Yearly Archives: 2023

Finch Hill A Stay Top in Division Two

After a day of rain, which was at times heavy all league fixtures went ahead on Monday evening in Canada Life International League Division One.

Marown A took on their C Team with the lower ranked team manging to claim one win and scoring over 100 chalks in their 9-1 defeat (155-106). The lone winner for the C Team was Kevin Kelly, who beat Phil Kelly 21-8. The only single figure winner for the A Team was John Gelling who beat Jamie Joughin 21-6, whilst the other six wins for the A Team were comfortable.

League Leaders South Ramsey A took on their B Team who are bottom of the league, with the rain stopping and the sun making an appearance just in time for the start of play, as conditions improved as the evening went on, by which time the green was running well. The higher ranked team took a 10-0 win to stretch their lead to nine points, as they kept the B team down to just 86 chalks. South Ramsey A captain Glynn Hargraves beat Tony Dugdale with the former trailing 6-8 to run out with a 21-12 win. Dido Kelly beat Toby Hart 21-9, a score matched by Jordan Cain who beat Frank Watson, whilst David Bradford was the best winner on the night as he beat Tony Hart 21-4. The highest scorer for the B team was Christian Caley who got to within three chalks of James Teare at 16-19, before conceding a two to lose 16-21.

Over at Mooragh Park North Ramsey A took on Marown B, with the home team claiming a 7-3 victory. Two big wins were taken by Rob Monk who beat Harry Barton 21-2 and Steven Waters who also won 21-2 against Darren Kerruish, Steve Walmsley beat Brian Kelly 21-7, whilst Jimmy Moffatt beat Matthew Keggen 21-13. For the visitors two of their wins were close as Tom Kelly pipped John Cannan 21-18, Juan Killip held off Gary Merrill to win 21-19, whilst Walter McCarthy beat Allan Callow comfortably 21-11.

Peel A hosted Castletown A in the Sunset City, as the home team took an 8-2 win. Winning for the visitors were George Foy who beat Tony Carroon 21-9 and Ian Watson who won 21-15 against Peter Greenlees. For the home team Stevie Kelly beat Aaron Richardson 21-11, whilst his father Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won 21-11 against Nathan Hamilton. The result leaves Castletown second from bottom of the league with five games remaining, however they aren’t too far from safety.

Onchan A drew 4-4 on games at home to Douglas A, however a superior chalks difference secured the two points for the aggregate (137-117) for a 6-4 home win. For Onchan Kevin Quirk, Will Penhallurick and Matthew Quirk all won to single figures against Ian Moore, Keith Rise and Merv Sayle respectively. For the Villa men Andy Cannell beat Peter Slinger 21-11, whilst Gary Conwell beat Neil Dunwell 21-18.

Port St Mary A drew 5-5 at Breagle Glen against fellow strugglers Peel B who were a man short. The Port men lost five games, however they secured the draw thanks to winning the aggregate (140-123). Winning for the home team were Robbie Cooil who won 21-7 against Rob Middleton, Trevor Quayle beat Mick Kavanagh 21-11, with Dan McCabe being the lucky recipient of the walkover. Just missing out to a 19-21 score line were Wayne Roberts, Tim Williams, and Tom Collins against Paul Quirk, Dewi Bartlett, and Dougie Allan respectively. For Peel Dave Smith beat Juan Hargraves 21-6, whilst Andy Mackie won 21-14 against Paul Skelly.

In Division Two league leaders Finch Hill A show no sign of slipping up in their chase for a return to the top flight following their 7-3 home win over Noble’s B. Les Brookes was the best winner for the Finch men as he beat Alex Hampson 21-8, whilst three hard earned wins were claimed by Kevin Anderson 21-17 against Noel Ash, Dave McCabe won 21-18 versus Jay Elliott, and Paul Dougherty just edged his game 21-20 against Ciaran Broad.  For the visitors Grahem Moore beat Tony Epifani 21-13, Stephen Corkill won 21-16 against Pat Maher, whilst Mikey Cooper beat Mark Taylor 21-18.

Castletown B could well be heading for promotion, as they won 8-2 at home to North Ramsey B. Winning for the visitors were Andrew Honour, who beat George Peach 21-19, and Ray Skelly who won 21-15 against Alan Phair. For the home team Peter Oates had a tough battle with Brian Colquitt before prevailing 21-20, Junior bowler Sam Quayle beat new bowler Joe Kneale 21-17, whilst Derek Lewney was the best winner as he beat Euan Christian 21-5.

