Game 29 of the 2017 Over 60’s season saw League Leaders Castletown travelling to Onchan Park to take on challengers Onchan A.  This was a match that Onchan A had to win but ‘Town’ however had different ideas and came away with a 6-2 win with Robert Cowley and Colin Hinds being the only winners for Onchan A.

Onchan B however got some revenge for their Club as they travelled South to play Castletown B and got a great 7-1 victory with Billy Jones being the only winner for the Castletown team.

Ballaugh B hosted Marown and the men from Crosby took a 6-2 victory in this one with Ballaugh’s Bobby Clayton battling to a 21-20 win over Arnie Withers and Tom Lord doing well to beat Marown’s Stuey Clague to 19.

Douglas A travelled South to play Port St Mary B in a match that ended in a 4-4 draw while the Douglas B team were defeated 7-1 by a very strong Port St Mary A side with Arthur Ashcroft being the only winner for the Douglas side.

Finch Hill suffered a 3-5 home loss to Ballaugh A while a little further up the road Nobles A beat South Ramsey by the same margin.

North Ramsey A travelled to Port Erin to beat the Southerners 5-3 while North Ramsey B while the North Ramsey B side had a 5-3 victory over Peel Sunset C at the Mooragh Park.

Peel Sunset B played the Peel Sunset A team and it was the ‘high flying’ A team taking the match 6-2 with Gordon Corrin and Derek Clarke taking wins for the B team.

So as we started Game 30 it was North Ramsey B who had the unenviable challenge of slowing the League challenge of Castletown A but they found the Castletown men just too strong as they went back to Castletown with an 8-0 victory under their belts.

Castletown B hosted North Ramsey A and this match ended 4-4 with Castletown B bouncing back well from a 7-1 defeat in their previous match.

At the ‘Villa’ the match between Douglas A and Peel Sunset A literally ended ‘all square’ with the result being 4-4 and the score on chalks being 141 – 141. The Douglas B team travelled to the ‘Sunset City’ where they were beaten 7-1 by Peel Sunset B with Ray Osborne being the only winnerfor the Douglas side.

Ballaugh A had a 6-2 victory over Port Erin with Derek Cadamy and Bob Kay getting the two Port Erin wins.

Nobles A beat their B Team 5-3 while a little further North at Onchan Park Onchan B beat Port St Mary B 7-1.

For the second successive match early League Challengers Onchan A came up a against a team challenging for the League and again they lost 6-2, this time to Port St Mary A with Robert Cowley and Les Mc Clellan getting the wins for Onchan A.

South Ramsey hosted Finch Hill and the Northerners won this one 5-3 in a match with some tight games.

So after Game 30 we see Castletown A extend their lead to 6 points with them having 52 points with Port St Mary A being 6 points adrift at 46 points and Peel Sunset A a further point behind on 45 points.

Atrocious weather on Friday 21st July saw the cancellation of two matches while the rest were playing under very trying conditions with Greens holding quite a lot of water.
Ballaugh B hosted Port Erin and on a very wet day the Southerners put a lttle sunshine into their lives by taking a 6-2 victory with Bobby Clayton and Peter Corlett being the winners for Ballaugh.
At the Villa Douglas B lost 7-1 to Nobles A with Douglas player Les Quayle getting his first win with a 21-19 victory over Joe Bullock.
Douglas A travelled to play Port St Mary A on a Green that was only just playable and the men from the South won 7-1 although this could have been much closer with both Stuey Garrett and Tommy Rougvie only losing 21-20 and Keith Fearnley 21-18. The winner for Douglas was Keith Rise who inflicted a 21-11 defeat on individual merit leader Chris Oates, this being the first loss of the season for Chris.
Marown had a 5-3 win at home against Onchan B although Moore Kelly had a great battle with Ian Kissack to only lose out 21-20.
Nobles B and Finch Hill battled to a 4-4 draw while in the Mooragh Park North Ramsey B had a good 7-1 win over Port St Mary B with Bob Talbot being the only winner for the ‘Port’.
Onchan A struggling to keep up their push for the League entertained Castletown B and in what seemed a very close encounter the result was a very fitting draw.
Peel Sunset C entertained North Ramsey A with the Northerners taking a 7-1 win with Ray Hardman being the only winner for Peel beating Brian Colquitt 21-15.
Tuesday 25th July saw Douglas B travelling to play league leaders Castletown A with the team at the top taking a 7-1 win and back in Douglas the Douglas A Team had a 5-3 victory over Castletown B.
North Ramsey A had a 6-2 win over Finch Hill while the North Ramsey B side travelled to Marown where they lost 7-1.
Peel Sunset A had a great 8-0 home win over Port St Mary B and in the reverse fixture Port St Mary A made things even by beating Peel Sunset B 8-0.
Nobles A took a 5-3 win after their travels to Ballaugh A and Nobles B played to a 7-1 win over Ballaugh B at Nobles Park.
Finally Onchan B entertained Port Erin that resulted in a 6-2 win for the men from Onchan Park.
So after these matches were played we see Castletown A still at the top with 46 points followed by Peel Sunset A and Port St Mary A on 42 points and Onchan A on 41 points.

