Yearly Archives: 2017
Marown Ladies’ Doubles
There was an entry of 21 pairs for the ladies’ doubles, played for the Greeba Cup, at Marown on Saturday 20 May. Although cold the afternoon was sunny and some exciting games took place on a green that was running well.
Three of the quarter-finals were very close, homegreeners Lil Smith and Rosie Wnckle took Lyn Bolton and Paula Garrett all the way before going down 20-21.
Quarter-finals: Shelley and Bethany Kennish 21, Josie Harding and Flo Price 17; Elaine Moore and Gill Dixon 21, Kath Kinley and Marie Ashurst 11; Lyn Bolton and Paula Garrett 21, Lil Smith and Rosie Winckle 20; Chris Price and Maureen Payne 21, Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden 17.
The two semi-finals were more competitive than the scores suggest, although in both cases the runners-up could only take four ends from their opponents.
Semi-finals: Elaine Moore and Gill Dixon 21, Shelley and Bethany Kennish 13; Chris Price and Maureen Payne 21, Lyn Bolton and Paula Garrett 14.
This left a very tasty looking final and the spectators were not disappointed, as every end was hotly contested. Elaine and Gill had the better start, leading 13 10 after eight ends, at which point Chris and Maureen reeled off six ends in a row to gain the advantage 17-13. A three and a one from Gill and Elaine levelled the scores. The next two ends were shared, then a two for the South Ramsey pair put them at 20-18. In a very exciting finish, Chris and Maureen scored three singles to take the match 21-20.
The presentation was made by club Treasurer, Pat Withers, who thanked all those who had entered and everyone who had helped with the event measuring and stewarding, and those responsible for providing and selling the refreshments
Kennish Retains Title
Mens Manx Championship Winner 2017
John Kennish being presented the Manx Championship Trophy by 2017 Association President Clare CooperSouth Ramsey’s John Kennish retained the Manx Championship at Noble’s on Sunday, and in doing so won his 10th title. Kennish has now won five more Manx Championships than his nearest rival, and continued to re-write the history books.
Losing out at the quarter-final stage were David Kelly (Peel), Jordan Cain (Onchan), Colin Kelly (Marown), and Neil Withers (Marown).
Kennish played teammate and double champion Glynn Hargraves in the semi-final, it was a close game throughout, with Hargraves lying two at 15-14 down, Kennish pulled out a great bowl to win the end and pull away from his opponent to book his place in the final with a 21-15 win.
In the other semi-final Pete Slinger (Onchan) faced teammate and two time champion Kevin Quirk. Slinger built up a 17-10 lead, Quirk then managed to close the gap on his opponent, before Slinger got back in, to get over the line 21-17.
The final started with Kennish leading well to take a commanding lead to go 15-4 up, before Slinger got back in. Slinger headed for the corners, in doing so pulled the score back to 15-10 down. At this point Kennish won the jack back, playing a very short mark, which Slinger called as being suspect for the minimum 19 metres required, this gave him the jack on three separate occasions throughout the final. This didn’t stop Kennish from kicking back into gear, to see the game out, winning 21-10. Slinger can be proud of reaching his first final, and his efforts over the course of the weekend.
Another piece of history was made with the presentation being made by the First Lady President of the Men’s Association Clare Cooper, who thanked Noble’s for the catering and club members for their assistance over the weekend, whilst a special mention was given to the standard of play, also to the juniors who had taken part in the Championship, and are the future of the game.
C Tarleton Hodgson Ladies’ League Friday 12 May
Peel Sunset struggled to pass the 100 point mark when they visited Port St Mary in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league on Friday 12 May. Joyce Kelly was the lone winner for the visitors, although Mary Moffatt and Shirley Corrin both came close reaching 19 against Kellie Maddrell-Reeve and Ann Maddrell respectively. Castletown won 9-1 on games when they visited Marown, Philippa Taylor being the home sides’ only winner, taking her game to single figures as did Ann Hollingworth for Castletown. Shirley Whelan and Lil Smith both reached 19 points against Hilary Kermode and Heike Perry. Debbie Leece and Rebecca both won to single figures when they visited South Ramsey, but were the only winners for Nobles, although Paula Firth came close to giving them a third game, losing out 20-21 to Kim Hargraves. Ballaugh also won eight games as they took on visitors, Purt le Moirrey, Tracy Moore and Edwina Reid taking two games for the visiting side.Douglas had the advantage 5-4 on games, and winning three games to single figure against Onchan’s one ended with a good points difference. At Mooragh Park all eighteen players reached double figures, with two games going all the way, Mavis Franks and Voirrey Curphey being edged out 21-20 by Julie Reilly and Maureen Lacey.
