Yearly Archives: 2022

Marown B Damage South Ramsey A Title Hopes

Week Two of the Canada Life International season had Division One league leaders Peel A taking on their B Team with the lower ranked team putting in a good performance winning three games. Winning for the B team were Gordon Corrin who pulled off a stunning 21-4 win over Tommy McMeiken who is notoriously hard to beat on Peel, with David Proctor no slouch himself with a 21-6 win over Gary Smith. Robert Middleton got the third win with a close 21-18 victory over Alec Taylor. For the A team winning to single figures were Ste Kelly against Michael Kavanagh, George Gadsby beat Brian Lindsay 21-8, while new signing Dean Kinley continued his fine start to life at his new club with a 21-13 win over David Smith. The result ensured Peel A remained top.

Marown A had their second visit of the season to Onchan Park, this time taking on their B Team and coming away with a 2-8 victory to jump up a place in the table to second. Winners for the home team were Mike Kelly who beat Harry Barton 21-16, while Frank Watson had a comfortable 21-13 win over new signing Sam Clague. For the Crosby men Colin Kelly was the best winner with a 21-7 win over Mike Alexander, with the rest of the Marown wins being to double figures with Mark Kelly coming closest to picking up another point for the home team losing 17-21 to Paul Kelly.

The match of the night ended up with a strong Marown B doing plenty of damage to South Ramsey A title aspirations as they secured a 5-5 draw at Crosby with the home team winning five games, however the visitors secured the crucial two-point aggregate by six chalks (135-141). For the home team Glenn Boland beat Peter Collister 21-15, a result matched by Marown captain Darren Kerruish who held off Steven Waters. Brian Kelly managed to secure a 21-17 win over new signing Jordan Cain, while Karl Parker fought back from a 13-17 deficit to run out with a 21-17 victory over James Teare, John Gelling claimed win number five of the night with a rare league defeat for David Bradford as the former performed brilliantly to win 21-14 with Bradford trying everything, however Gelling had an answer to anything that was thrown at him. The result was well deserved by the Marown men and they could realistically be pushing for fourth place in the table at the end of the season with the squad they have.

Onchan A picked up their second win of the season coming away from the Crofts with a 3-7 win over Castletown A. The visitors only dropped 10 chalks from their three losses, with Derek Lewney beating Will Penhallurick 21-18, Aaron Richardson claimed an impressive win to the same score as he beat Peter Slinger, while Peter Oates beat Mike Thomas 21-17. For the visitors Phil Kerruish beat Town captain Ian Watson 21-8, Kevin Quirk had a tough time with Ron Williams before winning 21-19, while Neil Dunwell edged it 21-20 against Nathan Cooil.

Douglas A were in better spirits following their first win of the season at home to Port Erin as they won 8-2. Kevin Firth was the best winner for the home team with a 21-10 win over Derek Allen. For the visitors Ed Benson had a stunning 21-7 win over Shaun Seal, with Harry Minor beating Willie Cowley 21-10. The visitors are still searching for their first win of the season.

Another team still awaiting their first win of the season are North Ramsey A who came away from their visit to take on Port St Mary A who are sharing the green at Breagle Glen with Port Erin whilst they search for their new forever home following the sad loss of the green in Port St Mary after 100 years. The ‘home’ team took a 7-3 win on the night with Trevor Quayle leading the way for Port with a 21-9 win over Andrew Honour, with Robbie Cooil having to battle for his 21-18 win over Adrian Skinner who looks to have settled at North Ramsey after a stint with Onchan. For the visitors Gary Merrill was ruthless with his 21-3 win over Rod Swift, Allan Callow left Paul Skelly still searching for his first win of the season with a 21-17 victory and Steve Walmsley kept up his 100% record with a 21-13 over Jordan Drewett. Just nine chalks separated the teams in a well contested match (138-127).

In Division Two Finch Hill A slumped from top of the table to fourth following their 3-7 home loss to Castletown A with the latter leapfrogging them into third place. The Town men were good value for the victory with Willie Corkill securing a win to single figures over Mark Taylor to help his team to secure the aggregate by 24 chalks.

South Ramsey B went top thanks to their 8-2 home win over Peel C with father & son, Tony & Ben Dugdale both winning to single figures with Tony winning 21-1, son Ben winning 21-7. Winning for the visitors were Harry Kelly who secured a 21-19 victory over Chas Grills, with Jimmy Corlett the other winner for Peel with a 21-5 win over Austin Hart.

