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North Ramsey Stun Port St Mary
Port St Mary A who suffered a 3-7 home loss to North Ramsey A
Photo: Arnie WithersNorth Ramsey A made the long journey to the south of the island in Ellan Vannin Fuels division one to take on Port St Mary A, with the visitors pulling off a shock 3-7 win over their rivals to record one of their best wins in recent history. For the visitors Steve Walmsley got off to a good start defeating Dave McCabe 21-9, with captain Allan Callow & John Cannan beating Dan McCabe & Bernard Thackrah respectively. Gary Merrill pulled off a stunning 21-17 win to inflict a first home league loss since August 2017 on Trevor Quayle. Geoff Porter also recorded an equally good win to see off Paul Skelly in a close game 21-19. Hitting back for Port St Mary were Wayne Roberts, Rob Cooil and Tim Williams who all won fairly comfortably, but couldn’t manage to stop the visitors from taking the aggregate two points having lost out by six chalks (138-144).
Marown B had a tough night in their home fixture against Douglas A with the experienced Arnie Withers the only winner (21-12) against Gary Conwell, whilst Peter Kelly lost out 18-21 to Ian Moore.
Marown A remain top of the league after their visit to the Crofts to take on Castletown A, coming away with a respectable 2-8 win. The two winners for Castletown were Captain Ian Watson who beat Matthew Keggen 21-16, backed up by the experienced Juan Kermode who had a fine win over former team mate Paul Kelly 21-10. For the Crosby men John Gelling won 21-4 against Dean Kinley, whilst Neil Withers and Phil Kelly had to work hard to record their wins over Nathan Hamilton & Jordan Drewett respectively.
Onchan A occupy second place, they closed the gap on the league leaders by a point following a fairly straightforward 1-9 away win over South Ramsey B. The lone winner for the home team was Steven Waters with a 21-13 win over Frank Watson. Tony Dugdale came closest to taking a second win off the visitors before losing out 19-21 to Matthew Quirk.
South Ramsey A climbed up to third place following their 1-9 away win against Noble’s A, with Reginald Temporaza continuing to perform well in his debut season in the top division recording a 21-15 win over Alan Moore. The visitors won four games to single figures, whilst James Teare was pushed hard by Steve Cook before getting over the line to win 21-18 to maintain his 100% record.
Peel A sit in fourth place following their 8-2 home win over Castletown B. Ste Kelly and Andy Kennish both won to single figures for Peel, whilst for Castletown Ross Moore won 21-16 against David Proctor, with Bob Clark maintaining his 100% start to the season following his 21-16 win over Gary Smith. Clark is one of just nine players to have won their first four games in division one.
In division two Ballaugh A took a massive stride forward in their quest to return to division one recording a 10-0 home win over league leaders Port St Mary B. Thomas Keggen came closest to snatching a point for the visitors, however Edgar Cowin just got over the line to win 21-20. The result meant Ballaugh A leapfrogged Port St Mary to go top on 30 points, whilst the Port men fell to fourth spot.
Finch Hill A sit in second place level on points with Ballaugh A following a good 2-8 away win against Port St Mary C. The Finch Hill men have started the season strongly with four of their players having 100% records.
Douglas B are in third place following a good 9-1 home win over Ballaugh B, who had John Kneen to thank for sparing the whitewash with a good 21-11 win over Rob Matthews.
In division three this week league leaders South Ramsey C had another solid performance with an 8-2 home win over Ballaugh C to jump up to 33 points after four games played.
Noble’s B sit in second place on 23 points following their 2-8 away win against Peel D, with Ballaugh C sat in third place on the same number of points.
Onchan Edge It Against Peel – Marown go top
League Leaders Marown A who beat Port St Mary A this week
Photo: Arnie WithersIn division one Onchan A hosted Peel A with the match ending 4-4 on games. Onchan secured the aggregate to seal a 6-4 win by just two chalks (132-130). For the home team Phil Kerruish and Rob Monk both won to single figures against David Proctor and Gary Smith respectively, backed up by Matthew Quirk who won 21-13 against Jerome Surridge and Jordan Cain sneaking home 21-19 against Andy Kennish. For the visitors Tom Kelly won 21-9 against former team mate Frank Watson, Tommy McMeiken performed well to win 21-11 against Peter Slinger, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly won 21-12 against Steve Parker with Stevie Kelly also turning in a good performance to beat Kevin Quirk 21-16.
