Saturday saw the staging of the 2024 Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs Crown Green Bowling Competition. All 25 pairs taking part were treated to a Green in superb condition with glorious weather throughout the day.

At the quarter final stage home greeners Katie Jacobs and Keith Rose lost out 12-21 to Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), with Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey) losing out to the same score to Marown’s Lyn Bolton and Peter Jones. Caroline Whitehead (Port Erin) and Kevin Firth (Douglas) held off South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves and Alan Moore 21-19, whilst Marown’s Debbie Leece and Neil Withers eased through to the semi-finals with a 21-9 win over Villa pair Rebecca Jacobs and Bob Callow.

In the semi-finals Bolton and Jones were pulled back to 14-15 by Moore and Hargraves, with the latter pair counting for three a great last bowl from Bolton ensured they kept their opponents at arms length as the Marown pair went on to win 21-16.

The other semi-final finished to the same score, with Whitehead and Firth getting the better of Leece and Withers with both pairs winning the same number of ends the Port Erin/Douglas duo scored better on the ends they won to progress to the final.

The final got underway with Whitehead and Firth scoring a single on the first end, then Jones led well at the front in the corners ably assisted by Bolton to win seven consecutive ends, only to concede a single, then picked up two singles to see the game out with a 21-8 victory to win the title.

The prizes were presented by competition secretary Andy Cannell who thanked Haldane Fisher for sponsoring the event. Douglas Bowling Club also allowed Junior bowlers to enter for a reduced entry fee and the option was given for Junior bowlers under 16 to enter with a member of the same sex, it is hoped more clubs participate in this approach with so many mixed doubles in the calendar it gives our Junior bowlers the opportunity to play more bowls, gaining valuable experience.

The Isle of Man Junior Team took part in the British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at The Grange in Warrington Club on Sunday, on a glorious day.

With 10 Juniors selected the Isle of Man would have been in the enviable position of being able to rotate players, however with other counties short of players on the day four of the Isle of Man juniors stepped in to play for other counties to ensure the teams were full, this also had the added bonus of ensuring all 10 players played in all three games, no walkovers were awarded.

Every single one of them did themselves and the Island proud in the way that they performed and more importantly the way they behaved on and off the green, not to mention how well turned out they all were.

The team won the first game 5-1 on games against Cheshire B by a convincing 39 chalks (85-46), with four games being won to single figures.

In the second round this proved to be a considerably tougher fixture against the heavily fancied South Yorkshire A, a solid performance saw the team draw 3-3, however they lost out by just four chalks (70-74) for their opponents to get the two points.

In the final round North Lancs & Fylde were the opponents, this went in favour of the Manx Juniors 4-2 and by 26 chalks (79-53).

Bailey McMullan was the standout performer for Team Isle of Man having won all three games scoring 45 chalks, conceding just 14 chalks all day. That said a further four of the juniors won two games each, with even those suffering defeat performing well.

With 2 points for each win the team finished on 4 points to finish in second place overall in the group. The Junior team will again be away in July for the next stage of the competition.

With Erin Quayle and Katie Jacobs filling in for South Yorkshire B, both Juniors performed well with Katie’s scores not reflecting how well she played in all of her games against older and more experienced bowlers, however Katie lost out by just three chalks (12-15) in her first outing against Greater Manchester.

Erin won her first two games against Greater Manchester and Cheshire A, just lost out by two chalks (13-15) in her final game against Cumbria. 

Martha Butler turned out for North Lancs & Fylde and had a sizeable lead in her second game against Cheshire B, however once her opponent got in and opted for a longer length Martha lost out by just two chalks (13-15).

Dylan Marsh turned out for Cheshire B and after a tough first game against the Isle of Man Dylan bounced back to win 15-9 against North Lancs & Fylde.

Thank you to everyone who came to support, to the coaches and everyone who helped organise the trip.

The Port Erin Cup Mixed Doubles was held at Breagle Glen on Sunday afternoon.

Marown had three pairs lose out at the quarter final stage with Clare Cooper and Sid Bolton defeated 19-21 to Ballaugh pair Maria and Mark Dimsdale, Lyn Bolton and Peter Jones lost out 15-21 to Marown club mates Debbie Leece and Neil Withers. Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn just lost out 20-21 to home greener Caroline Whitehead and Kevin Firth (Douglas), whilst Shirley and Gordon Corrin (Peel) were beaten 12-21 by Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey).

The semi-finals saw the Dimsdale’s edge home 21-20 against Leece and Withers to reach their first final, whilst Moore and Teare eased through with a 21-14 win over Whitehead and Firth.

The final was all one way traffic as the more experienced pairing of Moore and Teare kept their opponents down to two scoring ends securing a 21-9 victory. 

Thanks were given to the club members for their help throughout the competition and Ed Benson for preparing the green.

Men’s Player of the Month: Gordon Wynne Smythe – Douglas

Ladies Player of the Month: Nicci Cain – Port St Mary

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Katie Jacobs – Douglas

The men’s pick went to Gordy Wynne-Smythe who impressed as he went undefeated in April, winning four games comfortably for Douglas A in the league, then impressed with a superb 21-19 win over the vastly experienced John Gelling (Marown).

The Ladies award went to Nicci Cain who picked up her first singles title last month, as she held off tough competition to pick up the Ladies Non-Winners Cup, coming through a tough semi-final with Joy Stevens 21-19, then beating home greener Alison Stockham 21-14 in the final.

Katie Jacobs picked up the Junior award thanks to a solid start to the season winning her first match 21-9 at Ballaugh. Whilst her next outing was a defeat every chalk counts in the ladies league, Katie lost out by just two chalks (19-21) to one of Castletown’s top bowlers – Hannah Drewett. Katie went on to pick up a further three wins, beating Ballaugh’s Maria Dimsdale 21-16, which is her only defeat of the season to date, then went on to win 21-12 against Lisa Bradshaw and won 21-11 at Mooragh Park against Joy Morris. Well done Katie!