The first official men’s singles competition of the season was held on Sunday, with a healthy entry of 39 taking part in the Ken Williamson Cup, with entries higher than when the competition is traditionally held in June.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Nathan Cooil (Castletown) 19-21 to home greener Matthew Quirk, Dave McCabe (Douglas) 15-21 to Bob Clark (South Ramsey). In the other half of the draw another home greener Mike Kelly got the better of clubmate Will Penhallurick, whilst an all Marown contest was won by Jamie Joughin as he beat Sam Clague 21-17.

The home green hopes were ended at the semi-final stage as Joughin breezed through to the final as he beat Kelly 21-14, whilst Bob Clark recovered from a slow start to see off Quirk 21-18, as the South Ramsey man crucially kept his opponent down to a single two, whilst scoring five doubles himself.

The final saw Clark start as favourite, as he looked to retain the trophy, whilst Joughin was appearing in his first final of a men’s singles open competition. The Marown man took two of the first three ends, to lead 8-4, with Clark soon getting into his stride as he scored five doubles, and kept Joughin to just three more singles as the South Ramsey man ran out a clear 21-11 winner to lift the trophy for a third time.

The presentation was made by Kevin Quirk with thanks given to Dave Tait for running the competition and to the ladies for putting on refreshments. Ken Williamson’s niece Diane Crossley was then introduced to present the prizes.

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Charity Cringle Fours men’s open competition on Saturday attracting 16 pairs to compete for the trophy.

The quarter finals saw James Teare and Alan Moore (South Ramsey) beat Noble’s pair Paul Moore and Lee Price 21-14, Glynn Hargraves and Bob Clark (South Ramsey) won 21-12 against another Noble’s pairing of Dave Naughton and Mark Bradshaw. In the other half of the draw Jordan Cain and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) eased home 21-11 against Collin Holland (Castletown) and Shaun Seal (Douglas), whilst John Kennish and David Bradford (South Ramsey) came through 21-17 against Brian Kelly and James Kelly (Marown).

An all South Ramsey semi-final took place as Hargraves and Clark dominated to win 21-8 against Teare and Moore, whilst a low scoring affair in the early stages saw a tight game in the other half of the draw Kennish and Bradford eventually pipped Cain and Kelly to the post 21-18.

Hargraves and Clark made the better start as they raced into a 12-6 lead, however a mistake from Hargraves as he sent the jack off the green allowed Kennish and Bradford to work their way back into the game. A strong finish from the latter pair on a shorter mark saw them run out with a 21-16 victory.

The presentation was made by Phil Taubman, who thanked Murray Cringle for sponsoring the competition, with £132.50 being raised for Sight Matters.

The second round of fixtures took place in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One on a wet Monday evening, as early leaders Marown A maintained their lead at the top of the table with a 7-3 victory following a 7-3 home win over Onchan A, with 18 chalks separating the teams (152-134). For the home team Neil Withers came through a battle with Matthew Quirk 21-19, Colin Kelly recovered from a 6-10 deficit to win 21-15. Impressing for the visitors were Neil Dunwell, who beat Paul Kelly 21-13, Reg Temporaza won 21-15 against John Gelling, whilst Peter Slinger used all his experience as he came back from 13-17 to edge home 21-19 against Glenn Boland.

Castletown A welcomed South Ramsey A to the Crofts, with the visitors 4-0 after the first four games, however this didn’t tell the whole story. Dido Kelly and Jordan Cain prevailed 21-17 against Nathan Cooil and David Quayle respectively, whilst Glynn Hargraves trailed all game against Nathan Hamilton, then finished strongly to win 21-19. In the second half of the match Bob Clark returned to the fold as he won 21-6 against George Foy. Town then picked up three wins with captain Jordan Drewett leading the way 21-9 against Peter Collister, Aaron Richardson held off a fightback from James Teare to win 21-17, with Ian Watson pulling off the most impressive result of the night as he beat David Bradford 21-13, resulting in a 3-7 victory for South Ramsey with 13 chalks separating the two teams (131-144).

