Marlborough College, Dorset
Saturday, 12th April 2025
STOP PRESS It was all change in the Masters (65+) and Grand Masters (75+) as we saw competitions without the late Tony Hamilton, his long-standing partner Spencer Beal and multiple title-holder Bernard Atkinson. This opened the door to Stuart Kirby & organiser Brian Kirk to win the Masters trophy in a four-pair round robin and for Neil Arnott & Chris Horrocks to have their names added to the records for the Grand Masters Championship at the expense of Bev Boag & Giles Stimson. To afford the assembled players from both competitions some further convivial Fives Brian organised a Legends’ Grande Mêlée composed of 7 random pairs, from which a final emerged between John East & Leslie Jenkinson and a victorious Chris Blakeley & Andy Passey.
The Masters Doubles
1st Won 3 / 45 pts: Stuart Kirby & Brian Kirk beat Passey & Spiegal 15-10; bt Blakeley & Sutcliffe 15-3; bt Hillman & Jenkinson 15-3
2nd Won 2 / 40 pts: Andy Passey & David Spiegal beat Blakeley & Sutcliffe 15-4; bt Hillman & Jenkinson 15-3
3rd Won 1 / 22 pts: Chris Blakeley & Richard Sutcliffe beat Hillman & Jenkinson 15-0
4th Won 0 / 6pts: Tom Hillman & Leslie Jenkinson
The Grand Masters Doubles
Final: Neil Arnott & Chris Horrocks beat Bev Boag & Giles Stimson 15-12
The Legends’ Grande Mêlée
Group A: 1st East & Jenkinson; 2nd Brown & Horrocks; 3rd Hillman & Spiegal; 4th Kirk & Stimson
Group B: 1st Blakeley & Passey; 2nd Arnott & Sutcliffe; 3rd Boag & Kirby
Final: Chris Blakeley & Andy Passey bt John East & Leslie Jenkinson 15-3
First-time Masters Champions Stuart Kirby & Brian Kirk
David Spiegal & Andy Passey runners-up in the Masters Doubles
Masters Bronze Medallists Richard Sutcliffe & Chris Blakeley
Old Tonbridgian Neil Arnott wins his first Grand Masters Doubles title …
…. as does former RFA President Chris Horrocks
Neil shows off his medal at the Old Tonbridgians evening
The Wessex Club had a good day indeed, as …..
…. Bev Boag and Giles Stimson (here) took silver in the Grand Masters
The organiser, Brian Kirk, …
… looks like he had a hard one!