Sitting in second place on 21 points are Ballaugh A who maxed out 10-0 at home to Douglas B who scored 100 chalks on the night. For the home team Richard Hainge and Philip Quayle both won to single figures against Bob Callow and Steve Gregg respectively, with Nigel Tebay in only his second season of league bowls, having been promoted from the C Team over winter just getting over the line with a 21-20 win over Geoff Mayles, with the latter being the highest points scorer for the Villa men.

Marown C currently sit in joint fourth with Finch Hill A after a solid 3-7 away win over Onchan C with Jamie Joughin and Walter McCarthy both winning to single figures for the visitors with Jamie Clague hitting back for Onchan with a 21-7 win over Steve Cain.

In Division Three North Ramsey B came away from their visit to Douglas to take on Finch Hill B with a 4-6 victory, after securing the aggregate by 10 chalks (133-143) with the result good enough for them to stay joint top on 18 points.

Peel D, are joint top following their 8-2 home win over Port Erin B with Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton enjoying his second full season upon his return to bowls, Pip will be looking to go two places better in the individual merit after finishing third overall last season, he won 21-9 against Ben Mowle, whilst Owen Crompton beat John Ryder 21-20. Another new bowler to the game Kevin Murray suffered a 15-21 defeat to Mark Stockham.

Noble’s B are performing well with Junior bowler Alex Hampson leading the way for the home team with a 21-5 win over James Teare, whilst William Cowley was on the wrong side of a 21-20 as he lost to Ciaran Broad, who was playing in only his third league game and held onto his 100% record. Grahem Moore having returned to Noble’s after a spell with Douglas, defeated another young player Clark Kelly 21-11.

Four junior bowlers participated in the fixture between Castletown C and South Ramsey D at the Crofts on Tuesday night with young Freddie Palmer performing well in his defeat to a new bowler Julian Rothera, while Sam Quayle recorded a good 21-14 win against Steve Kelly, with Junior Keggen turning out for his first league game playing a fellow youngster Ryan Hargraves with the latter winning 21-8.

The third division has a good mix of new bowlers, juniors and experienced players as they look to learn and improve their game.

Ladies Crown Green Bowling 2022 Season Underway

The ladies crown green bowling got underway last week. The major change this season being the Port st Mary ladies moving en bloc to neighbouring Port Erin due to unfortunately not having a home green of their own this year. Given this, Castletown A must start as favourites to retain their titles in both the Open Age and Over 60s leagues, but as we all know anything can happen along the way.

In the Over 60’s last Thursday morning, Finch Hill A and Onchan A both recorded maximums against Castletown B and Mooragh Park B respectively. Port st Mary A travelled to Ballaugh coming away with a three all result and winning by 17 points.   Mooragh Park A took on Onchan B at home winning five games to one; lone winner for Onchan was Libbi Andrade. Closest matches of the morning were between Port Erin A home to South Ramsey, and Marown home to Peel.  Both matches finished three all in games with Port winning by 3 points and Marown by twelve. As there are now four Over 60’s teams playing at Port Erin, Port St Mary B hosted Castletown A on Friday morning. Castletown had a good 5-1 win with Hilary Kermode and Joy Stephens winning to single figures, as did Lesley Coker for PSM.  

In the Open Age League last Friday, closest match of the night saw Castletown A winning six games to three and by 15 points at home to Onchan with Kim Foy and Tracy Moore (Castletown) winning to single figures as did Sylvia Kennaugh for Onchan. Port St Mary took on Castletown B winning five games to four with Mavis Franks (PSM) edging it 21-20 against Debra Cooper. Mooragh Park travelled to Crosby coming away with a 5-4 win against Marown B with Janet Monk, and sisters Lacey and Madison McMullan (Mooragh) winning to single figures as did  Clare Cooper for Marown.  Marown A won five games to four away to Douglas. Closest game saw Lynda Cadamy (Marown) just crossing the line 21-19 against Emma Sayle. South Ramey had a good 7-2 home win against Peel with four of the nine games being won to single figures.  

British Merit Qualfier: The qualifier to play in the British Merit Championship at Brighouse Sports Club, Yorkshire on Sunday 9 July, took place at Finch Hill last Sunday attracting an entry of 12 ladies. The final saw Jenny Moore from South Ramsey, who is currently the UK holder of this title, playing Sue Gawne from Onchan. With both ladies playing exceptionally well, spectators anticipated a good final and they were not disappointed. Game was nip and tuck throughout with Jenny eventually winning 21-17.  Thanks go to Finch Hill for the use of their green and their ladies for providing refreshments during the afternoon, and to Caroline Whitehead for running the qualifier. 

