Port Erin Bowling Club hosted the F.M. Sowerbutts Memorial Trophy Mixed Doubles on Bank Holiday Monday. The competition was well supported.

Bowing out at the semi-final stage were Marown Pair Debbie Leece & Neil Withers to Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), whilst in the other semi-final it was an all-South Ramsey affair with club mates Fiona Kennish and Steven Waters who were beaten by Jenny Moore & James Teare.

In a repeat of the 2020 final Jenny and James got off to the better start with Elaine and Glynn the current holders of the trophy taking the first end then lying four in the corner only for James to play a great counting bowl. From there Jenny and James took control of the game to go into a 16-6 lead. Elaine and Glynn got back in to score a single, a four in the corner and another single to pull the deficit back to 12-16 to threaten a comeback. With the comeback on Jenny and James responded with two singles and a double to go 20-12 ahead and then conceded a single. On the last end Jenny and James were counting two, with Elaine being slightly unlucky with her last bowl connecting with the jack but carrying it through to Jenny’s bowl to secure the one point they needed to take a 21-13 victory and in doing so went one better than the previous year.

The presentation was made by Janet Shilling who thanked everyone who had entered, the club members for their support & providing the refreshments. In his speech James thanked Port Erin for running the competition along with Janet Shilling for sponsoring the competition in memory of her father.

On Sunday Ballaugh Bowling Club held the Maddrell Mixed Doubles. There were 36 pairs entered, the weather being fine but generally cloudy perfect for playing bowls.

In the top half of the draw the first quarter final was Grace Gawne (Onchan) & Kevin Firth (Douglas) against Paula Firth (Onchan) & Sid Bolton (South Ramsey). Paula & Sid took an early lead which they kept winning 21-15. The second quarter final was between Rebecca Teare (Marown) & Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) and South Ramsey’s Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves. A high scoring game after nine ends it was 15-12 to Elaine & Glynn they then scored another four chalks to reach 19. They then lost the jack and in 5 ends Rebecca & Nathan reached 21 with a final score 21-19.

In the bottom half of the draw the third quarter final was between Tina Hampson (Onchan) & Dave Naughton (Nobles) and Clare Cooper (Marown) & Wayne Roberts (Port St. Mary). Clare and Wayne scored steadly to win 21-13. The final quarter final was Philippa Taylor (Marown) & Alec Taylor (Peel Sunset) and Sue Gawne (Onchan) & Andy Kennish (Peel Sunset). Another steadily scoring game saw Philippa & Alec win 21-14.

Both semi finals were one sided affairs, with the same score 21-9, Rebecca & Nathan beat Paula and Sid, while Clare & Wayne beat Philippa and Alec to go through to the final where Cooper & Roberts were the winners 21-11.

At the conclusion Club Captain & Sponsor John Maddrell thanked everyone for supporting the event Matt Moffatt, the green keeper for preparing the green, Pat Mason and her team of ladies for the catering plus John Bolton, Dickie Watson and Paul Davies for the barbeque. John also thanked Richard Faragher, Maurice O’Reilly & Trevor Jones for running the competition so efficiently.

The final of the Canada Life International sponsored Rayner Shield takes place on Thursday evening at the Villa between league leaders South Ramsey A and Peel A, the current top two teams in Division One for what promises to be a close encounter.

Peel A are the current holders of the Rayner Shield following their upset over a heavily fancied Marown A at Port St Mary last year, while South Ramsey A won a thriller in 2019 which also happened to be at the Villa against Marown A.

Peel A were the first team to reach the final following their convincing and expected 7-1 home win over Castletown B to reach the final, while South Ramsey A had a much tougher task in their semi-final having to overcome Marown A at Crosby, which they did in style as they won 6-2 away from home to cause a massive upset on the night in front of a good home crowd.

South Ramsey are led by captain Glynn Hargraves, start as slight favourites and they have a few of their players in good form performing well in the individual merit this season, however they will not underestimate the Peel men who are just six points behind them in the league and are more than capable of turning over anyone having beaten Marown A twice in the past year.