Marown A recorded a good 9-1 home win over Port St Mary A with the visitors feeling they could have got more on the night. Home team winners were Matthew Keggen, Neil Withers and Phil Kelly all winning fairly comfortably. Paul Dunn inflicted a first league defeat of the season on 2018 league merit winner Trevor Quayle, with Colin Kelly getting home 21-17 against Paul Skelly. Dean Kipling won 21-19 against Wayne Roberts with Harry Barton stepping up from the B team to also win 21-19 against Tim Williams. The win takes Marown top by two points.
South Ramsey A got their season back on track with a 9-1 home win over near neighbours North Ramsey A. David Bradford and Stefan Kelly both won to single figures for the home team, whilst for the visitors Tony Smart was the only winner seeing off Chas Grills 21-10.
Douglas A hosted Castletown A at the Villa with the home team taking the spoils with a 7-3 win. Keith Rise and Mervin Sayle won to single figures over Dean Kinley and Peter Oates respectively. Also winning for the home team were Captain Andy Cannell, along with Stuart Garrett and Shaun Seal who both won 21-17. For the visitors Ian Watson won comfortably 21-14 against Gary Conwell, with Derek Lewney and David Quayle battling through to see off Jimmy Sansom and Ian Moore.
Marown B currently sit in fifth place thanks to a good 4-6 away win over Castletown B. The Crosby men took the extra two points courtesy of winning the aggregate by 19 chalks. For Marown Peter Kelly won 21-4, with son John Kelly also winning comfortably. Darren Kerruish had to work hard to beat Willie Corkill 21-18, along with Over 60’s player and ‘Dad’s Army’ Captain Steve Bridson who held off Ross Moore to the same score.
South Ramsey B played their home fixture on Tuesday evening against Noble’s A recording a good 8-2 home win to lift them clear of the bottom of the league. Austin Hart seems to be settling into division one having had a tough first season, with the experience of last year no doubt helping this season. Hart recorded a fine 21-6 win over Steve Cook. Also winning for the home team were Tony Dugdale, Edward Carlyle, Sid Bolton, Ian Moore and Christian Caley. For the visitors the ever reliable Tommy Collister won comfortably against George Brew with Reginald Temporaza picking up another win to beat Steven Waters 21-10.
In division two Port St Mary B lead the way on 25 points following their 8-2 home win over North Ramsey B. For Port St Mary Peter Collins, Paul Russell, Dave Saxon and Thomas Keggen all won to single figures, whilst Brian Corrin and Ray Maddrell also won. For the visitors Brian Colquitt beat Tom Collins 21-17, with Rheuben Thomas winning 21-18 against Louis Callister.
Finch Hill A sit in second place on 22 points following a tough home game against Port Erin A, taking a 6-4 win mainly due to Port Erin being in the unfortunate position of being a player short on the night.
Ballaugh A lie in third place following their 7-3 home win over Douglas B, whilst Peel B won 9-1 at home to Ballaugh B with the visitors losing three games 19-21 and a 20-21. On another night the match could have ended in a 5-5 draw.
Marown C are coping quite well with life in division two following their 6-4 home win over Port St Mary C. The Crosby men taking the aggregate by just nine chalks, with relative newcomer Karl Parker just missing out on taking an extra point losing 20-21 to the experienced Chris Oates.
On Tuesday evening Peel C hosted Onchan B with the visitors coming away with a 3-7 win.
South Ramsey C were the only away winners in division three this week following a good 9-1 win away to Noble’s C, with James Evans, Tony Marler and Anthony Kelly all winning to single figures. For Noble’s Les Brookes was the only winner defeating Paul Routledge 21-5. The result leaves South Ramsey top of the table by two points.
Ballaugh C recorded a good 8-2 home win over Onchan C, whilst Castletown C won 7-3 at the Crofts against Douglas C. Noble’s B just managed to secure a 6-4 win against Finch Hill B by just three chalks (143-140) and Port Erin B also won to the same score despite being a player short against Peel D taking the aggregate by just seven chalks (126-119).
