This year’s Amherst club tournament involved around 60 players playing across five formats – mens and ladies singles, mens and ladies doubles, and mixed doubles. With a main draw and ‘consolation’ contests for first round losers, that resulted in 97 matches over 12 days, including ten on finals day, Saturday 20 June.

Surprise winner of the men’s singles, with a career best performance, was Stefan Le Breuilly. He is son of former club chair Trevor Le Breuilly and became acting chair in his own right earlier this year. After clinching the first set against defending champion Quentin Soucek, Stefan trailed in the second, but saved two set points at 4-5 and another two at 5-6, and eventually triumphed in the tie-break.

In the men’s doubles, Stefan teamed up with Jack Watson to play teenager Toby H—- and Pete Farthing, veteran coach. Pete put on a master-class of serve and volley, but also employed the SABR, sneaking forward on service returns to be first to the net. He and Toby stormed to a first set advantage. Stefan and Jack turned the tide, their angles getting sharper, and they took the second. In a full third set, Toby held service bravely at 2-1, the momentum shifted again, and the age-contrast duo saw out the match.

The other three finals in the main draw all featured perennial finalists Nikki Crowhurst on one side of the net and Pearl Hare on the other.

In the mixed doubles, Nikki partnered Dylan Preece to play top seeds Pearl and Josh Craig. The match couldn’t have been tighter, with each pair each taking a set, the decider a Championship tiebreak, nicked 11-9. 

Straight back on court in the women’s doubles, Pearl paired with Karen Cunnington, while Nikki teamed with Debi Ani. The former pairing enjoyed a straightforward win.

In the ladies singles Pearl and Nikki went head to head in a rematch of last year’s final. The first set was even, only sealed by a late break of serve in Nikki’s favour. In the second, Pearl got off to a flying start and equalised. In the Championship tiebreak – a full third set was an option, unsurprisingly declined by the players after six full sets – Pearl hit some gems but it was Nikki who swooped in to take back her crown. Both have vowed never to play the singles again – but rival club members shouldn’t count on it.

Final results

• Mens singles: S Le Breuilly bt Q Soucek 6-4, 7-6
• Ladies singles: N Crowhurst bt P Hare 7-5, 2-6, 10-5
• Mens doubles: P Farthing and TH bt S Le Breuilly and J Watson 6-3,1-6, 6-1
• Ladies doubles: P Hare and K Cunnington bt N Crowhurst and D Ani 6-3, 6-0
• Mixed doubles: D Preece and N Crowhurst bt J Craig and P Hare 4-6, 6-4, 11-9

In HIP 281 we reported Joe Adams, coach at The Green, as receiving a presentation “on his Sussex county award as LTA Coach of the Year”. Adams was named as national LTA Coach of the Year in April. 

Coach Joe Adams won his tenth men’s singles title, beating Chris Grief 7-5, 6-2. Amanda Ruck won the women’s singles for the twelfth time, beating Emma Candy 6-0, 6-1.

Ruck teamed up with Beaula Page to win the women’s doubles over Hannah Gandy and Sheila King – their fifth title. She also combined with Grief to win the mixed doubles for the ninth time, beating Gandy and George Moon 6-1, 6-4.

The only near upset came in the men’s doubles where Grief and Tune, previous title winners on six occasions, had to come from behind against the young pair of Moon and Huxley Robinson Butler to win 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.

Rod Pavek beat Richard Bailey 7-5, 7-6 in the over-45s singles.

During the finals afternoon there was a presentation to Adams on his national award as LTA Coach of the Year.

New Blood at Amherst

By contrast, the Amherst club has been infused with younger players this year, particularly on the male side. Josh Craig, Stefan Le Breuilly, Bright Temba and teenagers Zach Read and Ollie Bearcroft have all produced notable performances in National League or Sussex Summer Doubles contests as the top men’s teams have held their own in both competitions.

The women’s first team, with Jada Ani unavailable, has been more reliant on established talent: Debi Ani, Nikki Crowhurst, Karen Cunnington, Pearl Hare, Anita Pearce and Barbara Fentiman have rotated appearances, winning enough to protect their standing in Division 3 of the Summer Doubles.

The Amherst club tournament finals took place on the day of the summer solstice, Saturday 21 June. In mostly glorious sunshine, a full crowd watching from the central decking between Courts 1 and 4 enjoyed a free-flowing bar, ploughman’s and strawberry comestibles, and a schedule that had to accommodate three of the four singles finalists also competing in doubles contests. Beginning at 1pm the tennis continued unabated through the afternoon and evening until prizes were handed down some seven hours later.

Quentin Soucek retained his men’s title with a confident demolition of younger opponent, Josh Craig, who had already justified his no.2 seeding by eliminating senior club coach Pete Farthing in a three-set semi-final four days before. “A win for my protégé is a win for me”, Farthing said.

Quentin then teamed up with son Orlando for the most enthralling match of the tournament in the men’s doubles final. Top seeds Jack Watson and Stefan Le Breuilly had breezed through previous rounds with their non-stop running, retrieving and all-round hustling style. They took the first set 6-2, and seemed to keep the upper hand in the second. But with a number of younger Soucek family members cheering on from the decking above, the father-and-son duo fought back, achieved 6-6 parity and won the set in a tie-break from 2-5 down. In the third set, their greater weight of shot from the back of the court and increasing volleying power eventually tipped the balance as they squeezed home 7-5.

Over on adjacent Court 4, last summer’s doubles champions mother-and-daughter Debi and Jada Ani were challenged by veteran pair Barbara Fentiman and Anita Pearce. The older team targeted Debi, less for her vulnerability than to avoid Jada’s fearsome array of groundstrokes on both wings, but again family values triumphed by a 6-1, 6-4 scoreline.

