All four teams saw their averages drop on the one day of play possible in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club over the weekend and as a consequence the top two are a little closer together, while fourth and fifth swapped places.

However, the biggest surprise of the session took place in the individual merit standings, when joint leader Glynn Hargraves (Incredabowls) lost his 100% record – to none other than his wife Kim.
After having to sit out the first set of fixtures, due to RBM being a player short, Glynn then had the unenviable task of maintaining his winning run against Kim who plays for Bits n Bobs.
Vying to retain the Derek Killey memorial trophy he won last year, Hargraves now has a seven point deficit on Seven-Up’s Jordan Cain, with the possibility of a head to head between them this Saturday, as both sides meet in a set of re-arranged fixtures.
Incredabowls began the afternoon with two games in hand and a gap of 147 points to catch up on Seven-Up; along with a tough encounter with RBM, which they came through with 74, exactly the same total as the last time these two met back in week one.

Also in action were the bottom two and this went true to their positions as Bits n Bobs came out on top against Spare Parts who ended this clash a further 14 points adrift.
RBM battled to 67 when they took on Spare Parts, but slipped down a position on averages below Parkers, mainly due to not having enough players on the day and with just one outing left could well find it tough to get that place back.
Current champions Incredabowls then passed their target with victory over Bits n Bobs and head into the final six fixtures with a slender 10 point advantage; both them and Seven-Up having an equal tally against.

There was no midweek round robin and a lack of action on Saturday, both due to the wet conditions. No confirmation of a new date for the league fixtures, but they have been provisionally pencilled in for Sunday 9 March. As mentioned earlier, a set of matches postponed last month, will be on the agenda this weekend.

One other item is that a measure has gone missing from No. 3 green, so can all members please have a search in their bags, the return of which would be much appreciated.

There was just one session of bowls last weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and thankfully for all those concerned it took place on a dry but breezy Sunday rather than 24 hours earlier when it was extremely wet.
Three of the participating teams improved their averages, but even though RBM moved to within 40 points of third place, theirs fell slightly and I feel with just four fixtures remaining they will have to settle for fourth position.
Erin Porters were RBMs first opponents and they missed out by just two points; Parkers meanwhile remain squeezed in between those two in fifth spot and overcame Bits n Bobs by a margin of 17.
Porters then recorded the highest score of the day, notching up an 80 points to 65 victory over Bits n Bobs and to conclude the action, Parkers just fell short as RBM had another close win, so all stay as they were in the table.

As the club moves into the last two months of the season this seems an appropriate time to feature the leading 20 players in the battles for the Derek Killey memorial trophy, awarded to the individual merit winner and Geoff Osborn trophy for the top woman competitor.
Out in front for the main honours, are Jordan Cain (Seven-Up) and Glynn Hargraves (Incredabowls), both with maximum points; leading lady is Margaret Tasker (Louie’s Angels) in third spot, just ahead of team-mate Tricia Bull who is fifth.
There are four junior members competing this winter and heading this section is Stefan Kelly (Incredabowls) holding onto 39th overall.

An entry of 34 took part in the midweek round robin and black jack triples winners were decided after a roll-up which went in favour of Bernie McPhee, Derek Allen and Derek Cadamy, just missing out were Edwina Reid, Voirrey Curphey and Alan Cromwell, and in third it was Peter Hughes, Doug Allan and Alec Taylor.
Viv Rush and Les Halsall led home the doubles section, with second going to Louis and Rita Callister. A roll-up also took place in this group as third spot went to Philippa Taylor and Derek Anscomb.

Much to the relief and perhaps surprise of all concerned, there were two days of action last weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and the outcomes saw a number of positional changes in the table.
A contrast of fortunes on the opening afternoon saw champions Incredabowls move into top spot for the first time this season, whereas their playing partners Spare Parts slipped down to the bottom; the leaders helped by the league’s seventh maximum, while the Parts were a player missing.
Two sets of three team sessions began with Incredabowls recording an above average 83 against in-form Erin Porters; they then moved into top gear to record their second full-house and left their opponents Spare Parts trailing with a total of only 44.
Finally Porters missed out on that elusive maximum by just one point, but they did strengthen their hold on sixth position; the only consolation for opponents Spare Parts, was that their two juniors had a great afternoon and were the top players – Austin Hart being an only winner, following Sam Stannard-Duke’s tally of 13 in their opener.

Sunday’s fixtures were in doubt until kick-off following another spell of heavy rain, and after a short hail shower at the beginning, players had a bitterly cold gale force wind to contend with.
All three teams did however head for home with one win apiece, first up Govags beat Castletown Corkers with a 20 point advantage, before the southerners were successful by a small margin over Beachcombers, who then defeated Govags.
At the end of play Beachcombers had moved back above Corkers in seventh and eighth places, while Govags improved their average and moved closer to Cannons in ninth.

A break in the seemingly never ending wet week days saw an entry of 42 participate in the midweek round robin and two groups of triples battled for honours.
Black jacks top spot went to Philippa Taylor, Pauline Worrall and Erwin Gelling, in second place were Terry Moore, Doug Allan and Voirrey Curphey, and occupying third it was Viv Rush, Les Halsall and Tricia Bull.
Sneaking home first in the yellow group were Derek Clarke, Alec Taylor and Jackie Elliott; followed by Steve Parker, Rosie Winckle and Ken Karran. A three-way roll-up for third went in favour of Derek Cadamy, Mavis Franks and Alan Cromwell.

As there are no fixtures planned for this Saturday, there will be a round robin, entries close at 1pm prompt.

Just one set of fixtures took place over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and with victory over their rivals RBM closed the gap to third.
Beginning the afternoon in fourth spot, they recorded a comfortable win over Castletown Cannons, dropping only four points; whereas Louie’s Angels, in third, drew on games with an above average score of 81 against bottom side Bits n Bobs.
Then in the big clash of the session, RBM ran out winners by four games to two and inflicted a second defeat of the campaign on Angels and are quite capable of taking crucial points of any team.
But with only six fixtures remaining it is perhaps a little too late for them to challenge for that third spot, even though they have narrowed the gap from 3.4 to 1.8 on average and moved further away from Parkers who are next in the table.
The two losing teams from the opening set then battled out a three-all draw on games, but it was Bits n Bobs who will feel happiest as they won by a margin of six points and as a consequence their opponents Cannons slipped down a position.

A group of just 24 attended a rather damp midweek round robin session and from two groups the winners were Derek Allen and Peter Karran, along with Mavis Franks and Tricia Bull.

Entries are now being taken for the club championships, which will be held over the weekend March 15-16.