The preliminary round and first round of the Rayner Shield also took place this week with Port St Mary A travelling north to take on South Ramsey A in the tie of the round. The visitors ran the home team close before South Ramsey managed to take a 5-3 (136-126) win. David Bradford and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly won comfortably with Dan McCabe and Wayne Roberts responding for the visitors. In the second half of the match Paul Skelly eased to a 21-4 win over Glynn Hargraves, with Chas Grills seeing off Rob Cooil 21-14. With the match score at 3-3 South Ramsey were trailing on the aggregate by five chalks after six games, however Stefan Kelly won 21-14 against Dave McCabe and James Teare secured their place in the next round with a 21-13 win over Bernard Thackrah.
There were no shocks to report on at team level, although Onchan B hosted Peel A with the home team losing 5-3, with Gary Lee pulling off a shock 21-16 win over Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.
Marown Stun Champions
Marown C prior to taking on Onchan B
Photo: Arnie WithersMarown A made a solid start to their season with an 8-2 home win over North Ramsey A, with Steve Walmsley and Ray Skelly performing well to beat Dean Kipling and Peter Kelly respectively for the visitors. On Wednesday evening the Crosby men who were missing a couple of regulars made the journey north to take on the champions South Ramsey A and would have been delighted to come away with a deserved 3-7 away win. Last season Marown were inflicted with a 9-1 defeat on a tricky green, however as many teams will find there is little home advantage to be gained at this time of year.
For the home team David Bradford won convincingly 21-5 against John Gelling, whilst James Teare won his second game of the week to beat Brian Kelly 21-10. Peter Kelly and Paul Kelly both won comfortably for the visitors against Glynn Hargraves and Peter Collister respectively to leave the match finely balanced at the half way stage. In the second half visiting captain Paul Dunn led the way with a 21-6 win over Chas Grills, closely followed by Matthew Keggen who won 21-9. Colin Kelly secured the win for the visitors with a good 21-13 win over Alan Moore with the score not quite reflecting the performance of Moore. Last game on the green was Dido Kelly who battled hard to prevent another win for the Marown men to defeat Neil Withers 21-17. Marown sit in third place but are well positioned having played a tough fixture.
Onchan A lead the way at the top of the table on 16 points having recorded two 8-2 wins, seeing off Castletown A at home and Marown B away with new signing Steve Parker winning both games to make a positive start to life at Onchan. Onchan’s other new signing Frank Watson just missed out on recording two wins losing 18-21 to Peter Oates.
Peel A sit just one point behind Onchan A having beat newly promoted Noble’s A 7-3 at home with Glenn Boland making his first division debut with a memorable 21-19 win over Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly. Peel secured their second home win of the week to see off South Ramsey B 8-2, with Tony Dugdale and Steve Moore winning comfortably for the visitors. The new signing for Peel Andy Kennish also made a good start to his campaign winning both games.
Completing the top four on 12 points are Port St Mary A, who drew 5-5 away to Castletown B with the home team winning five games, but missing out on the aggregate by three chalks (134-137). Town’s Aaron Richardson will have been pleased to beat Paul Skelly 21-19. In their second fixture of the week Port St Mary A recorded a good 7-3 home win over last season’s closest rivals Douglas A, who they finished just one point behind in 2018.
Towards the bottom of the table I predict it will be a lot closer than last season. Noble’s A and Castletown B having both been promoted are well equipped to stay up, whilst South Ramsey B and Marown B will be looking to stay clear of the drop for another season. North Ramsey A and Castletown A should have enough having finished in 7th and 8th position last season. Home form will be vital for these teams, whilst avoiding heavy defeats on their travels will help their cause.
In division two Port St Mary B sit top on 17 points having seen off Port Erin A 9-1 at home on Monday evening. Alan Crebbin just prevented the whitewash with a 21-20 win for the Breagle Glen men. On a cold and wet Thursday evening Port St Mary B defeated their C Team 8-2. 91 year old Louis Callister who is surely the night leagues oldest player secured two wins to help his team to the top.
Marown C played their first ever division two game hosting Onchan B, who normally occupy the top four spots in division two and managed to record a good 7-3 home win over the visitors. Wednesday evening gave Marown a reality check suffering a heavy 1-9 away defeat to Port Erin A.
