Monthly Archives: June 2015
Castletown Ladies’ Doubles
Their was an entry of 21 pairs for the ladies’ doubles, sponsored by Microgaming, played at Castletown on Saturday 20 June. Despite entrants from other parts of the island expecting phone calls to say the event had been cancelled because of rain, the weather in Castletown had remained good and the competition went ahead. The green was, as usual, a little tricky and took some getting used to but once mastered was running well and allowed for some good bowls.
Semi-finals: Mary Alderson and Karen Hill (Ossett Flying Horse ) 21, Kath Kinley and Mary Kinrade 11; Paula Firth and Lin Ruscoe 21, Ann Gale and Jenny Maddrell 18.
In the final Lin and Paula had the better of the early exchanges winning 3 of the first 4 ends to lead 10-9 at which point their mojo deserted them and Mary and Karen took control winning eight ends in a row to come out 21-10 winners.
The presentation was made by Hilary Kermode who thanked Microgaming for their continuing sponsorship, and also for their corporate gifts for all the participants.
Thanks went to the faithful few who had stayed to the end of the competition, and special thanks to Linda for her efforts in running the competition.
Jean Kelly Semi-finals
Port St Mary were too strong, and determined, for their fellow club colleagues in the first semi-final of the Jean Kelly memorial team handicap competition. Purt le Moirrey had two winners in Chris Price and Pauline Worrall but Port St Mary won the other seven games with ease three of them to single figures, so that even a healthy handicap of 40 points was not enough to rescue their hapless opponents.
It was a similar tale at South Ramsey with the home side winning seven of the nine games. The two winners for Onchan were Rita Callan and Maureen Payne, Rita having a tough tussle with Bethany Kennish before coming through 21-18.With South Ramsey winning two games to single figures and the highest losing score for Onchan being 13 an advantage of 40 points on handicap was not enough to affect the result.
The Final, between Port St Mary and South Ramsey will be played on Thursday 9 July, venue to be announced.
Ladies’ league Friday 19 June
There were only two high scores in the C Tarleton Hodgson and Son Ltd sponsored ladies’ league on Friday 19 June, but one of the two was a maximum by Port St Mary against Port Erin. With the visitors winning all nine games, four of them to single figures, only Voirrey Curphey threatened to spoil the party reaching 18 against Alison Keggen. Castletown dropped just 10 points as they won 6-3 on games at Onchan with Kim Foy and Anne Oates winning to single figures. Rita Callan put up a good fight against Hannah Kermode, reaching 19 while Joy Stephens just lost out 20-21 to Wendy McDowell.It was a close fought thing at Marown where Peel Sunset, winning 5-4 on games scraped victory by 2 points. Two games went all the way, Heather Horsburgh edging out Elaine Dewhirst 21-20 while Mary Black came through against Cath Parker by the same score. Ballaugh lost on games, 4-5, to Douglas but triumphed by 5 points. The highlight of the evening was a “ding-dong” battle between Christine MacDonald and Kath King, Kath taking it 21-20.Despite having six wins, one to single figures for Lin Ruscoe, and a 19 by Paula Firth against Janet Monk, good wins to single figures by Lilian Slinger and Kim Hargraves kept Noble’s total down while two wins to single figures for each side meant that the Purt le Moirrey match against South Ramsey was also a low scoring affair.
Ladies’ over 60’s Thursday 18 June
It could not have been much closer at Ballaugh in the Trend sponsored ladies’ over 60’s league on Thursday 18 June. Ending level on games the home team ended with a one point advantage. Jenny Maddrell won to single figures for the home side whileRita Callister and Tricia Bull did the same for the visitors. Noble’s were the highest scorers of the morning on 113 and although ending all square on games with Pat Robertson winning to single figures and no player scoring less than 16 points they ended up with a 20 point advantage. Unfortunately Villa were a player short, giving Mooragh Park a 4-2 advantage on games and the second highest total of the morning. Marown had a healthy win over Onchan B on points, although the match ended level on games, while at Onchan A the home side won 4 games with Hazel Hughes winning to single figures as did Sylvia Maddrell for Breagle. Kay Primrose-Smith was the other winner for the visitors.. Port Erin and Castletown had a close encounter with Castletown coming through by just 6 points despite winning 4 games. The two winners for Port Erin were Carol Kaye, to single figures, and Voirrey Curphey. Jean Thackrah almost levelled the game score reaching 20 against Barbara Young. Douglas and Peel Sunset also had a good battle, the match ending level on games with the westerners coming through by 6 points.
