Dodgson sees off all-comers
THIS year's prestigious National Junior Handicap real tennis competition attracted a wealth of talented juniors to Seacourt, in December.
The tournament was split into two standard categories with the B grade taking place on the Saturday.
All the matches were played off handicap and on the timer which made the matches very competitive and extremely close.
Harry Dodgson and Charlie Thompson, two of Seacourts up-and-coming junior stars made their way into the semi-finals where they met two of Petworth's rising stars Charlie Braham and Jack Harland.
Thompson and Braham went head-to-head in a very exciting one set semi-final which went all the way with outstanding sportsmanship and intense rallies which Braham won.
The second semi was just as exciting with Dodgson and Harland exchanging shots and showing maturity way beyond their years.
But it was Jack who found the winning combinations to make an all-Petworth final.
Jack and Charlie are no strangers to each other's game and both new exactly how to approach the title decider.
Both Charlie and Jack dominated throughout out the eight-game set final with Charlie looking the stronger player at 6-3 and commanding play.
but Jack dug deep and found his range and clawed his way back into the match with some exceptional play and turned the match around to win 8-6.
The A grade was hotly-contested with the best-of-the-best from each club turning out in to challenge for the title.
Dodgson hit a purple patch of form in his group and eased into the semi-final where he met another talented Seacourt player, Giles Gunning, who had to give away a large handicap to Jack who took full advantage of the situation and attacked and chased every shot Giles through at him and won a place in the final.
The second semi saw Lewis Davies receiving a large handicap off the much-improved John Lumley.
Again the tactics were the same and Lewis took full advantage of the one serve and ban the tambour handicap and pressured John all the way in a very close match which saw Lewis reach the final.
The final couldn't have been closer with both players at the top of their game but it was Dodgson who found the edge to win the title.
A big thank-you goes to John Higney and Brendan Mulreany, of Square Mile Sourcing, for generously sponsoring the competition.
Max's Mayhem is a fun competition for the future stars of real tennis.
Eight five-11 year olds competed in a skills test for the title and after a very close competition, Huw Thomas fought off stiff opposition from Oliver Blake and George Charlton to win the title.
Squash
THE Christmas fancy dress handicap competition was well-attended and the costumes were very bright and funny, but the costumes soon became discarded as the competition heated up and the games became serious.
Greg Wells, having missed the point about coming as a Christmas character, turned up as a female hockey player and the ribbing did him a world of good as he destroyed all in his way including Santa's Mrs Clause, reindeer and he only just managed to beat Jesus (Rhys Glide) in a fantastic match to win the tournament.
Conor Medlow got the best dressed award as he pulled out all the stops and came as a young Miss Clause!
Badminton
THE Christmas handicap badminton competition had a huge turn out with 11 pairs competing for the title.
After a gruelling round-robin format and a plethora of tight matches going all the way, it came down to Keith Hellier and Guy McBride going toe to toe with Debs Cook and Paul Wiltshire.
A huge match ensued and it was Keith and Guy who found the winning shots in the crucial points to win the title.
Simon Flynn and nephew Josh paired up to challenge for the plate final title against Carl Clifford and Sam Windridge in another epic final which saw Team Flynn win the title in a very close match.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Hayling
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
