The weather put paid to any bowls being played over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League with a covering of snow on Nobles No. 3 putting the action on hold.

The set of fixtures due to be played have now been rescheduled for Saturday 30 December, while ahead of this the Christmas tombola and round robin will be held on Saturday 23.

There is nothing planned by the club for Christmas Eve, whereas the usual midweek round robin will take place on Wednesday 27 December and another session on New Year’s Eve (Sunday 31).

Following are the league positions and top 20 players in the merit table to date.

League: 1. Jacks Off, played 8, average points 121; 2. Mooragh Lakers, 12, 117.1; 3. Seven-Up, 10, 116.5; 4. Outsiders, 10, 116.4; 5. Louie’s Angels, 12, 112.3; 6. Erin Porters, 12, 107.4; 7. Parkers, 10, 105.4; 8. Govags, 8, 104.1; 9. Bowl Rollers, 12, 103.9; 10. Castletown Corkers, 12, 93.6; 11. Castletown Cannons, 10, 90.2; 12. Bits n Bobs, 12, 79.4.

In the merit standings, there are now just two undefeated players, with Stuart Garrett (Outsiders) having played two more games than Stefan Kelly (Jacks Off).

The leaders in the battle for honours on the ladies front are separated by 0.2 of a point, with Alison Keggen (Louie’s Angels) on 19.5, followed closely by Janet Monk (Mooragh Lakers) 19.4 and Jenny Moore (Lakers), along with Tricia Bull (Angels) on 19.3.

Merit table (averages based on amount of games played by team): 1. Stuart Garrett played 10, average 21; 2. Stefan Kelly 8, 21; 3. Frank Watson (Outsiders) 10, 20.9; 4. Robert Monk (Mooragh Lakers) 12, 20.6; 5. Brian Kelly (Lakers) 12, 20.1; 6. Steve Crampton (Seven-Up) 10, 20.0; 7. Matthew Keggen (Jacks Off) 8, 20; 8. Glynn Hargraves (Jacks Off) 8, 19.6; 9. Dougie Allan (Govags) 8, 19.6; 10. Alison Keggen 12, 19.5; 11. Janet Monk 12, 19.4; 12. Wayne Roberts (Erin Porters) 12, 19.3; 13. Jenny Moore 12, 19.3; 14. Tricia Bull 12, 19.3; 15. Margaret Tasker (Angels) 12, 19.1; 16. Rebecca Teare (Angels) 12, 19; 17. Tracy Moore (Castletown Corkers) 12, 18.7; 18. James Teare (Lakers) 12, 18.5; 19. Austin Hart (Jacks Off) 7, 18.4; 20. Mavis Franks (Erin Porters) 12, 18.3.

The three teams hunting down leaders Jacks Off were in action on Sunday in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League taking part in a repeat set of fixtures played just over a month ago.

This while just 24 hours earlier, Louie’s Angels, the side occupying fifth spot had a perfect afternoon and recorded maximum points.

First up they defeated an understrength Parkers team, who unfortunately for them, had four of their regular players unavailable.

Also on the green were the Castletown gangs and it was Cannons who were victorious over Corkers by a margin of just four chalks to slightly close the gap on their opponents.

The two winners then went head to head, but Cannons could not halt the Angels, who finally showed their true potential.

Corkers also had to call upon some players to make up their team and it was one of them, Bernard Thackrah, who prevented a whitewash against Parkers.

Results for Saturday, December 2: Parkers 90 (0), Louie’s Angels 126 (6); Castletown Cannons 104 (3), Castletown Corkers 100 (3); Louie’s Angels 126 (6), Castletown Cannons 93 (0); Castletown Corkers 86 (1), Parkers 118 (5).

Sunday’s attendees had the best of the weather over the two days and it was champions Mooragh Lakers who had the best of the afternoon with wins over the two sides above and below them in the table.

When the three clashed back in October, it was Outsiders who amassed the most points from the session with 250, followed by Seven-Up on 231 and Lakers on 206.

