Positional battles were a big feature over the last weekend of league action in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club, along with the destination of the ladies merit trophy.

But could the weather put a spanner in the works for those participating on Saturday with gale force winds in which it was difficult enough to stand never mind play bowls.

Three teams occupying places in the top half of the table had to battle the elements, the first clash being between Mooragh Lakers and Castletown Corkers which ended in a draw on 108 points apiece.

This left Lakers with a target of 88 in their final fixture to move above Louie’s Angels into fourth, but at the same time denied Corkers the same opportunity as they needed maximum points to finish above their southern neighbours.

Seven-Up then joined in and eased to victory over Corkers to place one hand on the runners-up spot, before completing the job with an equally comfortable success against Lakers, who themselves did just enough to climb above Angels by a margin of just five points.

The winner of the Geoff Osborn trophy awarded to the leading lady in the overall merit was decided in this fixture with Jenny Moore (Lakers) finishing just ahead of Margaret Tasker (Angels), Lyn Bolton (Corkers) took third. More details on this in next week’s report.

Corkers meanwhile would have to wait 24 hours to see if a 228 point gap would be enough to see them hang on in sixth with Parkers involved in a rearranged session the following afternoon.

Results for Saturday, March 7: Mooragh Lakers 108 (2) Jenny Moore and James Teare, Castletown Corkers 108 (4) Dave Hollingworth; Castletown Corkers 99 (2) Dave Faragher, Seven Up 119 (4) Jordan Cain; Seven Up 115 (4) Kevin Quirk, Mooragh Lakers 92 (2) James Teare.

A much better day welcomed the Sunday gang and once again there was a number of battles for places, the first of which saw Parkers record their second maximum and 18^th of the campaign when they made a big hole in the deficit they had over Corkers whilst defeating Bits n Bobs.

With a six point margin in favour of Erin Porters it was all to play for in the next encounter when they took on Roller Bowlers, however it was the Bowlers who won, to close the gap down to just one.

Bowlers then racked up their highest total of the season, dropping just three points as they reversed the result from earlier in the season and in the process left Parkers two points short in their quest to overtake Corkers.

Erin Porters in action at the same time needed a near perfect outing to hold on to eighth position, but opponents Bits n Bobs had an agenda of their own as they were without a victory from their 21 fixtures played.

But there is nothing like leaving it to the last minutes as Bits n Bobs sneaked home by four games to two and a 110 to 108 triumph.

Results for Sunday, March 8: Bits n Bobs 85 (0) Alan Kennaugh, Parkers 126 (6) Mike Thomas; Rollers Bowlers 101 (3) Gordon and Shirley Corrin, Erin Porters 96 (3) Chris Dent and Bernard Thackrah; Parkers 100 (1) Mike Thomas, Rollers Bowlers 123 (5) Gordon Corrin; Erin Porters 108 (2) Lynda Cadamy, Bits n Bobs 110 (4) Kim Hargraves.

The final eight team merit winners who are eligible to play in the Best versus Rest contest on Sunday, March 22 are: Kim Hargraves (BnB), Nigel Thomas (B4S), Sid Bolton (Corkers), Bernie Thackrah (Porters), Jenny Moore (Lakers), Lil Smith (Bowlers), Jordan Cain (Seven Up) and Mike Thomas (Parkers).

Four more teams completed their campaigns in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club over the weekend, as they dodged the worst of the weather, however only one final position is confirmed, that being overall winners Rule Breakers.

As things stand behind the champions, on points scored and with two sessions remaining, there are a number of battles going on, both in league positions and to be a team merit winner.

Currently second in the table are Bowling for Soup and they finished on Sunday with a tally of 238 to leave Seven-Up with a target of 194 to reclaim the runners-up spot.

Next down are Louie’s Angels, who had a poor outing by their standards on Saturday and recorded their lowest score of the season, they in turn lead Mooragh Lakers by 195 with the latter still to play.

Castletown Corkers in sixth have an outside chance of catching the two ahead, but will have to score high and also keep an eye on Parkers who are only 21 points behind. They recorded two good sc­ores on Sunday and will be looking for a top half finish.

