Monthly Archives: June 2019
Lilian Slinger Pre-Festival
There was an entry of thirty-three for the Pre-Festival ladies’ singles, sponsored by the family of Lilian Slinger, and played at Mooragh Park.
Although the event started in reasonable weather, it got worse as the day progressed and by mid afternoon was quite cold and very wet. It was to be hoped the weather would improve for the Festival taking place over the next five days.
The field consisted of local players and some old familiar faces over for the festival, many of whom had not visited the green before and were very impressed with its surroundings.
In the first round there were some close games, four of them finishing on 21-18, Jenny Moore, Karen Hill. Rachel Quirk and Sue Sinclair all coming through by that score against Lynsey Gorman, Sarah Edmondson, Eileen Pye and Fiona Kennish respectively.
In the second round Elaine Moore lost out 21-16 to Karen Hill while Lorraine Hirst came through against Joan Jolly by the same score.
In the quarter-finals, Madison McMullen, following wins against Mary Alderson and Linda Burns, reached a very creditable 16 before going out to Nicola Gilmore, while Jenny Moore and Lorraine Hirst had a real ding-dong battle. The game was even for the first six ends with Lorraine just ahead 12-11, when Jenny took control winning eight of the next nine ends to lie 20-13. Lorraine re-grouped winning the next five ends to close to 19-20, before Jenny took the next end, and the match.
Quarter-finals: Nicola Gilmore 21, Madison McMullen 16; Sharon Rigden 21, Janet Monk 8; Jenny Moore 21, Lorraine Hirst 19; Rachel Quirk 21, Karen Hill 9.
In the semi-finals, which were not so one sided as the scores suggest, Jenny and Sharon both came through 21-11 – jenny against Rachel and Sharon against Nicola.
Jenny made the better start , leading 14-9 after eight ends when six singles put Sharon ahead 15-14. The game was evenly poised at 17-17 when two 2’s gave Jenny the title 21-17.
Association vice-president,. Heather Horsburgh, thanked all those who had entered, those who had helped in any way with the smooth running of the afternoon and the Slinger family for their continued sponsorship of the event, before introducing Mr Norman Slinger to make the presentations.
Dunn Wins Ballacashtal Cup
Ballacashtal Cup Winner 2019
Photo: Arnie WithersThe Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday which attracted an entry of 61, made up of local and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in excellent condition with the players in the early rounds producing some exciting bowling with great atmosphere and plenty of banter.
At the quarter finals seven of the eight players were local men, and again some excellent bowling, which entertained the spectators. Losing out were Port St Mary’s Paul Skelly to Paul Dunn (Marown) 13-21, with Glenn Boland (Noble’s) losing to the same score against Neil Withers (Marown). Also losing out in a close game was James Teare (South Ramsey) to another Marown man Manx Champion Colin Kelly 19-21, whilst the furthest visitor was Paul Bailey (Meersbrook) who also lost 19-21 to Peel favourite Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.
The semi-finals produced some phenomenal bowling and the games could have gone either way, such was the standard with Dunn booking his place in the final with a 21-18 win, whilst Barney had to work hard to edge over the line 21-20 against Colin Kelly.
Both players were making their first appearance in the final of this competition, with Kelly starting as favourite having won a number of the games top prizes over the years, whilst Dunn who won his first open competition last season is the man in form.
The final started with Kelly taking a 10-7 lead, only for Dunn to respond by winning the next seven ends to take the lead 16-10. Barney kept chipping away to reduce the deficit, however it wasn’t enough with Dunn picking up five more singles to take a 21-17 victory to win the famous trophy to top off what he been a great weekend for local bowlers and send an ominous warning to the visiting bowlers who will be hoping to win the June Festival this week.
Many thanks go to sponsors Friends Provident International for their continued support of the competition. The presentation was made by Adam Drewett on behalf of the sponsors. Thanks were given to the greenkeeper and all who helped run the competition.
Microgaming ‘PlayItForward’ Doubles
Microgaming Pairs Winners 2019
Trish Bull & Margaret TaskerThe Microgaming ‘PlayItForward’ sponsored Ladies’ Doubles competition took place on Saturday, 15 June 2019, at Castletown Bowls Club.
