The Trusty Servant May 2015 No.119 | Page 14

NO.119 T H E T R U S T Y S E RVA N T Winchester College Fives Club – Schools’ Champions R. de W. K. Winlaw (A) National U18 Singles 1930 R. de W. K. Winlaw (A) National U18 Singles 1931 H. J. H. Lamb (G) and R. de W. K. Winlaw (A) National U18 Doubles 1931 J. A. O. Bristow (D) West of England U18 Singles 2000 H. Mohammed (F) West of England U16 Singles 2003 H. Mohammed (F) and O. J. Pumphrey (G) West of England U16 Doubles 2003 H. Ishii (G) and O. J. Pumphrey (G) Winchester Doubles 2003 H. Mohammed (F) and O. J. Pumphrey (G) Winchester Doubles 2004 W. A. Ellison (C) and H. Mohammed (F) West of England U18 Doubles 2005 W. A. Ellison (C) and H. Mohammed (F) National U18 Doubles 2005 L. J. Squire-Smith (C) National U14 Singles 2005 J.P.C. Kennedy (F) and H.A. Owen (K) National U14 Doubles 2007 J.P.C. Kennedy (F) and H.A. Owen (K) West of England U16 Doubles 2009 N.W.A. Baines (F) and J.P.C. Kennedy (F) Winchester Doubles 2010 J.P. Ganendra (F) and E.T.A. Wylde (H) West of England U16 Doubles 2011 J.P. Ganendra (F) and E.T.A. Wylde (H) National U16 Doubles 2011 J.P. Ganendra (F) and E.T.A. Wylde (H) Winchester Doubles 2012 T.W.P. Watkinson (I) West of England U16 Singles 2013 S.G. Byers (I) National U14 Singles 2014 S.G. Byers (I) and T.W. Kidner (E) National U14 Doubles 2014 Tom Watkinson with the Jesters’ cup after winning the U18 singles title at the Nationals T.W.P. Watkinson (I) West of England U18 Singles 2015 W.N.A. Song (E) West of England U16 Singles 2015 This means that we have the current number-one-ranked schoolboys in the country at U15, U16 and U18: Seb Byers (I), Albert Song (E), and Tom Watkinson (I) respectively. In addition, having lost the previous four finals, Will Ellison finally became National Singles Champion in December – the first Wykehamist to win the title in the 82 year history of the competition. His first forays onto the Fives court suggested a steady and keen young player, but signs that he would rise to the top of the pyramid were not evident. However, he had fallen in love with the game and he kept coming back to the courts and practising: by the time he left Winchester he was the third best schoolboy in the country. After school he quickly became one of the strongest players on the circuit, although it was in Doubles that he first became an adult champion as he teamed P. Kullavanijaya (C) and W.N.A. Song (E) West of England U16 Doubles 2015 T.W.P. Watkinson (I) National U18 Singles 2015 W.N.A. Song (E) National U16 Singles 2015 B. Kullavanijaya (C) and A.J. Poyntz (I) National U14 Doubles 2015 up with Hal Mohamed to win the Barnes Bridge trophy in 2009, building on a partnership which had already won the Schools’ National Doubles title in 2005. Hal and Will won the title 6 years in a row – an incredible achievement if you have any inkling of how strong the competition is: Will’s own personal haul of titles now reads: 2014 National Singles Champion; 2013 and 2014 National Doubles Champion; 6-time National Winchester Fives Champion; and a total of 40 open titles from the various regional competitions as well. Unsurprisingly he is currently the #1 ranked player in both Singles and Doubles. 14 The future looks bright. Giles Munn took over from me as master i/c in 2009 and the school titles have continued to roll on in. Indeed St. Paul’s, traditionally the strongest of all the schools, has now been beaten at U14 level on their home turf two years in a row. All in all, Winchester is very much a force on the Fives circuit again. I * My thanks go to David Barnes (A, 54-60) for giving me permission to extract information on the history of Fives at Winchester from his excellent article in the 2002 edition of the Rugby Fives Association Magazine.