Govags who have completed their games are next, however I am sure the pair behind them will move ahead; but in which order is too close to call as Erin Porters have the narrowest margin of all and lead Roller Bowlers by just six.

Lastly Castletown Cannons managed to field a full team in their final two outings, but I feel Bits n Bobs who have yet to record a victory, will still be able to bridge the 111 point gap and leave the southern outfit in bottom position.

Results for Saturday 28 February: Louie’s Angels 77 (2) Margaret Tasker, Seven-Up 116 (4) Derek Clarke; Seven-Up 124 (5) Jordan Cain, Castletown Cannons 82 (1) Peter Curtis; Castletown Cannons 103 (3) Barbara Young, Louie’s Angels 110 (3) Margaret Tasker.

Sunday 1 March: Parkers 121 (5) Jo Smith and Terry Moore, Govags 84 (1) Peter Kelly; Govags 95 (2) Peter Kelly, Bowling for Soup 120 (4) Tony Dugdale; Bowling for Soup 118 (4) Nigel Thomas and Ben Dugdale, Parkers 103 (2) Mike Thomas.

A reminder that entries are still open for the club championship, which will be held on Saturday March 14, they can either go on the sheet or be emailed to [email protected].

Three more players have qualified for the Best versus Rest event, which will be part of the prize presentations afternoon on Sunday March 22, they are Peter Curtis (Castletown Cannons), Connie Pettegrew (Govags) and Margaret Tasker (Louie’s Angels).

One person missing around the green over the weekend was Alf Corrin, who was a regular watching bowls at No.3 during the winter months. Sadly Alf passed away at Hospice IoM the previous Sunday.

During the summer period he could be found just down the road at the Nobles Park club, where he spent many an hour playing and enjoying the banter. Our thoughts and sympathies go to Alf’s family.

A minute’s silence was held at the midweek round robin before an entry of 25 took part in groups of doubles and triples.

The pairing of Rita Callister and Peter Karran headed their gang in front of Louis Callister and Mike Skelly, while the threesome of Shirley Whelan, Dave Kelly and Doug Allan took the spoils ahead of Les Halsall, Philippa Taylor and Jean Thackrah.

Bowling for Soup took control of third spot and three teams had the end to their season delayed as the weather played its part over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club.

The forecast for both days was not great but Saturday ended up being a dry session in which Louie’s Angels all-but saw their chance of a third place finish disappear.

Unfortunately for them they were a player short after a withdrawal near kick-off and ended the afternoon 48 points adrift of their rivals B4S.

A similar fate saw Govags take part with only four members, after two of their team failed to show and as a consequence suffered two heavy defeats.

Louie’s Angels and Bowling for Soup were locked on the same points total at the start of play and with the latter dropping only three during the opener, compared with a score of 98 for Angels it was advantage B4S.

The two then played each other and although B4S had a 15 point advantage due to the walk-over, Angels fought hard to keep the inevitable gap down and dropped only another nine in the games played.

The losers slot into fourth spot with a slender margin of eight over Mooragh Lakers, all three with two fixtures left, however I don’t see any change of positions in the top half between now and the end of the campaign.

Bottom placed Castletown Cannons were also in action but struggled to only 75 points in their first encounter, before notching up a welcome victory over Govags.

Another close battle continues further down the table where Erin Porters have a six point lead over Roller Bowlers, this was due to be settled on Sunday, but the rain put paid to that and the postponed matches will now be played on Sunday, March 8.

Results for Saturday, February 21: Govags 79 (2) Doug Allan, Louie’s Angels 98 (4) Margaret Tasker; Bowling for Soup 123 (5) Bob Berry, Castletown Cannons 75 (1) Barbara Young; Angels 102 (1) Louis Callister, Bowling for Soup 125 (5) Tony Dugdale; Castletown Cannons 114 (4) Barbara Young, Govags 83 (2) Connie Pettegrew.