The Heavens smiled not just upon the remarkable winning pair of Tricia Bull and Margaret Tasker but upon all 22 pairs who had entered. Blue skies, wispy clouds and glorious sunshine complemented the cheerful spirit in which all of the games were played.
Fighting strong from the preliminary round, last year’s winners Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish finally succumbed 17:21 in the semi-final to the superb pairing of Tricia Bull and Margaret Tasker.
Congratulations go also to the other semi-finalists, of whom Chris Price and Jean Radcliffe kept the upper hand over Lynda Cadamy and Mary Alderson 21-16 in an equally superb game.
An exciting final saw both pairs exchanging the lead numerous times, causing the watching crowd to ‘uh and ah’ with delight on more than one occasion. In the end, Tricia Bull and Margaret Tasker clinched victory over Chris Price and Jean Radcliffe 21-16.
Bradford Retains Jim Kernan
Jim Kernan Winner 2019
Photo: Glynn HargravesSouth Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan on Saturday, the first of the pre-festival opens with a good entry of 50, which included nine visiting bowlers.
Losing out at the quarter final stage were Steve Parker (Onchan), who lost out 14-21 to regular Island visitor Andy Mailer. Marown man Neil Withers just lost out 20-21 to home greener Stefan Kelly with Withers letting slip a 10-3 lead on Kelly, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel) lost out 18-21 to home greener David Bradford in another close game. Marown captain Paul Dunn having earlier defeated Manx Champion Colin Kelly, then disposed of South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves 21-8 with relative ease to book his place in the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals Bradford then returned the favour to see off Dunn with a 21-9 win, with Bradford scoring 11 consecutive points to build a big lead which Dunn could not recover from. In the other semi-final Andy Mailer’s hopes were ended by Stefan Kelly with Mailer losing out 18-21.
The final started with Bradford favourite to win, however Kelly had other ideas performing well to take a 8-4 lead, then keeping Bradford at arms length to retain a four point lead at 13-9. Bradford hit back to level the game at 14-14 and his greater experience helped him get over the line to claim a 21-17 win to retain the title and take home £150 prize money.
The presentation was made by South Ramsey chairman Steve Moore, who thanked those who had stayed to support, everyone who had helped with the running of the competition throughout the day. During his speech Bradford thanked the ladies for the brilliant refreshments provided, also commented on the improvement in the green since the start of the season, with credit being given to the team who have helped get the green into the condition it is now in.
June Festival Preview
IOM June Festival Winner 2018
The eagerly awaited Isle of Man June Festival takes place the week commencing 17th June with a good entry of over 314 in the Men’s competition.
On the first page of the draw Andy Duckett (Crossgates) will be hoping to go far in the competition, he takes on the bookmaker Graham Hirst in the first round. Local man Geoff Collier (South Ramsey) who only took up the game last year has the unenviable task of taking on Ben Gloag (Grapes Hotel) for his first time competing in the festival, whilst 2017 winner James Wilcox (Crossgates) will be looking to go far with some tricky fixtures along the way.
On the second page Callum Wraight (Castlefields) will once again be one of the hot favourites to take the title and his first festival win, having won the majority of the games biggest prizes and ended his week last June on a high winning the PokerStars Invitation at South Ramsey. Should Matthew Quirk (Onchan) make it through his first game he could well face Wraight in the second round, whilst Gareth Herbert (George BC) has a tough game against Joshua Mordue (Crossgates). Ian Hazlehurst has once again been handed a tough first round game taking on the ‘Hoover’ Jack Dyson (Thongsbridge).
On page three another regular visitor Mark Hughes (Crossgates) will be hoping to break his duck in the main event with several of his team mates having taken the trophy over the past few years, whilst 1998 winner David Jackson (Knutsford) will be keen to take his second June title. Current holder Martin Gilpin (Kendal Vic) starts three points back due to his 2018 win and will need to make a good start in his games to ensure he doesn’t fall too far behind. Mel Byron (Duki Central) takes on local man Steve Parker (North Ramsey).
On the next page Gaz Lally (Crossgates) takes on Craig Shore (Burbage) in the first round, with local player David Bradford keen to reach the latter stages of the June festival having won the September title at the tender age of 17, however should he get through his first round game Bradford could have to face the likes of Barry Booth (Kendal Vic) and Ryan Clark (Thongsbridge) if he is to progress.
