporting 'family' as other hand-ball
games such as Rugby and Winchester Fives, and Irish and American Handball.
History
Most cultures in the world have invented games in which players hit a
ball against a wall with their hands. In England, medieval peasants played
a form of fives against church walls. At Eton it was played between the
buttresses on the north wall of the college chapel, and the 'pepper-box'
peculiar to the Eton game originated from a natural angle in one of the
buttresses. The game was formalised in the 1920s with the formation of
the Eton Fives Association.
Facilities and Equipment
Eton Fives is played in a three-walled court. A buttress stands half way
along the left wall and a step runs from it to the right wall. A step
divides the court into upper and lower parts. Ledges run along most surfaces.
There are currently forty-five centres and twenty-four active clubs,
mostly in schools, with four new courts at the Westway Sports Centre in
West London now open, as well as other regional sports centres.
The game is played by both sexes using a cork and rubber ball, about
the size of a golf ball, with either hand protected by padded gloves.
The balls are painted white or covered in white leather. Cotton inner
gloves are often worn for added protection.
Benefits
The game is very good exercise: It requires you to crouch, stretch, jump
and use both sides of your body, left and right. One particular challenge
common to all games of fives is the need to develop a fair degree of ambidexterity:
players must be prepared and able to use their weaker hand.
Variation
Because of court encumbrances the game of Eton Fives is mainly a doubles
game, although 'top step' singles is often played by beginners. Ladies,
mixed doubles and adult/junior pairings have become popular as the game
continues to expand.
Where courts are not easily accessible there are alternative handball
games that can be played in squash courts and sports halls. There are
currently forty-five centres and twenty-four active clubs, mostly in schools,
with four new courts at the Westway Sports Centre in West London now open,
as well as other regional sports centres.Eton Fives Association
Contact Details
Mr M R Fenn, Honorary Secretary,
3 Bourchier Close
Sevenoaks
TN13 1PD
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RUGBY FIVES
Background
Fives is the name given to handball court games played in Great Britain.
Rugby Fives and the closely related game of Winchester Fives are two such
games and are featured on this page; the more distantly related and significantly
different game of Eton Fives is featured separately.
Brief History
The origin of the word 'fives' is not known but it was in common use for
handball games a very long time ago when games were played not in purpose-built
courts but wherever there were buildings with walls adjacent to, and possibly
even surrounding, a paved courtyard. Rugby Fives was formalised in 1927
with the formation of the Rugby Fives Association; thereafter the rules
of the game were standardised as were the dimensions of the courts in
which it should be played.
Facilities and Equipment Required
Rugby and Winchester Fives are played in purpose-built enclosed rectangular
courts but whereas in a Rugby court all four walls are absoutely plain,
in a Winchester court there is a 'buttress' rather like the tambour in
a real tennis court on the left-hand wall. The game is played with a solid
leather-covered ball about 5cm in diameter which is struck with the players'
gloved hands.
Benefits of Participating
Fives is an excellent game for maintaining general fitness and at the
highest level it is extremely demanding. One particular challenge common
to all games of fives is the need to develop a fair degree of ambidexterity:
players must be prepared and able to use their weaker hand.
Variations of the Sport
Rugby Fives can be played as both a singles and a doubles games as too
can Winchester Fives although the latter is perhaps better as a doubles
game. Where fives courts are not easily accessible there are alternative
handball games that can be played in squash courts and sports halls.
Contact Details
Rugby Fives
Michael Beaman
The Old Forge
Chart Road
Sutton Valence
Kent
ME17 3AW
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