Yearly Archives: 2023

Isle of Man Juniors were on fire in the heat in Manchester

The following thirteen juniors travelled to Heaton Park on Saturday 20th May to play in the BCGBA ladies section run Junior Championships, Emily Cooper, Grace Cooper, Emily Jacobs, Katie Jacobs, Graiagh Smith, David Manley, Aalish Moore, Sam Quayle, Dylan Marsh, Erin Quayle, Alex Hampson, Lacey McMullan and Bailey McMullan. With only five teams taking part there was only one group and the first round saw IOM A play IOM B. The result shows just how how well match all of them are with the B beating the A team 81-79. Grace, Emily C, David and Lacey winning for the B and Graiagh and Katie winning for the A.

The second round for IOM A saw them change greens which will have had an impact on their match result when they were beaten by a strong Yorkshire side, 32-90. The IOM B stayed on the same green as their first match and did well against Warwick & Worcester B 45-81. David and Erin both winning their games.

The third round for IOM A was against Warwick & Worcester A. Alex Hampson helped keep the opponents score down with a 15-0 win. Dylan Marsh came back from 0-10 down to just lose 14-15 on the last bowl of the game. Thanks goes to our super supporter Shannon McMullan for her encouragement. Final match result was 50-75. The IOM B team sat this round out.

The forth round was the final match for IOM A against Warwick & Worcester B and with four winners, Dylan, Sam, Katie and Graiagh, Alex dropping 3 points and Aalish dropping 7 points the team won 80-51. IOM B were up against the strong Yorkshire side but came away with a great score of 67-75. David winning his third game, Grace and Emily C winning their second.

The fifth and final round, IOM B played Warwick & Worcester B and there was only 1 point in it. Winners were Grace, Bailey and Lacey. David got 12, so only dropping 3 points all day. Last game of the day saw our youngest bowler Emily Jacobs have an epic battle. 3-9 down to 12-12, then unfortunately losing the next three ends to ones. The match result was 79-80.

Yorkshire were the overall winners, Warwick & Worcester A second, with Warwick & Worcester B, IOM A & IOM B coming joint third.

Thanks goes to BCGBA Ladies section and Yvette Gregory for running the competition, IOMCCGBA for expenses, Tina Hampson for all the organising of the teams on the day, Andy Kennish for travel and all parents and supporters.

Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs Is a Thriller at the Villa

Sunday May 21st saw the staging of the 2023 Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs Crown Green Bowling Competition. All the twenty four pairs taking part were treated to a Green that was running well and found by many to be quite tricky.

At the Quarter Final stage we saw Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn (Marown) beat Joyce Ogden (Marown) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) 21-17 while home greeners Jan West and Andy Cannell (Douglas) took a 21-16 victory against Sandra May and Mark Kelly (Onchan). In the bottom half of the draw we saw Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey) beat Debbie Leece and Neil Withers (Marown) 21-19 and Paula and Stuart Garrett (Douglas) beat Paula and Nick Firth (Nobles and Douglas) 21-17.

In the semi-finals a strong performance on their own Green from Jan West and Andy Cannell resulted in a 21-9 win against Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn , while Jenny Moore and James Teare took a 21-17 win against Paula and Stuart Garrett.

This brought us to what turned out to be a thrilling Final with the Moore/Teare pairing starting well and building up a 12-9 lead but then a run of three singles for West and Cannell brought the score to 12-12. Jenny and James then built up their lead to 18-12 but their opponents then got a three to make it 18-15 only to lose a two on the next end and leave the South Ramsey pairing leading 20-15. Jan and Andy then scored five over the next three ends leaving the score at 20-20 but then Jenny and James won the deciding end to win the competition.

The prizes were presented by the President of Douglas Bowling Club Kay McKiernan and James Teare thanked Haldane Fisher for sponsoring the event and Douglas Bowling Club for hosting it and the Green Keeper for a Green that was running well but tricky.

Bradford Wins ‘Villa Classic’

With a free date in the Bowls Calendar Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly took the opportunity to hold a competition open to all with players paying £25 for the privilege, resulting in an £800 prize fund. The location of choice was Douglas Bowling club, with the competition being touted as the Villa Classic. The weather was fair all day, with music being played it made for a good atmosphere around the green, with 32 players taking part and plenty of spectators in attendance.