Recap :: Mens Manx Championship
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Draw & Results [challonge subdomain=”iombowls” url=”mensmanxchampionship2017″ width=”1060″ height=”1500″ theme=”3510″ match_width_multiplier=”0.8″ multiplier=”0.8″]
Canada Life Manx Championship preview
Manx Champion 2016
John Kennish with President Gary MerrillThe 2017 Manx Championship takes place over the weekend of Saturday 20 May, with the Nobles green in superb condition, this promises to be a great weekend of bowls. The competition is traditionally played down to the last 16 on the Saturday, then played down to the winner the following day.
Obvious favourites given their previous festival successes on this green are John Kennish (South Ramsey), who will be looking for title number 10, Colin Kelly (Marown) with five wins to his name, and David Bradford (South Ramsey) who will be keen to add to his 2015 win.
Others who have previous Manx Championship successes under their belt over ‘recent’ history, and will be keen to add to their tally are Andy Kennish (3), Kevin Quirk (2), Glynn Hargraves (2), Neil Withers (1), Ewan Cooil (1).
There has been only eight different winners over the past 20 years, however there are players who will be looking for their first championship win, with David Kelly (Peel), Dido Kelly (South Ramsey), Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary), whilst looking at the ‘younger generation’ Matthew Quirk, Jordan Cain and Rob Monk (all Onchan), Paul Dunn, Matthew Keggen and Bob Clark (all Marown), and Paul Skelly (Port St Mary) will all be looking to pick up their first win.
That said it may well be a name not already mentioned that is crowned Manx Champion, with a few capable of beating anyone on their day. What I can guarantee is a few shocks along the way.
Entries close on Thursday 18th May at 2pm. Remember you’ve got to be in it to win it.
Quirk Seals It With a ‘Kiss’
Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy Winner 2017
Kevin QuirkMarown hosted the Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy on Saturday, with 51 players taking part, it was Kevin Quirk (Onchan), overcoming the challenge of home greener Neil Withers to win the trophy. Quirk got off to a flier in the final going 10-4 up. Withers got back in to have a run of ends to level it at 10-10. At this point, Quirk won the jack back to hit top gear again to see out the game taking a 21-12 victory.
Quirk had to win six games on his way to victory, playing brilliantly all day. Quirk was at his best in his semi-final game beating John Kennish (South Ramsey) 21-14. Withers had a similar scoreline in his semi-final game, easing to a 21-15 over Peter Slinger (Onchan).
Losing quarter-finalists were home greeners Matthew Keggen, Ian Kissack and Colin Kelly, along with Steven Waters (South Ramsey).
At the conclusion of play thanks were expressed to everyone who helped made a success of the competition, with special thanks given to the Marown Ladies for the excellent refreshments provided throughout the day and the ‘grass cutter’ Colin Kelly who prepared the green in the absence of green keeper Arnie Withers.
Douglas Stun Marown
With South Ramsey A sitting out the Monday evening fixtures it was a good opportunity for the chasing teams to close the gap on the league leaders in the Ellan Vannin Fuel sponsored League Division One.
Marown had the pleasure of visiting Douglas A at the Villa. The home team performed magnificently to take a 7-3 win over the Crosby men, with three of the home players holding their nerve gaining vital wins for their team in close games. Green keeper Ian Moore won 21-17, followed closely by Stuart Garrett who won 21-19. Andy Kennish also got over the line with a 21-18 victory over Mark Moorley, who was marginally in front lying two at a critical point in the game, with Kennish hitting a strike to turn the game in his favour. Neil Withers edged his game 21-18 over Keith Rise, with Mervin Sayle & Colin Kelly both winning 21-8.
Onchan A also had a tough fixture, away to Castletown A & this proved to be very much the case. From the first four jacks Onchan stormed into a 3-1 lead, with Mike Thomas winning to single figures, followed up by father and son Kevin & Matthew Quirk both winning comfortably. Castletown pulled a game back with Derek Lewney scraping home 21-20 over Jordan Cain, who had come back from 20-16 down to 20-20 playing a long length. Cain led a good lead to the side of the jack last end, before Lewney made sure he reached with his bowl to trail the block. This gave the home side a boost for the last four blocks, with Juan Kermode coming close, before losing out 18-21 to Adrian Skinner. Nathan Cooil took on Rob Monk in a great encounter to watch with both players trying different lengths, before Cooil settled on a shorter length to go 13-6 up. From there Monk pulled the score back to 15-16, before Cooil managed to see the game out to take a 21-16 victory. Peter Slinger took on George Peach , with Slinger getting into a great position to go 14-6 up. From there Peach dragged himself back into the game to get the score back to 18-18, before Slinger got back in to go 19-18 up. Peach then took the win by taking three singles to see the game out. Captain Ian Watson took on undefeated Rob Cowley, in doing so gave a captains innings to recover from 11-15 behind to take the win 21-16. Onchan managed to take the overall victory thanks to gaining the two bonus points for the aggregate.
