Castletown A were in good form away to Peel in the Ladies Open Age league last Friday night winning seven of the nine games and by 41 points. All games went into double figures with Kim Foy for Castletown and Louise Horsfall for Peel both winning to 17. South Ramsey also had a good away win at Port St Mary with Trish Bull for PSM just pipping Lauren Groen 21-20. Onchan played host to Douglas winning seven games and by 64 points. Again all games bar one went into double figures with Graiagh Smith for Douglas crossing the line 21-17 against Grace Gawne. Mooragh Park were home to Port Erin winning the match by 74 points with four home-greeners winning to single figures. Marown A took on Ballaugh at home. Closest games of the match saw Shirley Whelan and Lil Smith (Marown) both winning 21-20 against Elaine Fenton and Cath Harvey. Marown B travelled to Castletown B with Marown’s junior lady bowler, Grace  Cooper, just losing to 20 against Pat Rigby.  

In the Over 60’s league last Tuesday morning there was a real tussle between Onchan B and Port St Mary B. The match finished three all on games with Onchan winning by four points. Onchan A and Castletown A both won away to Finch Hill and Peel respectively with Lynda Clarke (Onchan) and Joy Stephens (Castletown) winning their games to single figures. Marown ladies travelled to Mooragh Park A coming away with a three all match, but losing by seven points. South Ramsey were at home to Ballaugh. South lost four games to two but won the match by 14 points. Mooragh Park B travelled to Port Erin B, the match finished five games to one for PE with Ann Kean being the lone winner for the northerners. The following morning Port St Mary A played host to Port Erin A. This was a tough battle with PSM A winning the match by one point. Game of the match was between Wendy Kennaugh (PSM) and Voirrey Curphey with Voirrey getting the point needed to win 21-20.   

Last Thursday morning’s matches saw Peel and Onchan A getting full houses at home against Mooragh Park B and Castletown B with four of the six games in both matches being won to single figures. Ballaugh had a good home win against Onchan B winning five games to one with Libbi Andrade being the lone winner for Onchan. Port Erin B played host to Port St Mary A. Unfortunately PE could only field three players which resulted in a five games to one win for PSM. South Ramsey travelled to Castletown for their match against the ‘A’ team. This was a close match with Castletown winning four games to two and by five points. On Friday morning, Port St Mary B played host to Finch Hill. Despite Finch only having four players, match finished three all on games with PSM B winning by 16 points.

Quarter finals of the Jean Kelly knockout competition was played last Thursday.  Results: Castletown A (+24) 207, Onchan (+43) 164; Marown B (+62) 160, South Ramsey (+39) 207; Mooragh Park (+46) 220, Castletown B (+55) 203; Port St Mary (+30) 150, Marown A (+42) 202.  Draw for semi-final on Thursday 30^th June: South Ramsey versus Mooragh Park; Castletown A versus Marown A.

Ladies Association Doubles competition was held at Mooragh Park on Sunday attracting an entry of 14 pairs.  Getting through to the final were Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish against Helen Withers and Lyn Bolton. Jenny and Fiona had the stronger start leading 16-8 on 8^th end which proved too much of a lead for Helen and Lyn to come back from with Jenny and Fiona running out 21-10. All four ladies played exceptionally well throughout the competition with the final result not reflecting the quality of play.  Presentation was made by Gill Morgan, Competition Secretary, who thanked Mooragh Park for the use of their green, their ladies for providing the refreshments and to all who had entered.

The ladies crown green bowling got underway last week. The major change this season being the Port st Mary ladies moving en bloc to neighbouring Port Erin due to unfortunately not having a home green of their own this year. Given this, Castletown A must start as favourites to retain their titles in both the Open Age and Over 60s leagues, but as we all know anything can happen along the way.

In the Over 60’s last Thursday morning, Finch Hill A and Onchan A both recorded maximums against Castletown B and Mooragh Park B respectively. Port st Mary A travelled to Ballaugh coming away with a three all result and winning by 17 points.   Mooragh Park A took on Onchan B at home winning five games to one; lone winner for Onchan was Libbi Andrade. Closest matches of the morning were between Port Erin A home to South Ramsey, and Marown home to Peel.  Both matches finished three all in games with Port winning by 3 points and Marown by twelve. As there are now four Over 60’s teams playing at Port Erin, Port St Mary B hosted Castletown A on Friday morning. Castletown had a good 5-1 win with Hilary Kermode and Joy Stephens winning to single figures, as did Lesley Coker for PSM.  