Things were a little different this time with Lakers improving their tally by 23, whereas Outsiders scored 24 less and Seven-Up saw their total slip by 20.

Lakers began the session with a 12 chalk victory over Outsiders in a fixture that saw the losing team win by four games to two, but miss out after two heavy individual defeats.

Seven-Up meanwhile dropped six crucial points against bottom outfit Bits n Bobs, for whom Anne Keane and Geoff Mayles won their doubles game.

Lakers followed their opening success with a fairly comfortable victory over Seven-Up, a result that saw the two swap places in the table, with the winners up into second.

The final outcome of the weekend saw Outsiders notch up the campaign’s 14^th maximum score when they beat Bits n Bobs and now sit in fourth position, by just 0.1 of a point on average.

Results for Sunday, December 3: Outsiders 100 (4), Mooragh Lakers 112 (2); Seven-Up 120 (5), Bits n Bobs 77 (1); Mooragh Lakers 117 (4), Seven-Up 91 (2); Bits n Bobs 66 (0), Outsiders 126 (6).

A measure went missing from the green on Sunday, so if anyone who was there could check their coats and bags and return if found it would be much appreciated.

An entry of 48 braved the cold weather and took part in the midweek round robin, with three sets of triples being the order of the day.

Topping the groups were Andy Sykes, Mavis Franks and John Lightfoot; Sheila Preston, Maureen Payne and Peter Hughes; along with Lynda Cadamy, Derek Cadamy and Sue Gawne.

Runners-up being Mike Ware, Hazel Hughes and Jean Thackrah; Steve Parker, Frances Radcliffe and Peter Kelly; also Steve Moore, Shirley Whelan and Rita Callister.

Weather permitting a round robin will take place this Sunday (December 10), due to it being a free day on the league fixture front.

There was just one set of fixtures over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League and it was Bowl Rollers who came away with the best haul of points, dropping just six from their possible total.

First up they took on Louie’s Angels and with just one win of their last six outings they were aiming to get back on track.

A total of 124 were just what they needed from a clash that had four losers on 20, two for each team, in a nine point winning gap.

Erin Porters also won their opener by the same margin, after they were pushed all the way by Castletown Corkers, who are three places behind them in the table.

Next up Porters couldn’t carry their winning form forward when Angels defeated them to stretch the advantage between the pair who occupy fifth and sixth positions.

Last fixture saw Rollers keep their good form going when they dropped just four chalks against Corkers who matched their 101 total from earlier.

All four sides improved their averages, however there were no positional changes in the league table.

Results for Saturday, November 25: Louie’s Angels 115 (2), Bowl Rollers 124 (4); Castletown Corkers 101 (3), Erin Porters 110 (3); Erin Porters 94 (2), Louie’s Angels 112 (4); Bowl Rollers 122 (4), Castletown Corkers 101 (2).

Just four players remain unbeaten at this stage of the season and at the head of the quartet with the least points against is Philippa Taylor (Seven-Up).

Next come Stefan Kelly (Jacks Off), Steve Crampton (Seven-Up) and Stuart Garrett (Outsiders); with Frank Watson (Outsiders), Rob Monk (Mooragh Lakers) and Matthew Keggen (Jacks Off) close behind all with an average of 20 points or more.

No midweek round robin due to the weather, whereas a session on Sunday saw 25 compete in two groups.

Emerging as winners of the triples were Lil Smith, Marg Tasker and Tricia Bull, with second spot occupied by Stefan Kelly, Ed Carlyle and Derek Allen.

The doubles jacks gang was settled in the final game when Alan Moore and Lynda Wilson won ahead of Steve Moore and Lynda Cadamy.

Eight-time champions Jacks Off had the perfect afternoon on Saturday in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League with two maximums to extend their lead at the head of the table.

They began the session with a very slender advantage, but left with that margin stretched to 1.8 points on average as they sit on 968, with second-placed Seven-Up on 954, both setting a high standard at the top.

Bowl Rollers were the first opponents, but they could not stop the rampant Jacks Off; putting up the best fight were the pairing of Sylvia Kennaugh and Terry Bates who fell short on 20.

