Monthly Archives: July 2017
South Ramsey Omega Cup
This year the South Ramsey ladies tried a new format for the competition for the Omega Cup. It was decided to do it as a round-robin doubles with partners being drawn.
The twenty ladies who entered were drawn to make ten pairs who were then split into two groups of five pairs, who played everyone else in the group in games of ten ends. The winners of each group then played each other to get the winner and runner-up.
With the weather behaving, to give a glorious warm afternoon, the players enjoyed their afternoon, with a lot of laughter throughout the competition.
In the first group Tricia Bull and Helen Martin came top with a total of 43 points, just one point ahead of Moira Anderson and Philippa Taylor on 42 points.
The other group was even closer with two teams drawn on 41 points. The winner of the group was decided by a roll to the jack. which was beautifully delivered into a tricky position by Heather Horsburgh, and a representative of each pair then delivered a wood. Jenny Moore won that to ensure that she and Fiona Kennish topped the group, while Lynda Cadamy and Caroline Whitehead had to settle for second place.
Then final saw Tricia and Helen face Fiona and Jenny in a match of ten ends.
The ten ends were split with each team winning five ends, but with Helen and Tricia scoring a single at each end and Jenny and Fiona getting three 2’s the cup stayed in South Ramsey.
The presentation was made by Gill Dixon who thanked all those who had supported the event, and praised the cracking bowling throughout the afternoon.
Thanks also went to those who had helped in the kitchen.
Ladies’ over 60’s JMS Veteran’s Shield
The quarter-finals of the ladies’ over 60’s JMS Veteran’s Shield took place on Tuesday 4 July. The very wet conditions meant that only three of the four games took place, with the Mooragh v Villa match to be played at a later date. Last year’s winners, Port Erin, were ruthless in their match with Castletown, winning five of the six games, three to single figures. In reply Ann Hollingworth was the lone winner for the visitors although Anne Oates almost added a second game, reaching 20 against Mavis Franks. Perhaps the surprise result of the morning occurred at Marown. Although the home side won four games, with Tricia Bull and Val Macfarlane winning to single figure for the visitors it meant that without the handicap Port St Mary A had an 11 point advantage. Marown’s 20 point handicap then kicked in giving them the match by 9 points. It was very tense at Port St Mary for the match between Port St Mary B and Nobles. The home side won 4-2 on games with Chris Holland and Lesley Coker winning to single figures. The two winners for Nobles, Lin Ruscoe and Sylvia Kennaugh were in devastatingly good form, with a total of 1 point scored against them. Both teams then had a total of 85, but with Nobles having a five point advantage on handicap, as the away team, they go through to the semi-finals.
Three Teams level on points at the top.
The end of the Bowling Festival which saw a break in the Over 60’s Fixtures also ended a run of good weather with so many fixtures being affected and it has taken some time to catch up on the postponed matches.
As we went into Game 21 we saw Ballaugh A travel to play North Ramsey B and it was the team from Ballaugh that played out a 6-2 win while back in Ballaugh their B Team held South Ramsey to a 4-4 draw.
North Ramsey A took an 8-0 win away at Douglas B in atrocious conditions at the Villa.
Peel Sunset B hosted Castletown B in a close encounter and although it ended in a draw both teams had a chance to get a win in some very close games.
Douglas A travelled to Crosby to play Marown and once more this was a tight match with Marown eventually running out 5-3 winners whilst in an all South contest Port St Mary A beat Port Erin 7-1.
Onchan A hosted Nobles A and took a 5-3 win while back at Nobles Park the Nobles B Team played out a 4-4 draw with Port St Mary B.
League leaders Castletown A beat Finch Hill 7-1 and finally Peel Sunset C lost 8-0 to their Club’s A Team.
Game 22 saw the League Leaders Castletown A travel to play Onchan B and come back with an 8-0 victory whilst the Onchan A Team took a 7-1 victory at Finch Hill.