Women’s singles title-holder Nikki Crowhurst seemed to have the measure of Pearl Hare in a repeat of their 2024 final, taking a 5-1 lead in the first set as her booming ground-strokes and mercurial serve launched waves of attack. But Hare is a redoubtable competitor and, as errors crept into Crowhurst’s game, she turned the match round, winning the first set on a tie-break and the second 7-5 from 3-5 down.

Hare went on to secure a second championship victory, teaming up with Craig to win a comfortable victory in the mixed doubles over Watson – clearly a trifle weary after his epic men’s doubles match–and Karen Cunnington.

The whole fortnight of the championships was a triumph of club camaraderie–organised and delivered from beginning to end by volunteer members. Seventy-nine competitors (youngest aged 13, oldest 83) entered one or more of the five competitions; over a hundred matches were played, as first-round losers entered consolation events which peaked in a separate round of finals on the same day.

But in case the Amherst club might be thought too insular or self-regarding in this narrative, they are holding a quite different event tomorrow (Saturday) – a Dawn To Dusk charity tennis extravaganza in aid of St Michaels Hospice. From first court entry at 6am until fading light at 9pm, all seven club courts will be given over to coaching sessions, to cardio tennis and other challenges, and to open play, with suitable refreshments offered in the clubhouse. All proceeds will be donated to the hospice. Tickets (to book time slots) are offered free through Eventbrite, and players of all ages and abilities, with or without any connection to the club, are encouraged to come out to play–and donate. 

The annual international tennis tournament on the grass courts of Devonshire Park in Eastbourne has been downgraded in status this year, with the top women players on the global circuit diverted away to the more glamorous Queen’s Club in West London. The players of Hastings, however, have given that loss of prestige up the coast little thought as they focus on their home competitions. The Amherst club in particular has been drawing large crowds to its central decking area over the past ten evenings as the best of their number contest singles and doubles championships. These will culminate in five finals tomorrow (Saturday), starting at 2pm.

There’s been a notable influx of younger talent into the club over the past couple of seasons, both male and female, and it has showed in the quantity and quality of competition entrants. Best match so far in the men’s singles has been a quarter-final between the two quickest players around the court, Stefan Le Breuilly and Jack Watson. Neither has a big serve nor booming ground strokes, but both scamper back and forth with high energy, keeping the ball low and retrieving the irretrievable. Le Breuilly took a 5-1 lead in the opening set, with Watson fighting back to take a 6-5 lead, but Le Breuilly squeezed home in the tie-break. In the second set Watson went 3-1 up but, as drizzle gradually turned into rain, Le Breuilly’s relentless pressing edged the match back to equality, and he eventually secured a 6-3 winning margin to take the second set and the match.

Nevertheless, at the time of going to press, the seeding committee’s backing of established players to make it through to the latter stages looks justified. Le Breuilly was due to meet last year’s champion and number 1 seed, Quentin Soucek, in the semi-final. The winner of that match is likely to find himself playing senior coach Pete Farthing in the final. Farthing can’t even remember himself when he last entered the competition – certainly well over a decade ago – but he will certainly be out to win against whichever younger opponent he’s facing.

On the women’s side, last summer’s finalists Nikki Crowhurst and Pearl Hare are backed to repeat their encounter – an epic of high winds and shifting fortunes settled by a championship tie-break. However, previous winner Anita Pearce could cause an upset in the semi-finals.

Le Breuilly and Watson are the top-seeded pair in the men’s doubles, but there are a couple of father-son duos in the other half of the draw who could provide stern challenges: Quentin and Orlando Soucek are a formidable combination, as are Guy and Tom Lawford. Meanwhile, mother and daughter Debi and Jada Ani are expected to repeat their 2024 triumph in the women’s doubles, while Debi will also fancy her chances in the mixed after securing Farthing as partner.

Over in St Leonards, The Green club’s closed tournament will take place in the week following Wimbledon, with the finals planned for Saturday 19 July. Their men’s team, headed by coach Joe Adams and Chris Grief, have been performing well in Sussex Division 2 East of the National League, a tier above their Amherst counterparts–it was The Green’s second team that drew 6-6 with the top Amherst foursome in a tightly fought contest back in April.

Adams received the accolade of Coach of the Year from Tennis Sussex and then from the LTA, awarded no doubt mainly for his work alongside fellow coach Ross Cudmore at the refurbished tennis courts in Alexandra Park. Cudmore also received a county award as Disability Player of the Year.

Two matches on successive Sundays at Amherst this month brought contrasting fortunes for the club’s ladies team, playing in Division 2 of the Tennis Sussex Winter Doubles.

On 16 February the home duos, Nikki Crowhurst paired with Pearl Hare and Anita Gedge with Jennifer Naylor, were overpowered under a wintry sun by a high-class and much younger foursome from Maresfield. Amherst only won seven games altogether in eight sets, a comprehensive annihilation.

But a week later, shifting from the sand-dressed astroturf courts to artificial clay on a morning of grey skies and gusty winds, Amherst were almost equally dominant against the David Lloyd Club of Worthing. This time they won all eight sets with a combined loss of ten games. Crowhurst and Hare were in fine form, while mother-and-daughter combination Debi and Jada Ani were also much too strong for the visiting pairs.

Amherst have one fixture left in the winter tournament, away at Cross-in-Hand. That’s likely to be a much more even contest.

At Hastings Athletics Club (HAC) it’s been a busy and successful year for the club in every discipline – from local events to international level – as it celebrated its 60th anniversary. 

Ten club members featured in the UK top 10 for their age group, and 13 made the top 20 for performances in track, field and road in 2024.  

An astonishing 52 athletes made it into the top 10 in the club’s own records, with 17 breaking a total of 28 club records between them.

Back in February, athletes of different age groups won medals in indoor track events and, as the cross-country season wrapped up, youth athletes represented their schools and county up to national level. The adult team joined forces with Hastings Runners to lift aloft the cup for the East Sussex Sunday League. 