Fifth placed Erin Porters were next for the leaders and they were left with a total of 82, way below their average. Just failing to take a win for the southerners was Derek Allen who reached 19.

The Porters had earlier won a close battle with Govags, a fixture that finished three-all on games and with a seven point winning margin.

Last clash of the day saw the closest outcome, after another three-all Govags took the victory by just three chalks over Bowl Rollers who were just one place behind in the standings.

Results for Saturday, November 18: Jacks Off 126 (6), Bowl Rollers 80 (0); Govags 108 (3), Erin Porters 115 (3); Erin Porters 82 (0), Jacks Off 126 (6); Bowl Rollers 109 (3), Govags 112 (3).

No pressure on current champions and fourth placed Mooragh Lakers on Sunday then – not half, as their challenge was to stay in touch with the top two.

They began with a tough encounter against Parkers, which finished all-square on games and just one point between them in favour of Lakers.

Also in action were the bottom two teams Castletown Cannons and Bits n Bobs, with the Cannons coming out on top to register their first success, both sides recording their best scores to date.

The last two fixtures of the weekend went to form, first to finish were Cannons and Lakers, with George Peach closest to a win for the southerners when Lakers recorded their third and the campaign’s 11th maximum.

Shortly after Parkers just missed out on a full-house when Andy Morgan (Bits n Bobs) scraped home by the narrowest of margins to deny them, they did however do enough during the day to jump up two positions in the table and are now hot on the heels of Erin Porters.

Results for Sunday, November 19: Mooragh Lakers 118 (3), Parkers 117 (3); Bits n Bobs 104 (3), Castletown Cannons 112 (3); Castletown Cannons 81 (0), Mooragh Lakers 126 (6); Parkers 125 (5), Bits n Bobs 84 (1).

Could I urge that all captains please double check the result cards, there have been a number of mistakes in the totals over recent weeks. We can only presume the individual scores are correct and the totals are not – we have no way of checking the players results.

The Wednesday afternoon gang of 49 battled it out in three groups, with the winners in the black group being Hazel Hughes, Pauline Worrall and Carol Kaye, just missing out were Mark Kelly, Janet Monk and Elaine Moore.

Also played as triples the yellow jacks saw Steve Parker, Mavis Franks and Alan Phair emerge as winners ahead of Marg Tasker, Kevin Firth and Maureen Quiliiam.

The remaining section was won by the pairing of Dougie Allan and Rita Callister, with second spot going to Vicky Lloyd-West and Alan Moore.

The average points gap between first and fourth was halved over the latest weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League after all but one of the teams taking part saw their average drop.

League leaders and multiple title winners Jacks Off along with current champs Mooragh Lakers went head to head in the opening battle on Saturday and it was Jacks Off who came out on top in a 3-3 draw on games, which saw them triumph by just two points.

Bottom side Bits n Bobs were also in action, but could not prevent opponents Govags from notching up a comfortable victory.

The Bits then had to face the earlier victors Jacks Off and will have been quite pleased to have won one game, thanks to Geoff Mayles who made it two wins in the session to deny both opponents a full-house.

Unfortunately Govags couldn’t do the same as Mooragh Lakers swept to their second maximum win of the campaign and in the process maintained their average of 116.5, whereas Jacks Off saw theirs slip to 119.3, which put them into second spot overnight.

Results for Saturday, November 11: Mooragh Lakers 107 (3), Jacks Off 109 (3); Bits n Bobs 86 (1), Govags 113 (5); Jacks Off 119 (5), Bits n Bobs 65 (1); Govags 79 (0), Mooragh Lakers 126 (6).

Sunday’s group also had two of the leading four outfits competing and they both won twice against the same opposition in a session that saw overnight leaders Seven-Up slip back behind Jacks Off by the slender margin of 0.1 of a point on average.

They began with a five games to one victory over Castletown Corkers in a contest that saw Tracey Moore emerge as the sole winner for her team.