Losing out at the quarter final stage to earn themselves £40 each were Bob Clark (South Ramsey) who lost out 17-21 to Neil Withers (Marown), Rebecca Teare (Marown) was beaten 15-21 by Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), Glenn Boland (Marown) was heavily defeated 6-21 by David Bradford (South Ramsey), whilst Peel man Stevie Kelly lost out 15-21 to Paul Dunn (Marown).

At the semi-final stage it was South Ramsey versus Marown in both games. Losing out to collect £90 were Hargraves, who was well beaten 11-21 by Withers, whilst Dunn fell to Bradford 15-21.

The final still had almost 50 people in attendance. It was Bradford who got off to a flier, was always in control of the game as he built up a lead of 13-4 after seven ends playing a mark over the middle of the green. Bradford never relented as he managed to claim a solid 21-10 victory over Withers and with it the first prize of £300, whilst the Marown man could console himself with £160 for his effort on the day.

The presentation was made by competition organiser Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, who thanked Douglas Bowling Club for the use of the green and for the refreshments, Brian Kelly for helping run the competition and everyone who had entered.

Lead At Top Changes Hands Twice

Another round of fixtures took place across all three divisions this week in the Canada Life International sponsored bowling leagues.

In Division One it was very much a case of as you were at the end of the week, however the lead did change hands briefly as Marown A picked up their first 10-0 win of the season as they beat Douglas A at Crosby to hit top spot. Three single figure wins were claimed by Paul Dunn who beat Merv Sayle 21-6, John Gelling won 21-7 against Mark Kneen, whilst Glenn Boland beat Keith Rise 21-8. The highest scorer for the visitors was Gordon Wynne-Smythe who lost 16-21 to Peter Jones.

South Ramsey A had their toughest test of the season as they faced Onchan A at the Park. After a tough game the reigning league champions came away with a 4-6 win, with the visitors claiming the aggregate by just five chalks (140-145). First league defeats of the season were inflicted on the four losers for South Ramsey as Alan Moore lost 12-21 to Phil Kerruish, Bob Clark was beaten 16-21 by Matthew Quirk, David Bradford lost to the same score to Kevin Quirk, whilst Jordan Cain was defeated 17-21 by Peter Slinger. Winning for the visitors were South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves who won convincingly 21-10 against Reg Temporaza, James Teare beat Jamie Clague 21-12, Peter Collister recovered from a 7-14 deficit to run out with a 21-14 win over Neil Dunwell, whilst Stefan Kelly held his nerve to win 21-20 against Will Penhallurick to reverse last season’s score line.

Elsewhere on Monday evening North Ramsey A claimed their biggest victory of the season beat Port St Mary A 9-1 at Mooragh Park, Peel A got the better of Marown B 8-2 in the Sunset City, whilst South Ramsey B claimed a vital 7-3 home win against fellow strugglers Castletown A.

On Friday evening the clash of the season took place with South Ramsey A hosting Marown A on a tricky green. The home team made home advantage count early as South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves claimed a resounding 21-4 win over Glenn Boland, whilst Bob Clark showed no mercy to Paul Kelly as he matched his captains score to put the home team 2-0 up and leading by 34 chalks. David Bradford was next off with a 21-20 victory over Phil Kelly, with the former recovering from an 8-14 deficit to sneak home. With Peter Jones missing due to injury standing in for Marown was Tom Kelly who recovered from 10-15 and 14-18 behind to win 21-19 against Peter Collister.

In the second half of the match Marown captain Paul Dunn performed well against James Teare as he won 21-10. Tony Dugdale who was filling in for Jordan Cain performed brilliantly to beat Neil Withers 21-13, Colin Kelly was always in control with his 21-9 victory over Alan Moore, whilst Stefan Kelly had to dig deep for the second time this week as he got home 21-18 against John Gelling to secure a 7-3 home win and with it restore the three-point lead at the top of the table for South Ramsey.

Castletown A stayed firmly rooted to the bottom of the table following a 2-8 home defeat to Onchan A, with Jordan Drewett and David Quayle the two winners for the Town men.