Peel Sunset A had a comfortable 6-2 win against Ballaugh B but the Peel C Team were not so successful losing 7-1 away to Ballaugh A.
North Ramsey A had a 5-3 win over a strong Port St Mary A side, a result which has to be a setback for the men from the South who have been pushing for a top position this Year.
At the ‘Villa’ Douglas A put up a strong performance to beat Nobles B 8-0 on a Green that was running well despite all the recent rain.
Peel Sunset B went down 5-3 at South Ramsey despite a great effort by Jeff Wilson for Peel who eventually lost 21-20 to Roger Thomas.
Unfortunately as we came to July 4th and Game 23 we still had more rain but despite this only one game was postponed with this being Castletown A against Port Erin.
Onchan A hosted Ballaugh A at the Park and it was the home side that got a 5-3 win while Onchan B must have forgotten to say hello to the Fairies at the Fairy Bridge as they travelled South as they were beaten 8-0 by Port St Mary A.
Peel Sunset A had a successful trip through the Central Valley to beat Marown 5-3 while the Peel Sunset B Team had an equally successful trip to Port St Mary B where they won 6-2.
In the ‘Capital’ Douglas B lost 6-2 to Castletown B and Nobles B beat South Ramsey 5-3.
At the Mooragh Park North Ramsey B lost 5-3 to Finch Hill whilst a little farther South Ballaugh B lost 5-3 to Douglas A in a match that saw some close games.
Game 24 saw better weather and provided better playing conditions and at a sunny Onchan Park the strong Onchan A Team beat Douglas A 7-1 to maintain their challenge for the League Title.
Both of the Ballaugh Teams played Clubs from the South and Ballaugh B beat Castletown B 5-3 at Ballaugh while their A Team drew 4-4 at Port St Mary A.
Castletown a once again sent out the message that they were strong contenders to win the League with an 8-0 victory over Nobles A at Castletown.
Douglas B hosted Port Erin in a match that ended ‘all square’ at 4-4 and at Crosby Marown beat Port St Mary B 6-2.
North Ramsey A travelled to Nobles B where they took a 6-2 win while their B Team were beaten 6-2 at the Mooragh Park by Peel Sunset A.
Peel Sunset B were beaten 5-3 by Onchan B and the Peel Sunset C Team were also beaten 5-3 by South Ramsey.
So after Game 24 we have three Teams level on points at the top, those being Cstletown A, Peel Sunset A and Onchan A.
Port St Mary Win Jean Kelly
Port St Mary Ladies have won the Jean Kelly Memorial Competition for a fourth time beating Nobles by 17 chalks 178-161.
For once the weather suited the occasion as the two teams, Port St Mary and Nobles, met at Onchan on Thursday 6 July for the final of the Jean Kelly Memorial competition. It was gratifying to see so many spectators there, enjoying the evening sunshine and some fine bowling.
There were some very close games and when the first block of five games came off, Port St Mary had a narrow lead of four points once Nobles’ handicap was taken into account. The last four games were shared with Nobles having good wins from Rebecca Teare and Debbie Leece, but wins from Tricia Bull and Chris Price, to single figures, gave the victory to Port St Mary 178-161.
The main difference was the winning team’s consistency, with each of their players scoring at least 16 points. The other winner for Nobles was Clare Cooper, while Sylvia Kennaugh reached 19 against Jayne Kneen and Paula Firth lost out 20-21 to Wendy Kennaugh.
Association vice-president, Sue Peach, thanked the two teams for giving us such a good match, and also thanked all those who had come along to support the event, before introducing Moore Kelly, who sponsors the event so generously every year.
Moore thanked his family and friends for providing the food for the buffet, which was much appreciated by players and spectators alike. He then introduced his daughter-in-law, Ruth Kelly, to present the prizes.
Runners Up – Nobles
Life Membership for Les Benson
Les Benson has been presented with a lifetime membership for long service to Finch Hill Snooker & Bowling Club following a staggering 25 years as Treasurer.