Hargraves Wins Association Singles

Port Erin Bowling Club hosted the Association Singles on Sunday with the competition attracting a perfect 32 entries on a much improved green, which was running well.

The first two quarter finals were well contested with Neil Withers (Marown) losing out 18-21 to South Ramsey’s David Bradford, whilst Matthew Keggen (Marown) just lost 19-21 to Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary). In the bottom half of the draw it was a lot more straightforward with Colin Kelly (Marown) seeing off Peter Greenlees (Peel) with a 21-11 win, whilst Marown captain Paul Dunn had his challenge ended by South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves with the latter taking a 21-9 victory.

In the semi-finals Bradford took on Roberts with the game well contested throughout, the scores were tied at 15-15 after 14 ends, with Bradford going on to take four of the last six ends to secure his place in the final with a 21-17 win. In the other semi-final between Kelly and Hargraves it was the latter who was the quickest out of the blocks taking a 11-6 lead early on only for Kelly to draw level at 13-13 after 11 ends. From there Hargraves took control of the game to win the next five ends scoring seven chalks in the process to lead 20-13. Kelly threatened a comeback with four successive singles, however Hargraves got the single point needed to win 21-17.

The final got underway between the two long time team mates, with Hargraves settling into the game well to hold a three chalk lead over Bradford after eight ends with the score at 11-8. From there Hargraves never fell behind in the game, playing good length bowls to build a 16-12 lead, only to concede a double to leave the game finely poised at 16-14. Hargraves immediately bounced back with a double after a poor end from Bradford. Three good leads over the next three ends were enough for Hargraves to secure a 21-14 win and with it the first Men’s singles competition title of the 2022 season.

The presentation was made by competition secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked Port Erin for the use of the green, the club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day and the competition committee for the smooth running of the competition.

KNR Construction Win for Moore & Teare

Saturday saw the first ever running of the KNR Construction Mixed Pairs, which was hosted by Douglas Bowling Club at their Villa Marina Green. On a bright but chilly day with the Green running well those watching were treated to some good bowls.

At the quarter final stage Tina Hampson (Onchan) and Dave Naughton (Noble’s) lost 8-21 to the Mother and Son pairing of Paula (Onchan) and Nick Firth (Douglas) and a great battle between Clare Cooper (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) and home greeners Jan West and Andy Cannell saw the latter pairing use their home green knowledge to take the win 21-18. Caroline Whitehead (Port Erin) and Mark Kelly (Onchan) showed good form to beat South Ramsey pair Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves 21-15, whilst another South Ramsey pairing Jenny Moore and James Teare took a 21-19 win against Sue Gawne (Onchan) and Andy Kennish (Peel).

In the semi-finals Jan West and Andy Cannell were forced to fight hard to eventually overcome Paula and Nick Firth, while Jenny Moore and James Teare put on a great show of bowling to beat Caroline Whitehead and Mark Kelly 21-7.

In the final Jenny and James started well to soon build up a lead with Jan and Andy then putting up a comeback but eventually found their opponents too strong and it was James and Jenny that took the win 21-13.

Gordon Wynne-Smythe of Douglas Bowling Club introduced Neil Clarke of KNR Construction to present the prizes and in his speech James Teare thanked the Sponsors, Douglas Bowling Club and the Greenkeeper and everyone who helped to run the event.

Douglas Bowling Club would also like to thank the Sponsors and everyone who helped on the day.

2022 Bowls Season Underway – Peel A Top

With the first round of fixtures for the 2022 Canada Life International season getting underway this week all three divisions started with the a double week to get into the swing of things.

Peel A who finished third last year got off to a flier this week with a 2-8 away win on Monday over Castletown A. The Western team followed this up with a storming 10-0 win over Douglas A, with four single figure wins from Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, George Gadsby, Tommy McMeiken and Gary Smith. Dean Kinley who was rumoured to be going into Peel’s B Team this season, has played both games for the A Team so far, could well remain there having won both of his games, this included a return to his old stomping ground for the first game of the season. The highest scoring visiting player was Jimmy Sansom as he lost 14-21 to Peter Greenlees.