Elsewhere on Friday evening Douglas A won 8-2 at home to Marown C, with Ian Moore returning following a shoulder injury to beat Andy Kennish 21-20 who was making his first night league appearance of the season, North Ramsey A continue to climb the table thanks to a 2-8 victory over Peel B, Peel A came away from Breagle Glen with a 4-6 victory over Port St Mary A by just three chalks (139-142), whilst Marown B won 7-3 at home to South Ramsey B.

In Division Two Ballaugh A hit top spot again thanks to a strong week with an 8-2 win over Noble’s A, then bettered that result with a 9-1 home win over Onchan C as the visitors scored just 68 chalks, explained by the Onchan men being three players short on the night. Ballaugh man Steven Grant leads the way in the individual merit with eight wins from eight games played.

Castletown B will be pleased with their weeks work as they beat South Ramsey C 8-2 at home on Monday evening keeping the visitors to 99 chalks as they claimed four single figure victories. The Town men won to the same score on Friday night as they beat Onchan B 2-8 away from home, with all players from both teams getting into double figures to sit on 56 points after eight games played.

Finch Hill A occupy third place despite losing 7-3 away to Douglas B at the start of the week, they bounced back to trounce Noble’s A 10-0.

Douglas B are by no means out of the race to get promoted as they followed up their victory at the start of the week with a 1-9 away victory over Noble’s B, with Juan Drinkwater the lone winner 21-16 against Andy Foster.

Ballaugh B lead the way by eight points in Division Three despite suffering a 4-6 home defeat to Douglas D, with two 7-21 defeats for the home team sealing their fate as they lost by nine chalks (127-136). The Ballaugh men bounced back on Thursday night with a 2-8 ‘away’ victory over their C Team.

Port St Mary B are making a decent attempt at going straight back up, as they won 8-2 at home to Peel D, then went one better in their next fixture as they won 1-9 at Crosby against Marown D with Junior Keggen winning 21-19 against Chris Williamson.

South Ramsey D are having one of their most impressive seasons to date, as they claimed back-to-back 8-2 victories, starting the week beating Noble’s D at home, then finishing the week with victory away to Peel D.

Noble’s D and Noble’s C clashed for the first time on Thursday evening, it was the D Team who took the spoils with a 7-3 win. For the D Terry Bates beat Steve Cain 21-14, Sam Colquitt held on to beat Lee Price 21-20, whilst Roy Moore beat Kevin Airey 21-1. Responding for the C Team were Andy Greggor who beat Andrew Bell 21-20, Lee Greggor beat Alex Colquitt 21-11, whilst Mike Caley won 21-14 against Kevin Moore.

Janet Monk Wins George Hawkins Over 60s Trophy

It was sunshine all the way at Mooragh Park and a good entry of 40 bowlers made the most of the
good weather to play in this mixed singles competition.
Some great bowling led to the quarter finals with the closest game between Peter Oates and Dave
McCabe which finished 21/20. Closely followed by Elaine Moore and John Corteen 21/16.
The other quarter finalists were Janet Monk against Philip Cannan and Steve Parker against John
Kneen. Both games finished 21/8.
In the semi-final Janet was against Steve and took an early lead in a game that saw some excellent
bowling from both players finishing 21/10.
Elaine and Peter had a closer game and after 19 ends the score was 17/15, but Elaine won the next 4
ends and finished the game 21/15.
A thrilling all girl final followed, and it was predictably a very close game. Janet took an early lead,
but Elaine fought back and after 17 ends just one point separated them, but Janet managed to keep
hold of the jack winning the next 5 ends to claim her win 21/14.
The presentations and prize money were made by George Hawkins family who had been watching
the competition from the start. North Ramsey Bowling Club and Janet expressed their thanks to all
of Georges family for their continuing support and Janet thanked everyone within the club who had
made the day such a success.