Whilst he is stepping down from his role and will no doubt leave big shoes to fill, he is very much involved playing regularly for the Over 60s and occasionally in the night league.
The club wish to extend their thanks for his dedication and service to the club and he was presented with his life membership by current Finch Hill Chairman Peter Partington.
R & A Grimshaw Pairs
On what turned out to be a glorious Tynwald Day at Marown, the R & A Grimshaw pairs was won by young duo of Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk from Onchan, they beat fellow Onchan player Phil Kerruish and his partner from Douglas Paul Kelly 21-14.
In the semi-final Jordan and Matthew beat Alan Moore and Nathan Cooil again 21-14, with Kevin Quirk and Peter Slinger just losing out in the other closely fought semi-final 21-18.
The losing quarter-finalists were Jodan Drewitt and Dean Kinley, John Kennish and Glynn Hargraves, Bernie McPhee and Steve Crampton and Bod & Glenn Boland
An excellent entry of 33 pairs entered the competition and the trophy was presented by the hard working greenkeeper at Marown, Arnie Withers.
C Tarleton Hodgson Ladies’ League Friday 30 June
Nobles were top scorers in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league on Friday 30 June, dropping just three points. The two winners for Onchan were Libby Andrade, coming through 21-19 against Lisa Boland, and Marilyn Ellison who was taken all the way by Joyce Ogden before taking the game 21-20.Another game to go all the way saw Clare Cooper edge out Maureen Payne. South Ramsey and Castletown also took seven games, but with Helen Martin and Janet Monk having good wins to single figures, as did four of their players, South Ramsey had to settle for a relatively moderate total score while, despite Edwina Reid having a win to single figures for Purt le Moirrey, Castletown managed to pass the 170 point mark. Port St Mary won 6-3 on games and with all of their players scoring 17 points or more dropped only ten points, the winners for Ballaugh being Jane Teare, Barbara Graham and Christine Macdonald. Peel‘s visit to Port Erin saw them come out second best , losing 4-5 on games and by a deficit of 7 points. How well-matched the two teams are is highlighted by looking at their performances this season where they have ended level on points over their two games. Marown travelled to Douglas, winning 5-4 on games, but with Philippa Taylor and Rosie Winckle winning to single figures they came through by a comfortable points margin.
Halfway Stage
After a week off for the festival which also marked the halfway stage of the seasons fixtures usual business was resumed in the Ellan Vannin Fuels sponsored Mens league.
As far as South Ramsey A were concerned it was positively usual business resumed, as they hosted Douglas A and handed out a 10-0 defeat to the visitors, the charge once again led by John Kennish with a 21-4 defeat of Mike Cain, it is hard to look beyond South Ramsey when forecasting champions at this stage of the season, but as we all know bowls can be unpredictable at times.
Marown are the closest challengers and made no mistake in keeping the points gap down to 11, as they also had a 10-0 victory at home against Ballaugh A, Colin Kelly led the way with a 21-1 demolition of Bob Unsworth the win also included single figure victories for Paul Dunn, Neil Withers, Matthew Keggen and Phil Kelly showing they are still formidable opponents and will close the gap should the leaders falter.
Onchan were lying in fourth spot before making the trip to Mooragh Park for this week’s fixture and would have been looking to secure enough points to overtake Peel A who are on their free week. Onchan came away with a 7-3 victory which was enough to move them up to third, Matthew Quirk was top performer for the visitors with a 21-8 defeat of Garry Merrill but it was a creditable performance by the home side to secure 3 points which included a 21-19 victory for Tony Smart over Kevin Quirk and Steve Walmsey losing by one chalk.
Port St Mary A were at home to Castletown A and secured a 7-3 win, Trevor Quayle once again led the way for the home team with a 21-7 victory over Dave Hollingworth to maintain his impressive run of form, Derek Lewney turned in a great performance for the town with a 21-7 defeat of Juan Hargraves.