Wednesday and Thursday 13^th and 14^th July 2017 saw the qualifying rounds of the Over 60’s Championship held at Port Erin Bowling Green with the final 16 Qualifiers playing to an overall winner at the same venue on 19^th July.

Although the weather for the ‘Finals Day’ was not as bad as expected it was still very overcast with spells of rain throughout the day which caused difficulties for some with the bowls slipping on their wet hands.

Despite this problem we saw an afternoon of good bowls and some surprise results and the two semi-final matches were between Peter Wallis and Bernie McPhee both of Onchan and Ray Watterson of Port St Mary against Peter Oates of Castletown.

Peter Wallis but up a brave fight against his club mate Bernie McPhee but eventually Bernie who was on great form all afternoon was just too good on the day and ran out with a 21-15 win.

In the other semi-final many expected Peter Oates who had been playing so well in the earlier rounds to beat Ray Watterson but Ray produced some great bowls and beat Peter 21-11.

In the Final Bernie started well against Ray and although the game was always close Bernie was never behind at any point until the game reached 14-14 and then he had two very rare loose ends which gave Ray the advantage.

This was Ray’s opportunity and he grasped it with both hands and despite a spirited effort from Bernie it was Ray who eventually won 21-18 to become the 2017 Over 60’s Men’s Bowls Champion.

In his Winners Speech Ray thanked every one involved in organising the Competition and thanked all his opponents for the sporting and friendly way that they had competed with him.

A very sunny Tuesday 18^th July saw the Over 60’s matches start with all of the top teams being keen not to make a slip and so lose their momentum in the battle for the League Championship.

It was to be an afternoon however when two off the top teams were to be severely tested with Onchan A losing 5-3 to Port Erin in the South of the Island and the League Leaders Castletown A being given a fright by North Ramsey A at the Mooragh Park before eventually running out 5-3 winners.

Castletown’s B Team entertained Port St Mary A and the men from Port St Mary took a 5-3 win concentrating solely on the bowls and not the lovely floral displays at the Castletown Green.

Marown travelled along the T.T Course to Ballaugh where they took part in a match with some very close games before eventually returning to Crosby with a 6-2 win.

Peel Sunset B travelled to the Villa to play Douglas A and unfortunately for the men from the Sunset City they found the Douglas players on top form and the home side took an 8-0 victory on a Green that didn’t appear to suit the visitors.

There was better news for the Peel Club when their A Team faced Nobles B at Peel in a match that saw the Westerners win 7-1 with John Clague being the only winner for Nobles Park.

Back at Nobles Park the Nobles A Team inflicted a 6-2 defeat on Ballaugh B with Charlie Howland and Paul Bradford being the only winners for Ballaugh.

Finch Hill had a 6-2 win over Peel Sunset C while up at Onchan Park the Onchan B Team took a 5-3 victory from North Ramsey B.

Douglas B Team went to South Ramsey where they were beaten 5-3 by the Northerners on a tricky South Ramsey Green.

So as the days bowls came to  a close we had Castletown A now four points clear at the top with 44 points and Peel Sunset A and Onchan A still chasing hard on 40 points.