Noble’s A are in a solid mid-table position with scope to rise a couple of places following their 8-2 win at home to Onchan B. Winning for the visitors were Colin Spence who beat John Andrew 21-12, and Steve Parker just got over the line 21-20 against Mark Bradshaw. The home team claimed a 21-20 win in their favour, with Juan Qualtrough holding off Mark Kelly, with the other five wins for the Noble’s men being comfortable.

Douglas B slipped to a 3-7 home defeat to Ballaugh A, with the visitors result helping them to stay in second place. Ballaugh captain Phil Quayle beat Stuart Garrett 21-8, Tony Quine won 21-2 against Geoff Mayles, whilst Patrick Grant beat Andy Foster to secure a 21-6 win. Winning close games for Ballaugh were Mike Spooner who won 21-20 against Bob Callow, with Edgar Cowin beating Nick Firth 21-18. Just missing out picking up additional points for the visitors were Nigel Tebay who was beaten 19-21 by Paddy Murphy, whilst John Keenan lost out 18-21 to Steve Cook.

Bottom side Onchan C are still 11 points adrift of the next placed team despite their 8-2 home win over South Ramsey C, with both teams still in danger of relegation. Winning close games for the home team were Colin Brown who beat Ian Moore 21-19, whilst Neil Taylor won to the same score against Paul Routledge. The two winners for South Ramsey were James Moore who won 21-16 against Ken Clarke, whilst Richie Davies beat Roger Payne 21-19.

Peel C picked up a good 6-4 home win over Port Erin A, to damage the visitors hopes of promotion. Winning for the home team were Jeff Wilson, Jimmy Corlett, Andrew Cover and Kevin Mort. For the visitors Ed Benson and Seamus Whelan ensured it wasn’t a bigger win for Peel as they won their games 21-18 against Phil Clarke and Harry Kelly respectively.

In Division Three Ballaugh B beat Finch Hill B 6-4 at home with 12 chalks separating the teams, however they would have been hoping for a better result at home against a team in ninth place, with Gary Griffiths losing out 18-21 to Guy Smith, and Fred Waggett was beaten by Kevin Stannard 18-21. For the home team Dicky Watson was the best winner as he beat Samson Smith 21-4.

Noble’s C are improving with each game, as they picked up a resounding 9-1 home win over Douglas D, cruelly missing out on a first ever 10-0 by a single chalk as Junior bowler was the hero for the visitors as he beat Kevin Airey. Nigel Hinds beat Les Quayle 21-20, Andy Greggor won 21-19 against Bob Banning, whilst Paul Moore beat Mark Clarke 21-18. Winning to single figures were Mike Caley, Lee Greggor and Steve Cain.

Marown D won 9-1 at home to Port Erin B, with the Crosby men being awarded three walkovers due to the Breagle Men only being able to field five players. Ben Mowle was the lone winner as he beat Richard Bregazzi 21-9, whilst Alan Gault own to the same score against Mark Finlay. Winning close games for Marown were Ryan Holdaway who beat Alan Crebbin 21-18 an Eddie Rough who beat Nigel Haymes 21-17.

South Ramsey D lost 2-8 at home to Ballaugh C, as the lost by just six chalks (144-150). Three games went in favour of the visitors 21-20 as Tim Merriman, Mark Dimsdale and Dan Kelly beat Billy Blair, Frank Feeney, and Hakim Thomas respectively. Winners for South Ramsey were captain Franz ten Donkelaar who beat Steve Bassil 21-8, and Steve Kelly who won 21-16 against Chris Pedley.

Port St Mary B welcomed Noble’s D to Breagle Glen with the home team winning 7-3, as they edged the aggregate by just three chalks (148-145) in a high scoring contest. Nicholas Peterson won 21-20 against Roy Moore, Ray Maddrell and Derek Cain both won their games 21-18 against Charlie Bell and Alex Colquitt respectively, whilst Colin Leece beat Sam Colquitt 21-17. Best winner for the home team was Thomas Keggen who beat Steve Colquitt 21-9, while the best winner for the visitors was Kevin Moore with a 21-7 victory over Pete Collins, with the other two wins for Noble’s coming from Terry Bates as he won 21-18 against Ken Karran, with Andrew Bell winning to the same score against Junior Keggen. The result leaves Port St Mary B top by three points ahead of Ballaugh B.

July CLI Players of the Month

Congratulations to July Canada Life International Award winners:- 

Men’s Player of the Month: Neil Withers – Marown  

Ladies Player of the Month: Jenny Moore – South Ramsey

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Madison McMullan – North Ramsey 

Neil or ‘Nev’ to most had reached four finals prior to July, without quite getting over the line. I did call out in my Manx Championship Finals Day Preview that he was knocking on the door. In July Nev didn’t just open the door, he knocked it down!

