Historic Fives Championship Win

Congratulations to Seb Cooley, Master i/c Fives, and Tom Dunbar for winning the Kinnaird Cup this year for a record-equalling 10 in a row championship titles.

The Kinnaird Cup is the most prestigious trophy in men’s fives: the National Championships for adults. The semi-finals of this competition had been scheduled for 28^th March this year and were therefore postponed. Semis and final were able to be played over two weekends in October half term, all players having had several months away from any competitive matches. The permitted crowd was one spectator per player, plus two neutral officials from the Eton Fives Association: rather fewer than would usually watch!

History was in the offing as the top seeds aimed to equal the pairs’ record of 10 consecutive wins set from 1981 – 1990. In winning, Tom Dunbar extended his lead as the most successful player of all time, having now won an astonishing 16 titles.

Other notable Salopian winners of the Kinnaird Cup include headmaster J.M.Peterson (himself a former Head of School and School House boy) and A.R.B. (Robin) Moulsdale, former housemaster of Moser’s who in recent years has occasionally still visited the school to support the 1^st XI footballers or the top fives pair. He once, although in his 50s, beat the pair who set the 1981 – 1990 record: he was a fine player even at that age and the young champions were rattled by his method of sitting by the buttress and meditating between games.

The footage below is a rally from the Kinnaird Cup.