There was not much change at the top of the merit after the latest set of fixtures and at this stage only three of the team winners are known – John Kennish (Rule Breakers), Nigel Thomas (B4S) and Kim Hargraves (Bits n Bobs).

The remaining nine are yet to be decided, with no less than 27 players in with a strong or an outside chance of winning their team’s merit.

The midweek round robin attracted an entry of 26 which was split into two groups of doubles with the successful pairings being Derek Clarke and Bernard Thackrah, along with Louis Callister and Alan Kennaugh.

Missing out in second were Rita Callister and Les Halsall; also Bob Berry and Pauline Worrall.

The league and individual merit titles were settled in the one session held over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club as Rule Breakers racked up their ninth maximum, before beating their closest rivals to open an unassailable points margin.

Challengers Seven-Up could only stand and watch as the now seven-time champions Rule Breakers swept aside Mooragh Lakers. They won all six games and left them trailing with their lowest total of the campaign.

The contest for the Derek Killey memorial trophy was also brought to a conclusion in this fixture as Lakers’ Jenny Moore surrendered a slender lead she held over her Uncle John Kennish (Breakers), who also won this award in 2008.

Jenny however is still in a good position to collect the ladies title and finish in a creditable second overall. Her closest challenger is Margaret Tasker (Louie’s Angels) who is the only woman to have gone one better and won the overall merit crown, which was in 2012.

John completed his season with just one defeat and a loss of just two points. In third and fourth at present are another two previous winners, Glynn Hargraves (Breakers) and Jordan Cain (Seven-Up). The latter with four games left to maybe improve his position.

Getting back to the action, in the second contest of the afternoon, Lakers picked themselves up and put a large dent in any hopes Seven-Up still had of catching their rivals. The northern outfit won a close battle in which the losers dropped 20 points and left their title challenge hanging by a thread.

A large crowd had gathered as the leading two went head-to-head in a fixture that Seven-Up had to win convincingly.

Breakers however were in no mood to relinquish their hold on a shield they have now won for seven out of the last eight seasons and ran out clear winners, dropping just six points to finish on an average of 119.4.

This may have brought the league title challenge to an early conclusion, but there are still some close battles for positions further down the table, along with individual team merit winners to be settled over the final few weeks.

Results for Sunday, February 15: Rule Breakers 126 (6) Alan Moore and Stefan Kelly, Mooragh Lakers 88 (0) Rob Monk; Mooragh Lakers 109 (3) Jenny Moore, Seven-Up 106 (3) Jordan Cain; Seven-Up 106 (2) Kevin Quirk, Rule Breakers 120 (4) Dave Kelly and Mark Kneen.

Prior to Sunday’s contests, two round robins were held and in the midweek session the pairing of Philippa Taylor and Mike Skelly finished ahead of Pauline Whorrall and Jo Smith.

While in the triples group Bernie McPhee, along with Bernie and Jean Thackrah emerged as winners, with Brian Needham, Elaine McElroy and Alec Taylor settling for second.

It was a similar pattern in Saturday’s event, with the threesome of Derek Clarke, Steve Parker and Shirley Corrin pipping Jo Smith, Tricia Bull and Bernie McPhee after a roll-up.

Whilst victorious in the doubles were Steve Moore and Caroline Whitehead, with second place being taken by Derek Cadamy and Peter Hughes.

Entries are now being taken for the club championship, which will be held over the weekend of March 14, and 15.

There were no surprises during the latest two days of action in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club which produced another two maximum scores to take the total so far to 16.

The biggest benefactors were Louie’s Angels who jumped up two places to head the trio of teams in third to fifth places. They are now level on points with Bowling for Soup and just five points ahead of Mooragh Lakers.

Looking at the four fixtures remaining for each side I think it will be a close call as to which one will take third, but my money is on B4S, just in front of Angels and Lakers in that order.

Perfect weather welcomed everyone on both days, with the opener on Saturday seeing leaders Rule Breakers in ruthless form as they racked up their eighth maximum and left opponents Govags trailing with a total of just 61.