Douglas B occupy second spot on 16 points thanks to two 8-2 home wins over North Ramsey B and Peel Sunset B with Andy Foster stepping up to into B team from the C team and showing his improvement since taking up the game with two wins to start the season on a high.
Finch Hill A sit in third spot on the same points as Douglas B, starting their season a lot stronger than last season when they lost their first four games of the season. On Monday Finch Hill won 10-0 at home to Ballaugh B, whilst Wednesday evening they would have been pleased to come away from Onchan B with a 6-4 win. Results like this will help their cause to make a return to division one.
At the other end of division two North Ramsey B and Peel C will be looking to turn things around having both suffered two heavy defeats.
In division three last week South Ramsey D were delighted to sit top of the table on 10 points at the end of the week, albeit due to three fixtures being postponed due to the poor weather on Thursday evening.
Port Erin B are well placed having played just one game recording a 9-1 home win over Douglas C with captain Harry Minor leading the way for the Breagle Glen men who will be looking to make an immediate return to division two.
South Ramsey C will be hoping to mount a serious challenge to get into division two this season, will need to put out their best team every week to help achieve that.
New Season Gets Underway
League Champions 2018
The long awaited night league crown green bowls season starts on Monday 1st April with Division One champions South Ramsey A, who will have it all to do to retain their title with the news that the Islands undisputed number one player John Kennish is taking a break from night league bowls having won everything there is to at team level, with the loss further compounded by a couple of their top players due to be missing for stints throughout the season. With the loss of Kennish, this has given James Teare the opportunity to step up having improved each season that he has played since taking the game up in 2013 to prove there is a reward for putting the time in to the game.
South Ramsey B have signed Edward Carlyle from Onchan, who will be encouraged to be playing regular first division bowls, as they look to secure another season in the top division.
Marown A have no changes to report from their first team from last year, may well be favourites to win the league for the first time since 2013. Whilst Marown fell short by 21 points last season, they will no doubt feel that they can perform better individually and as a team, and will be in good spirits with a number of their players having recently returned from a bowling holiday in Cyprus.
Marown B who have a good blend of youth and experience will feel confident of retaining their top flight status once again, having done so fairly comfortably last season.
Onchan A look to have made a couple of signings, with Frank Watson joining from Peel A whilst Steve Parker is rumoured to be making the move from North Ramsey A, they will look to improve on last seasons points total.
Peel A have signed three time former Manx Champion Andy Kennish, who joins from Douglas having captained them last season, with Stevie Kelly taking on the captaincy for a second season.
Douglas A having lost their captain, appear to be largely unchanged. Former Manx Champion Gary Conwell is now entering his 40th season of league bowls with 25 of those on the Isle of Man.
2018 Division two winners Noble’s A will be hopeful of staying in the top division, provided they have managed to keep the same team as they had last season, with young Glenn Boland and newcomer Reginald Temporaza in their ranks with both keen to impress in the top flight.
Port St Mary A have signed Dave McCabe who has made the short move from Port Erin, which has allowed McCabe to continue to play bowls in division one, whilst my younger brother Glenn ‘Tango’ Hargraves is rumoured to be on the verge of making a bowls comeback after a number of years away from the game.
Castletown A have been struck a blow with the news that Mike Hargraves has taken the tough decision to stop playing bowls having played for Castletown A since 1974, with 17 year old Sam Clague believed to be taking the opportunity to step up into the A Team.
The B team will be confident of staying in division one having gained promotion last season and may look to give their A Team a run for their money as to who will be top dogs in the town. Rumour has it Bob Clark has returned to Castletown and will be playing in the B Team, with Nathan Cooil making a full comeback which is great to see. Nathan Hamilton has left Port St Mary after just one season to join up with Clark & Cooil.
Back to the north of the Island and North Ramsey A have a new captain in Allan Callow, who will no doubt hope the improvement in the green last season has continued over the winter to help their good home form.
In Division Two Port Erin A will be looking to bounce back from being relegated, with the club hoping to take over the maintenance of the bowling green shortly which will allow them the opportunity to have the green as they would like it, this may well encourage new members to join the club. Port Erin when running well can be a difficult green to play.