On page five Nick White (Thongsbridge) will fancy his chances of getting through the top half of his page, whilst Kevan Shaw (West Houghton) will be favourite to make the latter stages in the bottom half of the page, however Phil Kerruish (Onchan) may well be one of his opponents who will be confident of performing well against Shaw.
Looking at page six Chris Kelly (Thongsbridge) will once again be looking to reach the latter stages of the festival, will have to beat the likes of Nidge Hughes (Wirral) & Billy Speed (Castlefields) to make it to finals day on Friday.
Over to page seven September 2018 festival winner John Kennish (South Ramsey) is another man to start three points back on his opponents due to his recent success in the festival, will be hoping to find some form to take him through the week. A man in form is Paul Dunn (Marown) who is unbeaten in the league this season, having switched bowls over the winter Dunn will be hoping this is his year. A game everyone will want to watch is two of the games top players with both having won a number of the top competitions, John Bailey (Castlefields) could take on Chris Mordue (Pudsey) on Wednesday morning.
On page eight regular visitor to the Island Kevin Nicholas (Gresford Colliery) won’t be missed on the green with his yellow bowls. Another local in form is Jordan Cain (Onchan), who could face one of the games entertainers Michael Leach (Kirkham) who is fascinating to watch on the green, whilst 2012 winner Rob Fitzpatrick (Wirral) could face Andy Mailer (Thongsbridge) or Ian Nicholson (Kendal Vic) with Nicholson somewhat unbelievably having never won a June Festival with all his festival wins coming in September. Dan Jones (Castlefields) will be keen on making good progress having not visited the Island for a couple of years.
On page 9 it has been 19 years since local man Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel) took his only festival win beating Kev Shaw back in the ‘good old days’ when the finals used to be held on the Villa, whilst Craig Gant (Thongsbridge) could have a tasty second round game against Richie Goddard (Castlefields).
On the final page 2013 winner Neil Withers be looking to progress having recently lost in the final of the Big Smash, whilst Andrew Sorsby (Thongsbridge) could face off against Matthew Kelly-Walley (Stretton Anglesey) in the second round. 2016 June winner and recent Big Smash winner Kez Smith (Crossgates) could face big hitter Paul Bailey (Meersbrook), whilst another big hitter Chris Barton (Wirral) will be hoping for a good week.
Whilst I can’t guarantee the weather what should shine through, however, is the quality of the field and the week of bowls we have in store for us, with the Tourism, Men’s Doubles, Open Doubles, various flyers and consolation competitions there is plenty of bowls to be played & enjoyed for all.
Best of luck to all visitors and locals who are taking part throughout the week.
PokerStars Super 32
PokerStars Invitation Winner 2018 Callum Wraight
Friday evening sees some of the games top players taking part in the PokerStars Super 32 Invitation with the event being held at Noble’s Park it is sure to attract a good crowd on the night.
Last year’s winner Callum Wraight will be hoping to successfully defend his title, whilst Yorkshire man Chris Mordue won the British Senior Merit in 2018. There are too many winners of big competitions to call out, however the line-up includes Isle of Man festival, County Merit, British Senior Merit, Champion of Champions and Spring and Autumn Waterloo winners along with the winners of a host of big competitions held on the mainland to prove what a top field this is.
Six local men have been given the opportunity to compete this year with David Bradford (South Ramsey), Jordan Cain (Onchan), Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel) and three Marown men taking part with Manx Champion Colin Kelly, Neil Withers and Paul Dunn all looking to cause an upset to the big guns.
A number of big hitters are taking part with Chris Barton, Paul Bailey and Wraight all capable of fireworks on the green with their renowned striking ability.
Whilst I would not like to predict a winner of this, what I can promise is a night of great entertainment that will be a fitting end to a week of bowls which is running morning, noon and night!