Occupying second place are South Ramsey A, having a solid week with a 2-8 away win over Douglas A who were unlucky not to take two points more off the visitors as Bob Clark battled back from a huge deficit to get over the line 21-20 against Shaun Seal, whilst fellow new signing Jordan Cain also got home with a 21-20 win over Ian Moore. Winning for Douglas were Andy Cannell with a 21-20 win over Glynn Hargraves, with Jimmy Sansom taking a 21-18 win over Peter Collister.

On Wednesday South Ramsey A were at home to Peel B, with the weather changing swiftly as they started in sun, with heavy hailstone and then rain arriving, with the weather clearing just as quickly again. The wins for the home team were comfortable, with stand-in Andy Mackie stepping up from the D Team and proving his appearance in the final at the Marown Floodlit competition recently was no fluke as he beat Stefan Kelly 21-19 to save the whitewash as he won 18 ends to his opponents 12 ends.

In third place are Marown A as they too started the season strongly with a 9-1 home win over Port St Mary A, with Port’s new signing Nathan Hamilton taking a brilliant 21-14 win over Manx Champion Colin Kelly. For the home team Harry Barton has made the step up from the B Team and he won 21-15 against Tim Williams, with Sam Clague who has joined from Castletown inflicting a 21-14 defeat on Trevor Quayle.

On Wednesday Marown A had a tough away trip to Onchan A, would have been happy to come away with a 3-7 win, with Colin Kelly returning to winning ways, Marown captain Paul Dunn showing a return to form with a 21-9 win over Matthew Quirk, which was matched by Neil Withers beating Mike Thomas. Will Penhallurick has stepped up from the B Team and he made it two wins from two games with a 21-14 win over Paul Kelly, with Phil Kerruish and Reg Temporaza both winning 21-11 against Sam Clague and Phil Kelly respectively.

Elsewhere Castletown A have had to move a number of players up from the B Team following the exodus of five of their younger players of the winter, they bounced back from their opening fixture defeat to Peel A by beating Port Erin A 3-7 at Breagle Glen on Wednesday evening.

North Ramsey A start the season with a run of away fixtures due to not having floodlights, their form will no doubt pick up once they get a run of home fixtures, as they suffered back to back 3-7 defeats at the hands of a strong looking Marown B and Peel B.

Newly promoted Onchan B currently sit in mid table on eight points as they lost 2-8 at home to Marown B, they quickly picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday, 6-4 at home to Port St Mary A, whilst Port Erin A weren’t able to capitalise on home advantage as they lost both of their opening fixtures.

In Division Two Finch Hill A are the early leaders with 15 points after two games, with South Ramsey B hot on their heels just one point off top spot following a good 8-2 home win over Douglas B on Monday, and a 4-6 away win over a strong looking Marown C who themselves will be looking for promotion.

Last year’s relegated teams Ballaugh A beat South Ramsey C 7-3 at home, only to suffer a 6-4 loss away to Castletown B, whilst Noble’s A are finding their feet with a 7-3 win at home and a 7-3 defeat away to Ballaugh B who were promoted from Division Three over the winter. The Noble’s members have recruited a number of signings over the winter as they look to take a step forward and rebuild the club, with some great effort and enthusiasm I would like to wish them all the best.

In Division Three Douglas C are the early pacesetters following two 8-2 victories at the expense of Noble’s B and Port Erin B as they hold a four-point lead over North Ramsey B and Ballaugh C.

It was great to see Noble’s field a second team once again this season after a winter of doubt, with the B team fielding a full team in both fixtures.

Ballaugh C will once again look to be in the mix for promotion, having finished last season in third place.

Elsewhere Castletown’s C team survived, despite the exodus from their A Team over the winter, whilst Peel D will look to continue their improvement with a full seasons experience now under their belt.

Season Preview

League champions South Ramsey A will start as favourites for the league title in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One following two big signings over the winter in the form of Onchan’s Jordan Cain and Castletown man Bob Clark, with both players having huge experience and a good pedigree in the local game. Whilst South Ramsey undoubtedly start as favourites on paper, that will count for nothing once the new season gets underway with teams looking to cause an upset.

Marown A should not be written off just yet with their captain Paul Dunn making some sweeping changes in their top team bringing in youth, with Sam Clague coming in from Castletown and Harry Barton stepping up from their B Team whilst they are also rumoured to be signing a well-known Merseyside county player who is said to be moving to the Isle of Man. A full season of Dean Kipling should not be under-estimated, with Kipling winning all 12 league games played last season.