A second Manx Championship was picked up at Castletown at the start of the Month, coming through a tough draw as he followed up on his 2009 success. A first win in the Dreswick Cup soon followed, then two days later a third time of lifting the famous Peel Town Cup. For his club team Withers won all seven games, which included a particularly impressive 21-13 win over Kevin Quirk at Onchan.

Jenny was the obvious choice for the Ladies section this month as she picked up Manx Championship title number six, retaining the title successfully. Jenny also had success in the Spar Mixed Doubles at Ballaugh with her partner James Teare. Further individual success followed in the Jordan Cup held at Noble’s with Moore beating Jayne Smith in the final. For her club team it was eight wins out of eight games played, with Moore looking odds on to go the season unbeaten in the Ladies Night league with 18 wins from 18 games played, with just four games left in the 2023 season.

Madison had a great month as she picked up the girls Junior merit sweeping aside all opponents on the day. McMullan’s club form was particularly impressive beating some tough and experienced players throughout the month, with wins against Keith Rise in the Mixed Team Championship, Debbie Leece in the night league, and Hannah Drewett in the Jean Kelly Knockout competition. Five of Madison’s team victories during the month were to single figures.

Trio Compete In British Senior Merit

Three local bowlers competed in the British Senior Merit on Saturday at Heaton Park in Manchester.

Onchan man Peter Slinger won his first game 21-10 against John Short from Wales, before losing out 8-21 in the second round to Reece Farr (Shropshire).

Marown’s Tom Kelly just got over the line 21-20 against Joe Stockdale (Yorkshire), before suffering a 7-21 defeat to Lee Brown (Potteries & District) in the next round.

The best run of the local men was from Manx Champion Neil Withers (Marown) as he won his first game 21-16 against Yorkshire man Gordon Flower, then went on to secure an even better win in the second round as he beat Ryan Sandham (Cheshire) 21-11.

At the quarter final stage Withers came up against a formidable opponent in Simon Coupe (North Lancs & Fylde), who has won top titles all over the U.K. and also went into the event as the favourite with the bookmakers priced at 3/1 in a field of 64 players. Despite Withers efforts Coupe went on to take a 21-14 victory.

The competition was eventually won by Coupe who beat Reece Farr 21-11, the same opponent who had put Slinger out in the second round. This was Coupe’s first time winning the British Senior Merit.

Bolton & Jones Take Wins in Douglas Town Cup

Sunday saw the holding of the Douglas Town Cup Ladies and Men’s Singles hosted by Douglas Bowling Club at the Villa. The Men’s event started at 10:30 in the morning with 42 entries, with the Ladies competition starting later in the day had an entry of 19 Ladies competing.

In the Men’s singles at the quarter final stage Peter Jones (Marown) beat David Bradford (South Ramsey) 21-11, whilst Keith Rise held off a late comeback from Walter McCarthy to win 21-19. In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) won 21-8 against Rob Monk (North Ramsey), whilst Phil Kelly beat Marown clubmate Juan Killip 21-17 to progress to the next round.

At the semi-final stage Jones ensured it was the end of the road for Rise, with the Marown man winning 21-13. In the other semi-final Hargraves led 18-12 against Kelly, only for the Marown man to score seven consecutive chalks to lead 19-18. Hargraves got back in at the right time to seal his place in the final with a 21-19 victory.

In the Men’s final the rain set in as Hargraves (+6) won the first end, only to concede two doubles to Jones (+5) who was the current holder to fall 9-7 behind. Hargraves took the next three ends to go two chalks ahead at 11-9, then Jones got in to settle on a longer length as he scored seven chalks over six ends to lead 16-11.

A slice of fortune got Hargraves back in, with the South Ramsey man then closing the deficit to two chalks at 16-18, however Jones played two good bowls on the following end to lead 20-16.

On the next end a good lead from Jones was beaten at the first attempt, then a further single followed for Hargraves to put the score at 18-20. On the next end Jones was in after a measure as he retained the trophy for another year with a hard earned 21-18 victory in an entertaining final.

In the Ladies quarter finals Lyn Bolton (Marown) beat Michele Cubbon (Ballaugh) 21-9, Janet Monk beat Mooragh Park teammate Shannon McMullan 21-12. Marown’s Debbie Leece beat Margie Tasker (Port St Mary) 21-14, whilst home greener Paula Garrett beat teammate Katie Jacobs 21-10.

In the Ladies semi-finals Bolton got the better of Monk, with a comfortable 21-11 win, whilst Garrett won 21-14 against Leece.

