Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to hand-pelota.

Background

Brecknock against all Britain! Brecon Castle Fives Court 1786

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1925) describes fives as a ''ball game played with hands or bat in court with two, three or four walls''. The name may be derived from the

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...

expression "a bunch of fives" (meaning a fist). The game has also been known as hand-tennis and historically was often played between the

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es of

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

buildings in England. There are links between fives and the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, Welsh and

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handball games. In recent years, British clubs began to establish ties with clubs in those countries. Fives is not the same as long fives, which is played in a real tennis court.

Types

There are two main types of fives:

Rugby fives Rugby Fives is a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court. It has similarities with Winchester Fives (a form of Wessex Fives) and Eton Fives. It is played mainly in the United Kingdom. It is most commonly believed to be ...

and

Eton fives Eton fives, a derivative of the British game of fives, is a handball game, similar to Rugby fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any varie ...

. A precursor to Rugby fives is Warminster (or Wessex) fives; another variant of Wessex fives is Winchester fives, although there are only about nine places in the UK where this is still played. Most schools where fives is played have only one type of court, but three schools have historically had both Eton and Rugby courts: Cheltenham, Dover, and Marlborough. Cheltenham has only Rugby courts and Dover has two unrestored Eton courts; Marlborough has four Rugby and two Eton courts, all in good condition. Malvern College also has three Winchester fives courts all in good condition.

Eton fives

, invented by Eton boys in 1877, is played competitively as a doubles game. In Eton fives the ball is slightly softer and lighter than other versions of the game and the gloves are fairly thin. The Eton fives court is modelled on part of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

's chapel and is enclosed on three sides and open at the back. It has a more complex variation and some specific court features or "hazards". A small step splits the court into upper and lower sections, and sloping ledges run horizontally across the walls, one of which forms the "line". There is a large obstruction, known as a 'buttress', or a 'pepper' to fives players, on the left-hand side of the court in line with the step. At the bottom of the buttress is the 'box' or 'pepper pot'. The step extends approximately 80 cm into the court and is around 15 cm high. The first courts at Eton were built in 1840, and subsequently at a multitude of other locations, and the Laws for Eton Fives were first published in 1931. The first Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Match was played in 1928, with a Ladies' Varsity Match following in 2007. The Eton Fives Championships changes location annually between the fives courts at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

and the courts at Eton.

Rugby fives

Former fives court, King Edward VI School Retford

is said to owe its creation to the Headmaster Thomas Arnold who had first played fives when a pupil at Lord Weymouth School, now

Warminster School Warminster School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, for students aged three to eighteen. Initially established in 1707, the school took its current form in 1973 with the amalgamation of Lo ...

. Rugby fives, developed at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

, is played in a four-wall court (quite similar to a

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

court). The four walls and floor are uniform and contain no hazards such as in Eton fives. The front wall has a height of fifteen feet, sloping down about halfway along to four feet ten inches at the back. Rugby fives is played as both a singles and a doubles game. The balls used in Rugby and Winchester fives are fairly hard and hence the gloves worn are thicker than those used in Eton fives. Rugby fives has had an official

varsity match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...

between Oxford and Cambridge annually since 1925. Rugby Fives Court, Retford is a Grade II listed Rugby fives court in

Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterf ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, built in memory of Captain William Eyre of the Lancashire Fusiliers who died at Gallipoli, who was a former pupil and teacher at the school. Only about 20 courts (including this one) are listed. The court was recently refurbished as part of the redevelopment of the site. It is classified as a war memorial.

Warminster fives

The game of Warminster fives, based on Wessex fives, is thought to have been played from as early as 1787 at Lord Weymouth School, now

. An 1860 fives court still stands at the school and was in regular use until the late 1950s. The game is not as well known as other versions, is rarely played in the area, and the fine details of the game are probably lost. The Warminster rules are recorded at the Eton Fives Association website.

Winchester fives

Winchester fives is a variation of Wessex fives, differing in the addition of a buttress (a thin layer of concrete reaching to the top of the court on the left-hand wall) much smaller than the one used in Eton fives. The courts at Winchester and

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

("proper" Winchester courts) have a back wall which further differentiates the courts from the Rugby variety.

Clifton fives

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

the court has a half-height back wall and if the ball bounces out of the back of the court, a 'let' is played.

St John's fives

This version of the game is played at St John's School in Leatherhead. The St John's version is very similar to the Eton version but does not include the step between the front and the back sections of the court. In 2011 the courts at St John's underwent an upgrade.

Gissop's fives

Played at the St Gissop School, West Sussex, this version is similar to Eton fives except that a beveled stone 'balustrade' features three feet and three inches above the floor of the tangential wall of the court. The game was supposedly invented by alumnus George Henry Steering, who excelled at the game.