Port Erin A were the visitors against Castletown B and both are involved in a battle for points at the foot of the table, the match ended 6-4 to the visitors, Ron Williams 21-20 victory over David McCabe provided a vital point for Town that left both teams on 32 points at the end of the evening 6 points above bottom placed Douglas B, who in turn had a creditable 6-4 victory over South Ramsey B, again the importance of these points cannot be understated as they attempt to cling onto the teams above them.
Ladies’ Championship
The IOM Ladies’ Championship, sponsored by Ann Gale and Dave McTaggart, took place at Nobles 1 on Saturday 1 July. The two main disappointments of the afternoon were the entry of 21 players, and the weather which was not at all appropriate for July. Although scheduled to take place over two days the entry meant it could be completed in one afternoon.
What the field lacked in quantity it made up for in quality and there were some very close matches particularly in the latter stages.
Kim Hargraves had a tough match against Julie Reilly in the last 16, winning 21-20 to reach the quarter- finals where she met Paula Firth. Despite Kim getting off to a flyer and leading for most of the game, Paula’sgreater experience told as she pulled back from 17-20 down to win 21-20.
In the first quarter-final, Shelley Kennish seemed to be running away with her match against Lynda Cadamy, leading 19-8 after 18 ends, at which point Lynda moved up a gear pulling back to 19-20, but was unable to keep it going as Shelley took the next end to move into the semi-finals 21-19.
The other two quarter-finals were also evenly matched with Elaine Moore and Helen Martin being level at9-9 after13 ends, from which point Helen had the edge to win 21-15, while Gill Dixon took some time to get going against Janet Monk, at one point being 15-7 down. Although she had the advantage over the final ends she was unable to make up the deficit, going down 21-15.
Quarter-finals: Shelley Kennish 21, Lynda Cadamy 19; Helen Martin 21, Elaine Moore 17; Janet Monk 21, Gill Dixon 15; Paula Firth 21, Kim Hargraves 20.
In the semi-finals Janet And Shelley upped their game, although neither of them got off to a good start. After 13 ends Helen was leading 11-7 at which point Shelley regained possession of the jack and refused to relinquish it, while Paula had the better of the early exchanges in her match against Janet, leading13-9 after 15 ends. Janet allowed her just one more point coming through to meet Shelley in the final 21-14.
Semi-finals; Shelley Kennish 21, Helen Martin 11; Janet Monk 21, Paula Firth 14.
In the final a cagey start saw the protagonists level at 6-6 after 7 ends, from which point Shelley was in the ascendancy. Although Janet got hold of the jack a few times, such was the standard of Shelley’s play, she was unable to keep hold of it and Shelley ran out to take the match, and title “Manx Champion”, 21-13.
Association president, Rosie Winckle, thanked Nobles for the use of their green and the help of their members, both in providing refreshments and round the green, and heather for running the sheet. Special thanks went to Ann and Dave for their sponsorship of the event
Girls’ Junior Championship
The sun shone at Marown on Sunday 2 July for the Junior Girls’ Championship, the winner of which qualifies to represent the island in the Ladies’ Junior Merit at Heswall in September.
There was an entry of six, who were drawn into two groups of three each group being played as a round -robin. The two group winners then played a final to find a winner.
The six girls who took part were Shannon and Madison McMullen, Aalish Howarth, Bethany Kennish, Rebekah Kelly and Katie-Lee Kelly, and all six acquitted themselves well. It was nice to see so many spectators who must have been impressed by the standard of play, and it bodes well for the future of the ladies’ game on the island to have such a talented group of youngsters coming through.
The two group winners were Rebekah Kelly and Bethany Kennish who the played a final match to 15.
The two girls were evenly matched and after 12 ends the score was 7-7, at which point Bethany was in the middle of a string of six ends which took her to 10-7. The ends were then shared with Rebekah unable to make up the deficit, Bethany coming through to retain her title 15-11.
Heather Horsburgh thanked Marown for the use of their green and their help with the event before introducing Association president, Rosie Winckle, to make the presentation.