Yearly Archives: 2020
Withers Takes Aston International Title
Aston International Cup Winner - Neil Withers
Photo: Arnie WithersNoble’s Bowling club hosted the first open competition of the 2020 season, attracting a good entry of 62 men for the inaugural Aston International Cup following the enforced break. The weather was mixed with sun, rain and wind all playing a part throughout the day, with the green not running as well as you would expect this time of year.
A number of pre-tournament favourites lost out in the rounds before the quarter-finals, with the most notable being 2019 Champion of Champions Winner Colin Kelly who lost out to team mate Neil Withers 20-21.
Losing out at the quarter-final stage were David Bradford (South Ramsey), who lost 20-21 to team mate Stefan Kelly, Alec Taylor (Peel) lost out 15-21 to Brian Kelly (Marown), Reg Temporaza (Noble’s) had his run ended by Dave McCabe (Port St Mary) to the same score, whilst Kevin Kelly (Marown) performed well to reach his first quarter final before losing out to his godfather Neil Withers 12-21.
In the semi-finals McCabe battled well before losing out 16-21 to Withers, whilst Brian Kelly pushed Stefan Kelly a bit harder before losing out 18-21.
At the final both players were on their sixth game of the day, which was a lot to ask with this being the first competitive bowls since September last year, especially for Withers who was making his return after breaking his ankle in two places, dislocated and also suffered torn ligaments during a football match for his local club.
Kelly started strongly with a double, however Withers then took the next five ends along the edge of the green to take a 11-7 lead. Kelly got back in with a double by planting Wither’s bowl out to take a double, which he repeated on the next end to level the score at 11-11. Withers responded by taking the next two ends to go ahead 14-11, only for Kelly to take the next three ends and go ahead 15-14. Withers dug deep returning to a mark favoured throughout the afternoon, alternating between singles and doubles over the next five ends to run out with a convincing 21-15 win to take the title.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by competition secretary Alison Keggen, who thanked the sponsors Aston International for their support, everyone who had entered and the club members for assisting throughout the afternoon.
The ladies competition was well supported with an entry of 38, this will be reported separately by the ladies press officer.
2020 Bowls Season
The much anticipated 2020 crown green bowls season is scheduled to commence on Monday 13th July, following the enforced break due to COVID-19. With confidence having increased amongst the population of the Island that we are now COVID free, the time is right to get back to bowls.
Following consultation with the clubs, it was agreed that whilst there would be no league bowls this season, the cup competitions would still go ahead with the finals of all the team events due to be held during the month of September.
The Rayner Shield is the first team event taking place with the unlucky first round losers playing in the Rayner Plate. South Ramsey A are the current holders of the Shield after a thrilling final against Marown A at the Villa, with the men from the north of the island two players light on their normal league squad they will have it all to do to retain the trophy this time round.
As luck would have it last year’s Rayner Plate winners Marown C start their Rayner journey with a home match against Port St Mary A, the very team they disposed of in style in the 2019 final.
The mixed team competition has 14 teams entered this season, is being played in a group format with the winner of each of the four groups qualifying for the semi-finals, which is traditionally played on a neutral green to decide which two teams reach the final. The current holders of the mixed team competition are Port St Mary A who swept aside the challenge of Marown A at Castletown last season.
The club team championship remains at 14 players per side, which can be made up of ladies and men, will be played as a knockout with matches being played home and away to decide which team progresses to the next round. The finals day will take place on a neutral green with the four teams playing down to the winner, following the success of last year’s final won convincingly by Marown at Port St Mary.
The Association is still planning on hosting all of the major competitions, starting with the Junior Championship being held at Douglas Bowling Club on Saturday 8th August, the current holder Shannon McMullan will be keen to retain her title having seen off tough competition last year. The following day the Doubles Championship is due to be hosted by Port St Mary, with the current holders John Kennish & David Bradford having won the competition for all four years since its inception. The following weekend sees Castletown host the Association Cup, giving Colin Kelly the chance to retain the first of his Association competition successes last year.