Peel have a new captain this year with Gary Smith stepping up to lead the team, with their star man Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly having won an open this season and retaining the Over 60’s Manx Championship, they also have a good mixture of youth in the form of Stevie Kelly and Tom Kelly, along with the experience of three time Manx Champion Andy Kennish who has returned to form over the past couple of years, while the return of Tommy McMeiken and George Gadsby to the Peel Team cannot be understated. Another man to mention for Peel is the 2020 Rayner Shield final hero Peter Greenlees who will be looking to turn in another standout performance for his team having only taken up the game in 2018, his rise has been meteoric.

The eight-man team format has worked well over recent years with the chalks adding an extra element to what teams have to play for, as whilst players could lose their individual game they can still contribute to the team’s victory should the match end up 4-4 on games by contributing to the chalks.

The draw took place at Onchan Bowling Club on Friday evening prior to the Rayner Plate Final, with some great match ups this could turn out to be another great final for the spectators. The match starts at 6:45pm. Peel have won this competition three times to date, while South Ramsey have four wins. Best of luck to both teams.

Onchan Bowling Club hosted the Derek Killey Memorial on Sunday afternoon with 34 pairs entering the competition with the proceeds going to charity.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves & Stefan Kelly who lost to club mates Fiona Kennish and Steven Waters 19-21. Another South Ramsey match up was also close with Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves getting the better of Jenny Moore and James Teare also to a 21-19 score. Rebecca Teare (Marown) and Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) ended the challenge of Margaret Tasker (Port St Mary) and Derek Allen (Port Erin) 21-14, while Lyn Bolton (South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) also won to the same score against Clare Cooper (Marown) and Bob Clark (Castletown).

Losing out in the semi-finals were Kennish and Waters 9-21 to Moore & Hargraves, with the second semi-final going in favour of Bolton and Quayle who beat Teare and Hamilton 21-12.

The final was well contested throughout with some good bowling form both pairs. Moore and Hargraves edged ahead 10-7 after four ends, only for Bolton and Quayle to go into a 16-12 lead with two singles, a double and a three to take control of the game. The next five ends were tight with only a single score with three of the ends going in favour of Bolton and Quayle. Moore and Hargraves responded to pull the score back to 17-19 with a three, however another single for Bolton and Quayle put them into a 20-17 lead only to concede a double on the next end to leave the match finely poised at 19-20. On the next end Moore and Hargraves were counting for one only for Quayle to bowl in with a great counting bowl and not for the first time in the match. Hargraves was forced into a change of peg and just went into the back of their opponents bowl to ensure the victory went to Bolton and Quayle 21-19 in an entertaining final.

The presentation was made by Mark Kelly, who thanked the Onchan club members for organising and running the competition, everyone for entering, also to those who had stayed to watch the final. Onchan bowler Allan Kennaugh, who is a relative of Derek Killey, was then introduced to present the prizes on behalf of the Killey family. It was announced that the fantastic sum of £710 had been raised for Motor Neurone Disease, with a special thanks to the finalists who handed back their prize money to add to the total figure raised for the nominated charity.

The final of the Canada Life International sponsored Rayner Plate took place at Onchan Bowling Green on Friday evening with the rain setting in sooner than expected to make for tricky conditions for both teams in a rematch of the 2019 final at the same venue between Port St Mary A (+15) and Division Two team Marown C (+42).

Port St Mary once again started as favourites on the night, however they will have been wary of their opponents who stunned them two years ago, with the Port Men needing to turn around a 27-point head start in favour of the Crosby men who have gained more experience.

Port got off to a solid start with Tim Williams taking a 21-14 win against Stephen Storey. The big shock of the night came from Crosby man Stuey Clague, who at 78 years ‘young’ proved age is just a number in this game as he performed brilliantly to beat Port St Mary’s top player and hot favourite Trevor Quayle 21-14 to restore the lead back to 27-points for Marown.

The next two blocks off went in favour of Port St Mary with Robbie Cooil recovering from a slow start to beat Kevin Kelly 21-17. Dan McCabe followed this up with a 21-18 win over Walter McCarthy to reduce Marown’s lead at the half way point to 20 chalks.

The match then swung in Port’s favour who were vying to making it third time lucky having lost the last two finals in 2019 and 2020, as Paul Skelly beat the in-form Jamie Joughin 21-7, while captain Wayne Roberts won 21-10 against Rob Corkill to turn the chalks in favour of the first division team by five chalks.

