Rugby fives

Rugby fives is a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court.

It is most commonly believed to be derived from Wessex fives, a game played by Thomas Arnold, famous Headmaster of Rugby School, who had played Wessex fives when a boy at Lord Weymouth's Grammar, now Warminster School.

An early mention of the game can be found in the novel Tom Brown's School Days (1857) by Thomas Hughes.

In addition, a wooden board running across the front wall with an upper height of 2 feet 6 inches marks the lower limit of the in-court area.

The walls may be stone or brick but covered in a smooth layer of hard-wearing plaster or alternatively they may be of the same construction as modern squash courts being hollow engineered wood filled with sand.

Usually a 50-50 chance scenario is adopted at the start of a match in order to determine who should serve first (e.g. one player puts the ball behind their back and their opponent guesses which hand it's in); however, sometimes a ‘roll’ is used to determine the team that serves ‘seconds’ or ‘second hand’, a ‘roll’ requires the ball to be bounced off of the front wall, the team who rolls closest to the back wall serves ‘seconds’.

The association aims to promote the playing and coaching of Fives at schools, universities and senior level, and throughout the community in general.

It does this by organising matches and tournaments throughout the season and advising on – and wherever possible supporting financially – the regeneration of facilities and provision of suitable coaching and equipment to further the game's development across the country.

The RFA is the source for all of the information within this Wikipedia entry - verification and additional information can be found on the RFA Website: See www.therfa.uk [1] The current national singles champion is Ben Beltrami (December 2023) and national doubles champions are Ed Kay and Dan Tristao (April 2024).

A Grade II listed[2] Rugby Fives Court in Retford, Nottinghamshire, was built in memory of Captain William Eyre of the Lancashire Fusiliers who died at Gallipoli, and was a former pupil and teacher at the school.