Annihilation at Castletown Derby

The Ladies Open Age League played two games last week, which was a Castletown Derby, The A team played host to their B team. Angela Quayle for the B team was the only player to reach Double figures. The A team were happy to add the maximum points to their league table. Castletown A 189 v 54 Castletown B (9-0)

The rest of the results: Mooragh Park 168 v 119 Douglas (6-3), Marown B 142 v 163 Port St Mary (3-6), Peel Sunset 100 v 173 Marown A (1-8), Ballaugh 118 v 182 South Ramsey (1-8), Port Erin 128 v 183 Nobles (1-8)

In the second games of the week Peel Sunset hosted Mooragh Park. These games were all close with the result being Peel Sunset 163 v 138 Mooragh Park (6-3) Peel Sunsets Celia Smith won 21-9 and Joyce Kelly 21-8, along with Louise Horsfall 21-14, Beverly Wilson and Shirley Corrin both with 21-12 wins. Annette Barrett just managed a 21-20 win over Olivia Johnson. Mooragh Park winners were Maureen Hamilton 21-16, Maddie McMullen 21-13 and Janet Monk 21-8.

The rest of the results: South Ramsey 181 v 97 Marown B (7-2), Marown A 187 v 85 Port Erin (8-1), Port St Mary 180 v 121 Douglas (7-2), Castletown A 176 v 114 Nobles (7-2), Ballaugh 187 v 94 Castletown B (8-1)

South Ramsey O60’s encounter two close games

Games commenced on Tuesday 9th May with some good scoring, with the closest game of the day being South Ramsey hosting Nobles. With the away team Nobles coming out on top by just 8 points and drawing 3-3 on games. The closest game was South Ramseys Judy Kelly 21-19 against Marilyn Ellison. Nobles Paula Firth and Libby Andrade both won to single figures to help secure their team the win. South Ramsey 91 v 99 Nobles (3-3)

In the second games of the week, South Ramsey had another close encounter. But this time coming out on top, winning by a close 7 points when they visited Finch Hill. Again games were drawn 3-3. Mary O’Conner (Finch Hill) won 21-1, but South Ramsey dug deep and all their winning games were won to single figures and reaching 18 and 14 in the other games gave them enough points for the win. Finch Hill 89 v 96 South Ramsey (3-3)

The rest of the result were: Castletown A 116 v 72 Douglas A (5-1), Peel Sunset 94 v 107 Marown (3-3), Onchan A 105 v 60 Castletown B (5-1), Port Erin A 123 v 62 Port Erin B (5-1), Mooragh Park B 46 v 113 Ballaugh (1-5), Port St Mary A 80 v 102 Mooragh Park A (2-4), Mooragh Park B 82 v 108 Port St Mary A (2-4), Castletown B 64 v 126 Port Erin A (0-6), Port Erin B 85 v 106 Castletown A (2-4), Ballaugh 92 v 108 Peel Sunset (2-4), Nobles 87 v 102 Mooragh Park A (3-3), Marown 115 v 70 Onchan A (4-2)

Junior Team Competes in St Helen’s

The Isle of Man Junior Team took part in the British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at Windle Bowling Club in St Helens on Sunday, on what turned out to be another good day for the team. With three of last years’ Junior Team now ineligible to play it was an opportunity for younger Junior bowlers to gain experience representing the Island competing on a different green.

The format was six players in a team in a group of five teams all playing each other, it was a positive start as they won the first game 5-1 against Lancashire by a comfortable margin of 18 chalks (87-69) with Grace Gawne winning 15-6 against Wade Hunting, whilst Ryan Hargraves beat Matthew Finch 15-9.

The second round was against last year’s group winners Cumbria the same side that the team lost out to by a single chalk, however it was a tough fixture as the team won just one game (1-5) with Grace Gawne again winning to single figures 15-8 against Sam Brannon as the team losing out by 43 chalks (40-83).

In the third round the team bounced back in style beating Cheshire 5-1 and by a margin of 37 chalks (83-46) with all of the wins to single figures. Grace Gawne and Alex Hampson won 15-3 against Kannikaa Duncan and Megan Hulme respectively, Sam Colquitt beat Holly MacPake 15-7, whilst Madison McMullan beat Lawrence McNeela 15-9, with Ryan Hargraves matching that win as he beat Max Blackburn.