Newly promoted teams Port Erin A and Onchan B will be looking to consolidate their place in the top division.

In Division Two South Ramsey B have strengthened, whilst Ballaugh A will look to go straight back up. Noble’s A who were also relegated have survived another winter as they look to continue to rebuild the club, they will look to find their feet in Division Two this season. Last season’s teams promoted from Division Three Ballaugh B and Onchan C will look to adjust to life in Division Two.

In Division Three a number of teams will be looking to push on and improve, with Finch Hill looking for an immediate return to Division Two. Something always worth watching out for in Division Three is the players new to the game as they gain experience and improve.

Bradford Wins First Title of 2022 Season

Marown held the opening tournament of the season following a gap of two years due to COVID, with the newly named Ian Kissack floodlight competition sponsored by Ardern & Druggan Limited attracting a healthy entry of 71. The competition was played over four days, handicaps ranging from two to eight with two qualifiers from the four qualifying sessions.

The competition commenced on Sunday afternoon with home greener Colin Kelly doing enough to qualify for the finals night ending the challenge of visitor Peter Jones, whilst club mate Debbie Leece performed well to book her spot in the quarter finals.

Sunday evening continued the run of home green players qualifying with Neil Withers seeing off his team mate and captain Paul Dunn on his way to book his spot in finals night, while Rebecca Teare ensured she progressed with a close fought game against Marown A player Phil Kelly.

Monday evening’s action started to see the away greeners progress with South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves navigating his way through his three qualifying games, with Hargraves being pushed hard by Will Penhallurick (Onchan) who lost out 19-21. In the other half of the session Peel D player Andy Mackie who only took the game up part way through last season, was playing off a handicap of seven, however Mackie was not to be underestimated as he recovered from a 11-14 deficit in his last game of the night to take 10 consecutive chalks to win 21-14 against the highly rated Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary).

The last qualifying session took place on Tuesday evening with new South Ramsey signing Bob Clark squeezing through his last game of the night 21-17 against Peel’s David Proctor, whilst team mate David Bradford who had only had one run out this season following a recent bout of COVID made no mistake in taking his spot in finals night as he beat Marown player Paul Kelly 21-15 on the way to qualifying.

Finals night was highly anticipated with two strong players from the Ladies game, five top Men’s players split between Marown and South Ramsey, with Peel D man Andy Mackie the surprise package.

The competition was redrawn at the quarter final stage with Rebecca Teare leading 18-14 against Clark, only for the latter to fight back and run out with a 21-18 victory. Debbie Leece led 13-10 after nine ends against Andy Mackie only for Mackie to stamp his authority on the game taking a 21-16 win to book his spot in the next round.

In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves built up a 17-8 lead only for Withers to fight back to 19-20, with Hargraves securing the single he needed to win 21-19. David Bradford also had a good lead on Manx Champion Colin Kelly, only for Kelly to get back into the game at 17-18. Bradford took the next two ends with a double and a single to win 21-17.

Continuing the trend both semi-finals were well contested with Mackie having a good lead on Clark, with Clark fighting back to lie game counting two at 19-20, however a slice of good fortune with an ‘in-off’ his own bowl secured the single needed by Mackie to book his place in the final. In the other semi-final the South Ramsey team mates had a good battle with Bradford edging it 21-17 against Hargraves.

The final was eagerly anticipated with Bradford starting on a handicap of three and Mackie starting on seven. Bradford pulled the handicap back early, with Mackie picking up the odd point to stay in contention. Mackie fought back with two quick doubles to threaten a huge upset as he took a 15-12 lead, however Bradford’s experience came through as he scored nine chalks over the next six ends to win 21-15 to pick up his second title in this competition after his 2018 success. Huge credit must go to Mackie who has not yet played a full season of bowls and having only played a couple of open competitions.

The presentation was made by Marown President Peter Kelly, with Kevin Druggan introduced from the sponsor Ardern & Druggan, whilst Ian Kissack’s sister Gill presented the shield to the winner. Thanks were given to the Marown ladies for the excellent refreshments provided. In his speech Bradford spoke of the huge loss to Marown over the past couple of months with the passing of Pat Withers and Ian Kissack.

TQ triumphs in club championship

Three former winners were in the smaller than usual gang that participated in the Pronto Plumbing sponsored outdoor winter bowling club championship, which took place on Saturday.

