Seven-Up head into the New Year with a slight advantage over current champions Incredabowls as they aim to wrestle the title away from their rivals in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and both teams will have to keep an eye on the chasing pack who won’t have given up.

With the fixtures all up to date, members enjoyed two round robins over the final weekend of 2013; the first of them also saw the numbers drawn for the Christmas tombola.
An entry of 32 took part on Saturday and was spilt into groups of triples and doubles with the winners being Hazel Hughes, Lil Smith and Alan Moore; also the pairing of Lyn Bolton and Libby Andrade.
The threesome of Philippa Taylor, Pauline Worrall and Peter Hughes took second spot, as did Louis Callister and Steve Moore. In third it was Bob Berry, Margie Tasker and Tricia Bull, along with Ken Karran and Doug Allan.
Sunday saw another cold but thankfully dry session in which 27 took part in two sections of triples and in the black jacks, Shirley Corrin, Derek Allen and Peter Karran came out on top ahead of Jo Smith, Philippa and Alec Taylor.
Lil Smith, Alan Moore and Thomas Keggen were successful in the yellow gang, just in front of Libby Andrade, Rita Callister and Margie Tasker. There will be two more sessions this weekend, with the league fixtures due to recommence one week later.

A set of fixtures postponed seven days earlier took place on Saturday in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and even though they started in great weather conditions, by the end of play it could only be described as horrible.
The strong overnight winds and rain had cleared as the final session of the year began, but about halfway through they were both back with vengeance; however the games were completed to leave the organisers back on schedule heading into the festive break.
Leaders Seven-Up began by recording 79 points from their clash with Erin Porters; while Parkers fell just short of a maximum with 86 from a comfortable win over Govags.
The westerners themselves then came very close to a full house; they were also just four short when overcoming Erin Porters with their highest score to date.
Coping best with the conditions in the final outcome of the afternoon were Seven-up, but saw their average drop below 80 even though they beat Parkers by five games to one.

No midweek round robin due to rain, whereas Sunday saw 21 entrants escape the hustle and bustle of Christmas and enjoy mince pies along with their drinks on a dry but cold afternoon. The winners were Derek Allen, Sefton Dent and Alec Taylor, second went to Steve Crampton, Philippa Taylor and Alan Moore and in third it was Jordan Cain, Steve Parker and Gordon Corrin.

Next session on the agenda will be a round robin accompanied by the Christmas Tombola draw where there will be somewhere in the region of £270 worth of prizes up for grabs. This will be held on Saturday 28 December. Good luck to all and a Happy New Year.

Just a week after clawing their way back into contention in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League; RBM recorded two fairly low scores on the club’s only day of play over a wet and windy weekend to see the gap open up once more.
The first planned session fell-foul of the conditions and has been rescheduled for this Saturday (December 21), while just 24 hours later four teams battled on a breezy Sunday that saw just two of them reach the 70-point mark.
Being a player missing did not help RBM’s cause and they only just lost in their opener against Castletown Corkers, but dropped 30 points in their chase of the leading three. This, while Beachcombers and Bits n Bobs fought out an honourable draw, with both sides scoring above their averages with 72 apiece.
Bits then continued their good form with victory over Corkers, who unfortunately were a player short themselves in this fixture and as a consequence slipped down behind their stablemates in the league standings, whereas the winners closed the gap to Govags.
Finally Beachcombers couldn’t take advantage of an extra player, as RBM managed to overcome them, but with only 63 points on the card their challenge for the top could well be over.

A glorious afternoon welcomed 39 entrants for the midweek round robin and once again two gangs of triples competed. The yellow group winners being Philippa Taylor, Ken Karran and Alec Taylor, in second it was Derek Clarke, Jack Lee and Mavis Franks and third Steve Moore, Louis Callister and Dot Mylchreest.
The other group was an example of why games must be kept going, as they finished almost half an hour later than the others – in the dark. Winners were John Lightfoot, Victor Corlett and Peter Daugherty, runners-up, Hazel Hughes, Viv Rush and Terry Moore, with third place going to Edwina Reid, Alan Cromwell and Peter Karran.
The next three free days indicated on the fixture list, starting with Sunday 22 December, will be used for round robins, this includes Saturday 28 December, when the Christmas tombola will be drawn. All sessions are weather permitting and entries close at 1pm prompt.

Finally may I take this opportunity to wish members all the best for the festive season.

