By David Milliken
ETON (Reuters) - The ancient sport of Eton fives has spread from its traditional enclaves in independent schools into the concrete jungle of the inner city.
Venture, if you will, beneath a flyover in west London carrying much of the capital’s daily traffic flow and there, squeezed between brutalist tower blocks, are the first four courts for Eton fives fully open to the public.
Modern courts have all the ledges, steps and buttresses found on the side of Eton College’s 15th-century chapel where schoolboys first played the squash-like game centuries ago.
Unlike squash, though, Eton fives is a doubles game in which players smack a cork ball against the three-sided outdoor court with their hands rather than with rackets. The name fives is thought to derive from an old slang word for hands.
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Most of the 200 or so courts in England are in private schools but Michael Constantinidi, chairman of the Eton Fives Association (EFA), believes the future of the sport lies in the inner city.
"Fives is a game which has relevance for inner cities where you have no sports ground," he said beneath the flyover.
"You can build the courts close to the school, you have no maintenance and the cost of playing is very cheap."
Unless Eton fives broadens its appeal, Constantinidi fears the sport could die out. Fives can be played whatever the weather but this advantage has eroded as private schools invest in all-weather hockey pitches and better drained rugby fields.
COACH FUNDED
"I think it’s tragic that there have never been any public fives courts. But if we can show it works here, then there’s a future for it in other schools," Constantinidi said.
The EFA have funded coach Mark Herring, to show the sport to local schoolchildren.
Herring, who once beat Prince Harry, younger son of Prince Charles, at fives, said the sport was a hit with the eight-to-10-year-olds.
"My first class, they were asking when to come back. They all really enjoyed it," Herring said.
Fives demands a lot of hand-eye co-ordination as the ball ricochets around the court. "Some kids are really scared of it. If you see a ball coming at your left side, and you’re not used to it, you think to get out of the way," the coach said.
The fast reflexes fives players develop transfer well to cricket and tennis. But players at the County Championships at Eton College liked the game most for its idiosyncrasies.
It is about the only sport where the server does not have an advantage, because if the player taking the rebound does not like the serve he can ask for the ball to be served again.
"There’s quite a lot of gamesmanship," said James Fleming, the championships’ organiser, before he was called off to deal with a serious fives injury -- a splinter.
Despite this, it is a point of honour that games are played without umpires. Disputes, such as when players get in each other’s way, are resolved by replaying the point.
"CLASSLESS GAME"
Eton fives was first codified in 1877, around the same time rules were written for rugby union and soccer. But unlike these better-known sports, Eton fives never made the leap from its private school origins.
Still, fives players are adamant that their sport is not elitist. Unlike rugby or football, the number of players is too small for school teams to be picky about their fixtures.
"It’s a totally classless game because the Harrows and Etons of this world will play anyone," said Howard Wiseman, who coaches fives at state schools.
The hazards in the game also mean brute force is less rewarded. The best shots are not the fastest but those that bounce off the buttress at an unpredictable angle.
"It’s definitely one of the games where you have to think the most. Age and experience can win over youth and speed," said James Toop, a student who plays for Kent.
Even if Eton fives does explode into the inner cities, televised world championships will still be a while off. A 1.5-metre-high buttress jutting into the court does not make for the easiest viewing.