Ballaugh A & Finch Hill A are the only other A Teams in the men’s night league that don’t have an A Team in division one, with Ballaugh A the more likely of the two who could possibly go up, with their home form not in doubt, it is their results on their travels that will be key to mounting a serious challenge.
Douglas B who were relegated along with Port Erin A may find it a bit tougher to go straight back up to division one.
Division three champions Marown C, will be hopeful of continuing their season by season improvement by retaining their place in division two, whilst Ballaugh B may find it a bit tougher to stay up.
In Division three Noble’s have added a third men’s night league team, with Douglas D dropping out of the league having struggled to fill four teams for the majority of the 2018 season, whilst Port Erin B will be looking to make an immediate return to division two.
After a tough summer last season the Islands clubs can only hope their greens have wintered well following the work carried out in the Autumn to help get them into good condition for the 2019 season.
I hope everyone is looking forward to the new season and I look forward to seeing you around the greens.
World Club Championships
Following their success in winning the league for a third consecutive season, South Ramsey A once again have the opportunity to compete in the World Club Championships on Sunday 7th April, with the competition taking place at Spen Victoria Bowling Club where they take on Ecclestone (Merseyside). The competition involves 16 teams, is played over four consecutive weekends in a group of four teams on a straight knockout basis. The other two teams in the group are Newdigate (North Midlands) who will play Thurgoland (South Yorkshire). The winners from each game in the group then play off to qualify for the finals day on Sunday April 14th.
Kelly Wins First Open of 2019 Season
Kelly On His Way to Victory in 2019 Season Opener
Photo: Mike AshmoleMarown held the opening tournament of the season for the third successive year, with the floodlight competition sponsored by Ardern & Druggan Limited attracting a strong entry of 80. The competition was played over four qualifying nights, with four qualifiers from each evening.
The competition commenced on Sunday evening with home greener Colin Kelly doing enough to qualify for Thursday’s finals night ending the challenge of Rob Monk (Onchan), Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) performed well to defeat Matthew Keggen (Marown), with Jimmy Samson (Douglas) and David Proctor (Peel) the other qualifiers.
Monday evening’s action had the first lady qualifier for finals night with Clare Cooper (Noble’s) winning three games to go through. Marown captain Paul Dunn took his place, Phil Kerruish (Onchan) defeated home greener Dean Kipling, with Reg Temporaza (Noble’s) taking the last spot of the night.
Tuesday evening saw Steve Parker (Onchan) win three games to qualify, seeing off last year’s winner David Bradford (South Ramsey) along the way, with new Onchan team mate Frank Watson also making the cut. Home greeners John Gelling and Luke Hyland performed well to take the last two spots to qualify for finals night.
The final qualifying session on Wednesday was a fine evening heavily dominated by South Ramsey players, with Alan Moore seeing off Paul Kelly, Jenny Moore disposing of Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, whilst James Teare defeated Neil Withers along the way to qualify. Home greener Celia Joughin took the last qualifying spot and was the third lady to reach finals night, just edging out another South Ramsey player Paul Routledge.
Thursday evening was finals night with the draw taking place live on the night, with the last 16 being played down to the winner. There was a good turnout to watch the conclusion of the competition.
Losing out at the last 16 stage were the Onchan trio of Phil Kerruish, Steve Parker and Frank Watson. Paul Dunn (Marown), Jimmy Sansom (Douglas), Reg Temporaza, David Proctor (Peel) and Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) also lost out.
In the quarter finals Colin Kelly gave no mercy to team mate John Gelling winning 21-5, James Teare won 21-13 against Celia Joughin. In the other half of the draw Alan Moore won 21-12 against Clare Cooper, whilst Jenny Moore would have a been a huge favourite to go through, however Luke Hyland had other ideas taking a good 21-16 win.
In the first semi final Colin Kelly won comfortably 21-11 against James Teare to reach the final, whilst club mate Luke Hyland carried on his good form seeing off Alan Moore with a 21-14 win.
The final was eagerly anticipated with neither player being able to get away from the other throughout the entire game, with Kelly playing some good weighted shots to stay in the game. Hyland did manage to go ahead 17-15 before Kelly’s experience pulled him through to take a hard earned 21-17 win to secure the title and £125 first prize.