At the highly anticipated Hastings Half Marathon in March, HAC’s Grace Baker was first female home, nearly seven minutes ahead of her nearest challenger; Rhys Boorman, also of HAC, came sixth in the men’s race. Tom Chaffin won the mini-run. 

Track season brought top performances in the youth development league and Southern Athletics league, while the Sussex County Championships produced 12 medals. Rae Le Fay went on to represent Team GB in the 2,000 metres steeplechase – the first HAC athlete to do so at international level in the last ten years. She broke a British Milers Club record on her qualifier at under 20s level, her name now to be etched on the awards board in the clubhouse alongside many club legends.

A surge in interest for field events was well supported, leading to two hammer throwers, Alanna Oakman and Kitti Szabo-Papp, competing nationally at the English Schools championships. 

The club hosted not only two very successful league events on the track, but also a 60th anniversary competition and awards ceremony emphasising the longstanding camaraderie among its members. The clubhouse has had a refresh and is now a buzzing social hub at the end of every session. There is huge optimism for 2025.

FOOTBALL

It’s been a tale of three managers at the Pilot Field in 2024 – four if you count the caretaker role played last month by coach Sean Ray. A year ago Chris Agutter was in his second stint at the helm after arriving in October. He steered Hastings United to the fringes of the promotion play-offs at the top of the Isthmian Premier League in the spring, then left for the richer pastures of Worthing, now going well in the Vanarama National League. Danny Bloor, once of Eastbourne Borough, came in May, but was gone by late October. New appointment from the beginning of this month is Danny Searle, former youth coach at West Ham, who is armed with a UEFA Pro Licence and has previous managerial experience at several clubs in the National League.

At the beginning of April, Agutter’s team seemed well set to finish in the league’s top five, but a disappointing run at the end of the season – only one win in the last five games – meant a final placing of seventh, nine points short of the lowest play-off place. They also disappointed in losing the Sussex Transport Cup Final 3-0 to Horsham at the Amex Stadium. Despite having signed an extension to his contract for the 2024-25 season, Agutter swiftly announced his departure.

Incoming boss Bloor could point to an excellent record at Eastbourne, and came in praising the quality of the playing squad he was inheriting at the Pilot Field, the calibre of the directors and staff he was joining, and the passion of ‘U’s supporters. Most players were retained from the previous season, though the speed and skill of winger John Ufuah has been sorely missed. And initial results were encouraging, Horsham being beaten 2-0 on the opening day, followed by an away win at Whitehawk and progress through two rounds of the FA Cup. 

However, the team lacked the control in midfield that Agutter had always espoused, and leaked goals in defence. Reverses were suffered both away and at home: cup eliminations were coupled with a slide down the league table to the relegation zone. Bloor was unceremoniously dismissed after an FA Trophy defeat at Hadley on 26 October.

Ray took the reins as interim manager and, like his predecessors, started with a win, 2-0 at home to Whitehawk. But a fortnight later, with several players less than fully fit, the ‘U’s suffered a humiliating 9-0 league defeat at Hendon, and it is probably a relief all round that a more travelled manager has now arrived.

The choice of Searle for the managerial job is presumably based upon his record of enhancing youth development. There’s clearly scope for that in Hastings, though the standard of playable training facilities may be rather lower than he is used to. Most observers would agree that there is enough footballing talent available, if the team is set up capably and recovers good fitness levels. Davide Rodari is a proven goalscorer, Adam Lovatt is a hard-working and combative captain in midfield, and young players like George Walker, Freddie Legg and Fin Chapman should improve with experience. 

So far, Searle has seen his team score a league cup win on penalties over third-placed Cray Valley PM, a 3-2 away win over Chichester City and a gutsy 1-1 draw away last Saturday at second-placed Billericay.  

CRICKET

Hastings & St Leonards Priory cricketers experienced an ultimately unsuccessful return to the Sussex Premier League in 2024 when they were relegated by the narrowest of margins. In other years their record over the season of six victories and nine defeats might have accumulated them enough league points to survive, but they finished just three points short of eighth-placed Bognor Regis.

Needing a victory on the last day at home to runners-up Horsham in order to retain their status, they only got the game going at all by a mopping-up operation after heavy overnight rain. Batting first in a contest reduced to 40 overs per side, Priory scored a total of 165 for seven; Horsham accumulated steadily in reply, but wickets then tumbled under murky skies, and the last over came with nine wickets down and nine runs to win – or eight to tie, which would have been sufficient for Priory’s escape. It was not to be: a conclusive boundary was hit off the penultimate ball, and the Hastings side will be playing back in Division 2 next summer.

On the batting front, new captain Harry Scowen led from the front all summer, scoring 556 runs from 14 innings, including two centuries. Caleb Laloo also enjoyed an excellent first season as an opener. But none of the middle order, often required to accelerate the tempo after a sedate start, retained any consistent form, so that the side posted competitive totals on too few occasions.

John Morgan was yet again the pick of the bowlers, taking 22 wickets. Adam Barton gave him good support when available, and Adam Page enjoyed his best season to date as spinner. Aussie recruit Alex Osborne was unable to bowl his leg-spinners with any sort of control, however, and was ultimately released in mid-season. Young all-rounders Seaver Cowley and Iden McCleave had their moments of success with both bat and ball, but lacked the consistency which more experience may bring.

The future of Priory’s home ground, Horntye Park, is still in the balance, the plans to dig it up for housing seeming no further forward than this time last year.  

RUGBY

With a new chairman Ben Davies, a new coaching duo of Bruce Steadman and Ben Petty, and a new captain, Harry Walker, Hastings & Bexhill have been celebrating their centennial season with eyes on the future as well as the past.