However, when the final took to the green after about four hours play there was to be a new name on the winner’s list, with two team-mates from Louie’s Angels battling it out.

At the last eight stage, Trevor Quayle beat 2020 winner Stefan Kelly, before getting the better of Caroline Whitehead in their semi-final; Wayne Roberts meanwhile comfortably overcame the challenges of Marg Tasker and former champion Alan Moore.

Quayle took an early lead in the final before his opponent went on a good run and after 10 ends Roberts had a 16-10 advantage.

Five ends later the game was all-square at 16-across, but although Roberts did take another two singles it was TQ who triumphed 21-18 and therefore took the title for the first time.

Results – quarter-finals: Trevor Quayle 21 Stefan Kelly 18, Caroline Whitehead 21 Tricia Bull 19, Marg Tasker 9 Wayne Roberts 21, Alan Moore 21 Fiona Kennish 12; semi-finals: Quayle 21 Whitehead 13, Roberts 21 Moore 10; final: Quayle 21 Roberts 18.

Wednesday, 9 March saw ten members take to the green playing in one group of doubles. The winners scored eighteen points, but two couples scored eighteen, Paul Callister and Trevor Barker along with Margie Tasker and Sue Gawne. 

Sunday, 13 March saw four teams take to the green in the final set of re-arranged fixtures, Bit n Bobs, Parkers, WALOB and Mooragh Lakers.

WALOB took on Lakers and although the latter won four out of the six games, WALOB won on points by the closest of margins. Unfortunately, Lakers were unable to field a full team and were one player down. The closest win for the Lakers was won by Alison Kearsley who held Ken Karran to 20 points.

Bobs took on Parkers and thankfully Gillian Jopson managed a win for Bobs meaning Parkers couldn’t get the maximum 126, but they did get 125. Geoff Collier for Bobs put up a great fight but was held at 19 points by Paul Clinton.

Lakers then played Bobs, and Bobs won four of the games. Sue McCourt had a really close game after being a long way down, she made a come back from being on 7 points to win, keeping Luke Kenna on 19 points.

The last game of the day and in turn the season, was Parkers against WALOB. The Parkers won five out of the six games. The doubles pairing of Terry Moore and Mike Thomas beat Sid Bolton and Tony Hart to 20, whilst the other close game points wise was that won by Mike Alexander who held Ken Karran to 19.

WALOB 4 (104), Mooragh Lakers 4 (103); Bits n Bobs 1 (91), Parkers 7 (125); Mooragh Lakers 2 (96), Bits n Bobs 6 (108); Parkers 7 (113) WALOB 1 (103). 

This weekend will see the final two days of club bowls for this winter campaign, beginning with a round robin on Saturday, followed 24 hours later by the Best versus Rest event and prize presentations, for which raffle prizes would be very much appreciated.

Proceedings begin at 1pm and taking part in Sunday’s contest will be league champions, Louie’s Angels, supported by the ladies’ merit winner, Sue Gawne; and members of runners-up Seven-Up, who will make up the Best team.

The remaining individual merit winners, or representatives, will form the Rest team.

A weekend of delayed fixtures

It was a full weekend of re-scheduled fixtures over the weekend in outdoor winter league crown green bowls with the sun even shining.

Saturday, 5 March saw four teams take to the green, Mooragh Lakers, WALOB, Bits n Bobs and Parkers.

Lakers took on WALOB for the first game, and took four wins out of the six. The two wins for WALOB were Lyn Bolton, who brought to an end the unbeaten run of opponent Sue Gawne, and Toby Hart. The closest scoring games for Lakers were won by Janet Monk who kept Joyce Ogden to 19, and Alison Kearsley who kept Kim Hargraves to 18.

The second game on the green was Parkers against Bits n Bobs, with the only victory for Bobs being achieved by Sue Collier who kept Mike Alexander to 17, and the other closest game was for Mike Thomas who kept Pauline Cowley to 20.

Bobs then took on Lakers and unfortunately did not manage to win a game, but Geoff Collier had the most successful scoring game by getting 17 against Walter McCarthy.

The final game of the day was WALOB against Parkers, with 4 wins going to WALOB. The doubles pairing for WALOB of Sid Bolton and Tony Hart had a battle with Peter Karran and Mike Alexander but managed the win by one point. Lyn Bolton held Sid McKnight to 17, whilst Colin Spence for the Parkers kept Joyce Ogden to 17.