The Final got underway with Bolton making the better start to lead 11-6, then Garrett closed the gap to two chalks at 10-12.

Belton stepped up another gear or two, as the Marown player restricted her opponent to scoring on only two more ends for Bolton to run out with three two’s and three singles to seal a comfortable 21-13 to win the Ladies Douglas Town Cup.

There was also a prize for the Juniors going furthest in the competition and the Junior Girls was won by Katie Jacobs (Douglas) and the Junior Boys was shared by Kian Bradford (South Ramsey) & Clark Kelly (Douglas).

At the conclusion Gordy Wynne-Smythe thanked all those who supported the event and the Douglas Club Members for a great effort in putting on the event. He then announced that they had raised funds for A Little Bit of Hope to the total of £450. He then went on to thank Jaks & Barbary Coast for sponsoring the event, with Andrew Gibbs presenting the prizes.

Hargraves & Bradford Win Nobles Cup

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Nobles Cup Men’s Doubles on Saturday with 29 pairs taking part, on a superb playing surface which is returning to its former glory, as the club continue to move forward they had a new sponsor on board this year with Camelback Movers.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Archie Dunn & Paul Dunn (Marown) 10-21 to South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves & David Bradford, home greeners Stephen Corkill & Mikey Cooper got past the pairing of Tony Hart & Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) 21-19.

In the other half of the draw John Kennish & Peter Collister (South Ramsey) won 21-6 against Marown’s Stevie Rundle & Walter McCarthy, whilst Marown’s Juan Killip and Matthew Keggen beat Brian Lindsay & Less Brookes 21-15.

At the semi-final stage Hargraves & Bradford ensured it was the end of the road for the final home green pairing of Corkill & Cooper, with the South Ramsey men winning 21-9 to reach the final. The other semi-final was keenly contested as the Marown pairing of Killip and Keggen went 17-12 ahead against Kennish & Collister, before the Ramsey pair rallied to win five of the last six ends to run out with a 21-18 to take their place in the final.

In the final Kennish & Collister won the first end scoring a single, only for Hargraves & Bradford win the next four ends scoring seven points to take a 13-7 lead, with a three scored as Bradford played out the counting bowl perfectly.

Kennish & Collister got back into the game with two singles, only to concede their second three of the game, however they picked up a three themselves on the ninth end to trail by four chalks at 12-16.

Hargraves & Bradford rallied once more to see the game out scoring five chalks over the next four ends to take a deserved 21-12 victory to lift the cup for a second time, following their first success in 2017.

With prizes paid down to the quarter finals, there was additional prize money paid out and a trophy for Marown’s Archie Dunn for best Junior in the competition.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson who thanked the club members for their help throughout the day, Camelback Movers for sponsoring the competition.

Photo: Mark Bradshaw

Hampson Wins Inaugural Roy Williamson Memorial Trophy

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the inaugural Junior Boys competition on Saturday morning, with a good standard of bowls from the Juniors with the games played 21 up off scratch.

At the quarter final stage Clark Kelly (Douglas) lost out 11-21 to Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey), whilst Arran Dunn (Marown) just got the better of Andrew Tomlinson (Douglas) 21-20. Home greener Alex Hampson had a tough game with Archie Dunn (Marown), as the latter led 17-13 before Hampson prevailed 21-17, whilst Rhys Moore (Castletown) beat Robert Tomlinson (Douglas) 21-16.

At the semi-final stage 10-year-old Dunn performed well to beat 15-year-old Hargraves 21-16, whilst Hampson had a slightly more comfortable 21-15 win over Moore to reach the final.

In the final Hampson, who is the more experienced bowler performed well as he went 10-1 ahead scoring five doubles in the first six ends. Dunn had to dig deep and didn’t let his head drop as he performed well in the second half of the game before eventually losing out 10-21 to Hampson, who became the first winner of this competition.

The presentation was made by Tina & Kerry Hampson, who introduced Jackie Williamson to present the prizes, with all competitors receiving a prize. It was a proud and emotional day for the Hampson family, with winner Alex being Roy Williamson’s Grandson, as he became the first winner of the new trophy.

Howland Pairs Win for McCabe & McDonald

On Friday we saw the ever-popular Howland Pairs Over 60’s Men’s Doubles take place on a well prepared Green at Ballaugh Bowling Club with an entry of 26 pairs.

