The 2004 Irish Real Tennis Championship May 1st and 2nd, Bristol and Bath Tennis Club

2004 Irish Champion: Alastair MacKeown
2004 Open Champion: Nick Ponsford
Congratulations!

Our 2004 championships were held over the weekend of 1st/2nd May at Bristol and Bath Tennis Club. The event was a great success, with players competing for two trophies: an Irish Championship for players with connections to Ireland, and an Open Championship for all-comers. We gratefully acknowledge the sponsorship of Investor Select Advisors, who also sponsored last year's championships.

We are very grateful to Nick Ponsford and Kevin King of B&BTC for their enormous help and support in the organisation and running of the weekend. They innovatively organised the heats as doubles games, giving everybody much more court time.

P.J. Probyn, chairman of B&BTC, kindly arranged an excellent social evening at the Clifton Club on Saturday. P.J. had extended the invitation to B&BTC members, and this gave us a good opportunity to meet local players in the elegant surroundings of the Clifton Club's facilities.

On Sunday, the Open Final saw Brian Rich defend his 2003 title, with the match going to the last game of the last set. Nick Ponsford won the crucial points to become Open Champion. The Irish Championship final was fought between Adam Grummitt and newcomer Alastair MacKeown. Alastair won an exciting match to become the 2004 Irish Champion.

We are grateful to Brian Rich for showing and explaining more of his extensive collection of slides on the history of the game. Players and supporters also heard from Mike Bolton, who provided a status update on our hopes for the future of the Dublin real tennis court.

Update: Pictures now available!