Eton fives

Eton fives is an uncommon sport, with only a few courts, most of them as part of the facilities of the independent schools in the United Kingdom.

The shape of the court used now is taken from the chapel at Eton College, where A. C. Ainger and some of his friends developed a simple set of rules in 1877.

[1] There are also two levels to the court, the front being around six inches higher than the back half of the playing area.

The diagonal ledge drops vertically at the edge of the 'top-step' and then returns to normal at a slightly lower height on the bottom step, running to the back of the court.

Between the buttress and the top step is a small rectangular area about 10 cm sq, often referred to as the 'pepper pot'.

Fives has many rules that are similar to other court type games, such as tennis or squash: However, there are a large number of rules unique to the game of Eton fives: A point operates thus: At the start of the play, the server stands between the buttress and the front wall.

The server throws the ball high so it bounces off the front and right wall, landing after the step and roughly in the middle of the court (note: different players like the ball to bounce at different points in order to get varying types of spin on their 'cuts').

Other tournaments include the Northern Championships and the Eton fives Association (EFA) Trophy, where teams of 6 players (3 pairs) compete against one another in one-set matches.

[citation needed] The only known court to be owned by a private individual in the UK is on the Torry Hill estate in Kent.

[2] However, the first real public courts have recently opened in the Westway Sports & Fitness Centre in London's White City,[3] marking a possible change in fortunes for Eton fives as a minor sport.