Port Erin A had the short trip to take on Port St Mary A on a tricky green, with the visitors managing to take two points off the home team, thanks to David Cain & Dave McCabe winning to 18 & 19 respectively, despite having to give a game away.
Peel A were at home to South Ramsey B who will have been delighted to take two points off the home team thanks to George Brew & Tony Dugdale both winning 21-20. Peel will have been disappointed to lose out on a maximum by only two chalks.
North Ramsey A sent Douglas B back home with their tails between their legs by taking a 9-1 victory over the visitors, whilst Ballaugh A hosted Castletown B with the home side taking the victory 7-3.
Wednesday evening was played in fine weather once again, with South Ramsey A back in action having sat out the previous round of fixtures, with the trek down south of the Island to take on Port St Mary A, which hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Ramsey men over the past few years. The visitors put in an assured performance on a green which is in excellent condition to take a 7-3 victory over the home team with five good wins, the two aggregate points to seal a fine victory.
Marown got over the disappointment of Monday’s result to take what looked like a strong 9-1 away win over Castletown B, just missing out on the maximum by only three chalks, with Ron Williams the lone winner, however it could have been very different with two of the Marown men Phil Kelly and Paul Dunn holding their nerve to win 21-20 for the visitors.
North Ramsey A played their second home fixture of the week taking on Douglas A this time, in doing so securing a 6-4 win thanks to winning the aggregate by six chalks.
South Ramsey B made it a miserable journey home to Port Erin by winning 9-1 over their rivals, in doing putting a bit of breathing spacing between themselves and the bottom three teams.
Ballaugh A took four points off visitors Castletown A, who managed to reverse their result from Monday with a 6-4 victory. Ballaugh will have been pleased with their weeks work.
In division two this week Onchan B held on to top spot thanks to a 6-4 home win against Nobles B.
Looking at how the Nobles teams are performing I can’t help but feel that they have players in their B who should be in their A. Time will tell if this will ultimately cost them a place back in the top flight.
Marown B kept in touch at the top thanks to a 6-4 win over Port St Mary C, who will have been pleased to have taken four points off the home team.
Peel B closed the gap by a point thanks to a 7-3 away win at Finch Hill A, to now sit just three points off top spot.
At the other end of the table Douglas C are firmly rooted to the bottom of the table following a 3-7 loss at home to Port St Mary B, whilst the team closing to them, Onchan C continue to struggle with a 8-2 loss at Nobles A. The bottom two look likely to go down with Onchan C now 11 points from safety with nearly a third of the season played.
In division three Ballaugh C continued their rise to the top with a 10-0 victory over Finch Hill B, with a game in hand they can take over at the top.
Marown C and Peel C both won 6-4 thanks to home wins against Ballaugh B and South Ramsey D respectively, South Ramsey were only four chalks from a maximum with two of their players losing out 19-21 to the visiting Douglas D players. The newly formed Douglas D Team continue to impress me with their individual scores in their debut season.
Last and by no means least Peel D had a 7-3 home win over Castletown C.
Capital International Cup
Port Erin hosted their mixed doubles competition on Sunday with 34 pairs taking part.
The eventual winners were the South Ramsey duo of Shelley Kennish and Sid Bolton beating Alison Keggen (Nobles) and Neil Withers (Marown) 21-15.
Kennish and Bolton got through their semi-final with a 21-17 victory over home greeners Mavis Franks and Bernard Thackrah. In the other semi final Keggen and Withers ended the challenge of Caroline and Steve Parker winning 21-19.
Losing out at the quarter-final stage were Lyn Bolton and Trevor Quayle, Shirley and Gordon Corrin, Voirrey Curphey and Seamus Whelan, Phil Dobson and Chris Dent.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by the sponsor Darren Ward of Capital International, who expressed his delight at the varied age range playing bowls.
Gladys Cowell ladies’ over 60’s competition
There was a disappointing field of 22 at Peel, on Saturday 13 May, for the Gladys Cowell Over 60’s competition sponsored by Gladys’ grandson Nigel Rawlinson. However, as the competitors said, what the entry lacked in quantity was more than made up for by the quality! The standard of play and some very close matches confirmed the truth of that statement.
The horrible weather during the morning cleared to give a reasonable afternoon, although it was beginning to get very cold for the final stages.
Quarter-finals: Mary Moffatt 21, Margaret Tasker 6; Philippa Taylor 21, Libby Andrade 14; Maureen Payne 21, Tricia Bull 10; Rosie Winckle 21, Celia Joughin 16.
