Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

It was a Ramsey double at the Villa Marina on Saturday as South Ramsey’s John Kennish and Mooragh Park’s Janet Monk won the respective men’s and ladies Paddy Power sponsored Douglas Town cups.

Both players were at the top of their game all day on a tricky playing surface. Kennish found top gear and was on fire in the latter rounds. He put in an extremely impressive final performance defeating long-time rival Colin Kelly 21-13 in a top quality final.

His best performance was in the round before as he was simply unplayable against defending champion David Bradford, winning 21-7 to book his final berth. Kelly was also in good form in the semi-finals fighting off the spirited challenge of Steve Parker.

Parker can be extremely pleased with his days’ work eliminating a couple of Island players en route to the semis. If he can translate his end of season open form into his league performances next term it won’t be long before he is turning a few heads.

Monk was equally as impressive in the ladies competition as she saw off the challenge of plucky home greener Paula Garrett 21-15 in a top quality final. Garrett and Monk are the only two names on this trophy, and it was first blood to Monk to get etched into the annals of history as a double winner.

Garrett would have hoped to have gone all the way but she can take heart from a series of great wins over top quality opposition including an impressive semi-final victory over Margaret Tasker. Monk had to overcome an unknown force in the shape of Fon Edwards in the same round to make it to the final.

Edwards impressed all day. She is relatively new to the game and if she continues to improve at her current rate it will not be long at all before she has her own name engraved on one of the more coveted trophies.

Douglas would like to thank Paddy Power for their continued support and sponsorship. They have formed a formidable partnership not only with Douglas Bowling Club but with Isle of Man Bowls in general and their continued efforts are definitely propelling our sport in the right direction.