South West Open Championships Preview

Blundell’s School, Tiverton, 12/13th July 2014

Bob Dolby writes: I believe it is the custom for football managers to write ‘programme notes’ ahead of a match. In keeping with this departure Wayne Enstone has now done the same for this weekend’s 30th South West Open at Blundell’s.

“This is officially the 30th tournament; however, there will be another 30th for me as organiser in two years’ time. This is because I had a couple of years off, one for our daughter’s birth in ‘85 when a very efficient and good friend Geoff Sherratt stepped in and then for my re-hip replacement in 2012 when messrs Lewis, Watson and Rew boldly filled in for me and kept the show on the road.

It was in 1983 that the Exeter Fives Club, after several refreshing drinks in the White Hart Hotel in Exeter, agreed to the tournament being played on their courts at Exeter University. Leaders of the club then were Cedric Clapp and Peter Lewis with able assistants in Phil Maud and Malcolm Bramley. Tim Lewis was in those days assistant to the assistants! How did we ever manage to finish the tournament with just two courts, especially as I think our best entry was 42? My thanks must also go to two of my best friends and mentors in many aspects of life – Fred Beswick, who responded to the concept of a tournament with “What a great idea!”, and Danny McGregor, whose company sponsored the buying of the trophies.

Some last words of historical thanks go to Stuart Watson whose company sponsored the tournament for many years; to Douglas Rice for his time given to Fives at Blundell’s School and who enabled a seamless transition to their courts when we lost the University ones, to Paul Rivett who took over from Douglas and more recently Bertie Matthew and Chris Hedley-Dent ; and from a sponsorship point of view in more recent times to Nigel Gordon for his support in providing the G6 balls that give us all so much enjoyment.”

What Wayne modestly omits to mention is that he won both the singles and the doubles in the inaugural year (and 15 times more thereafter). By all accounts this is one of the most enjoyable events of the year, reckoned by some to be the first tournament of the season and by others the last (though the new South East Championship in August will now take on that mantle). Wayne deserves all our warmest thanks for master-minding this tournament, which grew from the Exeter Fives Week, a coaching course he ran previously, and for doing so for so many years.

PS Closer examination of the records revealed that it will in fact be the 31st! Even more impressive.

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