Another competition won by Colin Kelly last season was the Manx Championship seeing off Jordan Cain 21-11 in the final, with title number six ultimately qualifying Kelly for the Champion of Champions, which as we all know Kelly made history in becoming the first Manxman to win a major competition in the UK at the prestigious Waterloo Hotel in Blackpool. The Manx Championship is being played on two consecutive Sunday’s in late August at Onchan, incidentally the winner the last time it was hosted at Onchan in 2011 was Colin Kelly who defeated team mate Neil Withers 21-10 in the final for title number five.
Finishing the clean sweep of the major prizes last year Colin Kelly took home the Manx Masters trophy. South Ramsey will be hosting the Feltons Manx Masters in late September, with the Junior event due to take place in the morning, followed by the Ladies and Men’s events.
Clubs have all been given the opportunity to host an open of their choice, can apply for a second date if they wish to hold a second open competition. It has been great to see that the majority of clubs have still managed to secure sponsorship from local businesses across the Island, thanks must go to the sponsors for their continued support during a difficult time.
A huge thank you must also go to the Association for the hard work over the past few months to get bowlers back on the green, whilst restrictions were in place, also for all the planning that has gone into getting the season underway.
I hope you all have a great season and I look forward to seeing you around the greens!
2020 Restart
Fixtures for the all the competitions being run on our reduced 2020 season have been published on the website.
Other information such as captains are still waiting for club responses and will be updated over the next few days.
Government Approve Phased Return To Bowls
Following the recent press update from the Government advising that crown green bowls can be played again, please note there are certain conditions that must be met before anyone can play.
Your clubs will communicate whether your green will be opening & how they will handle bookings for those wishing to go on the green.
Until your club has met all requirements & have confirmed that they are ready NO bowling can be played at your green.
Please review the COVID-19 Portal on the website for further information.
Refer to the IOM Government Website for the latest updates on the Coronavirus Pandemic impact on the Isle of Man.
Season Start Postponed
On behalf of Men’s, Ladies, Over 60s Associations and Manx Youth Games.
We have taken the difficult decision to postpone all IOMCCGBA leagues and competitions until at least the end of April.
We will review at that point and update players/clubs, taking into consideration Government guidelines and other helpful information at that time. This is certainly not a decision we expected to find ourselves making and certainly not one we want to make lightly.
We have an obligation to look after our members and postponing the season and reviewing on a month by month basis is by far the best way forward. This is a pragmatic approach and gives us the best opportunity to review and hopefully, at some point in the future, get bowls back on.
Open Competitions
Under the bye-laws, all opens must be held with the consent of the IOMCCGBA. At this time the association cannot consent to any club open competitions. This will continue to be reviewed. Should any club run a competition of their own this would not be affiliated or covered by IOMBCCGBA and any liability would be firmly in the hands of the clubs.
Special Note from the Over 60’s Committee
The decision of the Over 60’s Committee is to ‘follow the lead of the IOMCCGBA’ and delay the League until the end of April and then review on a monthly basis. The ultimate decision however as to whether or not the Over 60’s League will play will be based on the Government guidelines for the Over 70’s as a large percentage of its players are 70 and over. The Over 60’s Committee would like to encourage their players to think of the Clubs in these difficult times and still consider paying their Club Subscriptions.
We hope players and clubs understand our decision. I would like to thank people from all of the associations/committees for their prompt response which has enabled us to form this communication for a consistent message across Crown Green Bowls on the Island.
We all hope to see you very soon – keep safe!
Angels snatch 4th spot
Louie’s Angels enjoyed the extra weekend of the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League after they clawed back a 48 point deficit to clinch fourth spot in the final table by a single point.
Two of their squad also took the top two honours in the individual standings after Matthew Keggen won the Derek Killey memorial trophy, whilst Marg Tasker won the Geoff Osborn memorial trophy awarded to the best woman.
They finished one and two in the overall list, both winning the awards for a second time and with Mark Kelly (Seven-Up) completing his games some weeks back he had to wait to see what his final position would be, just missing out on top spot by four points.
Fourth position was taken by Jenny Moore (Outsiders) and making up the top six were Mike Thomas (Parkers) and Steve Parker (Mooragh Lakers); the top junior was Shannon McMullan who also played for Lakers.
Saturday’s fixtures were re-scheduled when storm Ciara hit the Island back in early February and things didn’t quite go to plan this time either after an accident on the mountain road delayed some players, resulting in a change to the order of play.