Peel A got their first win of the season as they beat Port St Mary A 8-2 at home, with three close games as Dave Saxon beat Mike Ashmole 21-20, Tommy McMeiken had enough in the tank to hold off Trevor Quayle 21-17, whilst George Gadsby beat Wayne Roberts 21-19.

Douglas A took on Marown B at the Villa, as they played the closest match of the week as the home team edged it 6-4 on the night thanks to taking the aggregate by three chalks (138-135).

North Ramsey A came away from Crosby with a 4-6 victory on Tuesday evening as they took the aggregate by 14 chalks, helped by Steve Walmsley’s 21-9 win over Peter Kelly.

In Division Two South Ramsey B got their campaign up and running with a 9-1 home win over Finch Hill A, with Brian Aspden preventing the whitewash with a 21-17 victory over Eddie Carlyle.

Onchan B inflicted a 9-1 defeat on Castletown B, as the Town men sit on three points after two games.

Douglas B sit on 17 points at the top as they won 8-2 at home to North Ramsey B, whilst Noble’s A rearranged their game from Monday evening to Tuesday as the visitors Ballaugh A came away with the spoils following their 3-7 victory.

In Division Three South Ramsey C bounced back from their opening day defeat to beat their lower ranked D team 10-0.

Home wins to a 6-4 score line were the order of the evening, as Peel C, Port St Mary B, and Ballaugh B beat Noble’s B, Noble’s D and Marown D respectively.

In Division Four Noble’s E (pictured) continue to impress, as they won 6-4 at home to Peel D, with eight chalks separating the two teams (143-135). Douglas C managed to see off their D Team 8-2.

Elsewhere North Ramsey C took a 1-9 victory over Castletown C in their first fixture of the season, having sat out the first round of fixtures, whilst Ballaugh C went on to beat Finch Hill B 2-8 away from home.

The Canada Life International Sponsored Division One got underway as Marown A sit top after the first round of fixtures following their 9-1 home win over North Ramsey A. All the wins for the Crosby men were comfortable with three single figures wins from Peter Jones, Neil Withers and Paul Kelly over Steve Walmsley, Steven Waters and Joe Kneale respectively. The lone winner for the Mooragh men was Rob Monk who beat Matthew Keggen 21-6.

South Ramsey A got their campaign underway with a tough home fixture over Peel A. After the first four games the home team led 4-0, however the second set of games could have gone 4-0 to Peel or the home team, as it was it ended up 2-2 to see the home team earn an 8-2 win. For the home team James Teare trailed 8-15 against Pip Pemberton, with Teare responding to runout with a 21-17 win, whilst a great last bowl from Stefan Kelly underpinned a good performance to hold off Tommy McMeiken 21-19. For Peel Stevie Kelly got their first point of the evening as he performed well to beat Jordan Cain 21-17, whilst his dad Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly trailed all game against Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly as he finished brilliantly to win 21-20, with Barney’s ability to strike being the ultimate difference.

Onchan A used home advantage to see off Castletown A 8-2. Marown B took on their C team in what was a closely fought match with the B claiming a 6-4 victory by six chalks (151-145), whilst Port St Mary A slipped to a 3-7 home defeat to Douglas A

In Division Two Peel B and South Ramsey B battled it out in the Sunset City as the home team claimed a 7-3 victory.

Douglas B head the table as they ensured it was a miserable start for Port Erin A, who inexplicably were a player short on the night, as they were heavily beaten 1-9 at home.

One of the most impressive results of the evening was from Noble’s A, who came away from the Crofts with a 2-8 victory over Castletown B.

Ballaugh A got their campaign underway with a 7-3 home victory over North Ramsey B, whilst Finch Hill A have brought in a couple of players from their B team as they won 8-2 at home to Onchan B.

In Division Three Noble’s B demolished Port St Mary B 10-0. Noble’s C, who last season were the D Team, have now swapped places with the C Team as they finished higher in the league rankings came away from Marown D with a good 3-7 victory. Not to be outdone Noble’s D (pictured) who were back from their pre-season trip won 8-2 at home to Ballaugh B.

South Ramsey C were on the receiving end of a disappointing 3-7 home defeat to a new look Peel C, who performed well on the night to take a deserved victory. Onchan C took a comfortable 7-3 home victory over South Ramsey D.

