Isle of Man County Crown Green Bowling Association

South Ramsey held the Manx Masters on Saturday with four separate competitions taking place.

Winner of the Young Manx Masters was Sam Colquitt (Marown Juniors) defeating Emily Cooper (also Marown Juniors) in the final. This competition was played in a round robin format over seven ends with both Sam and Emily winning their respective groups to reach the final.

The Junior Manx Masters was played as a straight knockout for the older and more experienced player and the title was retained by Glenn Boland (Noble’s) who beat Austin Hart (South Ramsey) 21-18 in the final, with Boland beating 10 year old Ryan Hargraves to reach the final, whilst Hart beat his younger brother Toby Hart in a close game (21-18) to book his spot in the final.

The standard of play in both events was brilliant and it was great to have over 50 people around the green watching the future of the game with the numbers steadily increasing throughout the morning, making for a great atmosphere on and around the green.

The junior competitions were sponsored by Stonemasons IOM Limited for a second successive year with the presentation made by Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly. All those who took part received a prize, with the younger players also receiving a certificate.

Huge thanks must go to the five coaches (Sonya Mercer, Clare Cooper, Phil Kelly, Colin Kelly and Neil Withers) who helped the younger players with their games throughout the morning, with their guidance being invaluable to those taking part.

Once the Junior competitions came to a conclusion the men’s and ladies events got underway with the ladies event being an invitation of 16 players, whilst the men’s event had 32 taking part.

In the ladies losing out at the quarter final stages were Mary Moffatt (Peel), Gill Dixon (Ballaugh), Elaine Moore (South Ramsey) and Philippa Taylor (Marown).

In the semi-finals Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) was too strong for Chris Price (Port St Mary) taking a 21-14 win, whilst Clare Cooper (Noble’s) ended the challenge of home greener Lyn Bolton with a 21-16 win to book her place in the final.

In the final Moore was quickest out of the blocks under the floodlights with Cooper being kept down to winning five ends throughout the game with Moore scoring six two’s on the way to securing a well deserved 21-9 win to pick up the title.

In the men’s event 12 of the 16 first round games were well contested with the player losing out scoring 15 or more to show there were some good games taking place. This continued in the second round with five of the eight games being played going to 15 and above.

Losing out at the quarter final stage was multi time Manx Masters champion and recent festival winner John Kennish (South Ramsey), who lost out 18-21 to his nephew Alan Moore (South Ramsey). Another home greener who fell at this stage was Chas Grills losing out 15-21 to Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel). In another all home green encounter David Bradford lost out 13-21 to Glynn Hargraves, whilst Dean Kipling (Marown) ended the hopes of Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly with his own 21-13 win.

In the semi-final Alan Moore took on Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly with Moore fighting back from well behind to get back to 19-19 before Kelly picked up a two to secure a 21-19 win. In the second semi-final Glynn Hargraves took on Dean Kipling with Hargraves taking a 17-8 lead with Kipling coming back to 15-17 before Hargraves went on another run to finish the game off to win 21-15.

In the final Kelly made a strong start on the long lengths with Hargraves chipping in with the odd point to trail 7-11. Kelly then took the next four ends with two singles and two doubles to take a huge step towards winning taking a 17-7 lead. Hargraves dug in to take the next seven ends on a short round peg that he had played well in three of his previous games to take four singles and three doubles to drag himself back into the game to sit level at 17-17. Kelly picked the perfect time to stop the rot playing a good first bowl which wasn’t beaten to get back in to go 18-17 ahead. A double and a single on the next two ends was enough to secure a well deserved victory for Kelly, who had performed well all day.

At the end of the competition the prizes were presented by Cleveland Perry of behalf of the sponsors Feltons who have supported this event for the past few years.

Competition secretary John Kennish gave thanks to those who had helped prepare the green, along with those who had helped in any way towards the smooth running of the competitions throughout the whole day. A special mention to the ladies who once again put on a superb selection of pasties, sandwiches, cakes etc along with hot and cold refreshments throughout the entire day.

Also a special mention must go to John Kennish and Alan Moore who put in considerable time and effort to invite the players that took part and did brilliantly to get 21 juniors playing competitive bowls that was enjoyed by all.