The end of the Bowling Festival which saw a break in the Over 60’s Fixtures also ended a run of good weather with so many fixtures being affected and it has taken some time to catch up on the postponed matches.

As we went into Game 21 we saw Ballaugh A travel to play North Ramsey B and it was the team from Ballaugh that played out a 6-2 win while back in Ballaugh their B Team held South Ramsey to a 4-4 draw.

North Ramsey A took an 8-0 win away at Douglas B in atrocious conditions at the Villa.

Peel Sunset B hosted Castletown B in a close encounter and although it ended in a draw both teams had a chance to get a win in some very close games.

Douglas A travelled to Crosby to play Marown and once more this was a tight match with Marown eventually running out 5-3 winners whilst in an all South contest Port St Mary A beat Port Erin 7-1.

Onchan A hosted Nobles A and took a 5-3 win while back at Nobles Park the Nobles B Team played out a 4-4 draw with Port St Mary B.

League leaders Castletown A beat Finch Hill 7-1 and finally Peel Sunset C lost 8-0 to their Club’s A Team.

Game 22 saw the League Leaders Castletown A travel to play Onchan B and come back with an 8-0 victory whilst the Onchan A Team took a 7-1 victory at Finch Hill.

Peel Sunset A had a comfortable 6-2 win against Ballaugh B but the Peel C Team were not so successful losing 7-1 away to Ballaugh A.

North Ramsey A had a 5-3 win over a strong Port St Mary A side, a result which has to be a setback for the men from the South who have been pushing for a top position this Year.

At the ‘Villa’ Douglas A put up a strong performance to beat Nobles B 8-0 on a Green that was running well despite all the recent rain.

Peel Sunset B went down 5-3 at South Ramsey despite a great effort by Jeff Wilson for Peel who eventually lost 21-20 to Roger Thomas.

Unfortunately as we came to  July 4^th and Game 23 we still had more rain but despite this only one game was postponed with this being Castletown A against Port Erin.

Onchan A hosted Ballaugh A at the Park and it was the home side that got a 5-3 win while Onchan B must have forgotten to say hello to the Fairies at the Fairy Bridge as they travelled South as they were beaten 8-0 by Port St Mary A.

Peel Sunset A had a successful trip through the Central Valley to beat Marown 5-3 while the Peel Sunset B Team had an equally successful trip to Port St Mary B where they won 6-2.

In the ‘Capital’ Douglas B lost 6-2 to Castletown B and Nobles B beat South Ramsey 5-3.

At the Mooragh Park North Ramsey B lost 5-3 to Finch Hill whilst a little farther South Ballaugh B lost 5-3 to Douglas A  in a match that saw some close games.

Game 24 saw better weather and provided better playing conditions and at a sunny Onchan Park the strong Onchan A Team beat Douglas A 7-1 to maintain their challenge for the League Title.

Both of the Ballaugh Teams played Clubs from the South and Ballaugh B beat Castletown B 5-3 at Ballaugh while their A Team drew 4-4 at Port St Mary A.

Castletown a once again sent out the message that they were strong contenders to win the League with an 8-0 victory over Nobles A at Castletown.

Douglas B hosted Port Erin in a match that ended ‘all square’ at 4-4 and at Crosby Marown beat Port St Mary B 6-2.

North Ramsey A travelled to  Nobles B where they took a 6-2 win while their B Team were beaten 6-2 at the Mooragh Park by Peel Sunset A.

Peel Sunset B were beaten 5-3 by Onchan B and the Peel Sunset C Team were also beaten 5-3 by South Ramsey.

So after Game 24 we have three Teams level on points at the top, those being Cstletown A, Peel Sunset A and Onchan A.

Ballaugh A hosted Castletown A and this proved to be an easy win for the side from the South who had a 7-2 win with Dave Foulis and Arthur Moore being the only winners for the Ballaugh side.

North Ramsey A also had an easy win over Castletown B side having a similar 7-2 victory with Alan Phair and Robert Cooil being the winners for Castletown B.

In the South there was a much tougher match as Port St Mary A hosted Onchan A and it was the men from Onchan Park who took the honours 5-4 although it could have gone either way as Colin Hinds fought out a 21-20 victory over Milton Cubbon.

