The Lionel Cox event is a unique inter county event which involves boys and girls from U9's, 10's and 12's over the first bank holiday weekend of May each year. More recently the event has had a focus on doubles, further enhancing the team nature of the competition. 10 counties from the 'East Region' battle it out for position, with the final results counting towards each county's final place out of the 10.

This years Lionel Cox event was held over two venues. Hills Road, Cambridge hosted the U9's, with the U10's and 12's at Wycombe Abbey, Buckinghamshire.

U10's - Saturday and Sunday

The U10 girls team consisted of Alsie, Bea, Ioanna, and Esmee. Over the course of the two days the team stuck with Alsie and Bea as a pair, with Ioanna and Esmee as our second pair. With Ioanna & Esmee stepping up from the U9's, both girls put in a tremendous shift in each match. Some close, but competitive sets were unfortunately not converted, with their only win coming in the final match of the weekend. Alsie and Bea with a good win over Suffolk in match two, were unable to covert many sudden death deuces in round 3 and 4. It was great to see the girls work so hard for each other on court and also won their final match to give Norfolk a 2-0 win over Oxfordshire. 9th place for the girls.

The U10 boys team consisted of Matthew, Joshua, Dexter and Freddie. Aside from a very tough match against Hertfordshire, the boys got stuck in and competed well. Matthew & Joshua just losing out in a 3rd set tie break against Oxfordshire, with Freddie & Dexter also unlucky in their opening set. A change of pairs saw a 2-0 win over Bedfordshire, with Freddie & Joshua forming a good partnership at #2 and getting a good win against Berkshire. A frustrating final table saw the boys just miss out on 3rd place, resulting in a 7/8th playoff with Suffolk. This went the way of the Suffolk team, with the boys confirmed at 8th.

U12's - Saturday and Sunday

The U12 girls team was Amelija, Sophia, Riya & Sofia. Amelija and Riya got the girls off to a good start with a win against Bedfordshire. In round two a desperately close 3 set loss to Hertfordshire from Amelija and Sophia meant a 0-2 loss. Against Oxfordshire, Sofia and Sophia got their first rubber as a pair on the board, with a comfortable win. This came after Amelija and Riya lost at #1 3-4 3-4 in a very entertaining match. The final round saw the team lose 0-2 to Bucks which meant the girls would finish 4th in their box and play for 7th/8th. With both pairs falling away after good showings in their opening sets, they finished 8th after a 0-2 loss to Northants.

The U12 boys team was Sam, Albert, Micah, Thomas (Sat), and Aaron (Sun). Our boys were drawn in a very tricky group, which saw them struggle to covert many of their games despite some highly entertaining tennis. Micah and Thomas with some great doubles were outclassed in the key points during their match with Essex. With a few changes in pairings over the weekend, all the boys worked hard for each other and showed great sportsmanship and energy on and off court. They ended up 4th in their group and played off for 7/8thin which they got the closest they could to a win with a 3rd set loss from Sam and Micah at #1. Albert and Aaron also losing out in the second pair with the team finishing 8th.

U9's - Sunday

The U9 girls team was Anastasia, Betsy, Emily and Eva. Emily and Eva being called up from U8's to replace Ioanna and Esmee who played in the 10's. In an opening match with Essex, the girls got a taste of the level the eventual competition winners were bringing to the day! Emily and Eva with a second set surge which nearly took their match to a 3rd set. In round two against Berskire, Emily and Eva would convert their chances to take their match to a 3rd set, losing it 6-7. A change of pairs saw Anastasia and Eva go to a 3rd set with Bucks, with Betsy and Emily also starting to find some rhythm. However, a 5th placed finish left the girls playing Bedfordshire for 9/10th. Both of the new pairs produced their best performances of the day to win in two sets and finish 9th.

The U9 boys team was Henry, Oliver, Aksel and Barnaby. Henry and Oliver played the entire event together, with Aksel and Barnaby at #2. All nerves were settled with a comfortable win over Northants in the opener. Barnaby and Aksel then winning very quickly against Oxfordshire with Oliver and Henry backing it up for another win. Then came the one fixture that ended up costing our boys a place in the final. A 3 set loss to the Herts #1 pair and a loss at #2 meant we had to win against Cambridgeshire for any chance to qualify in one of the top spots. Two genuinely epic battles and 3 set wins resulted in all results having to be checked and double checked for the final group standings. The end result was that Norfolk had missed out on 1st place by 1 set! The boys actually finished 3rd due to a 2.2% sets for/against variation over the morning. This left us with a playoff for 5/6th against Suffolk where the boys duly dispatched their opposition for the 5th spot.

Overall, captains Chris Stocker and Samantha Hickman felt there were a lot of 'what if' moments over the weekend. However, all boys and girls teams were a pleasure to look after on and off court. A huge thank you to all the parents who were also very supportive of all players and the coaches.