On the pitch, having survived the threat of a second successive relegation in the Kent League in the spring, H & B’s first XV have performed well this autumn, chalking up seven victories out of 11 matches in Counties 3. Top three in the division are 2nd XV teams from Tonbridge (Juddians), Tunbridge Wells and Beckenham, but the Hastings team beat Beckenham convincingly in their opening game in September and went down only narrowly 14-17 to Tunbridge Wells a month ago. Defence has been strong – they have conceded less league points than any other team; and when their backs are on song, they can also score freely: New Ash Green were thumped 47-15 at H & B’s home ground of Alexandra Academy last Saturday.

The squad is still lacking in numbers, short of sufficient replacements when first picks are injured or otherwise unavailable, though those who have come in have generally acquitted themselves well. One boost is the return of Quin McManus after a spell in New Zealand.

Women’s and junior/ ‘mini’ teams have, in the meantime, been thriving. The women have combined to produce a joint team with Seaford. The ‘minis’ train at the club every Sunday between 9.30 and 11am – playing full contact rugby at under 9, under 10 and under 11 levels. The under 10s won their first game of the Polgrove Salts Cup, defeating Seaford earlier this month.

Lower age-groups play under ‘tag’ rules, with numbers surging after the club’s annual ‘bring a friend’ day. There will be several festivals of rugby for them to play in early next year. And there is now an under 6s section for children in school Reception and Year 1, learning basic ball control through playing fun and interactive games with a dedicated coach.

Off the pitch the club has held a centenary ball as well as two lunches for former players.

TENNIS

The (mostly) friendly dance of rivalry between the Amherst club in Hastings and The Green in St Leonards continued in 2024 with perennial ups and downs. 

In the Tennis Sussex Winter Doubles competition, The Green men’s team, boosted by participation of coaches Joe Adams and Ross Cudmore (late of Amherst), were promoted to Division 2 in the spring and have scored two match wins out of three in the current season. Shorn of these players, they’re not the same force, as they showed finishing mid-table in Division 8 of the equivalent Summer competition.

Amherst, too, were promoted from Division 5 to Division 4 of the 2023-24 Winter league, with consistent performances by captain Dylan Preece, Quentin Soucek, Anthony Hickey and Mark Cunnington. They have been struggling, however, at the higher level. In the equivalent Summer Doubles, starting in Division 3, they fielded nine players including several new to first team play, but were unable to win a team match and will play next summer back in Division 4.

On the women’s side, The Green were relegated from Division 3 to Division 4 in the spring despite the efforts of their always proficient first pairing, Beaula Page and Amanda Ruck. In the Summer league they finished mid-table in Division 4.

Amherst’s women were involved in thrilling finales in both competitions. Needing a 3-1 victory in their final Winter match away at Horsham to be promoted to Division 2, they won all three matches in third set tie-breaks, Pearl Hare paired with Nikki Crowhurst, Anita Pearce with Jane Garrett. Summer Division 3 was just as tight: again Amherst needed a 3-1 win away against Seaford & Blatchington for equivalent promotion. All four matches went to third set tie-breaks: this time Pearce and Debi Ani won both theirs, but Crowhurst and Hare suffered agonising defeats.

There are no inter-club matches featuring singles play, but Amherst held a highly competitive closed tournament in June. On a day of freakish wind-gusts, Soucek overpowered Hickey in the men’s final, while Crowhurst and Hare fought a thrillingly turbulent (though immaculately sporting) contest, just edged by the former in another third set tie-break.

CRICKET

Graeme Mounsey, RIP

JOHN MORGAN

Hastings & St Leonards Priory cricketers are mourning the death of former president, treasurer and player Graeme Mounsey, who has sadly passed away at the age of 90.

Nobody has done more for the Priory club than Graeme. He was a founder member when Hastings & St Leonards merged with The Priory in 1957 to form one of the strongest clubs in the Southeast, and was captain when it joined the Sussex League in 1971. He featured in many of the club’s early successes including the 1974 Kemp Cup win and the 1978 league championship.

He played with distinction in all XIs across the men’s teams, primarily as a wily slow left-arm bowler who put fear into the opposition batting line-up, but also a lower order batsman with a century to his name.

By the late 70s, Graeme had dropped to the 2nd XI, but was leading wicket-taker in 1981. He finished his playing career forming a formidable spin bowling attack in the 4th XI with Peter Finch in the noughties, though not before being recalled to the first team as a 65-year-old when the team was hit by a spin bowling crisis.

Graeme was similarly committed off the field, serving the club in many posts over a cumulative 68 years, as a rigorous and tenacious treasurer (nobody got away with debts to the club), as secretary, and latterly as club president until stepping down earlier this year. He also ran the 100 Club, the draw being the conclusion to many a committee meeting.

From 1974 until 2002, he was the chairman of the Central Cricket Ground Trust, integral in the planning and development of Horntye Park to save senior cricket in the town following the demise of the Central Ground.

   Above all, Graeme was a sincere and caring person, eager to help young players and to share his love of the game and the club. He was a regular spectator, greeting fellow cricket lovers with a cheery smile and a polite ‘good afternoon’. His loss will be sorely felt. 

With Wimbledon starting in less than two weeks, many people are toying with the idea of picking up a racket. Tennis is seriously good for you: it involves short bursts of high-intensity activity, “a thousand little sprints” according to Bjorn Borg; and it tones the muscles, strengthens the joints and improves your brainpower by forcing you to be alert throughout the game.

WILL’S STORY

Will had never been much of a sportsman. Since leaving school in the sixties, his entire adult life was sports-free apart from watching Wimbledon every year. In the summer of 2021, his interest was given a boost by the meteoric rise of Emma Raducanu. Now retired, he had time to follow the world tour and became truly hooked, watching every subsequent tournament.