Breakers then had another convincing win with a five games to one success over Castletown Corkers, the victors pushing their average up to 119 in the process.

With just two fixtures remaining, Breakers have a cushion of 506 points over second placed Seven-up who themselves have six to play and will have to beat their rivals in one of those to have any chance of overhauling the six-time champions.

Completing thethree-team afternoon Corkers missed out on a full-house of 126 after two losses on 20. However I am sure Govags would have been happier after passing the 100 point mark this time out.

Results for Saturday, February 7: Govags 61 (0) Ray Hardman and Jeff Wilson, Rule Breakers 126 (6) Dave Kelly, John Kennish and Glynn Hargraves; Rule Breakers 117 (5) John Kennish, Castletown Corkers 76 (1) Lyn Bolton; Castletown Corkers 124 (4) Sid Bolton, Govags 101 (2) Lynda and Jeff Wilson.

A sunny Sunday afternoon saw another two players introduced into league action as the bottom two teams compensated for holidays and illness and drafted in recruitments; however it was Louie’s Angels who were on a flyer.

They kicked-off by dropping just two points against Bits n Bobs, who unfortunately couldn’t field a full team.This before overcoming Roller Bowlers and notching up their second maximum win of the campaign, as a result Angels now occupy third spot.

Roller Bowlers had earlier recorded a victory over Castletown Cannons, who themselves were triumphant later by the closest of margins in the bottom of the table clash with Bits n Bobs.

Results for Sunday, February 8: Louie’s Angels 124 (5) Matthew Keggen, Bits n Bobs 77 (1) Edwina Reid; Castletown Cannons 84 (1) Peter Curtis, Roller Bowlers 121 (5) Gordon Corrin; Roller Bowlers 79 (0) Shirley Corrin, Louie’s Angels 126 (6) Margaret Tasker; Bits n Bobs 95 (3) Kim Hargraves, Castletown Cannons 96 (3) Peter Curtis.

A relatively small gang took advantage of great conditions to take part in the midweek round robin and it was split into two groups of doubles.

Jean Thackrah and Peter Karran were victorious, along with Peter Hughes and Dave Faragher; in second were Philippa Taylor and Shirley Corrin, also Peter Daugherty and Jo Smith. Completing the groups in third places were Peter Kelly and Tricia Bull, along with Derek Cadamy who was partnered by Brian Needham.

There are no fixtures scheduled for Saturday so weather permitting a round robin will be held.

Seven-Up strengthened their hold on second place and moved a little closer to the leaders during the one set of fixtures held over the weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club.

Also looking to maintain their challenge were Mooragh Lakers, who currently occupy fourth spot, they needed a perfect session to move up a place, but in the end had to settle for an improved average and a deficit of 16 points on Bowling for Soup who are third.

Seven-Up began their outing with a total of 121 against Roller Bowlers before just missing out on a maximum by the closest of margins when they took on Bits n Bobs, who unfortunately couldn’t field a full team.

Lakers also recorded two victories over the same opponents, firstly defeating Bits n Bobs, before also hitting a tally of 121 against Roller Bowlers, who themselves couldn’t quite reach 100 points and slipped down below Erin Porters in the standings.

Results for Sunday, February 1: Bits n Bobs 85 (2) Kim Hargraves, Mooragh Lakers 114 (4) Jenny Moore; Roller Bowlers 94 (1) Rosie Winckle, Seven-Up 121 (5) Jordan Cain; Mooragh Lakers 121 (4) James Teare, Roller Bowlers 99 (2) Sefton Dent; Seven-Up 125 (5) Alec Taylor, Bits n Bobs 80 (1) Kim Hargraves.

Prior to these fixtures two round robins took place, both on days with extremely cold winds.

The midweek contingent played as doubles with the victors being Jo Smith and Peter Karran. Second went to Brian Needham and Hazel Hughes and in third it was Tricia Bull and Alec Taylor.

A slightly larger gathering on Saturday was split into triples, with the successful trio being Ken Karran, Margaret Tasker and Philippa Taylor. Just missing out were Steve Parker, Alan Moore and Jo Smith, with third place going to Dave Kelly, Doug Allan and Tricia Bull.