Peel Sunset A travelled to Nobles A and again this finished in a 5-4 win to the away side with a one game going 21-20 as Harry Kelly achieved that result over Stewart Cubbon.

So with Castletown A, North Ramsey A, Onchan A and Peel Sunset A all going through we are looking forward to an exciting Semi-Finals Day on 26^th July.

The first Over 60’s Match Day after the T.T Break saw a tough match for Leagues Challengers Onchan A who were away to Marown.  Onchan A are producing a determined effort not to let Castletown A build a significant lead at the top of the League and this was clear as they defeated a strong Marown Team 5-3 at Crosby.

Castletown A showed the same determination on their Home Green as they beat a good Peel Sunset B side 8-0 which I think has to be the result of the day.

Castletown B travelled West to play Peel Sunset A and this time it was the Westerners who were the victors with a  6-2 win.

Onchan B entertained Finch Hill at the ‘Park’ and the Onchan men won 7-1 with John Harris being the only Finch Hill winner with a21-18 victory over Peter Wallis.

There were some close games at Ballaugh as Ballaugh A fought out a 4-4 draw with South Ramsey and a little further up the road North Ramsey A had a good 5-3 win over a strong Nobles A side.

Back in Douglas Nobles B beat North Ramsey B 5-3 and at the ‘Villa’ Douglas A had a 6-2 win over Port Erin.

In the deep South Port St Mary B played Port St Mary with the A Team winning 7-1 with Steve Franks being the only winner for the B Team.

So to close off Game 19 Douglas B travelled to Peel C and came away with a 5-3 win.

So at the completion of the days matches we still had a tight battle for the top position in the League with Castletown A and Onchan A both on 30 points and being chased by Peel Sunset A and Port St Mary A both on 28 points.

Game 20.

Onchan A travelled to North Ramsey A to try and maintain their League Challenge and were heavily beaten 7-1 by the men from the Mooragh Park with only Neil Dunwell winning for Onchan beating Norman Slinger 21-5.

Leaders Castletown A also had an away Match at Port St Mary B and although they were well ‘tested’ by the Port St Mary B Team the Castletown A side came away with a 5-3 win.

Castletown B had a 6-2 home win over North Ramsey B and Onchan B took a 5-3 win from Peel C.

Ballaugh A beat Nobles B 5-3 while the Ballaugh B side travelled to Finch Hill where they lost 5-3.

Nobles A shook off their defeat from earlier this week by beating Peel Sunset B 7-1 while in the West of the Island Peel Sunset A beat Douglas B 6-2.

South Ramsey hosted Port St Mary A and the men from the South took a 7-1 win with Bill Callow being the only winner for South Ramsey.

Marown travelled to Port Erin and took a 7-1 win from the Southerners with Bob Kay being the sole winner for the Port Erin side.

So after Thursdays matches Onchan A had a clear lead with 32 points followed by Peel Sunset A, Port St Mary A and Onchan A all on 30 points and Marown A on 28 points

League leaders Castletown A took on their B Team and ran out 8-0 winners but there were some close games in this match with two going to 21-20.
Onchan B hosted South Ramsey and this ended as a draw on a day when Onchan A had a bye.
Douglas A hosted the strong Nobles A side and in a competitive match at the Villa this ended 4-4 while back at Nobles Park the Nobles B Team took a 5-3 victory over Douglas B.
In a match with some very close games Ballaugh B played out a 5-3 win over North Ramsey B and a little further North at the Mooragh Park North Ramsey A and Ballaugh A played out a draw.
In the Central Valley it was Marown who took the honours in their match against Peel Sunset B with a 6-2 home win John Lightfoot and Jeff Wilson being the winners for the Peel side.
Peel Sunset A had a 7-1 win over Finch Hill while the Peel Sunset C Team lost by the same score to Port St Mary A.
Port Erin made the short trip to play Port St Mary B and this ended in a draw.