In 2022, shortly before he turned 70, he woke up one day and thought: “I watch it all the damn time – why don’t I actually try and play the game?” He discovered that a friend of his played at Amherst, so went along with him a few times and learnt the basics. Then, one day while getting his car MOTed in St Leonards he noticed the gates to the Green Lawn Tennis Club hidden away next door. “I thought it was a lovely looking club,” Will says. “When I realised it wasn’t expensive to join, I did.” He soon became addicted to playing tennis and now feels incredibly fit: “When I started, I could do an hour twice a week; now I play two hours a day – every day.”

ALEXANDRA PARK PROJECT 

Luckily, it’s easy to find places in Hastings to play. If the established members’ clubs of Amhurst and The Green don’t appeal to you, there’s also Alexandra Park.

Last year, Hastings Borough Council refurbished the six unused tennis courts in Alexandra Park with funding from LTA. They offer everyone the opportunity to hire a court for just £5.50 per hour (household yearly membership just £39). 

When the courts first opened, a free day of coaching was offered to more than 250 participants. From zero participation, there are now over 300 players attending affordable coaching, over 400 annual family memberships and 1,000 players actively using the courts. Coaches Ross Cudmore, Alex Williams, and Joe Adams from Breakpoint Tennis have set up and implemented a full coaching schedule seven days a week for juniors, adults, and those with disabilities. There are several low-cost and free opportunities to play including Walking Tennis sessions for £3 per player and Free Parks Tennis every Sunday morning with equipment provided. 

Joe coaches players at several clubs in the area, including The Green and Alexandra Park. He emphasises that anyone can play: “Our aim is to increase participation across the whole community by expanding our partnership with Active Hastings and local schools.” He goes on to describe some of Breakpoint’s projects including tennis camps and walking tennis. He’s passionate about the coaching they do with SEN and disabled groups such as The Parchment Trust – including one group with three people in wheelchairs.

OPEN DAY

If you want to try some tennis yourself, Alexandra Park Tennis is celebrating its first birthday with a picnic in the park on 7 July, 10-2pm. There will be tennis sessions for the whole family with cardio tennis, junior tennis and adult tennis lessons for free, or just bring your racket for some free time on the courts – even if you haven’t picked one up for years.

For more information and bookings, visit: clubspark.lta.org.uk/AlexandraParkHastings.

The Amherst tennis club has held its own pre-Wimbledon tournament with competitive matches most evenings over an intensive fortnight. The club courts at Amherst Gardens are situated at the crest of a hill, which means that the wind is usually blowing in one direction or another, and on the day of the finals from (it would seem) all four quarters.

In the men’s singles there was an upset at the quarterfinal stage when Dylan Preece, champion for the past two years, was knocked out by Stefan Le Breuilly in a championship tie-break. Le Breuilly was then himself defeated by the hard-hitting Anthony Hickey in the semi-final, and Hickey succumbed in turn to previous runner-up Quentin Soucek in last Saturday’s final. 

The blustery conditions played havoc at times both with this match and the simultaneous women’s singles final, as Nikki Crowhurst’s strong ground strokes and big but erratic serve were matched by Pearl Hare’s flat returns and neat volleying. Crowhurst took the first set 6-1, Hare the second 6-4, and Crowhurst was down 5-7 in the concluding tie-break before winning the last five points to claim the title.

Soucek then combined with veteran Andy Chapman to win the men’s doubles against Jeff Gedge and Paul Ferrie. Mother and daughter Debi and Jada Ani defeated Anita Pearce and Barbara Fentiman in the women’s doubles. Gedge and Pearce gained success, however, as winners of the mixed doubles.

Amherst tennis players enjoyed a vintage winter doubles season as their top two men’s teams and first ladies’ team each gained promotion up the Sussex (TDS Ultra) Leagues. 

The men’s first team, led by Dylan Preece and Quentin Soucek, lost three of their seven matches in Division M5E but won each of the other four 4-0. One of those victories was achieved in a final match on 3 March against Badgers in Brighton, with Jack Watson elevated into the second pair with Anthony Hickey. There was then a wait for over a month to learn the result of the game last Saturday between rival contenders Grasshoppers and Crowborough – a 4-0 success for the former – which confirmed Amherst’s promotion as divisional runners-up.

The men’s second team cruised to the M7E divisional title, winning all five matches with only one rubber conceded (and that in a third set tie break). Watson, Jeff Gedge and George Moon were top points scorers, but were also aided over the course of the season by positive contributions from Andy Chapman, Josh Craig, Paul Ferrie, Hickey, Hayden Hoxey and Steve Kirby, showing the club’s strength in depth.

By contrast, the ladies’ first team squeezed into second place in Division L3 by the narrowest of margins, finishing equal on points with Seaford, but claiming the second promotion spot by the aggregation of sets won (32 as against 30) over their six matches. The final match, away to Angmering on 17 March, was won 3-1 with all three victorious rubbers decided in third set tie-breaks: the top pairing of Nikki Crowhurst and Pearl Hare triumphed twice, while Anita Pearce and Jane Garrett gained the crucial extra point. The ladies’ third team, led by Clare Hooton, also gained promotion from Division L9E.

Playing home matches just a mile down the road, The Green have also been promoted after finishing second in Division M3. Alex Williams was the top points scorer but, when they played, coaches Ross Cudmore and Joe Adams added an extra level of quality to the team performances.

For The Green ladies, first pair Amanda Ruck and Beaula Page continued their perennial partnership, notching enough wins to keep the team in contention, but they were given insufficient support. A 3-1 win was needed in their last match against Weald on 23 March to avoid relegation from Division L3. Ruck and Page won twice, and the pair of Hannah Gandy and Karen Walker raised hopes when they won the first set of their second–string match, but they eventually went down in the third set tie-break.

There was, however, compensation for The Green as their team won Division 1 of the year-long Wealden League, consisting of 19 mixed doubles teams representing clubs from East Sussex and Kent spread across three divisions. Cross-in-Hand were runners-up.