The newly formed Division Four got underway with three new teams this season, as the first ever E team to feature in the league claimed their first victory as Noble’s E beat Port Erin B 4-6 at Breagle Glen.

Castletown C had a tough time as they came away from Ballaugh C with a 9-1 defeat, whilst North Ramsey C sat out the first round of fixtures as they play this week.

Elsewhere Peel D slipped to a 4-6 home defeat to Douglas C, in a close game, whilst Finch Hill B came away from the Villa with a 3-7 victory over Douglas D.

One of the biggest changes in the league structure is taking place this season as the league is split into four divisions, following three additional teams joining the league. The last time this happened was in 2004, when 35 teams entered the men’s night league.

The top three divisions will have 10 teams, whilst the fourth division will consist of 9 teams, which includes three new teams, with Castletown putting a C team in again this year, North Ramsey C have recruited enough members for a third team, whilst Noble’s have made history by putting an E Team into the league, helped by having two greens that are used throughout the summer season, they could theoretically put in a further three teams F, G & H.

The time was right for the restructure as to remain with three divisions, there would have been very little room for contingency dates, matches would need to be played during TT and Bank Holidays, it would also have meant that some of the popular team competitions would also have to be sacrificed to ensure league games were able to fit into the calendar.

With four divisions there is more scope for additional teams to come into the league to allow expansion of the game in the future. It also has the knock on effect of making each league more competitive, leaving enough contingency dates in the calendar, and most importantly it allows dates to be scheduled for the Junior league, along with the Mixed Team and the Club Championship.

In Canada Life International sponsored Division One league champions South Ramsey A will once again wary of the challenge from Marown A, with the Crosby men looking to close a 16 point gap on last season, they have Dean Kipling back in the fold and Tom Kelly promoted to the A Team full time. An unchanged South Ramsey team won’t be resting on their laurels.

It will be interesting to see which teams are battling for promotion and relegation this season in all four divisions.

In Division Two Finch Hill A will look to bounce back from the disappointment of not gaining promotion to league division one following the restructure, however it does present them a unique opportunity as they could make history by winning Division Two two years running. Also looking to challenge Finch Hill, will be Ballaugh A who finished runners up in Division Two, whilst Peel B and South Ramsey B will be looking to regain their places in the top tier.

Over to Division Three South Ramsey C will be ranked as one of the top teams based on last seasons league standings, they will fancy their chances of taking the title, whilst Port St Mary B, like Finch Hill A will be looking to win their division for a second consecutive season. Noble’s D might have something to say about that as they finished just one point behind Port St Mary B, whilst Ballaugh B will also be in the mix as they finished three points off top spot.

Noble’s C now have a year’s experience under their belts, as the Leeds fans recently made the most of a pre-season trip away as they started their weekend with a friendly at Thorner BC as they played Black Swan Bowling Club, with three of their team picking up victories on international soil, with Steve Brennan the first man to do so as he won 21-20, with Andy Greggor and Steve Cain also staking their claim to fame. The following day they faced one of the top teams in the UK, as they took on Crossgates BC, in what turned out to be a steep learning curve, which will no doubt serve them well in the future. Their weekend was topped off with a visit to Elland Road as their beloved Leeds won 2-0 against Millwall to hit top spot in the Championship. As their captain Steve Cain said if Carlsberg did weekends…

Division Four will be a good starting point for Noble’s E, as the team made up of local farmers, who are all new to the game will be looking to ‘plough’ their way through the season, they do say cream always rises to the top! I do hope they get the same bug for the game as those who took up the game last year. North Ramsey continue to grow as a club, as they put in a third team this season, whilst their development also continues off the green as the last club on the island without floodlights, they are rumoured to be getting floodlights in place in the near future, which will no doubt help the competition secretary with his bowls calendar planning for the season.

A special mention must go to Noble’s Bowling Club, who a few years ago were on the brink of collapsing, as they have gone from strength to strength. New members bring different ideas, and with that a fresh outlook. It just goes to show the efforts made to bring new players into the game can reap the rewards as they have also picked up team silverware the last two seasons in the Mixed Plate competition.

All the best for what promises to be a great season.