Louie’s Angels player Matthew Keggen was confirmed as this year’s individual merit winner after the defeat of Sue Gawne, with Trevor Quayle (also Angels) taking second in the standings. 

Mooragh Lakers 6 (113), WALOB 2 (105); Parkers 7 (122), Bits n Bobs 1 (96); Bits n Bobs 0 (66), Mooragh Lakers 8 (126); WALOB 6 (114), Parkers 2 (106).

Sunday, 6 March had three teams take to the green, Nobles Nutters, Castletown Corkers and Parkers once again and thanks must go to them for fulfilling their fixtures over the two days.

Nobles Nutters won all the games that they fielded players for, but unfortunately had to give a game to Corkers due to being a player short. The doubles pairing of Tina Hampson and Mark Bradshaw came out victors against Grace and Lily Gawne by one point. 

Corkers then took on Parkers and unfortunately for the southern outfit, Parkers won all games giving them the maximum points available.

The final game of the day was Parkers against the Nutters and it was level on games won, meaning the decision on the winning team was on chalks which went to the Parkers. The three games won by the Nutters were the closest scoring. Stephen Hampson keeping Jo Smith to 17, junior Alex Hampson keeping Mike Alexander to 18 and Sylvia Kennaugh holding Sid McKnight to 19.

Nobles Nutters 7 (111), Castletown Corkers 1 (84); Castletown Corkers 0 (68), Parkers 8 (126); Parkers 5 (117), Nobles Nutters 3 (87).

Could we take this opportunity to remind all those in possession of any trophies to return them ready for this year’s presentations. Likewise, the club are looking for donations of raffle prizes for the best v rest presentation event on Sunday, 20 March.

Ahead of that, this Saturday sees the club championship take place and with an entry of 31 proceedings will get underway at 12 noon prompt; while on Sunday the final set of re-arranged games will take place.

Seven Up secure second spot

The Outdoor Winter League sponsored by Pronto Plumbing had a full week of fixtures, after the storms disrupted play the previous week.

Wednesday, 23 February saw the Round Robin take place with 20 members taking to the green, split into two groups of doubles. The outstanding winners of the yellow jack group by 13 points was Margie Tasker and Dougie Allan, with runner up going to Ken Karran and Peter Corlett. The second group was a closer run competition with only one point between the winner and second place. Taking victory on 26 points was Brian Colquitt and Alan Phair, with Peter Kennaugh and Sue Gawne came in second with 25.

Saturday, 26 February saw three teams take to the green, WALOB, All But and the Outsiders. WALOB took on All But and secured five wins, which led to Bryan Corner the only winner for All But holding Lyn Bolton to 11 points. Tony Hart had the closest scoring game in which he held Willie Corkill to 20. 

All But then took on the Outsiders and again won one of the games, Celia Joughin this time holding Steve Cook to 19, the other close game was when Jenny Moore held Brian Aspden to 20. Unfortunately for All But they were a player short in both games.

WALOB then took on the Outsiders and each team secured three wins. The doubles pairing for WALOB Sid Bolton and Toby Hart kept James Teare and Kevin Firth to 20 and Kim Hargraves kept Jenny Moore to 18. The closest scoring game with the Outsiders taking the game was when Frank Watson kept Lyn Bolton to 18.

WALOB 7 (116), All But 1 (82); All But 1 (87), Outsiders 7 (124); Outsiders 5 (117), WALOB 3 (103).

Sunday, 27 February again had three teams take to the green Mooragh Lakers, Castletown Corkers and Seven Up. The Lakers took on the Corkers and they won every game giving them the maximum score of 126 for the match. The Corkers then took on Seven Up and unfortunately again did not manage a win, meaning Seven Up got the maximum score available. 

Seven Up then took on the Lakers and secured four wins. The closest games were both wins for Seven Up with Dougie Allan keeping Janet Monk to 17, and Kevin Quirk likewise keeping Walter McCarthy to 17.

Mooragh Lakers 8 (126), Castletown Corkers 0 (74); Castletown Corkers 0 (61), Seven Up 8 (126);  Seven Up 6 (112), Mooragh Lakers 2 (92).

Could I please remind those teams / people in possession of any trophies to return them ready for this year’s presentations. Please remember these were awarded two years ago. Likewise, we are looking for donations of raffle prizes for the best v rest presentation on Sunday, 20 March.

Ahead of this, entries are still open for the Club Championship which will take place on Saturday, 12 March.