So first up it was Govags who were trying for a top six finish and Cannons who were battling near the foot of the table, the score went in favour of the westerners, but only by a margin of five from a three-all draw on games.
After the arrival of the missing players, Outsiders joined in the action and wasted no time in racking up the campaign’s 21stmaximum at the expense of Cannons, who in turn set a target of just over 240 points for their stablemates to catch up the following day.
Govags had reduced the margin to Parkers down to 96 after the first fixture, but fell one short of that target when Outsiders completed their season in great style with a result of 123-95 and secured third position along the way, leaving Govags down in seventh.
Results for Saturday, March 7: Govags 107 (3), Castletown Cannons 102 (3); Castletown Cannons 60 (0), Outsiders 126 (6); Outsiders 123 (5), Govags 95 (1).
Storm Dennis was to blame for Sunday’s re-arranged games and Louie’s Angels certainly enjoyed the slightly better weather this time around as they romped to the season’s 22nd maximum score against Mooragh Lakers who were unfortunately a player short.
Angels began the afternoon aiming to hold onto fifth spot and securing those two merit titles, but after beating Lakers by an impressive margin of 45 points were in sight of snatching fourth from their opponents.
Erin Porters and Castletown Corkers were also competing with the result going pretty much to form and with a total of 89 the Castletown outfit were confirmed as the basement side.
Lakers only dropped six points in the games played, but added to the 15 for the walkover left a glimmer of hope for Angels; Corkers meanwhile put up a great fight only to lose out on their second victory by just four chalks.
Angels meanwhile lost nine points in the opening games against Porters, followed by another eight in the final three, to leave them with a score of 109; they then had an anxious few minutes before they found out that Lakers had totalled 105, therefore the sides swapped places in the table.
Results for Sunday, March 8: Mooragh Lakers 81 (0), Louie’s Angels 126 (6); Erin Porters 111 (4), Castletown Corkers 89 (2); Louie’s Angels 109 (4), Erin Porters 90 (2); Castletown Corkers 102 (2), Mooragh Lakers 105 (4).
The seven teams in action still had more than one player in with a chance of winning their merit, with the triumphant ones being Matthew Keggen, Jenny Moore, Steve Parker, Dougie Allan (Govags), Bernard Thackrah (Porters), George Peach (Cannons) and Dave Faragher (Corkers).
The club championship will be held on Saturday with a 12 noon start and with an entry of almost 40 it will be a busy afternoon to complete the games.
Sunday, March 22 will be the prize presentations and annual Best versus Rest when the league champions Guns for Hire along with some support players will take on the remaining 11 team merit winners or representatives.
This will be a top-up fundraiser for the Relay for Life charity round robin which was rained off a few weeks ago, so there will be a raffle, along with some cakes for sale, also the chance to watch the final bowls of the winter season.
Two groups of doubles made up from an entry of 22 contested the latest midweek round robin; with the winners being Steve Parker and Bryan Corner in one gang; whilst Bernie McPhee and Peter Corlett won the other.
Message From Port St Mary
Port St Mary Public Meeting
Port St Mary Bowling Club would like to express our sincere gratitude for all the support received at the public meeting on Wednesday.
The club was overwhelmed by the number of people who went out of their way to support us on what was a cold Winter’s night, literally driving from every corner of the island.
Also a big thank you to everyone who has emailed the commissioners in support.
Still lots to play for
There are still 10 league places up for grabs, along with seven team merit winners to be decided as the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling Club goes into an extra weekend of games brought on by the recent storms.
Once again, the participants had to endure strong cold winds over both days with the Saturday gang in a race to beat the wet weather arriving late afternoon and this they did with little time to spare.
Unfortunately for them, Castletown Cannons were a player short and as a consequence lost out to Erin Porters by 12 points even though they won four of the six games.
Bowl Rollers then joined in the action needing to maintain their average to stay above first opponents Erin Porters, they went down by a margin of 16 chalks, but also set themselves a manageable target for their final outing.
Rollers then battled the elements and a spirited Cannons team to record a high enough total to hold onto eighth spot, whilst Cannons improved their average a little in the contest at the basement of the table.