Both semi-finals were tense affairs. In the first Philippa had the better of the early exchanges, taking a lead of 13-8 before Mary won three of the next four ends to close to13-14. Once again Philippa took control and looked a shoo-in to win the game at 19-14, but Mary dug in to win the next six ends and move into the final. In the other semi-final things were pretty even for the first half of the game with Maureen 13-12 ahead after nine ends, before winning three of the next four ends to lead 17-13, when Rosie upped her game to level at 17-17.However Maureen won the next three ends to book her place in the final.
Semi-finals: Mary Moffatt 21, Philippa Taylor 19; Maureen Payne 21, Rosie Winckle 17.
In the final Maureen was ruthless racing to a 16-7 lead after nine ends, but as she showed in her semi-final, Mary is a fighter and scored 7 on her next four ends to get back within two points, before Maureen finally ran out the winner 21-15.
The presentation was made by club president, Heather Horsburgh, who congratulated the players and thanked everyone who had helped during the afternoon.
Trio at the top.
On Thursday 4th May Castletown A welcomed Ballaugh B to the Islands former Capital and the Southerners soon showed their intention of hanging on to their lead as they beat the men from Ballaugh 8-0.
Castletown’s B Team travelled in the other direction to play Ballaugh A and this time it was Ballaugh A who won 6-2 in a match which saw a close game between Bob Unsworth and Juan Kermode which Bob eventually won 21-19.
At the Villa Marina Douglas A played Douglas B with the A Team emerging as 6-2 winners with Arthur Ashcroft and Malcolm Black being the two winners for the B Team.
Nobles B travelled along the T.T Course to Marown where the Crosby men beat them 7-1 with Geoff Crellin being the only winner for Nobles by beating Steve Bridson 21-15.
The Nobles A side hosted Finch Hill and the home side took a 5-3 win in a match which could easily have gone either way as there were some very close games.
North Ramsey A beat Port St Mary B 6-2 while the North Ramsey B Team travelled to the South to play Port St Mary A and again the Southerners took the points with a 5-3 win while the other Northern Team South Ramsey hosted Port Erin and this time it was the Northerners who took the points with a 6-2 win.
Onchan B took on Peel Sunset A at Onchan Park and this ended in a hard fought 4-4 draw whilst the Onchan A side went to the Sunset City to take a 5-3 win from Peel Sunset B.
Game 11.
With League Leaders Castletown A having a bye for this game there was a chance for the chasing Teams to close the gap and by the end of the afternoon two of the top teams had done exactly that.
Onchan A were hosting Douglas B and the former men showed that they were determined to chase hard for the title this year as they beat the Douglas side 7-1 with Bob Banning being the only winner with a 21-20 victory over Colin Hinds. Vic Sewell of the Douglas B side needs credit for pushing Mike Thomas in their game with Vic who has just returned from illness played well to eventually lose 21-19.
Onchan B travelled the short journey to the Villa to play Douglas A and they brought ‘double trouble’ to the Douglas Club as they went back up the hill to Onchan with a 5-3 victory despite a spirited comeback in the second half by the men from the Villa.
Another ‘tip for the top’ this year are Nobles A and they travelled to Port Erin to take part in a match with some very close games but the Nobles A Team held their nerves despite pressure from Port Erin to eventually run out 6-2 winners with a score line that doesn’t appear to do justice to the Southerners.
Peel Sunset A hosted North Ramsey A and the home side put on a strong performance to win 6-2 while the Peel Sunset B side were visitors to the Mooragh Park where they beat North Ramsey B 5-3. The Westerners C Team visited Nobles Park B where they lost 6-2 with their two wins coming from Clyde Quine and Bert (the bowler) Quayle.
Elsewhere Ballaugh B put on a good show to get a draw at home to a strong Port St Mary A side while the Ballaugh A Team got the same result against Port St Mary B at Port St Mary.
A strong performance at home from Marown saw them take an 8-0 victory over Finch Hill and Castletown B beat South Ramsey 5-3.
So after a sunny afternoons bowls there were three teams equal on points at the top of the League with eighteen points, these being Castletown A, Nobles A and Onchan A who are then followed by Marown and Port St Mary A both on 16 points.
Ismay Cup
Wednesday the 3rd May saw the Round one of the Ismay Cup taking place and saw South Ramsey lose 4-5 to Port St Mary A while Nobles A defeated Marown 7-2. In the South Castletown B beat Peel Sunset B 7-2 whilst in Douglas the Douglas A side lost 7-2 to North Ramsey A.
Mini Cup
In the Quarter Finals of the Mini Cup Peel Sunset C lost 3-6 to Finch Hill and Port Erin beat Port St Mary B 5-4 whilst North Ramsey B beat Douglas B 7-2 and Onchan B beat Nobles B 6-3.