As the league moves into the final stages and the leading two players on the same amount of fixtures played, it seems like an appropriate time to bring an update on the battle for the Derek Killey memorial trophy awarded to the winner of the individual merit.

With four to play Jenny Moore, Mooragh Lakers heads the list and just one point behind is John Kennish, Rule Breakers. Waiting in the wings for a slip by either and with six to play is Alec Taylor, Seven-Up.

Next come two former winners, Glynn Hargraves (Breakers) and Jordan Cain (Seven-Up), they are just in front of two Louie’s Angels players who are also split by only one point, Matthew Keggen holding the advantage over Margaret Tasker.

The top 20 based on averages from games played by their teams are:1. Jenny Moore (Mooragh Lakers) 20.94; 2. John Kennish (Rule Breakers) 20.89; 3.Alec Taylor (Seven-Up) 20.38; 4.Glynn Hargraves (Breakers) 20.22; 5.Jordan Cain (Seven-Up) 20.19; 6.Matthew Keggen (Louie’s Angels) 20.06; 7.Margaret Tasker (Angels) 20; 8.Sid Bolton (Castletown Corkers) 19.94; 9.Nigel Thomas (Bowling for Soup) 19.39; 10.Lyn Bolton (Corkers) 19.22; 11.Steve Parker (Lakers) 19.22; 12.Allan Cromwell (Govags) 18.88; 13.Stefan Kelly (Breakers) 18.56; 14.Kim Hargraves (Bits n Bobs) 18.39; 15.James Teare (Lakers) 17.89; 16.Geoff Mayles (Bits n Bobs) 17.78; 17.Philippa Taylor (Seven-Up) 17.44; 18.Kevin Quirk (Seven-Up) 17.38; 19.Patricia Bull (Angels) 17.38; 20. Rob Monk (Lakers) 17.06.

With the leading two sides sitting the weekend out of the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club, the focus was on the three behind them as they were separated by an average points margin of just 2.3 at the start of play.

First into action were Mooragh Lakers who are fourth and Louie’s Angels who occupy fifth, and it was Angels who revenged an earlier defeat to close the gap on their rivals to only 10 points.

That was the opener of two three-team sessions so the victors were straight back onto the green, this time against bottom placed Castletown Cannons and Angels notched up a score of 120 against under strength opposition.

The Cannons next had to take on a team who were determined not to let third spot go without a fight and Lakers did in fact match the total set by Angels to end the day with that slender advantage.

Results for Saturday, January 24: Mooragh Lakers 101 (2) Jenny Moore, Louie’s Angels 116 (4) Margaret Tasker; Louie’s Angels 120 Margaret Tasker and Tricia Bull, Castletown Cannons 88 (2) Peter Curtis; Castletown Cannons 80 (1) John Alderson, Mooragh Lakers 120 (5) Jenny Moore.

Sunday saw third placed Bowling for Soup sweep into action but not before two teams who are having their own little battle for positions and were locked on the same average.

Govags had a slight advantage, but saw that disappear, first they lost out to their closest rivals Erin Porters by a margin of four, before recording a below average tally against Bowling for Soup.

The final encounter had a very tight result last time the two teams met with B4S just getting the better of Porters, and it was similar this time round. The southern outfit did however do enough to move up above Govags.

Results for Sunday, January 25: Govags 105 (3) Phil Parker, Erin Porters 109 (3) Caroline Whitehead and Bernard Thackrah; Bowling for Soup 118 (5) Bob Berry and Phil Kerruish, Govags 95 (1) Doug Allan; Erin Porters 102 (3) Bernard Thackrah, Bowling for Soup 110 (3) Ben Dugdale and Nigel Thomas.

This latest set of fixtures leaves an average points gap of just 1.5 separating third to fifth, B4S on 113, Lakers 112.1 and Angels 111.5. Keeping a close eye on those three are Castletown Corkers not far behind on 109.7.

