Following his previous win in 2014 Glynn Hargraves overcame a strong field to pick up his second Ramsey Town Cup trophy a decade later.

With a total entry of 52 bowlers from across the island, eight of whom are currently in the top 20 on the Island, a great day’s bowling was in prospect. With a dry start and a superbly prepared green the preliminary rounds kicked off on schedule at 12 noon with no great shocks, however in the 1^st round of 32 there were some very tight games and a few shock results. Greg Barlow (South Ramsey) overcame Tom Kelly (Marown) 21-20, home greener Steve Walmsley beat Dave Naughton (Noble’s) 21-20, John Cannan (North Ramsey) just failed to oust Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) 20-21 and unfancied John Piekalns (North Ramsey) defeated one of the competition favourites Paul Dunn (Marown) 21-16.  

The best game of the 2^nd round of 16 was the game between family rivals Stefan and Dido Kelly (both South Ramsey). After 17 ends Stefan was 20-15 ahead and looked certain to get across the finishing line in style however Dido won the next four ends to make it all square at 20 each. Following a nervy 22^nd end Stefan finally managed to get the one chalk to achieve the win.

In the first of the quarter finals David Bradford (South Ramsey) faced off against teammate John Kennish. The game was nip and tuck all the way through with neither player able to make a decisive break with the final result being a win for David Bradford 21-19. The second quarter final saw home favourite Rob Monk paired with Stefan Kelly. This again was a very tight match with both players trading blows until end 17, with the score standing at 17-16 in Stefan’s favour he managed to win four ends in a row to win 21-16.

The third quarter final featured Dean Kinley (Castletown) against home player Paul Allison. The game was tit-for-tat all the way through with the scores standing at “all-but” across after 19 ends. However, it was Paul who managed to hold his nerve to get across the line 21-20. In the last of the quarter finals in another all South Ramsey clash Peter Collister met Glynn Hargraves. Whilst the first six ends were shared Glynn upped his game and finally ran out as the 21-10 winner.

In the first of the semi-finals between Bradford and Kelly after eight ends Stefan was leading 14-8 and looked set to romp home to victory, however last year’s champion David is made of sterner stuff and by end 14 was just one chalk behind at 15-16. In the following ends the players traded blows to reach “all-but” across after 22 ends with David winning the 23^rd end to take the match.

The second semi-final between Paul Allison and Glynn Hargraves was a much more clear-cut affair. With Paul struggling to find line and length and Glynn always in close proximity to the jack Glynn ran out as the winner 21-9 after just 13 ends.

As was to be expected with the top two players in the competition competing in the final this was a fine end to an excellent day’s bowling. After eight ends David and Glynn were tied on 11 chalks each. At this point a shower of rain possibly affected the characteristics of the green which Glynn was better able to adjust to enabling him to win eight of the next nine ends to stretch the score to 20-12 in his favour. Whilst David managed to pick up three chalks in the next two ends Glynn managed to win the 20^th end to secure the game and the Ramsey Town Cup for the second time.

Rob Monk, President of North Ramsey Bowling Club, introduced Tim Pressley representing the sponsors Corkhill and Callow Ltd and thanked him and the club members who organised the competition and provided catering and raffle support for their efforts. He then presented prizes to the losing quarter and semi-finalists, runner up and winner. The trophy was then presented to Glynn Hargraves by Tim Pressley.

Marown hosted the ever-popular Tynwald Day R & A Grimshaw Pairs Trophy on the Bank Holiday Friday with the green in superb condition. 22 pairs took part, and the competition was once again sponsored by Investasure Financial Services Ltd.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were home greeners Paul Dunn and Neil Withers 14-21 to Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk (South Ramsey/Onchan), with the Marown men having a sizeable lead, never scoring again. Noble’s Steve Colquitt and Mark Bradshaw lost 10-21 to Tom Kelly and Colin Kelly (Marown). In the other half of the draw Port St Mary’s Tim Williams and Ray Maddrell were defeated 6-21 to another Marown pair Glenn Boland and Peter Jones, whilst James Teare and Paul Allison (South Ramsey/North Ramsey) progressed with a 21-15 win over Derek Allen and Bernard Thackrah (Port Erin/Port St Mary).

At the semi-final stage both winning pairs came through their games comfortably, as Cain and Quirk won 21-12 against the Kelly’s, whilst Boland and Jones ended the hopes of Teare and Allison with a 21-14 win.

So to the final, defending champions Cain and Quirk kept up the good form they had shown throughout the day playing short and tricky marks, as they made a good start to lead 16-4 after just five ends, scoring a four on the first end and the fifth end. Boland and Jones finally got in to win three of the next four ends scoring a four themselves to reach double figures, with the score now 10-17. Cain and Quirk put a stop to the comeback with two doubles to take a well-deserved 21-10 victory to retain the title, lifting the title for a fourth time overall.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked the sponsors for their support, Brian Kelly for running the sheet, everyone who had helped with the running of the competition, the Marown Ladies for the refreshments provided. Thanks were also given to Arnie Withers and Colin Kelly for preparing the green for the competition.