Results for Saturday, February 29: Castletown Cannons 102 (4), Erin Porters 114 (2); Erin Porters 108 (4), Bowl Rollers 92 (2); Bowl Rollers 112 (3), Castletown Cannons 96 (3).
All of Sunday’s three teams had targets – fifth placed Louie’s Angels to close the gap to the two above to put the pressure on, seventh placed Govags to improve their average and move back up the table and Corkers to maintain the task of moving out of bottom position.
First up were Angels and Govags, but they both dropped vital points in a fixture that ended in a close victory for the western outfit, who next took on Corkers and dropped just eight in a clear victory.
The final contest of the session saw Angels defeat Corkers by just nine, but once again both dropped valuable chalks in their quests to improve their league places.
Results for Sunday, March 1: Louie’s Angels 105 (3), Govags 106 (3); Govags 118 (4), Castletown Corkers 79 (2); Castletown Corkers 98 (2), Louie’s Angels 109 (4).
With one weekend of re-arranged fixtures remaining the tasks for certain teams are this – Lakers need to score 36 points more than Outsiders; Angels need 165 points to finish above Parkers and not be caught by Govags, who themselves require 203 to pip Parkers to a top half finish.
Elsewhere Porters should be able to remain ahead of Bits n Bobs, whilst at the foot of the table, Corkers trail their stablemates Cannons by 79 – so still lots to play for team-wise between the seven involved.
The top two players, Matthew Keggen and Marg Tasker, both from Angels, vying for the Derek Killey memorial individual merit title won their contests, so going into the final games Matthew can reach of total of 444 and Marg 442, with Seven-Up’s Mark Kelly already finished on 440.
Four other teams also now know their merit winners and for Guns for Hire it is Dave Kelly; for Parkers, Mike Thomas; Bowl Rollers, Sylvia Kennaugh and Bits n Bobs, Franz ten Donkelaar.
Leaders for the remaining sides are Jenny Moore (Outsiders), Steve Parkers (Mooragh Lakers), Doug Allan (Govags), George Peach (Cannons), Dave Faragher (Corkers) and equal on points for Erin Porters are Caroline Whitehead and Bernard Thackrah.
Two big events still to come are the club championship on Saturday, March 14, entries for which are still being taken, and the prize presentation afternoon on Sunday, March 22 when the Best will play the Rest, raffle prizes for which would be very much appreciated.
A good entry of 32 enjoyed the midweek round robin, with the two group winners being Alan Phair, Rita Callister and Dave Faragher in the triples, and in the pairs it was Derek Allen and Kevin Firth.
Battles for places
The battle for places goes on behind the top two who have completed their programme in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League and Outsiders now look favourites to take third spot.
They began the afternoon 16 points ahead of fourth placed Mooragh Lakers and extended that margin after two days of action, which was possible for the first time in three weekends due to storms Ciara and Dennis.
Outgoing champions Outsiders kicked-off against Bowl Rollers and dropped just seven chalks before a heavy hail shower cleared players of the green for a short while.
Govags then joined in the action and racked up a good total against Rollers as they tried to stay ahead of Parkers and perhaps challenge Louie’s Angels for fifth spot.
Unfortunately, the westerners couldn’t keep that good form going and slumped to a heavy defeat to Outsiders, who themselves ended the session 251 points ahead of fourth placed Lakers, just one short of the total available 24 hours later.
Results for Saturday, February 22: Outsiders 119 (5), Bowl Rollers 92 (1); Bowl Rollers 100 (2), Govags 116 (4); Govags 77 (1), Outsiders 116 (5).
Sunday’s participants arrived to a much brighter afternoon, albeit still with a stiff breeze to add to their challenge and it was Parkers who enjoyed themselves most with two victories.
They opened with a narrow four point success over Lakers, before sitting out whilst their opponents next took on Erin Porters; they later went back onto the green to defeat the southern outfit and score enough to jump up into sixth position.
Results for Sunday, February 23: Parkers 105 (3), Mooragh Lakers 101 (3); Mooragh Lakers 115 (5), Erin Porters 84 (1); Erin Porters 91 (3), Parkers 106 (3).