So Game 18 saw Castletown A travelling a little farther South to take on a tough Port St Mary A side and it was the men from Purt la Morra who took the points with a 6-2 win while back at Castletown the Castletown B side took a 5-3 win over Port St Mary B.
Onchan A had the home advantage against Nobles B and they certainly used that advantage as they beat the ‘Nobles’ side 7-1 with Terry Bates being the only winner for ‘Nobles’. In the ‘reverse’ fixture Nobles A hosted Onchan B and the lads from Onchan Park came away with a good 5-3 win in this one.
There were ‘close encounters of the Ballaugh kind’ as Ballaugh A beat their B Team 6-2 with Ray Parry and Bobby Clayton being the two winners for the B Team.
Douglas A travelled across Town to draw with Finch Hill while the Douglas B Team travelled to Crosby where they lost 7-1 to Marown with Bob Banning
for the side from the Villa as he just failed to beat Keith Watterson as he lost 21-20.
Peel Sunset A visited Port Erin and came away with a 5-3 win while the Peel B Team played the Peel C Team with the B Team winning 6-2.
South Ramsey hosted North Ramsey A with South Ramsey winning 5-3.
So after 18 games the top five in the League are separated by only two points with Castletown A and Onchan A both on 28 points followed by Peel Sunset A, Marown and Port St Mary A.
In the Individual Merit Chris Oates of Port St Mary leads having won 17 out of 17 games and he is followed by Peter Kelly of Marown and Mike Thomas of Onchan A who have both won 16 out of 17.

It would appear that this Season is going to see a close battle for the League Champions go right to the end as we have regular changes in the lead.

On Tuesday Castletown A hosted North Ramsey A and this was a 6-2 victory for Castletown with only Mike Skelly and Geoff Porter managing wins for the Northerners. The Castletown B side travelled even further South to play Port St Mary A and this time it was a 6-2 defeat for the Castletown side with wins for them coming from Alan Phair and Terry Jackson.

Onchan A welcomed Port Erin to the ‘Park’ and the Southerners came away with a hard earned draw while the Onchan B men travelled to North Ramsey B where they were beaten 6-2.

Ballaugh B hosted Nobles A and this resulted in a 5-3 win for the strong Nobles side while the Ballaugh A side travelled to Crosby where they lost 5-3 to Marown.

Douglas B lost 6-2 to South Ramsey at the Villa with Malcolm Black and Arthur Ashcroft getting wins for the Douglas men while the Douglas A lads played Peel Sunset B in sunny Peel and came back to Douglas with a 5-3 victory.

Peel Sunset A travelled to play Nobles B and they brought an 8-0 win back to the West while Peel C lost 6-2 to Finch Hill.

Game 16.

Onchan A travelled South to play Port St Mary B and like many other Clubs this season they found the Southerners hard to beat with the match resulting in a 4-4 draw. The Onchan B side hosted Ballaugh B and the home side eaned a 5-3 win at a sunny Onchan Park.

Castletown A travelled to the ‘Villa’ to play Douglas A in a tight match which saw some close games but in the end resulted in a 5-3 win for the Castletown men. Castletown B hosted Peel Sunset C and the home side won 6-2 with the two wins for the Westerners coming from Michael Callin and Terry Crutchley.

At the Mooragh Park  North Ramsey A beat a strong Marown side 5-3 while the North Ramsey B lads packed their mules for the journey to South Ramsey in a match that resulted in a 5-3 win for the South Ramsey side.

Peel Sunset A had a good 6-2 victory over Port St Mary A and Peel Sunset B also had a 6-2 win, this time away at Finch Hill with Bill Cairns and Eric Stanley being the two winners for Finch Hill.

Port Erin beat Nobles B 6-2 on the Southerners Home Green and Douglas B travelled to play Ballaugh A where the away side lost 8-0.

So after a week which saw two good wins for Castletown A and two draws for Onchan A we see the Southerners just edging back into the lead with Onchan A in second place although they are equal on points with a points total of twenty six.

In third place are Nobles A with twenty four points and they are then followed by Peel Sunset A, Marown and Port St Mary A all on twenty two points.

Although there is still a long way to go yet if this trend id followed throughout the Season it really is going to be ‘tough at the top’ this Year.

As we came to Game 12 of the 2017 Men’s Over 60’s Season it is becoming apparent that this will be an exciting year with a number of teams in contention for the League Title.

Ballaugh A hosted Peel Sunset A and it was the home team who took the honours although a hard fought game between Barry McDonald and Peel’s Leslie Halsall which ended 21-19 to Barry could quite easily have gone either way.