Rossall fives

Played at Rossall school, this variant can most easily be described as a mix between Eton and Rugby fives. With a small buttress, no back walls and a low ledge, it can be a game that both Rugby fives players and Eton fives players can play on together on an almost level setting.

Players

Fives is a small sport played by groups and enthusiasts numbering perhaps 4,000 active adult players in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and there are a number of

Old Boys The terms Old Boys and Old Girls are the usual expressions in use in the United Kingdom for former pupils of primary and secondary schools.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While these are traditionally associated with independent schools, they are ...

' and university clubs which tend to be concentrated around the South East. There are other clubs around the country including Midlands clubs such as Bedford, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Rugby, Repton and Shrewsbury. A similar number play in schools. About forty schools are affiliated to the Eton Fives Association (the governing body of Eton fives) and compete in many tournaments and championship events throughout the year. Traditionally, this was a

pub game A pub game is one which is traditionally played inside or outside a pub or bar. Most pub games date back many years and are rooted in village culture. Many derive from older outdoor sports. Pub games can be loosely grouped into throwing games, ...

in the English county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. There are some well-established clubs overseas, such as the Zuoz Fives Club in Zurich, Switzerland,Zuoz Fives Club Zürich
Eton Fives Association. Retrieved 2017-06-23. and the game is also vigorously pursued in Nigeria where it is played by a cross-section of the population, especially in the north of the country.Brock, J. (2011)
"Eton's ancient game thrives in Nigeria"

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

, 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2017-06-23."Nigeria loves Eton fives"
''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

'', 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2017-06-23.Kano, G. P. (2013)
"Gentlemen in northern Nigeria"
''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2017-06-23. The game was introduced to Nigeria by an Old Etonian teacher, J. S. Hogden, who was working in the northern towns of

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

and Birnin Kebbi in 1928. It is generally played using a tennis ball in the country after Hogden realised that the traditional harder ball "took chunks out of the mud walls of the courts". A tour of northern Nigeria was carried out by players from the Eton Fives Association in 1965."A trip down memory lane - the EFA tour of Nigeria in 1965"
Eton Fives Association. Retrieved 2017-06-23. The Rugby Fives Association (the governing body of Rugby fives, founded in 1927) has affiliations from over 40 schools and 32 clubs, from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

, and there are also a number of clubs overseas, for example in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and the United States.

Australia and New Zealand

Although almost unknown today, fives was played in schools and universities in Australia in the nineteenth century. A court was opened at the Hutchins School in Hobart, Tasmania, in November 1877, The court was described as "the only one, we believe, in the colony", and its dimensions as: "Length of floor, 21 ft.; height and width of court 14 ft. each. The court will be an open one, with a flagged floor, the walls will be built of brick, and cemented on the inside." The erection of a fives court on the Recreation Ground of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

is noted in the Council minutes of Trinity College in 1873, and there were newspaper reports of an "annual tournament in connexion with the University Fives Club" in 1881, when Professor

Herbert Strong Herbert Augustus Strong (24 November 1841 – 13 January 1918) was an Australian scholar, professor of comparative philology and logic at the University of Melbourne. G. R. Manton,Strong, Herbert Augustus (1841 - 1918), ''Australian Dictionary o ...

acted as judge. A double-handed tournament and a single-handed handicap tournament were played there in August 1883. Fives is played in some secondary schools in New Zealand, for example

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

, New Zealand's oldest state school. Courts in New Zealand commonly have three walls, with no back wall.

Early match

The first match on record between schools was when an Eton pair played at Harrow in 1885 (F. Thomas and C. Barclay of Eton beat E.M. Butler and B. R. Warren of Harrow).

Today

Although the image of fives has been dominated by well-known public schools, courts do exist at state schools, and in recent years many of these have been brought into full use. The advantages of economy of space and low playing costs (ball and gloves) make it an attractive sport for schools. Fives continues to develop in England and has started to attract interest from the wider community. In the United States the only known fives courts are at Groton School and the

Union Boat Club The Union Boat Club (also known as UBC), founded in 1851, is an athletic club in Boston. It is the longest continuously operating rowing club in Boston. Located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood along the Charles River, the Club has grown beyond row ...

in Massachusetts since the courts at St. Mark's School were removed around 2005; a fives court was also built into the A.D. Final Club at Harvard in 1899. There are also numerous championships, notably the (doubles) Eton Fives Kinnaird Cup and the Rugby Fives Open Singles championship (the Jesters' Cup) and Open Doubles championship (the Cyriax Cup). There are many other Rugby fives tournaments. A very special Eton fives event is the Engadin Challenge Cup played in the Alps at an altitude of 5400 ft.