In the Open Age League last Friday, closest match of the night saw Castletown A winning six games to three and by 15 points at home to Onchan with Kim Foy and Tracy Moore (Castletown) winning to single figures as did Sylvia Kennaugh for Onchan. Port St Mary took on Castletown B winning five games to four with Mavis Franks (PSM) edging it 21-20 against Debra Cooper. Mooragh Park travelled to Crosby coming away with a 5-4 win against Marown B with Janet Monk, and sisters Lacey and Madison McMullan (Mooragh) winning to single figures as did  Clare Cooper for Marown.  Marown A won five games to four away to Douglas. Closest game saw Lynda Cadamy (Marown) just crossing the line 21-19 against Emma Sayle. South Ramey had a good 7-2 home win against Peel with four of the nine games being won to single figures.  

British Merit Qualfier: The qualifier to play in the British Merit Championship at Brighouse Sports Club, Yorkshire on Sunday 9 July, took place at Finch Hill last Sunday attracting an entry of 12 ladies. The final saw Jenny Moore from South Ramsey, who is currently the UK holder of this title, playing Sue Gawne from Onchan. With both ladies playing exceptionally well, spectators anticipated a good final and they were not disappointed. Game was nip and tuck throughout with Jenny eventually winning 21-17.  Thanks go to Finch Hill for the use of their green and their ladies for providing refreshments during the afternoon, and to Caroline Whitehead for running the qualifier. 

The penultimate fixture in the Ladies Crown Green Bowling Open Age League held last Friday resulted in all the four top teams recording good wins. 

Castletown A were at home to Marown B and although Marown took three games off Castletown, Castletown’s 167 points win is enough to put them clearly at the top of the table. Second placed Port St Mary visited neighbours Port Erin coming away with a six games to three win with the closest game being between Jacqui Elliot (PE) against Margie Tasker with Jacqui just edging it 21-20. 

Marown A, who were only a point ahead of South Ramsey last week, scored 174 points at home against Castletown B but with South Ramsey getting 180 points at home to Mooragh Park, South now take third place five points ahead of the Crosby Ladies.  With only one fixture left to play, third and fourth places will be decided as South Ramsey are due to play Marown A at home next Friday. Current fifth placed Onchan had a tough game away at Ballaugh winning 5-4 on games and by five points. Louise Tebay and Cath Harvey (Ballaugh) won to single figures as did Jo Smith and Sue Gawne for Onchan. Peel played host to Douglas winning the match by 32 points. Gill Clarke (Peel) and Sue Caley had a tough battle with Gill eventually winning 21-20.  

Tuesday’s Over 60’s results proved interesting. Second placed Port St Mary A scored a maximum away to Mooragh Park B with four of Port’s games being won to single figures. Current leaders Castletown A were home to Marown and although the match finished three games all, Castletown lost by 10 points. Third placed Peel visited South Ramsey coming away with a 4-2 win and by 27 points. Closest game was between Ann Gale and Terri Berry with the latter winning to 20. The home derby between the Onchan Teams resulted in a win for the A ladies by 47 points with five of the six games being won to single figures. With only two fixtures left to play it couldn’t be closer at the top with only 43 points separating the top three teams – all to play for ladies!  

The semi-finals and final of the JMS Veterans Shield were played last Thursday at Port Erin.
Getting through to the semis were Marown (last year’s holders), Port St Mary A, South Ramsey and Castletown A. 

The first semi was between Marown and Port St Mary. Unfortunately Port St Mary were a player short and this did impact on the score with Marown taking the match six games to nil and by 51 points. In the second semi, South Ramsey played Castletown with South winning four games to two and by 23 points. 

With the individual handicaps in place, the final started with South off 19 points and Marown off 14. The first three games on the green saw Mair Moore, Joyce Ogden and Celia Joughin (Marown) taking on Elaine Moore, Gillian Jopson and Moira Anderson. Elaine for South won to one with Joyce and Celia winning to 6 and 11. With scores equal at the halfway stage it was still all to play for. Fourth, fifth and sixth games saw Rosie Winckle, Philippa Taylor and Lynda Cadamy (Marown) playing Sue Collier, Ann Gale and Judy Kelly. The Marown trio proved too strong with Rosie, Philippa and Lynda winning to 9, 11 and 8 respectively. Overall result was five games to one for Marown and by 40 points. A well deserved win for the Crosby ladies.  

The presentation of trophy and prizes was made by the sponsor of the competition Janet Latham who is also the Ladies Association Treasurer. Marown Captain, Philiippa Taylor, on behalf of her ladies thanked Janet for her continued sponsorship, Port Erin for the use of their green and the excellent refreshments, anyone who helped on the day and all their opponents.

In the Open Age League current leaders Castletown A ladies suffered their first defeat of the season away at fourth placed South Ramsey last Friday night. Elaine Moore, Fiona Kennish and Lauren Groen (South) all won to single figures as did Kath Kinley for Castletown. Game of the match was between Sue Collier (South) against Alison Kearsley with both ladies matching each other point for point. At 20 across Alison was lying game only for Sue to play a great bowl to get the point she needed to win 21-20.