The match was finely poised with just two games left on the green, the rain continued to fall with Paul Russell level at 13-13 against Marown captain Stephen Rundle, with the latter playing a short mark and pulling out some great second bowls to his opponents’ jack to put in a captains’ innings as Rundle seen the game out with a 21-19 win to reduce the deficit to three chalks.

The last game on the green was also nip and tuck between Dan Smith and Tom Collins which was tied at 13-13. Smith stepped up a gear playing some great bowls under pressure to confirm the victory for the Crosby men by just two chalks (169-171) with a 21-16 win over Collins to ensure Marown C won their third Rayner Plate.

Whilst a lot of the plaudits must go to Rundle and Smith being the last two games on the green, a special mention should go to Stuey Clague, who excelled to win his individual game to keep Port at arm’s length early on, also backed up by his team mates with each of their chalks coming into play for the team even in defeat. Port St Mary played their part in what was an excellent final to watch for the neutrals in attendance.

The presentation was made by Association Press Officer Glynn Hargraves, who thanked Onchan Bowling Club for the use of the green and for their hospitality. Congratulations were given to the winning team with commiserations offered to Port St Mary. The Association President John Ryder was then introduced, who remarked how well the handicap system had worked to produce such a close final, and that the match was a pleasure to watch. The Trophy was then presented to the Marown captain Stephen Rundle who thanked everyone who turned up to watch on a wet night for bowls, congratulated his team and also offered his commiserations to Port St Mary. Rundle also said that he hoped Port St Mary will find a new bowling green in the near future.

Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) and Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) travelled to Heaton Park Bowling Club, Manchester to compete in the British Crown Green Bowling Association Ladies Singles Merit Trophy competition on Sunday 15 August with an entry of 64 ladies who qualified through their respective counties. The British Merit title is highly sought after with many of Britain’s top lady bowlers taking part.

On the tricky No.1 green Jenny was up against No.1 green against Sue Nugent from Merseyside. Jenny got off to a great start playing a mark over the crown and with her opponent not getting to grips with this Jenny won comfortably 21-2.

Janet’s first game was on green No.2 against Steph Witherspoon from Warwick and Worcestershire which had more of a crown than the No.1 green. Steph started off the better building up a lead, but Janet never one for giving up, dug deep and started to pull back the points to level the score at 19 all. It was then Steph’s turn to dig deep and playing good lead bowls on the following two ends won 21-19.

Jenny’s second game was against Mandy Wilks from North Derbyshire. This was a much closer game with Jenny eventually winning 21-16 to go through to the quarter finals.

In the quarter final Jenny was up against Jayne Kent (previously Jayne Hamilton) from South Yorkshire. This was a real battle with the game going to and fro, but with a final flourish Jenny ran out 21-18.

At the semi-final stage Jenny went on against the experienced Sue Worrall from Mid Cheshire. Again this was another tough game for Jenny but as in her previous rounds Jenny upped her game to take the semi 21-17.

In the other half of the draw, Louise Ollerton from Greater Manchester won her semi-final 21-14 against Julie Alderman from South Staffordshire who had just beaten the 2019 British Merit winner Nicola Boulton from Mid Cheshire in the quarter finals.

With the atmosphere around the green becoming tense and exciting and with both ladies playing exceptionally well, the spectators and the remaining players anticipated a great final and were not disappointed. Jenny got off to a strong start leading 10-2 on the 8th end. Louise then got into her stride taking six of the next nine ends to trail 10-14. Jenny then clicked up a gear taking the next six ends to win 21-10.

This was a proud moment for Manx bowling and for Jenny and her family who were there supporting, but most of all a massive and emotional achievement to become the first Manx lady to win a British Association Ladies singles competition.

The previous day, Saturday 14 August, the British Crown Green Bowling Association held the Junior Merit Trophy competition again at Heaton Park. 32 Junior county merit qualifiers took part with Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park) and Toby Hart (South Ramsey) representing the Isle of Man. First on the green was Shannon who took on Jordyn Hughes from Staffordshire. Shannon started off strong and halfway through the game it was 11 across before Jordyn got his length and stride to run out 21-11.

Toby was up against Tom Farmer from the Potteries and District. Although Toby played some great bowls during the game, Tom was too strong on the day winning 21-8. Both Shannon and Toby should be congratulated on the way they played and their conduct on the green. The future of crown green bowling on the island is certainly shining bright!