The presentation was made by Neil Withers and Philip Kelly, with various spot prizes being awarded. Best junior went to Harry Barton, furthest lady went to Jenny Moore and Celia Joughin was the furthest Over 60’s player. Prizes were paid out to the last 16.
Thanks were also given to the sponsor Ardern & Druggan for supporting the competition, along with the Marown ladies for the excellent refreshments throughout the week.
Congratulations must go to Marown on a well run competition, which has is now a regular fixture in the bowling calendar to start the season.
2019 Season
Fixtures
All 2019 fixtures have been uploaded which you can browse in each section. Clicking a team from the fixture list will show you fixtures for that team only.
Opens
Some clubs are still to confirm their open details to the association. As soon as all of the information has been received the open pages will be created and published. For now just a list of the opens and dates is available.
Club Team Championship
Following on from the success last season the Club Team Championship competition is now open to Men and Ladies and does not clash with the other league matches. Teams will now consist of 14 players of any number of gender playing 6 singles and 4 doubles.
Captains
Some captains are still to be confirmed and details will be added to the website as soon as possible.
Men’s Fixture PDFs Downloads
The Men’s Association have taken the decision to no longer produce a fixture book. Using the links below you can download and print a PDF per club which has all the Men’s League, Club Team Championship and Mixed Team Championship fixtures and dates.
Free Week Nights
As the season is becoming more congested a number of week nights have been left free.
This is primarily to give contingency should any matches clash or be postponed. Clubs are free to schedule to use these dates for social evenings or club competitions. If however a league or cup match must be re-arranged and one of the dates used, this would take precedence.
Ranking Tables
Some updates are being made to the ranking section of the website and has been temporarily removed.
Durcan’s Win Juan Kelly Cup
Juan Kelly Cup Winners 2018
Marown Bowling Club held the Juan Kelly Cup last week with the competition in its second year being played under the excellent floodlights it was like playing in daylight.
The format was any competition doubles, played over 15 ends with ends 5, 10 and 15 played as ‘power’ ends with the points scored counting double. The pairs were given a handicap based on their rankings in the Men’s and Ladies game. If scores were tied after 15 ends a one end shootout would take place to decide the winner.
The competition in this format improved on last years entry of 40 pairs, with 42 pairs entering. Again there were some interesting pairings making use of the handicap system played over two qualifying nights, with four pairs qualifying from each night for the quarter finals.
On Sunday evening 16 pairs played their qualifying night, with 26 pairs competing on the Monday evening this proved to be the most popular night to play.
The finals night was held on Wednesday evening, with a live re-draw taking place to determine who the pairings would play on the night.
The eventual winners were the father and son pairing of Bernie Durcan and Steve Durcan (+7), who mastered the green, defeating the home duo of Phil Kelly and Paul Kelly (+2) in the final to a 30-8 score line with the Marown men conceding the game with three ends still to play with the lead having become unassailable. The Durcan’s were helped massively by counting a four on end 10, which was a power end to score a huge eight points at a vital moment in the game, however this shouldn’t take away from their brilliant performance in the final to keep the Marown men down to single figures scoring just six points on their own green.
The Durcan’s were superb throughout the whole competition, taking out some good pairings along the way, and they don’t come any tougher than the South Ramsey pairing of John Kennish and David Bradford ending their challenge with a 21-17 win on Monday evening in the final qualifying game with Kennish and Bradford needing a big score on the power end to progress but just missing out.
Losing out in the semi-finals were Marown C Team captain Stephen Rundle and Celia Joughin (+10) who were beaten 16-21 to the runners up, Losing out to the Durcan’s in the semi-finals were the father and daughter pairing of Arnie Withers and Helen Withers (+9) who just needed to make another counting bowl on the final end to secure a spot in the final, however they just missed out agonisingly 23-24.
Losing quarter finalists were two South Ramsey pairings, Jenny Moore and James Teare (+6), along with Alan Moore and Glynn Hargraves (+3), Peel duo Tommy McMeiken and David Proctor (+6), along with the Noble’s pairing of Alison Keggen and Debbie Leece (+10).
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Neil Withers, who thanked Juan Kelly for once again sponsoring the competition, the Ladies for the refreshments, the players for entering, and all those who stayed to support.