Line-up:
- Billy Speed
- Kev Shaw
- Chris Barton
- Nidge Hughes
- Peter Jones
- Robby Fitzpatrick
- Dave Jackson
- Ian Nicholson
- Martin Gilpin
- Melvyn Byron
- Callum Wraight
- Jon Palmer
- Richie Goddard
- Andy Sorsby
- Nick White
- Paul Bailey
- Gareth Herbert
- Stewart Meddings
- Dan Jones
- John Bailey
- Chris Mordue
- Craig Gant
- Jack Dyson
- James Wilcox
- Joshua Mordue
- Colin Kelly
- Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly
- David Bradford
- Jordan Cain
- Neil Withers
- Paul Dunn
- TBC
Prize money is over £3k, paid out as follows:-
Winner – £1,000
Runner Up – £500
Semi-Finals – 2 @ £250
Quarter Finals – 4 @ £125
Last 16 – 8 @ £75
The final spot available will be confirmed during festival week, the draw will also be made and announced next week.
Parker Wins Ramsey Town Cup
Ladies Ramsey Town Cup Winner 2019
After 2 weeks of unsettled weather it was with relief that the Greek God Zeus took a day off and the Ladies Ramsey Town Cup was played on Saturday at North Ramsey Bowling club in the dry despite threatening clouds overhead.
23 bowlers from all over the Island competed for the Ladies Ramsey Town Cup. The entrants included 5 junior players who all proved to be tough opponents with the youngest, Megan Hargreaves from South Ramsey, gaining 16 points against one of the finalists, Tricia Bull.
The rest of the juniors also played very well with the McMullan sisters Shannon and Madison both scoring 18, Victoria Johnson 20 and Aalish Haworth won her match against Katie Johnson which took her through to the Quarter finals.
In the quarter finals Margaret Tasker lost out to Lil Smith 17-21 and Ann Chapman lost to Tricia Bull 15-21. Caroline Parker had a good win against Fiona Kennish 21-12 whilst Phillipa Taylor came out on top against Aalish Haworth 21-16.
Caroline Parker, from North Ramsey, and Phillipa Taylor, from Marown, had a very close game in the semi finals, which was thrilling to watch as it reached “all-but” across. However, it was Caroline who just managed to win the last all-important point to take the game 21-20.
In the other semi-final Lil Smith, also from Marown, and Tricia Bull from Port St Mary were neck and neck after 7 ends at 10 across but after 11 ends Tricia had gained a 5 point advantage. Although Lil played some great shots and fought back really hard, it was Tricia who won the match 21-18.
So it was a North against South final with Caroline Parker taking an early lead after 4 ends 12-6 but Tricia Bull dug deep and played some brilliant bowls to reduce the deficit at 12 ends to 16-13. However Caroline managed to hang on and gain the last 5 points winning the game 21-13 thereby retaining the Ladies Ramsey Town Cup in Ramsey for another year.
North Ramsey Bowling Club were very pleased to invite Michelle Quayle from Ramsey Town Commisioners to present the prizes to the runner up (Tricia Bull) and two losing semi-finalists (Philippa Taylor and Lil Smith) and the Cup and first prize to Caroline. Helen Martin, North Ramsey Bowling Club President congratulated all the players, Caroline in particular, and thanked Michelle Quayle for presenting the prizes, the park staff for the improvement of the green and everyone who helped in the running of the event.
Marown Trio Triumph
Threesomes Cup Winners 2019
Photo: Arnie WithersThe Men’s Threesomes Cup took place on Sunday 9th June at Port St Mary Bowling, kindly sponsored for the first time by Equiom IOM. 18 teams took part in perfect conditions on a very good green.
Making it through to the semi-final stages, Neil Withers, Paul Dunn and Darren Kerruish took on club mates Colin Kelly, Phil Kelly and Walter McCarthy. After nine ends Colin, Phil and Walter were just ahead 13-12, on the 10th end they scored an amazing six to go 19-12 ahead. Neil, Paul and Darren fought back to 17-19 before finally losing out 17-21. In the second semi-final Sam Clague, Harry Barton and Glenn Boland took on home greeners Paul Skelly, Dan McCabe and Paul Russell. At 20-15 up it looked like the home team would be in the final. However the teenage trio of Sam, Harry and Glenn scored a four on the next end to put the pressure on. They then went on to score two singles to win 21-20. Amazingly they had also won their previous two games 21-20, including beating last years winners John Kennish, Dido Kelly and Peter Collister in the first round.