A fourth team threw their hat into the title chase in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club over the weekend, as they raced through the fixtures halfway point with the weather remaining on their side.
Leaders Seven-Up were faced with a session without their leading player, Kevin Quirk, who was unfortunately taken ill on Friday and admitted into hospital. I am sure all club members and the remainder of the bowling fraternity join me in wishing Kevin a speedy recovery.
The team then had a very mixed afternoon; firstly going down to their lowest score when they took on fourth placed RBM, before recovering and finally notched up that elusive maximum win, with success over Bits n Bobs.
Govags were also in action and they managed to move off the bottom with two scores above their average; they began with victory over closest rivals Bits n Bobs, before doing just enough on the points front, second time out, to send Bits into last spot.
The afternoon’s biggest scorers were RBM and they cemented their position with an average of 81 and therefore moved closer to the three teams above them.

Sunday had the first three-team session of the campaign and surely a chance for Louie’s Angels to make Seven-Up suffer even more following their heavy loss the previous day, but Castletown Cannons had other ideas and blew their afternoon apart.
The southern outfit kicked off with the season’s fifth maximum whilst they inflicted defeat on Beachcombers; next the Angels had a slightly higher than average success and left Beachcombers with just 102 points from their efforts.
Finally the last unbeaten run in the league was broken when the Cannons completed their best afternoon of the season, dropping just 10 points and left their opponents trailing with only 58. This in turn saw the victors move up a place, while Louie’s Angels remain in third spot but with a lower average.

Participants in the midweek round robin were saddened to learn of the death of former member David Turner. David did try and take part this winter but on his first outing found things a little difficult after suffering illness earlier in the year.
He had been a regular during the winter months for I believe the past five years and took part in a large number of club events and social bowling in that period. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family at this difficult time.
The session had 36 entrants who took part in two sections of triples which were won by Mike Skelly, John Lightfoot and Rita Callister, along with Derek Clarke, Philippa Taylor and Peter Karran. Second places went to Mavis Franks, Pauline Worrall and Bernie Thackrah; Louis Callister, Gordon Corrin and Margaret Tasker.

Leaders Seven-Up extended their advantage over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club, mainly due to the second and third placed outfits slugged out a fairly low scoring result.
Most teams have drafted in new players this winter and as a consequence the league is a bit more open and in fact it has only just had its third maximum win, all too different sides.
A team yet to hit that top mark is Seven-Up, but they came very close again on Saturday and dropped just two chalks in a comfortable win against Castletown Corkers.
Struggling to hit the form of earlier in the campaign are Beachcombers, but they overcame opponents Govags with a 16 point margin. They next took on leaders Seven-Up and even though they won three games, their average fell, resulting in them dropping a place down the table.
Last placed Govags headed back to west with two defeats from their outing, after losing to Castletown Corkers, and will be disappointed not to have closed the gap at the bottom.

A repeat set of fixtures from a few weeks previous took place on Sunday with three of them having the same outcome; while Incredabowls and Spare Parts improved their tallies from last time by nine points apiece.
The afternoon kicked off with the season’s third maximum and the first for current champions Incredabowls, recorded when they beat Castletown Cannons; this while Louie’s Angels strolled home against Spare Parts to keep the league’s last unbeaten run going.
As the sun set on another weekend of bowls, the Parts got the better of Castletown Cannons and finally the biggest clash of the two days saw Louie’s Angels win and maintain the same margin between themselves and their opponents Incredabowls, who are just ahead in second.
A session which saw the chasing pair slip further behind the leaders after they both dropped crucial points – a total of 45 between them. Perhaps surprisingly all four fixtures involving the top three sides have seen relatively low scores – 69-78; 69 apiece; 67-57 and now 64-71, although the most points have been secured by the Angels with 207 and two wins, average 69.
Incredabowls have 202 (67.3) from three encounters; and having just played two, Seven-Up are averaging 67.5, so it looks like the title will be won and lost on how they get on in their other fixtures.

A good entry of 39 attended the midweek round robin and competed in two sets of triples. Alec Taylor, Doug Allan and Jack Lee were winners, in second came Derek Clarke, Steve Parker and Pauline Worrall, and third place went to Jo Smith, Elaine McElroy and Trish Bull.
The black jack group top three were Bernie Thackrah, Ray Kelly and David Galbraith, followed by Sheila Preston, Peter Karran and Sefton Dent and in third, John Marsden, Irene Cowin and Victor Corlett.