The OT Rackets weekend in November was expertly managed yet again by Dave Makey. Fourteen OTs participated along with eight members of the school.
Young Charlie Hill, aged fifteen, kept his head and his nerve to take the ‘B’ Plate 25/17 against veteran, Nigel Hawkins, a past Public Schools Doubles Champion.
The ‘B’ singles was comfortably won by Duncan Odds, the present school Captain of Rackets, by 25-10 against Adam Philipson. Seeded three in the Foster Cup at Queens, he must stand a good chance of going the whole way.
The ‘A’ singles produced some excellent rackets, and the semi-final between John Spurling and Rupert Owen-Browne a particularly good contest. Rupert won 2-1 and moved into the final to take on holder, Dave Makey, who had dispatched Giles Constant. There were some fast and exhilarating rallies, but Dave’s steadiness won the day 15-4, 15-10.
The school pair, Duncan Odds and James Hill, contested the doubles final against Chris Charlton and David Jones. At one game all, the match could have gone either way, but Duncan had a good run from the service box, and established a commanding lead in the final game, which saw the boys home 15-8,7-15,15-9.
We are most grateful to the school for allowing us to use the court over the weekend and to the Orchard Centre for feeding us so well. Finally, a further word of thanks to Dave Makey for organising such a fun, competitive weekend. The OTs thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the boys won three of the four events, giving them invaluable practice and experience for Queens.
Richard Gracey