In the final, the more experienced team of Colin, Phil and Walter proved too much for the youngsters as they raced into a 17-6 lead. Sam, Harry and Glen couldn’t get back into this match, eventually losing 21-7. Maybe they just ran out of steam after winning three tough matches, but they should be proud of the way they played today.
At the presentation, club Captain Ray Watterson thanked the Port St Mary ladies catering team, Wayne Roberts and Robbie Cooil for running the competition, and everyone else that helped on the day. Ray then thanked the sponsors and introduced Caroline Ashley of Equiom to present the prizes.
NEWSBEAT R.H. GREEN FOURS
R.H. Green Fours Winners 2019
Photo: Ken KinradeSaturday saw a quality field of 22 pairs of all ages entered for the R H Green Trophy at Finch Hill sponsored by Newsbeat and they were blessed with a cloudy but generally dry day and a very good green.
A number of Island players were entered and last year’s winning pairing of David Bradford and John Kennish had a bye in the first round and had a long wait for their first match despite being drawn first.
Steven Waters and James Teare therefore got the draw underway and quickly overcame Ian Kissack and Rob Corkill 21-10 to set up a second round tie against Bradford and Kennish. At the other end of the draw Neil Withers and Paul Dunn got off to a good start beating Derek Allen and Alec Taylor 21-10.
Other notable first round matches included good results for Peter Greenlees and Mike Ashmole, Les Brookes and Pat Maher, Brian Kelly and Juan Killip, and finally Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal with several strong pairings also receiving byes.
The long wait for their first match must have affected John Kennish and David Bradford as they had no answer to the steady scoring of Steven Waters and James Teare who won convincingly 21-11. Walter McCarthy and Luke Hyland showed that they would be a force to be reckoned with as they beat Tony Epifani and Reg Temporaza 21-13. Paul Leece and John Ruscoe had a close match with Peter Greenlees and Mike Ashmole but eventually won 21-18, however the closest match of the day was between Kevin Firth and Eddie Carlyle and Les Brookes and Pat Maher with the former just edging it 21-20. The home team of Paddy Murphy and Paul Dougherty had their chances against Brian Kelly and Juan Killip but eventually lost out 21-15 whilst the young pairing of Glenn Boland and Sam Clague pushed hard against Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal only losing out 21-16.
The penultimate match of the second round was an all Finch Hill affair as Peter Hughes and John Smith took on John Harris and Sefton Dent with the former coming through 21-15. The final match of the round saw the in-form pairing of Paul Dunn and Neil Withers take on father and son team of Glynn and Ryan Hargraves but Dunn and Withers easily overcame them and demonstrated why they would be contesting the latter stages of the competition.
As you would expect by the time we reached the quarter finals there were no easy matches and the top players were getting the feel of the green and we were treated to some wonderful bowls. In the top half of the draw the match between Steven Waters and James Teare and Walter McCarthy and Luke Hyland was expected to be very close but in the end McCarthy and Hyland eased to a 21-12 victory. Kevin Firth and Eddie Carlyle did enough against Paul Leece and John Ruscoe to win 21-15 and by a similar score Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal beat Brian Kelly and Juan Killip. The closest match of the round saw local favourites Peter Hughes and John Smith just lose out to Paul Dunn and Neil Withers 21-18.
The semi-finals saw Walter McCarthy and Luke Hyland pushed all the way by Kevin Firth and Eddie Carlyle but they just did enough to win 21-18 and it was a similar story in the other match as Paul Dunn and Neil Withers overcame Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal 21-16.
In the final, Walter McCarthy and Luke Hyland got off to a great start with a four pointer on the first end and led 13-6 before Paul Dunn and Neil Withers put a score on the board. However, Dunn and Withers levelled the score with the next three ends only to see the opposition bounce back to make the scoreline 17-13 after 10 ends. Unfortunately, McCarthy and Hyland could only muster another two points over the next six ends and Dunn and Withers ran out winners 21-19.
The prize presentation was made by Ken Kinrade, Competition Secretary for Finch Hill with the losing finalists receiving £50 Newsbeat vouchers and the winners £100 Newsbeat vouchers and the R H Green Cup. Special thanks go to our generous sponsors Newsbeat, to our ladies for keeping everyone fed and watered throughout the afternoon and to all the stewards, measurers and markers who helped make this a very successful competition.