Also in action were third placed Outsiders, but even though they were successful in both outings, they slipped further behind the leading two and in turn closer to fourth-placed Lakers.

Louie’s Angels were first to offer a challenge and this battle finished with both teams recording three figure points totals; Corkers were next up, but they fell short again and remain in the bottom three.

The final clash of the day saw Seven-Up defeat Louie’s Angels and even though they won by 11 points, that margin could have been much closer, as a disagreement on the cards saw two players go back onto the green, restarting from 15-across, which after a further four ends, finished 21-15.

Maybe a lesson to be learned here, because one marker had the game finished at 21-20, whilst the other had 20-across, which in the end saw the losing player and team involved miss out on five chalks, which can prove difficult to get at the best of times.

Results for Sunday, November 12: Castletown Corkers 90 (1), Seven-Up 120 (5); Louie’s Angels 100 (2), Outsiders 112 (4); Outsiders 116 (4), Castletown Corkers 92 (2); Seven-Up 117 (4), Louie’s Angels 106 (2).

Once again the midweek gathering had a very good entry with 54 players battling in groups of triples.

The black jacks were decided after a roll-up, which went in favour of Jean Thackrah, Carol Kaye and Brian Masterson, with Lynda Wilson, Sue Gawne and Shirley Whelan just missing out.

In the red group, a one point difference gave victory to Joy Stephens, Trevor Barker and Gordon Corrin, with second going to Mavis Franks, David Clucas and Derek Allen.

Whilst in the other gang the victors had a two point margin, when the threesome of Derek Clarke, Kevin Firth and Doug Allan sneaked home ahead of Edward Carlyle, Greg Brew and Mark Kelly.

There was a mixed bag of results over the latest two days in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League amongst which Parkers finally won – twice; and Outsiders lost for the first time, dropping some crucial points in the process.

Saturday had a set of re-arranged fixtures and it was a winning afternoon for Parkers who were occupying 10th spot in the table at the start of play; they began with a convincing victory over Bowl Rollers and dropped just four chalks. Shirley Whelan was the only winner for the Rollers.

Next up Parkers took on Erin Porters, who had also begun with a comfortable win when they played Castletown Cannons, this tussle ended 3-3 on games and with a 13-point margin, however it could have been a lot worse for the southerners as they trailed 8-17 in the final game, but fought back for a 21-19 success.

The Rollers got themselves back on track in their second encounter and dropped just one point against Cannons, for whom James Drinkwater sneaked home 21-20 to avoid a whitewash, whilst in their earlier defeat it was the pairing of Sheila Preston and Barbara Young who were victorious.

Results for Saturday, November 4: Bowl Rollers 89 (1), Parkers 122 (5); Erin Porters 115 (5), Castletown Cannons 89 (1); Parkers 114 (3), Erin Porters 101 (3); Castletown Cannons 77 (1), Bowl Rollers 125 (5).

Two of the Saturday gang were back the following afternoon as things got back on schedule and Bowl Rollers started where they left off 24-hours previous, whilst Erin Porters fell just short of an opening win.

Both sides won three games against their top three opponents, Rollers inflicted a first defeat of the campaign on Outsiders and Porters went down by just nine points against Seven-Up.

The two contenders upped their games next time out, when they won 5-1; Seven-Up dropping just one chalk in a 40-point advantage victory over Rollers, while Outsiders ended the day down one place in third after beating Erin Porters.

Derek Allen was the sole winner for Porters and for Rollers it was Gordon Corrin.

Results for Sunday, November 5: Outsiders 100 (3), Bowl Rollers 105 (3); Seven-Up 116 (3), Erin Porters 107 (3); Erin Porters 105 (1), Outsiders 122 (5); Bowl Rollers 85 (1), Seven-Up 125 (5).

For the third midweek round robin on the trot, there was an entry of over 50 and once again triples were the order of the day.

Brian Kelly, Lil Smith and Mark Kelly topped the black jack section ahead of Eddie McAvoy, Derek Allen and Doug Allan.