Amherst mixed doubles captain Sarah Chapman was sidelined throughout the year due to a knee injury, and the club’s first team finished fourth out of eight in Division 1. It will, however, be joined there for the 2024-25 year by the second team, captained by Steve Kirby, which finished second in Division 2.

Both the new Wealden League and the summer club doubles season start from this month, the latter now sponsored by Baboolat in place of TDS Ultra.

On the men’s side, The Green’s doubles teams are currently a little stronger, at least when club coaches Joe Adams and Ross Cudmore (who were both until recently also coaching at Amherst) are enrolled to play. In the Sussex TDS Ultra Winter Doubles league, their first team is poised to be promoted from Division 3 to Division 2. Their second team has been playing alongside the Amherst first team in Division 5 East and beat them 3-1 in a head-to-head contest in December, albeit with Adams as one of their four players.

The respective ladies teams have both been playing in Division 3 and crossed swords last Sunday on the artificial clay courts of Amherst. These had absorbed a high level of rainfall over previous days, but conditions on a damp and breezy morning were relatively benign. 

While Amherst’s top pairing of Anita Pearce and Jada Ani swept past The Greens’ second-stringers Sheila King and Heather Willcox to win 6-1, 6-0, the outcome on the court alongside couldn’t have been closer. Nikki Crowhurst and Pearl Hare won the first set 6-4 over The Green’s perennial competition pair, Beaula Page and Amanda Ruck, then succumbed 1-6 in the second. In the third set tie-break, Crowhurst and Hare just squeezed home 10-8.

In the reverse doubles matches, Crowhurst and Hare didn’t allow King and Willcox a single game, winning 6-0, 6-0; Pearce and Ani were also too strong for Page and Ruck, winning 6-2, 6-2. 

The 4-0 overall win for Amherst puts them at the top of the Division 3 standings with just one match to play – next Sunday (3 March) away at Horsham, who are third. Horsham and second-place Angmering have an extra fixture, but it pits one against the other, so a 3-1 or 4-0 win for the Hastings team next week could see them secure promotion back to Division 2, just a year after relegation and despite not having won any of their first three matches this winter.

By contrast The Green look destined for relegation, though their last match, scheduled for 23 March, will be against fellow-strugglers Weald.

Also last Sunday, the Amherst mixed doubles team cemented their place at the top of the Wealden League with two wins and two walk-overs in a 4-0 home win. The only team to rival them for the year’s championship is…The Green, who have a match in hand and an outside chance of overhauling them. Local rivalry remains. 

The Green Ladies remain very dependent on the quality of their first pairing, Beaula Page and Amanda Ruck. Playing together, they romped past both opposition pairs in their opening matches against Saltdean and Seaford in the third division of the ladies’ league, but with Page missing for the third match against Angmering the team went down 4-0.

After relegation last winter, Amherst Ladies play in the same division just a mile down the road. They had lost 0-4 to Seaford in November and drew 2-2 with Saltdean in January but, by contrast, defeated Angmering 4-0 in a very one-sided contest earlier this month. Jada Ani and Anita Pearce lost only two games in four sets, while Nikki Crowhurst and Pearl Hare were almost as dominant. Amherst and The Green are scheduled to meet at the former’s courts on 25 February in what should prove a highly competitive contest.

Meanwhile Amherst men retain an outside chance of promotion from Division 5 after dispatching Crowborough 4-0 on 4 February. First pair Dylan Preece and Quentin Soucek are formidable at this level, and the second pair, Mark Cunnington and Anthony Hickey, have also been scoring well. Maximum points in the last match against Badgers on 3 March could be enough to raise them to Division 4 if other results go their way.

In their final match in League M4 on 26 August, playing away at Saltdean, Amherst men’s team needed one out of four rubbers to match Southdown as prospective runners-up on 14 points for the season. Captain Dylan Preece partnered Harry Crane, recently returned to the club, while (in the absence of other stalwarts Mark Cunnington and Quentin Soucek) Ollie Bearcroft and Anthony Hickey were selected as second pair. 

The Saltdean top pair defeated both Amherst pairs in straight sets, but Preece and Crane gained a comfortable victory in their match against their hosts’ second pair, while Bearcroft and Hickey won their opening set against them before losing the second and the subsequent third set tie-break. That made a 3-1 overall win for Saltdean, but the extra set gained was enough to hoist Amherst above Southdown in the league table (by the margin of 32 sets to 31 won over the course of the six-match season) and thus seal promotion.

In League M8E, the Amherst second team enjoyed a much more straightforward promotion, winning the division by a margin of five points. Jeff Gedge, Nigel Spencer Smith, Jack Watson, George Moon , Paul Ferrie and Hickey shared the honours.

Hard on their heels are The Green men, who won League M9E. Lee Hagan and Joe Toogood, whether as partners or in separate pairings, were most prominent.

By contrast Amherst women were relegated from League L2 and The Green women from L3 after close struggles. 

It seemed probable that Amherst would avoid their fate when they gained a crucial point against Comptons in their last match, giving them seven points for the season, equal with Weald and two above Saltdean. These two teams still had to play each other in a final match on 26 August. Any result other than a 3-1 win for the latter could have seen Amherst finish above one or the other. But 3-1 to Saltdean it turned out, enabling each team to finish on eight points and send Amherst down.

In League L3 Beaula Page and Amanda Ruck resumed their formidable partnership as top pair for The Green after Ruck’s long injury absence. They scored eight wins in 12 rubbers over the season, but no productive second-string pair could be found to back them, and the team finished bottom of the division.

There’ll be only one division between them and Amherst’s second team next summer after the latter came out top of League L6, one point above Meads. Again there was a close finish on the last Sunday, 27 August, when Amherst were held to a 2-2 draw by Comptons fourth team while Meads were winning 3-1 at Arundel. Captain Jenny Naylor partnered Barbara Fentiman to win one rubber for Amherst, while Clare Hooton and Ginny Gregory gained the other after a third set tie-break. 