Looking at the remaining fixtures, Angels have a slightly easier run-in than Lakers, so they could well overall their northern rivals and snatch that fourth position and I am sure haven’t yet given up on third if B4S make any mistakes.

There is now just one more outing for Erin Porters and with the club on schedule having now passed through the 100 fixture barrier, there will be a free day this Saturday, when weather permitting a round robin will be held.

Meanwhile gang of 26 attended the latest regular midweek gathering, which was played as two sets of doubles. Winners of the black jack gang were Bernie McPhee and Jean Thackrah, second place went to Erwin Gelling and Allan Cromwell; and in third it was Philippa Taylor and Les Halsall.

Brian Needham and Sylvia Kennaugh topped the other group, ahead of Alan Kennaugh and Tricia Bull, with third spot going to Shirley Corrin and Peter Karran.

At the end of a week that saw the weather throw just about all it could at the Island, the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club enjoyed two fairly good afternoons of dry but cold conditions.

Both sessions produced maximum wins, one on Saturday, a first for Parkers, and two the following day for Rule Breakers. This being a second double this season and took their tally to seven and the overall total to 14.

The action began with two very close results, one of which saw Parkers win by an advantage of two points when then beat Louie’s Angels, who are currently two places above them.

In the other Erin Porters defeated Castletown Cannons with a margin of just one, both fixtures ended three-all on games.

Unfortunately Porters and Cannons were a player short and this didn’t help either team in the final two clashes.

The Castletown side reached just 69 as their opponents Parkers notched up a maximum, while Porters faired slightly better and took one game of the Angels who notched up 118.

Both winning sides did enough to improve their averages and close the gap on those ahead in the table, whilst Porters slipped down two positions.

Results for Saturday, January 17: Parkers 110 (3) Mike Thomas, Louie’s Angels 108 (3) Alison and Matthew Keggen; Erin Porters 104 (3) Chris Dent and Caroline Whitehead, Castletown Cannons 103 (3) Peter Curtis; Louie’s Angels 118 (5) Margaret Tasker, Erin Porters 73 (1) Caroline Whitehead; Castletown Cannons 69 (0) John Alderson, Parkers 126 (6) Jo Smith.

Sunday saw current champions Rule Breakers take another step towards retaining the title and with four fixtures remaining are firmly in the driving seat to secure their seventh league crown.

They were pushed all the way in some of the games with four scores of 18 and over against them, but nevertheless they raced through the 2000 points mark, firstly defeating Bits n Bobs, then Roller Bowlers.

Also playing were Castletown Corkers, who are presently sixth, they took on Roller Bowlers and kept the pressure on Louie’s Angels, with a score that saw them drop just three points.

Corkers then hit another above average result, as did their opponents Bits n Bobs, who have yet to record a win this season.

Results for Sunday, January 18: Bits n Bobs 86 (0) Geoff Mayles, Rule Breakers 126 (6) Alan Moore; Roller Bowlers 104 (2) Sylvia Kennaugh, Castletown Corkers 123 (4) Dave Faragher; Rule Breakers 126 (6) John Kennish, Roller Bowlers 91 (0) Rosie Winckle; Castletown Corkers 112 (4) Dave Hollingworth, Bits n Bobs 104 (2) Kim Hargraves.

The Wednesday round robin outing saw a small group take part in a short contest with the main objective to finish ahead of the heavy rain that was forecast.

They were almost done when the wet stuff arrived and the victors were Jo Smith and Allan Cromwell, ahead of Peter Daugherty and Alec Taylor; third place went to Derek Clarke and Doug Allan.

The league programme swung back into action after the festive break, over two days of bitterly cold winds in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club and saw the season’s 11^th maximum score, while all teams remain as they were in the table.

All fixtures were reversals from earlier in the campaign and five of the sides improved their totals with the biggest benefactors being Erin Porters who recorded 31 points more this time round.

Leaders Rule Breakers had two maximums when they played the same fixtures back in November, but dropped 25 on Saturday – 10 in their opener against Parkers, then another 15 when Erin Porters took three games off them.