In the final round they faced South Yorkshire, this game was a lot closer as the team claimed a 4-2 win on games and winning by 12 chalks (80-68). Birthday Boy Ryan Hargraves who was celebrating his 15th Birthday beat Keira Fox 15-11 to secure his third win of the day, Madison McMullan won 15-5 against Jacob Morgan, Alex Hampson claimed another single figure win beating Liam Dickenson 15-9, whilst Victoria Johnson just got the better of Isaac Cook 15-13. The defeats in this game were also high scoring to help the team claim the win on chalks as Alex Colquitt battled well before losing out 9-15 to Grace Rhodes, whilst Grace Gawne lost out 11-15 against Harley Baker.

The Group was topped by an all-conquering Cumbria on eight points, with two points awarded for a win on chalks, closely followed by the Isle of Man who finished runners up in the group with six points.

The Juniors all did themselves and the Island proud in the way that they performed and more importantly the way they behaved on and off the green. Thank you to everyone who came to support, the Development Committee for organising the travel & accommodation, Team Manager Tina Hampson who was assisted on the day by Steve Hampson, along with Andy Kennish for the transport.

Bradford Wins Association Cup

North Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the Association Cup on Sunday afternoon with the competition sponsored by Plumbmaster attracting 33 entries. The predicted rain arrived a bit later than forecast, with the North of the Island appearing to escape the worst of it.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Stephen Oates (Finch Hill) who lost out 10-21 to Marown man Colin Kelly. South Ramsey teammates Glynn Hargraves and David Bradford clashed with the latter getting the better of his captain 21-14.

In the other half of the draw Peter Jones progressed as he got through his game with Marown club mate Matthew Keggen 21-17, whilst Paul Dunn ended the challenge of South Ramsey’s Jordan Cain with a 21-11 victory to progress to the next round.

In the semi-finals Bradford ruthlessly took full control as he opted for a longer length also preferred by Kelly as he booked his place in the final with a 21-8 win. The other semi-final looked like it good go close between Dunn and Jones, with the latter opting for a longer length whilst Dunn was performing well across the middle of the green, with this mark enough to see Dunn advance with a 21-18 win.

The final got underway with both players not able to get a run of the jack, with Dunn scoring four singles over the first seven ends, whilst Bradford scored two doubles and a single to lead 10-9.

On end eight Bradford scored a single then headed straight for the corners, after trying in the early ends of the game to get into his preferred corners, this time he headed for the opposite corners to those played in previous rounds.

This worked a treat as the South Ramsey man ran out with four doubles and three singles to claim victory with a 21-9 win, finishing in style with two great bowls on the last end. This was Bradford’s second time lifting the trophy in this competition following on from his 2014 win.

Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen thanked North Ramsey Bowling Club for preparing a much improved green, the club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day and the Steve Moore for the smooth running of the competition.

Clare Cooper wins Top Lady

On Sunday the 14th of May, the Ladies Association held The Top Lady Singles Competition with 32 players at Peel Sunset Bowling Club. The day started with sunshine and then we had a downpour of rain for a while, which eventually cleared up for the latter stages, before turning very windy and cold. Marowns Clare Cooper was in exceptional good form all day to finish the eventual winner. Beating Sue Gawne (Nobles) in the final 21-5.

From the Quarter Final stage Clare finished Castletown’s chances of Hannah Drewett 21-17. South Ramseys Gill Dixon overcame teammate Elaine Moore 21-10, Margaret Tasker (Port St Mary) always had the upper hand over Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) 21-17. Sue Gawne ended Fiona Kennish (South Ramsey) of any chances of preceding further 21-11.

The Semi Final stage saw Clare take on Gill, where all Clare had was eyes on the final. Overcoming Gill 21-15. Sue was up against the experienced Margaret, Where Margaret just couldn’t match Sue’s accuracy that she had in the previous game and Sue secured her place in the final with her 21-12 win. 

The Final started off extremely cold for all the supporters watching and they were all grateful to Peel Bowling Club for supplying hot drinks to keep us warm. After 4 ends it was a close game at 3-3. Clare then took control of the game and stretched a lead of 14-4 at end 12. Clare finished the game at 21-5 to claim her title of Top Lady.

The Ladies Crown Green Bowls Association made the presentation and thanked Peel Bowling Club for their hospitality and all the competitors and supporters for staying till the end.