Joy Stephens, Bernard Thackrah and Tricia Bull were the victors in the yellow group, with second going to Geoff Mayles, Lynda Wilson and Marg Tasker.

Finally the red jack winners were Roy Murphy, Kevin Firth and Derek Cadamy, with the runners-up being Christine Sims, Maureen Quilliam and Bryan Corner.

Jacks Off were the only one of the leading four teams to take part in the latest two sessions held over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League and they maintained their average to cling onto top spot.

The first afternoon was the once a year set of fixtures where the teams play their opponents twice and it was double winners Erin Porters and Louie’s Angels who left happiest.

First up Porters fell just two points short of a maximum, when they kept their good start going with a 124 to 88 victory, they were denied a full house by Celia Joughin (Bowl Rollers).

The two sides battled it out again later with the Rollers taking two games and reducing the points margin in the process, but could not stop their opponents from notching up another two wins, which sees them occupy fifth in the standings.

Angels and Castletown Corkers were the other two outfits in action and although Corkers took three games first time out, they lost by 17 points.

Both improved their point tallies next time, however it was Angels who triumphed once again by the margin of 122 to 100. Nathan Hamilton (Corkers) prevented Angels from recording another maximum.

Sunday’s gang had leaders Jacks Off competing along with three teams from the lower half of the table and they took full advantage, dropping just eight points along the way.

The opening encounter saw the eight-time champions take on a Parkers side who have yet to show their true potential and it took a good win by Paul Bailey to prevent them being whitewashed.

Govags meanwhile won a close tussle with Castletown Cannons, before they went on to inflict another defeat on Parkers. The highlight for the westerners being a comfortable victory for Lynda Wilson and Rob Middleton in the doubles.

The final outcome was a bit of a one-sided affair when Jacks Off notched up maximum points at the expense of Castletown Cannons, who themselves could only muster 65 points.

One thing evident over the sessions held so far; is that captains are utilising the option for members to compete up to six times for more than one team, rather than showing up for fixtures short of players.

Once again there was another great entry for the midweek round robin and the 57 attending were split into groups of triples.

Yellow jack winners were Chris Sims, Vicky Lloyd-West and Mark Kelly, with second place going to Doug Allan, Joan Murphy and Elaine McElroy.

Philippa Taylor, Derek Anscomb and Shirley Corrin won the black jack group ahead of Greg Brew, Derek Cadamy and Lil Smith.

While in the smaller red jack gang, Jean Thackrah, Joy Stephens and Tricia Bull triumphed, with second spot going to Carol Kaye, Bernard Thackrah and Sue Gawne.

This Saturday it is planned for the fixtures postponed from October 21 to take place and will involve Bowl Rollers, Parkers, Erin Porters and Castletown Cannons.

The one day of action possible over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League saw three teams capable of being crowned champions come next March, battle it out just hours after storm Brian had abated.

Not featured in our first report as being one of the favourites, Outsiders were the afternoon’s biggest benefactors, dropping just two points and one game, promoting their average up to 122 from the four fixtures they have played so far.

Although it is still early days, I firmly believe we can add this outfit to the list of title contenders, also remembering they have been champions in the past. Back in 2011 they were successful under the name New Found Glory, although the players have changed a little, with only four of the winning team still competing for Outsiders.

So what off two of the other contenders, with eight-time champs, Jacks Off not competing – Seven-Up slipped to third on 119 after they suffered their first defeat, but still came away from the session with a healthy tally of 231 points, which included a maximum.

Champions Mooragh Lakers were up against both Outsiders and Seven-Up, they struggled a little by their own standards, but will be reasonably content with one win, achieved from one of those occasions when they lost 4-2 on games, but were successful in the all-important battle for points, sneaking home by the closest of margins.

Also in action were basement side Bits n Bobs, they had three new winter league players on the scorecards and consequently slipped further behind in the standings after two 6-0 defeats.

As you’ve probably worked out for yourselves, Saturday’s fixtures fell foul of the weather and have been rescheduled for Saturday, November 4.