Parkers may have lost both outings, not helped by being a player short, but in fact bettered their points total from last time and managed to draw on games against Castletown Corkers, only losing out by a margin of 11.

Corkers having earlier defeated Porters with the highest score of the afternoon and remain in sixth spot in the standings.

Results for Saturday, January 10: Rule Breakers 116 (5) Dave Kelly, Parkers 90 (1) Mike Thomas; Castletown Corkers 119 (4) Sid Bolton, Erin Porters 99 (2) Caroline Whitehead; Porters 96 (3) Derek Allen, Breakers 111 (3) Glynn Hargraves; Parkers 102 (3) Terry Moore, Corkers 113 (3) Sid Bolton.

The second session was also a set of matches reversed from the first half and the afternoon kicked-off with a maximum win for Mooragh Lakers as they recorded the double over Govags.

Next up second placed Seven-Up were against Bowling for Soup who are currently holding on to third and once again a close battle took place between the pair. They drew back in October with 113 points apiece, whereas this time they were separated by a gap of just two in favour of Seven-Up.

Two more evenly balanced encounters ended the afternoon when Bowling for Soup revenged a loss by beating Mooragh Lakers by nine points and so maintain a slender lead over their opponents in the league table. Whilst Seven-Up notched up the double over Govags, with an advantage of just seven, both fixtures ended three-all on games.

Results for Sunday, January 11:Govags 87 (0) Ray Hardman, Mooragh Lakers 126 (6) Lilian Slinger; Bowling for Soup 112 (3) Tony Dugdale and Frank Watson, Seven-Up 114 (3) Jordan Cain; Lakers 100 (3) Jenny Moore, B4S 109 (3) Nigel Thomas; Seven-Up 116 (3) Jordan Cain, Govags 109 (3) Phil Parker.

Unfortunately the wet and windy weather put paid to any chance of the first midweek round robin session of the New Year.

Wednesday 17, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 December:

Three round robin sessions took place and were all played as doubles. The midweek winners being Philippa Taylor and Doug Allan, along with Tricia Bull and Peter Karran; while second places went to Gordon Corrin and Allan Cromwell, also Derek Allen and Alec Taylor.

Avoiding the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, two gangs competed on both days over the weekend. Winners on Saturday were Sid Bolton and Caroline Whitehead, and the pairing of Lyn Bolton and Ken Karran. Lyn and Ken were also victorious on Sunday, but with different partners – Lynda Cadamy and Louis Callister.

Just missing out in second positions were Casey Bolton and Philippa Taylor; Mike Thomas and Tricia Bull; Alan Moore and Derek Clarke; Philippa Taylor and Dave Kelly.

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December:

Two days of round robins brought the year to an end for the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club with the participants enjoying two good afternoons of nice weather.

Derek Clarke and Jo Smith took the honours in the first session, followed by Lyn Bolton and Stefan Kelly, with third going to Lynda Cadamy and Alan Moore.

A strip of frost along one edge of the green was avoided on Sunday and from a group of triples the winners were Elaine Moore, Lynda Cadamy and Joan Murphy; second place went to Shirley Corrin, Jo Smith and Alan Moore.

Runaway victors in the doubles gang were Philippa Taylor and Margaret Tasker, with the runners-up being Lyn Bolton and Ken Karran.

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 January:

The final weekend of the festive break had another two afternoons of round robins in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter League Bowling Club with the entrants enjoying dry conditions in both sessions.

Yellow jack group winners on Saturday were Louis Callister and Peter Hughes who just pipped Ken Karran and Tricia Bull; with the victors from the other gang being Alec Taylor and Alan Moore, second going to Rita Callister and Dave Kelly.

A slightly larger entry the following day was once again played as doubles and after a roll-up Stefan Kelly and Bob Berry emerged as victors ahead of Louis Callister and Alan Moore, and in third it was Lil Smith and Rita Callister.

Heading the second group on this occasion were Steve Moore and Peter Karran; second went to Alec Taylor and Jean Thackrah, with Dave Kelly and Peter Hughes just missing out in third.