The winter doubles season started last weekend. It runs through until the end of March with multiple teams from Amherst and The Green competing as usual. However, there will be a chance for players of the two clubs, and anyone else resident in the borough, to meet at close quarters next weekend (Saturday 30 September at The Green and Sunday 1 October at Amherst) when the Hastings Mixed Doubles championships are contested. There will be separate competitions for intermediate and advanced levels.

Six hard courts in Alexandra Park have been renovated by Hastings Borough Council  (HBC) with funds from the Lawn Tennis Association, and will be officially reopened tomorrow (Saturday).

In celebration, Break Point tennis, an enterprise led by local coach Joe Adams, will be offering free tutorial sessions throughout the day, with games, competitions, and social events. Rackets and tennis balls will be provided, so anyone can come along and play.

Coaching sessions will be split across the day, including adult coaching, cardio tennis, family time, junior (11-16) and youth (5-10).

The future cost of playing on these courts has been set remarkably low. A household of up to five people can book them for up to two hours per day for 365 days a year at an annual cost of £36. This compares with an individual subscription of £147 per five-month year for a season ticket on the council’s bowling greens.

Asked why there is such a discrepancy, a council spokesperson said that ‘fine-turf’ maintenance of the greens is much more expensive than upkeep of hard tennis courts. “The prices for tennis were based on a combination of experience from other LTA-funded sites; they were set at the lower end of what is typically charged elsewhere. It was decided to make it as easy and affordable as possible for people to play tennis.”

Adams said: “It is with great excitement that we are partnering with Hastings Borough Council, the LTA, and Active Hastings to make tennis more accessible to the community of Hastings. There is no doubt that the quality of the courts and exceptional value of the membership will attract hundreds of new players to the sport. The full coaching programme will complement our existing activities at The Green and Amherst clubs, and at local schools.” 

Cllr Andy Batsford, lead councillor at HBC for health and culture, added: “We are delighted with the new courts at Alexandra Park and are looking forward to seeing lots of people at the opening. The refurbished courts are a fantastic addition to the sports facilities in our town, a big thank you to the LTA for funding the improvements. Tennis is a great way of getting out in the fresh air and it can be played with friends and family, so it’s a sociable activity too.”

You can find out more and book your free session and/or annual subscription on-line at clubspark.lta.org.uk/AlexandraParkHastings

On a damp and humid day of showers and perspiration, neither Amherst’s first pair of Anita Pearce and Barbara Fentiman – fresh from their club championship triumph a couple of weeks before – nor second pair Pearl Hare and Karen Cunnington, could overcome the very steady first Weald pairing of Karin Crabbe and Carolyn Robinson. But both managed straight set wins over the second pair.

The result leaves Amherst on five rubbers from five matches, level with Comptons 2nd team and one ahead of Saltdean, each with one to play. Amherst have a daunting last fixture, away to the Comptons first team on 23 July, but their rivals don’t have easy final matches either – one rubber out of four might be enough to save them from relegation.

The Amherst men’s team led by Dylan Preece are meanwhile going well in Division M4, with eight rubbers already notched from their opening three matches.

 Hastings Borough Council and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) last week announced a partnership to renovate six tennis courts in Alexandra Park at a cost of just under £100,000.

The money is being provided as part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, with the aim of “opening up the sport to many more people”. It is claimed that park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, particularly critical to opening up the sport to “those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls”.

Alongside the investment, Hastings Borough Council “and local tennis providers” will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly-organised free tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with or their own racket. Both for these sessions and otherwise, the courts will be available to book online via an LTA website.

Existing clubs Amherst in Hastings and The Green in St Leonards, which already offer generous membership terms and extensive coaching to juniors, are not involved in the renovation of the park courts. But Peter Farthing, head coach at Amherst, believes it’s positive news for tennis in Hastings. “The more merrier,” he said. “It’s great to have a route into tennis via park courts – just as it was in the past. Then, as beginners improve, and seek better quality surfaces and more coaching, the clubs are there to provide them.

Work is due to start on Monday 3 April and be completed by the summer.

Amherst Ladies first team lost all four doubles matches on Sunday at home to Hove visitors Pavilion & Avenue, and thus failed to preserve their place in Division 2 of the county’s winter doubles competition. 

The two teams started the day each with just four points (representing four rubbers) from their previous five matches and, with Amherst boasting a marginally better record of sets won against sets lost, a 2-2 draw should have been enough to keep their noses in front of their visitors and also lift them above already relegated Weald. Experience was there in abundance for the home team – Nikki Crowhurst paired with Jane Garrett, Karen Cunnington with Debi Ani. But all four visiting players, each with considerable youth advantage over their hosts, hit the ball with greater power from both sides of the court, moved quicker and made consistently fewer errors. Only when the Amherst pairs came to the net were the rallies more evenly disposed. 

Next winter they’ll be re-joining neighbours The Green in Division 3. The pair of Amanda Ruck, fit again after serious injury, and Beaula Page, resumed their sweeping successes for the St Leonards club but did not find enough support to push the ladies team higher than fourth.

The Amherst men’s first team, meanwhile, with a settled first pairing of Dylan Preece and Quentin Soucek, ably backed by veterans Andy Chapman and Mark Cunnington, had looked capable for much of the season of progressing in their Division 5E, only to be crushed 4-0 by winners Saltdean in their final match and finishing third out of seven.

Over at The Green, a disappointing 2-2 draw between their men’s team and Pavilion & Avenue on the last Saturday resulted in both teams sinking to Division 4.

Hastings United celebrate title victory April 2022
CREDIT: Scott White

Football

The long term future of Hastings United and of its century-old ground at the Pilot Field is the subject of news headlines which threaten to overshadow the team’s performances on the pitch. However, 2022 has been an excellent year for manager Gary Elphick and his squad, gaining promotion to the Isthmian Premier League in April, and maintaining their position in the top half of the higher league table during the first four months of the current season.