Castletown A beat Nobles B 7-1 at Castletown with the only winner for Nobles being Brian Atherton who beat Dave Hollingworth 21-18. Castletown’s B Team travelled to Nobles Park A and this time the honours went to the Douglas club who won 6-2.

Douglas A travelled to the Mooragh Park to play North Ramsey A and in a match played in a really friendly atmosphere with lots of banter it was the Ramsey side who ran out 5-3 winners. After the match it was not the bowls that was the talking point but it was had Stuey Garrett eaten Norman Radcliffe’s scone with Mr Radcliffe feeling that Stuey was the prime suspect.

Douglas B hosted the North Ramsey B Team and this time the result was a 4-4 draw in a close match at the Villa.

Onchan B played against the Onchan A Team at the ‘Park’ and this although the A Team won 5-3 this could so easily have ended in a shock result as the B Teams Peter Wallis and Gary Lee both lost 21-19 to Mike Alexander and Bernie McPhee respectively.

Peel Sunset B took a 5-3 win from Ballaugh B in a match that had some very close games and the the Peel Sunset C men played a strong Marown side with the latter taking an 8-0 win with Bert Quayle and Phil Clarke getting the nearest to 21 for the Peel side.

Port St Mary B took their passports for the long journey to South Ramsey but the travel was not in vain as they came away with a 6-2 win with the winners for South Ramsey being Bill Callow and Chas Grills.

Finch Hill hosted Port Erin in a match  that ended in a 5-3 win for the Douglas side although there were a couple of close games.

So after the completion of Game 12 we now have three teams level at the top on points, these being Castletown A, Nobles A and Onchan A who are all on 20 points and they are closely followed by Marown on 18 points in fourth place.

Game 13.

Castletown A travelled to a ‘hard to beat’ Marown and the home side took a 5-3 victory from the southsiders with the Castletown B Team having a better day at home to Finch Hill in a game that saw the Castletown men running out as 5-3 winners.

Port St Mary B hosted high flying Nobles A and again one of the top teams found the going tough as they were held to a draw by the home side and the Port St Mary A Team made the reverse journey to Nobles Park where they came away with a 5-3 victory.

Douglas B made the journey to Ballaugh B and were beaten 5-3 by the home side in a match that saw a number of close matches and could have gone either way. The Ballaugh A side held Douglas A to  a draw at the ‘Villa’, again in a match with close finishes.

At the Mooragh Park North Ramsey B were beaten 7-1 by Onchan A with Bryan Corner being the only winner for the northern side and North Ramsey A travelled to Onchan Park where they came away with a 5-3 victory.

In the ‘Sunset City’ Peel Sunset A beat South Ramsey 6-2 while the Peel Sunset C Team played their Game 13 match the following day at home to Port Erin with the southerners emerging as 5-3 victors.

Game 14.

Top team Onchan A hosted Ballaugh B and despite a spirited effort by the boys from Ballaugh it was the Onchan team who eventually ran out 5-3 winners but it was not all joy for Onchan as Ballaugh A inflicted a similar 5-3 defeat on the Onchan B team back at Ballaugh.

After a ‘blip’ last week when they lost to Marown the Castletown A side had an emphatic 8-0 win against Peel Sunset C while Castletown B travelled further south where they were held to a 4-4 draw at Port Erin.

The forward surge of Marown was slowed a little as they were beaten 5-3 by Port St Mary A and the Port St Mary B men travelled to Finch Hill with the southerners getting a 5-3 win.

Nobles A and Peel Sunset A battled to a draw at Nobles Park whilst back in the west Peel Sunset B and Nobles B also recorded a draw.

In the north of the Island North Ramsey A played their B Team and this resulted in a 7-1 win for North Ramsey A with their only loser being Norman Radcliffe who lost 21-10 to his fellow ex South Ramsey player Brian Stewart.

South Ramsey hosted Douglas A and this match became the fourth draw of the day with a 4-4 scoreline.

So after fourteen games have been played we have Onchan A clear at the top of the League with 22 points and they are closely followed by Castletown A and Nobles A both with 20 points.