Association Pre-Festival
The weather stayed fine again on Sunday 21 June for the Ladies’ Association pre-festival competition played at Marown. There was an entry of 32, including 11 visitors, which produced a mixture of very close games and other not so close games. There were two 21-20’s in the quarter-finals and another in the semis.
Quarter-finals: Margaret Tasker 21, Mary Alderson 20; Lyn Bolton 21, Elaine Moore 16; Tricia Bull 21, Jenny Moore 19; Karen Hill (Ossett Flying Horse) 21, Ronnie Lyon 20
Semi-finals: Margaret Tasker 21, Lyn Bolton 20; Karen Hill 21, Tricia Bull 19
By the final Karen had really got the feel of the green, and, despite her best efforts, there was little Margaret could do to prevent her running out a 21-11 winner
The presentation was made by Association president, Pat Robertson, who thanked Marown for the use of their facilities and for the efforts of their ladies in providing refreshments and helping with measuring .
She also commented on the high standard of the bowling she had watched during the afternoon.
Jim Kernan Cup
David Bradford showed why he is amongst the favourites to win the June Festival with a brilliant display in the Jim Kernan Competition at South Ramsey on Saturday.
Bradford is fast becoming the favourite in almost all games he plays and showed why with a commanding final victory over visitor Mark Bramall. He was in control from the off and never really looked threatened as he added another trophy to his ever growing collection.
In the semi-finals Bradford ended the challenge of Barney Kelly, who himself had a great day taking the scalps of three former festival winners, Matt Gilmore, Colin Kelly and John Kennish.
Bramall who himself played excellently all day had to be at the top of his game to make the final as he just got the better of seasoned campaigner John Colbourne to book his final place.
Credit to South Ramsey for running a great competition on an immaculate green and special thanks go to George Brew for his continued sponsorship of one of the Islands premier competitions.
Ballacashtal Cup
Warwick & Worcester’s Ben Harris won the Balacashtal Cup at the first time of asking with a thrilling 21-20 win over compatriot Steve Freer in the final at Castletown on Sunday.
Harris, a newcomer to the Island, improved with every bowl he sent on the tricky Castletown green to secure his first win of the week showing he is a genuine contender for both the main festival and the Friday night’s star studded finale, the South Ramsey Super 16.
Harris played well throughout and booked his place in the final with a quarter final 21-12 win over Mick Burns, followed up by a strong showing in the semis to eliminate the talented Mark Bramall 21-9.
Freer ended the challenge of popular local Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, who has been showing fine form this weekend, in the quarter finals before getting the better of Alan Belsher 21-18 in the Semi’s.
Alan Moore from South Ramsey had a good run to the quarters before his quest for glory was cut short by Mark Bramall and Belsher knocked out teammate Jack Holland at the same stage.
Castletown should be commended for putting on another fabulous competition with 100 competitors on the day.