Port St Mary and Marown who are currently second and third in the league table, both had good away wins at Peel and Douglas respectively. Therefore, Castletown A head the leader board on 3413 points followed by Port St Mary on 3250 with Marown third on 3179 only one point ahead of South Ramsey on 3178. With two fixtures remaining, I feel Castletown may have done enough to win the league, but second and especially third and fourth places are still very much up for grabs.  

Last Wednesday night Marown A scored a full house at home against Peel in the ladies crown green bowling open age league. The win was helped greatly by four of the Marown ladies winning to single figures. Joyce Ogden and Mary Moffatt had a tough battle with Joyce eventually winning to 18. Douglas had a good 5-4 win away at Mooragh Park with the closest game being between Victoria Johnson (Mooragh) and Jane Lothian with the latter winning to 19.  Michelle Cowley and Paula Garrett (Douglas) plus Janet Monk for Mooragh, all won to single figures. Port St Mary travelled to Onchan coming away with a convincing 7-2 win. Two winners for Onchan were Paula Firth and Jo Smith who won to 6 and 16 respectively. Castletown derby ended with the A team just missing out on a maximum by four points. Preventing this was Linda Dobinson (B) who won to 17 against Amanda Lawler. Marown B travelled to Port Erin with the Marown ladies winning by 6 points. Jenny Cain and Jacqui Elliot (Port) plus Clare Cooper for Marown all won to single figures. Closest match of the night was Ballaugh at home against South Ramsey. Ballaugh won by three points with four of the games being won to single figures.    

Over 60s ladies league: Two rearranged fixtures were played last Thursday.  Results : Mooragh Park A 64 (1), Marown 116 (5); Onchan A 113 (4, Peel 88 (2)

On Tuesday morning Port St Mary A played Onchan B at home whilst Onchan A took on Port St Mary B. Both matches resulted in full houses for PSM A and Onchan A with PMS A winning by 67 points and Onchan A winning by 66 points.  Two teams who just missed out on scoring maximums by two points were Ballaugh and Castletown A. Ballaugh played Port Erin at home with Julie Reilly and Jane Teare for Ballaugh both losing to 20 against Voirrey Curphey and Steph Swift. Castletown A were away to Mooragh Park A with Anne Oates for Castletown just losing to 19 against Maureen Hamilton.  

The IOM September Festival commences on Monday morning.  Wishing all competitors, organisers and helpers a successful and enjoyable week of bowling.

In the Ladies Crown Green Bowling Open Age League, Mooragh Park recovered from their defeat last week with a good 7-2 away win at Peel on Friday night. Result was helped by Mooragh’s junior ladies bowling well with Shannon McMullan, Victoria Johnson and Aalish Howarth winning to 8, 16 and 15 respectively with their youngest bowler, Lacey McMullan, losing to 18 against Celia Smith. Closest game was between Louise Horsfall (Peel) and Pat Lenton with the latter winning to 19. Ballaugh also played well away to Castletown B winning by 42 points. Michelle Cubbon, Louise Tebay and Cath Harvey (Ballaugh) all won to single figures, as did Rachel Palmer for Castletown B. Toughest games of the night pitched Pat Rigby, Joy Stephens and Ann Hollingworth (Castletown) against Maria Dinsdale, Christine McDonald and Barbara Graham with Pat winning to 19, Joy to 20 and Barbara to 18. 

In the ladies Over 60s league on Tuesday morning, Port St Mary home derby resulted in a full house for the ‘A’ team ladies. Four of the six games were all won to single figures with the closest result being a 21-15 win for Mavis Franks against Chris Holland.  Castletown A played host to Onchan A and although the match finished three all on games, Castletown won by 12 points. Peel also had a good home win against Mooragh Park A only dropping five points. Given these results and with both Peel and Onchan A having a game in hand, the title is still up for grabs. 

With only six league matches left to play in the Over 60s ladies league it couldn’t be closer at the top of the leader board with only 80 points separating first and third. Currently Castletown A are in first place, followed by Peel and then Port St Mary A. Castletown’s lead was greatly helped by a five-one win at home to their B team. It could have been a full house, but preventing this was Pat Rigby who won 21-20 against Barbara Young. Port St Mary A kept up the pressure with a good away at Peel. All games went into double figures with the closest game being Mary Moffatt against Trish Bull with Mary running out 21-18.  

In the Open Age league, with only five fixtures remaining, there is a similar picture evolving as above with Castletown A currently in the lead followed by Port St Mary and then Marown A; a total of only 228 points separating first and third. Castletown A extended their lead slightly with a home win against Peel last Friday night. Kim Foy, Alison Kearsley and Tracy Moore, with Terri Berry for Peel all won their games to single figures. Port St Mary, keeping up the pressure, also had a good away win at Marown B. Closest game was between Helen Withers (Marown) and Trish Bull with the latter winning to 20. Marown A travelled to the Mooragh Park coming away with a good six-three win having to give a game away due to being a player short.