This time last year the ‘U’s were lying only fifth in the South Eastern Division, but by the middle of January they had risen to the top, then won a pivotal game at the end of that month on the 3G pitch at Ashford, their nearest challengers. From that point on they were in cruise control, and never seemed likely to falter, suffering only one defeat in 20 games between November and April. 

Complementing this run of success came bumper crowds. From December onwards, home attendances regularly topped 1,000; at away matches the travelling supporters from Hastings often out-numbered home support. A remarkable 3,000+ showed up at Pilot Field on 2 April for the match against Haywards Heath, when promotion would be secured by a victory. Frustratingly, that game ended in a 0-0 draw, but the following Saturday a draw at Faversham sealed both promotion and the league title.

Season 2022-23 so far has been one of consolidation. The team remains extremely hard to beat, with Louis Rogers excelling in goal and Alex Brefo, newly added to the squad, a commanding figure in defence. Only 13 goals have been conceded in 18 league games. 

Scoring has been rather harder. Summer recruits brought in by Elphick to provide a supply line to striker Ben Pope have disappointed. However, the occasional appearances of Joe Gbode, a 17-year-old loanee from Gillingham who looks to have a bright future in the professional game – he has been playing recently in the League Two side’s first team – have shown that, with some sustained quality up front, Hastings could be in with a shout for at least a play-off place, come April.

The United women’s team narrowly missed out on promotion from the South Division of the London & South East Regional League (tier six of the women’s football pyramid) despite winning 15 out of 18 games, including twice against eventual champions Crawley. This season, staying at the same level, they have won all nine league games – but so have near neighbours Ashford. The championship may again go to the wire.

H & B team 2022/23 beneath new posts at Ark
CREDIT: Peter Knight

Rugby 

The Hastings & Bexhill club has seen major changes and developments on and off the pitch.

The 1st XV completed their 2021-22 season in the Kent League as runners up to Park House and narrowly lost the Kent Vase Final to the same Bromley-based club.

This season saw a major reorganisation of the Kent League structure. H&B have been placed in County League 2 and are currently holding their own against some very strong opposition.

The mini and junior sections continue to thrive; a very successful mini festival was held in October. On many occasions the 1st XV squad of 18 contains 14 or more players who started their rugby career in the minis.

Chairman of over ten years Jerry Hohenkerk retired in May, to be replaced by former club skipper Neil Redman.

During the close season the goal posts which had been installed over 30 years ago were replaced; the job took three weekend sessions undertaken by members volunteering their labour.

A sponsorship deal for 1st XV shirts, post protectors and corner flags was signed with Greymoor Homes. 

Sadly, the club mourned the deaths of four long term members. David Sansbury and Ron Yates passed away in February, Richard Sheppard in September and David Grey in November. They had all served the club as players and in other roles as sponsors, coaches and committee members.

Cricket

After such a successful season in 2021 – the 3rd XI promoted as champions, the 2nd XI finishing 3rd in Div 4 East and the 1st XI completing a miraculous Premier League relegation survival by winning the last four games – the cricketers of Hastings & St Leonards Priory were always going to find the 2022 season a challenging one. There was more than usual unavailability at the start of the season, impacting on all the teams, and the 1st XI suffered a major setback when overseas recruit Abhay Negi, of whom much was expected with both bat and ball, broke his arm within the first month of the season and spent most of the summer nursing it on the sidelines.

These misfortunes increased opportunities for younger players, however. For the majority of the season there were on average six or seven teenagers in the team – quite an ask in Premier League cricket – who put in some excellent individual performances. Harvey Faulkner, Dylan Woolley, Iden McCleave, Dan Pascall and Seaver Cowley all shone on occasion, and there were many games where the team should have got over the line to record victories but didn’t quite do so. Despite eventual relegation it was a great exposure and experience for the younger players to take forward to next year. The 3rd XI were also relegated but in a ten-team division where four teams were relegated, retaining status was always going to be a tall order. The 2nd XI enjoyed a great end-of-season run to win four of their last five matches and retain their place in a highly competitive Div 4 East.

Off the pitch, the move away from Horntye – home of the club since 1995 – to Claremont was overall a pretty successful one. Work undertaken on the ground pre-season paid off: the wicket and pitches played very well, scoring highly on the league umpires’ pitch reports. The plan for the 2023 season is to remain at Claremont, with hopes that a new cricket square and net training facilities will be laid in March 2023 in readiness for the 2024 season.

Jason Finch, leading Priory all-rounder for many years and father of Sussex batsman Harry Finch, has been appointed as Director of Cricket at the club with the task of mentoring and co-ordinating all the men’s teams. It’s hoped that all three team captains will resume their roles next year under his guidance. Whether there will be another overseas recruit has not yet been decided. 

Tennis

The Amherst club, formed in 1922, celebrated its centenary in style in September, well in excess of 100 past and present members sharing self-catered food and undertaking a variety of tennis challenges promoted over its seven courts. Most rewarding was the number of former child players who have left the town as adults but returned for the day to meet their former coaches and play again on the courts where they had first learnt their skills.

In county doubles competitions both men’s and ladies’ first teams retained status in respective winter and summer leagues. For the men Quentin Soucek and Dylan Preece have formed a formidable pairing, while the ladies team led by Jane Garrett and Nikki Crowhurst continue to compete at a very high level, often matched against professional coaches in opposing ranks.

Down the road at The Green, the men’s first team have been holding their positions in county competitions, while the second team won Division 6 of the 2021-22 winter doubles league. The ladies found it difficult to compete at previous standards while leading player Amanda Ruck was out with injury, but she has now returned – with the added personal satisfaction of claiming Amherst’s singles title in September. The Green’s mixed doubles team currently heads the Wealden League standings.