Festival & Super 16 Blog
The following links will show the draw and results for the last 32 of each competition from the June Festival
Massacre at the Mooragh
The Tower Insurance Over 60’s League has been torn apart by North Ramsey A, firstly they entertained Castletown A at the Mooragh and demolished the town 7 games to 1, to all but finish off the towns title ambitions, With second placed Port St Mary also in Ramsey playing South Ramsey and needing a win to keep up the pressure they were held to a 4-4 draw. North Ramsey A then headed to second place Port St Mary and again came up with the goods in a 5-3 away victory to move them into a five point lead at the top over the two Southside teams 34 points to 29points, and they certainly are odds on to claim their first ever league title. Castletown bounced back from their mauling to hand out the same medicine to Onchan A at the Crofts with an 8-0 whitewash. Castletown B had a good win over Marown by 6 -2 however it was far closer than the score suggests. While Douglas A went to Port Erin and came home with the two points in a 6-2 win. With Castletown B getting a draw on their visit to Peel B, Douglas had another 6-2 win this time at home to Port St Mary B to to edge ahead of Town B both on 26 points, Next up come Marown on 25 as they got back to winning ways by just edging visitors South Ramsey 5-3 on 24 points are Peel A who got 4 points this week with wins over Finch Hill 5-3 and Nobles B 6-2, on 23 come Nobles A and Onchan A.
Next week sees the Mini Cup Semi Finals on Wednesday with Douglas B hosting Peel B and Nobles B hosting Finch Hill. Could the captains ensure that my name and address is on the back of the card please. Also can I remind everyone that the closing date for the Over 60’s Championship is the 2nd July with qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday 8thand 9th July and the Finals taking place the following Wednesday 15th July all at Onchan, so please text your entries to me on 471301 or email [email protected] please remember to indicate your preference W=Wednesday, T=Thursday, and E=Either, to help with the draw or write the players wishing to play on the reverse of the fixture card.
Isle of Man on a Roll
The Paddy Power sponsored Isle of Man senior men’s team competed in their second senior county championship match against Staffordshire on Sunday, and whilst they didn’t win showed marked improvements from their first match.
In both the home and away legs they picked up the Endsleigh Insurance man of the match for two breath taking performances. Colin Kelly won the award at home as he saw off three times Staffordshire Merit winner Mark Picknell 21-7 whilst Port St Mary’s Ewan Cooil won the award over the water with a brilliant 21-12 win over David Hayward.
These were just two of the many highlights in a day of top quality bowls with the Manx Men proving their worth and showing they belong at the top table of the sport. Things started so brightly in the home leg at Castletown and it looked as if there may have been an upset on the cards as the local team led 3-0 and by 31 chalks with the first three games off the green.
Man of the Match Colin Kelly was the first home after his relentless display and he was quickly followed by team mate and Gellings Manx Man of the Match award winner Dean Kipling who overcame David Semper 21-10. They were soon followed by local number one John Kennish after he had to work hard to see of the challenge of Ben Dixon 21-15.
The visitors experience then shone through and momentum swung their way as they moved into a commanding lead after eight of the twelve games played. The Island were not done yet though and finished almost as strongly as they started with Stuart Garrett beating Jamie Elliott 21-17 and Trevor Quayle adding to his win at Peel in the first match with an impressive 21-18 win over the talented Jason Groom.
It was almost going to be tough for the away side and to get any winners away on a strange green, against top class opposition but they battled admirable and will have learned a lot from their day in the sun against an awesome Staffordshire side.
They were made to wait until the ninth game to taste victory and Ewan Cooil lapped it up in style as he bagged his impressive win. He was closely followed by Paul Dunn who battled for every point to overcome Nigel Egan after a herculean encounter. Barney Kelly nearly added to the tally in the next match as he just fell the wrong side of a 21-19 score line.
Overall though it was a very credible performance by a Manx Side who are improving with every bowl played at this level and with one more game to go on the 5th July let’s hope they can improve again. Away manager Mel Gilbert, who is the only man ever to be awarded and MBE for his services to Crown Green Bowls, praised the local outfit and said he, is sure it is only a matter of time and experience before they draw blood at the top level as they already have and array of talent in their ranks.
Thanks go to Castletown Bowling club for hosting the home leg and to all sponsors, supporters and anyone who has helped along the way to make it possible for the Island to play at this level. I am sure when they take to the green in July they may have more surprises up their sleeves.