At the quarter final stage we saw home greeners Fred Waggett and John Kneen lose 14-21 to Andy Kennish (Peel) and Jimmy Sansom (Douglas) while Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) and Barry McDonald (Ballaugh) beat Neil Dunwell and Mike Thomas (Onchan) 21-20. We also saw two more home green players John Keenan and John Maddrell take a 21-14 win against Bryan Corner (South Ramsey) and Ray Skelly (North Ramsey) and Brian Colquitt and Geoff Porter (North Ramsey) lost 19-21 to Kevin Quirk (Onchan) and Steve Parker (North Ramsey and Onchan).

In the semi-finals the pairing of McCabe and McDonald proved to be too strong for Kennish and Sansom as they ran out winners 21-14 and the home pairing of Keenan and Maddrell beat Quirk and Parker 21-18.

In the Final we saw Dave McCabe and Barry McDonald start well and maintain the pressure to run out as winners 21-11 against John Keenan and John Maddrell.

The Chairman of the Over 60’s Bowling Association thanked Ballaugh for hosting the Competition and the ladies for their wonderful catering the awards were presented by Gordie Moore the Chairman of Ballaugh Bowling Club.

Jean Kelly Prelim Continues

Jean Kelly Prelim

Port Erin (+53) 200 V 199 Nobles (+43) The Port Erin side just managed to take the win by 1 point overall taking full advantage of that 10 point advantage. Susan Inch (Port Erin) won 21-9. Marilyn Ellison’s 21-7 and Sue Gawne’s 21-6 wins for nobles wasn’t quite enough and left them with the title of the plate in their sight.

Castletown A (+13) 196 V 158 Douglas (+57) Even with a 44 point advantage Douglas still had a lot of work to do, unfortunately for them Castletown were the much stronger team winning 8 – 1 on games. Paula Garrett took a 21-15 win for Douglas.But with Castletown winning 5 of their

 games to single figures they were always on the top.

The final prelim game was Peel Sunset (+45) 183 V 202 Ballaugh (+39) The Ballaugh team won 6-3 on games with 3 of them to single figures, giving them enough points to take them on to the next round, where the will face Marown A. 

Maximum Points for Ballaugh O60’s

Ballaugh received a full house against Castletown B who were 1 player short.

All games were won to singles figures leaving an overall score of Ballaugh 126 V Castletown B 28 (6-0)

Castletown A also recorded a full sweep winning 126 V 56 Mooragh Park A (6-0) Sue Peach, Anne Oates and Kim Foy all won to single figures.

The closest game of the day was Peel Sunset 107 V 91 Douglas A (3-3) Shirley Corrin and Joyce Kelly both had single wins for the west side. As did Paula Garret for Douglas.

Other Results: Mooragh Park B 101 V 75 Port Erin B (4-2), Port Erin A 80 V 110 Nobles (2-4), Onchan A 68  V 116 Finch Hill (1-5),Port St Many A 77 V 117 Marown(1-5.

A couple of close games later in the week. The first being Port Erin B 84 V94 Peel Sunset (3-3) The other game was Douglas A 87 V 93 Onchan A (3-3)  Douglas A were a player short so they had to give away a 0-21 game, But Paula Garrett scored a 21-1 win to keep the scores even.

Other Results: Marown 123 V 87 Ballaugh (5-1), Castletown B 106 V 89 Mooragh Park B (4-2), Nobles 99 V 124 Castletown A (1-5), Finch Hill 122 V 91 Port Erin A (4-2), Port St Mary A 94 V 106 South Ramsey (2-4)

Busy Week For Ladies Open Age League

Ladies open age league saw a couple of games that were postponed by the weather the week before played this week.

Mooragh Park 103 V 175  Marown A  (2-7) Janet monk 21-13 and Madison McMullan 21-15 were the Park winners.

Castletown B  121 V 180 Peel Sunset (2-7) Debra Cooper came close to another win for the southside just losing 20-21 to Gill Clarke.

Castletown A 165 V 131 South Ramsey (6-3) Kath Kinley (Castletown A) and Elaine Moore (South Ramsey) both recorded 21-6 wins.

Marown B 175 V 107 Douglas (6-3) Celia Joughin, Joyce Ogden and Lil Smith all had single figure wins.

Marown A scored a maximum win at home against Peel Sunset 189 V 105 (9-0) Clare Cooper, Rebekah Kelly and Helen Withers all took single figure wins.

Castletown B hosted the castletown Derby with a much improved scoreline to their last derby. 78 V 187 (1-8) Linda Dawson for the B team taking a win off the A team 21-19. 

Other Results: Douglas 107 V 171 Mooragh Park (2-7), Nobles 175 V 132 Port Erin (6-3), Port St Mary 143 V 163 Marown B (4-5), South Ramsey 172 V 118 Ballaugh (6-3),