A fantastic entry of 51 was welcomed to the latest midweek round robin, which was held between the two storms that battered the Island.

From three sets of triples, the winners were Ken Karran, Helen Martin and Doug Allan; Steve Parker, Rita Callister and Shirley Whelan; Allan Kennaugh, Bryan Masterson and Peter Kelly.

Perhaps this is an opportune moment to remind all members that round robin entries close at 1pm prompt in order to get proceedings completed

There were three maximums over the second weekend of play in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowls League and all 12 sides have now competed in their opening fixtures.

Saturday saw two of the big challengers join the fray with Seven-Up being the early pacesetters on an average of 122.5. Jacks Off occupy second on 122, Lakers third on 121 and Outsiders close behind on 119.

Seven-Up began their campaign with a maximum 126 against Castletown Cannons and followed up with a comfortable victory over Parkers.

Outsiders meanwhile also had a good win against Parkers, but surprisingly dropped three games against Cannons in a 116-107 scoreline.

Mooragh Lakers continued their defence of the title with two good wins on Sunday, firstly beating Louie’s Angels; then recording a full-house against Castletown Corkers.

Corkers had previously won by four games to two against Bits n Bobs, who themselves had a tough afternoon and lost their second outing 6-0 to Louie’s Angels.

The Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League returned this weekend with eight of the twelve teams in action across the weekend.

Last years champions Mooragh Lakers start the season as favourites but I think they will be pushed all the way by Seven-Up and Jacks Off.

Seven-Up have finished second in the last four seasons just not finding enough in the tank to reach the top.

Jacks Off (last year Unstopabowls) will hunt a record ninth title having last won the league last back in 2016.

My prediction is for those teams to make up the top three but each team has the potential to be champions come March; it will be interesting to see how the season unfolds.

Onto the action and Saturday saw Erin Porters get their season off to a great start beating Bits n Bobs 119-81 and 5-1 on games. Mavis Franks and Alan Kennaugh won to single figures with Gill Morgan picking up Bits n Bobs sole win.

Champions Mooragh Lakers started their defence with a 117-94 (4-2) victory over Bowl Rollers. Result of the match was Alan Moore and Brian Kelly winning 21-7 against Shirley Whelan and Gordon Corrin in the doubles.

Bowl Rollers were ruthless in their second match claiming the first white-wash of the season defeating Bits n Bobs 126-81 (6-0) with Sylvia Kennaugh and Lil Smith winning to single figures.

Mooragh Lakers showed all the qualities of being current champions by defeating Erin Porters 123-99 (5-1). Wayne Roberts beat last years merit runner up Jenny Moore 21-18 to claim Porters only win.

On Sunday another four teams came to Nobles Park to square up. Jacks Off, Louies Angels, Castletown Corkers and Govags.

Govags in their first match defeated Corkers 111-93 (4-2). Kevan Osborne (Corkers) won to single figures and Pat Robertson (Govags) nearly pulled off a comeback against Nathan Hamilton just losing 21-19.

Jacks Off faced Louies Angels in their first match and won by a convincing 120-81 (5-1). Austin Hart and Steve Waters won 21-10 in the doubles game against Thomas Keggen and Trish Bull. The only win for Louies Angels came from their new captain Alison Keggen who made sure there was no whitewash on the cards defeating Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly 21-15.

Louies Angels quickly forgot about their opening loss by defeating Govags 123-92 (5-1). Margaret Tasker and Ken Karran winning 21-9 in the doubles; Peter Kelly picked up Govags only win beating Debbie Leece 21-18.

Jacks Off picked up another big win in their second match winning 124-81 (5-1) against Castletown Corkers. Alan Moore had the best singles score winning 21-10 against Kevan Osborne. Nathan Hamilton picked up his second win of the afternoon and prevented a whitewash winning 21-19.

Looking ahead to next weekend Outsides, Parkers, Seven-Up and Castletown Cannons all play their first set of matches on Saturday.

Sunday’s game of the day see’s Champions Mooragh Lakers play Louies Angels.