Eleven teams from across the RAF competed for the prestigious title of the 2007 Inter-Station Tennis Champions at the RAF Tennis Centre Halton on 8/9 May 2007. The competition got underway in very blustery and showery conditions but this did not dampen players’ spirits and a full day of tennis was achieved with the group phases completed by early afternoon. The results dictated that Brize Norton, Benson, Linton-on-Ouse and Marham would contest the ‘A’ Cup whilst Halton, Lyneham, St Mawgan and Brampton/Wyton/Henlow would contest the ‘B’ Cup.

The semi-finals were played on the afternoon of day one and in the ‘A’ Cup Benson were shaded by Brize Norton in a very closely fought match who secured there place in the final against Linton-on-Ouse who overcame Marham. Meanwhile, in the B Cup, Lyneham were victorious over Halton. The other semi final was an extremely tight match but Brampton/Wyton/Henlow eventually defeated St Mawgan.

The second day’s play started with all defeated teams playing a round-robin of matches to increase experience of playing competitive tennis. This was most welcome, as was the warmer and sunnier weather and the calmer conditions ensured the tennis was much more enjoyable.

The mood turned more serious when the first final to be contested was the ‘B’ Cup Final in which Lyneham quickly came out of the stops to take a 2-1 lead. In a five rubber contest, this meant that Brampton/Wyton/Henlow had to win the final 2 doubles matches. One of these matches developed into an extremely tense and close match. At one set all (5-7, 6-3), the match was decided by a ‘Champions Tie-break’ which was narrowly won by the Lyneham pairing of Mike Tunstall and John Dodds beating Brampton/Wyton/Henlow’s Roy Hesketh and Clive Wood. Lyneham’s victory was reinforced with Luke Durbin and Ed Larkin also winning their final doubles match 7-5, 6-4 against Mark Harding and Al Hardman.

The main event, the ‘A’ Cup final saw RAF Brize Norton, a regular finalist, pitted against RAF Linton-on-Ouse. The Brize Norton team comprised proven high calibre players led by Cpl Mark Hughes with Flt Lt Rick Longworth, Sgt Terry Slade and Cpl Paul Feetham, The Linton-on-Ouse team was a combination of old and new with Sqn Ldrs Tom Johnson and David Hicks paired with two players new to RAF Tennis in the form of Fg Off Rob Thomas and team captain Geoff Williams. This combination of youth and experience proved too much for the well-rehearsed Brize squad and Linton-on-Ouse romped home as winners by 3 rubbers to 2.

In summary, the 2007 Inter-Station Festival proved to be a complete success; the representation of 11 RAF stations during this period of high operational tempo was deemed a success and the facilities afforded by the RAF Tennis Centre enhanced the occasion.