The top two couldn’t be caught ahead of this action, however this leaves Outsiders 35 points ahead of Lakers, both with two left to play and in fifth are Louie’s Angels a further 262 chalks adrift, but have four fixtures left.
Next come Parkers who have finished their season and must wait to see if they have done enough to remain in the top half of the table.
There were no changes in the leading three of the Derek Killey memorial individual merit as they were not in action, however Jenny Moore (Outsiders) and Mike Thomas (Parkers) both won twice to remain fourth and fifth.
Behind them two Lakers players swopped places after Sue Gawne lost one and Steve Parker recorded two wins to move into a five point lead over his team-mate.
Some players still have four fixtures remaining, some only two and of course some are finished; over the next two weekends the overall, ladies and junior merit winners will be decided.
Unfortunately, the Wednesday charity round robin was rained off, but some players did take part in a last-minute event held 24 hours later. The pairing of Tricia Bull and Reg Temporaza won the group of eight which was separated by only seven chalks.
The money raised will be topped up at a second fundraiser, either at the club championship on Saturday, March 14, entries for which are still being taken, or alternatively the prize presentation afternoon on Sunday, March 22 when the Best will play the Rest at what is normally the club’s final event.
G4H wrap up title
Long-time leaders Guns for Hire finally wrapped up the title in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowling League, but lost their 100 per cent record by the closest of margins on a blustery afternoon.
Just 24 hours earlier Saturday’s fixtures fell foul of the stormy weather, however the drier conditions on Sunday allowed three of the four teams competing finish their campaigns, albeit in far from ideal conditions and a week later than planned.
After three games of the green from the Bits n Bobs and Parkers clash and the same from the battle between the top two – Parkers were well in control of their situation, whilst second-placed Seven-Up held an advantage of three chalks over G4H.
Parkers went on to complete their outing with a good points total victory to close the gap on sixth placed Govags and a chance of a finish in the top half of the table.
Seven-Up meanwhile had a 29-point deficit to claw back if they were to overtake Guns for Hire.
Even though they won the contest and ended their opponents unbeaten run, the one chalk winning margin was not quite enough to pose a challenge in the later games.
The contenders still each had a fixture left to play and two questions to be answered – could G4H hold their nerve and would Seven-Up record the maximum score expected and required to maybe cause a last ditch upset.
Neither of the opposing sides allowed the title challenging pair have an easy passage in the encounters, with BnB taking seven points from Seven-Up and Parkers winning two early games in a 110 to 120 defeat to the ‘new’ champions.
Both questions were answered with there being no change in the points margin – a difference reflected in the two worst scores for the pair, G4H having a total of 213 from 108 and 105, whilst Seven-Up had an 81 and 103 to make 184 – that gap of 29.
Results for Sunday, February 16: Bits n Bobs 89 (1), Parkers 117 (5); Guns for Hire 115 (3), Seven-Up 116 (3); Parkers 110 (2), Guns for Hire 120 (4); Seven-Up 119 (5), Bits n Bobs 80 (1).
This triumph is the tenth success over 13 years for a team that has changed its name on no less than 11 occasions – their first victory came as Generation Gap back in 2008; they won again as Hot Shots and Chancers, but missed out in 2011 – again called Chancers.
Five more successful seasons followed with the names New Avengers, High Flyers, Incredabowls, Rule Breakers and Mean Machine; they missed out as Unstopabowls in 2017, but bounced back as Jacks Off; before having a poor year, by their standards, to finish fourth – this time called A-Team.
With five new members in their squad for 2019-20 they took the total number of players over that 13-year period to 35, with Alan Moore being the only player to feature in each team, therefore winning his tenth league title success.
In comparison runners-up Seven-Up finished fifth back in 2008 and in the 12 pursuing years have not been out of the top four, finishing in that second spot on no less than five occasions.
Saturday’s postponed games involving Mooragh Lakers, Louie’s Angels, Erin Porters and Castletown Corkers have been re-arranged for Sunday, March 8 and the day before will see a set of fixtures moved from the previous weekend and will feature Castletown Cannons, Outsiders and Govags.
The latest midweek round robin had an entry of 26 split into two sets of doubles, which were won by Philippa Taylor and Mark Kelly, and Kevin Firth paired with Lil Smith.