The Rheuben Thomas Memorial Junior Trophy was played for on Saturday in very hot conditions at North Ramsey Bowling Club. This is its second year of competition and attracted 28 junior bowlers.

The competitors were divided into seniors and juniors dependent on age. The juniors were then divided into two groups, A and B, who then played a round robin format of seven ends. The winner of Group A was Bailey McMullan and the winner of Group B was Olivia Johnson. Both girls then played a seven end final which was very close with Bailey McMullan just finishing in front to claim the under 11 round robin title.

The senior group of 17 bowlers played a knockout competition of 11 ends with some excellent bowling on display for the large number of spectators to watch. The early rounds left eight bowlers in the quarter finals. Grace Gawne beat Clark Kelly 10-6, Madison McMullan beat Shannon McMullan 13-3, Ryan Hargraves beat Alex Hampson 8-6, while Aalish Moore beat Alex Colquitt 7-6.

The semi-final between Ryan and Aalish was very close with Aalish winning 9-7 but a more convincing win in the other semi between Madison and Grace 13-3 took Madison through to the final.

The final was played over 13 ends and Madison managed to maintain the quality of bowling she had shown all morning winning 17-2 however the score does not reflect how well Aalish had played all morning in tough matches to reach the final.

At the end of the competition Rheubens wife Heidi presented the prizes along with a bronze medallion for each competitor to mark the occasion. Her daughter, Milli, thanked North Ramsey Club for running the event and all the competitors for taking part.

Quality over quantity was the order of the day at Finch Hill as the Apollo Blinds sponsored mixed pairs competition was played out on a lovely warm afternoon.

At the quarter final stage there were a couple of epic battles with South Ramsey’s Elaine Moore and Alan Moore edging out Marown duo Rebecca Teare and Peter Jones. With the match tied at 20-20, a fortuitous final wood from Alan courtesy of a couple of wicks saw the jack settle nearest to their poorest bowl to claim the tie.
Marown pair Walter McCarthy and Jayne Smith got the better of Steven Waters and Fiona Kennish (both South Ramsey) in an entertaining match 21-19. In the other matches Marown’s Debbie Leece and Glenn Boland defeated Mark Kelly and Sandra May (both Onchan), while South Ramsey’s Jenny Moore and James Teare beat Philippa Taylor (Marown) and Alec Taylor (Peel).

The semi-final match between Alan & Elaine and Debbie & Glenn was nip and tuck all the way before Debbie and Glenn got over the line 21-18. The other semi-final was a comfortable win for Jenny and James over Philippa and Alec.

In the final, after a tight first six ends Debbie and Glenn powered ahead after a couple of triples and successive doubles to win 21-13.

Richard White from Apollo Blinds was on hand to present the prizes and Glenn thanked everyone involved in putting on the competition.

Sunday saw the holding of the Douglas Town Cup Ladies and Men’s Singles hosted by Douglas Bowling Club at the Villa. The Men’s event started at 10:30 in the morning, with the Ladies competition starting later in the day and at the start the Green was quite heavy after a night of heavy rain.

In the Men’s Singles at the Quarter Final stage we saw Neil Withers (Marown) beat Club mate Harry Barton 21-9 while Tom Collins (Port St Mary) lost 20-21 to Brian Kelly (Marown). We then saw Tony Hart (South Ramsey) beat Matthew Keggen (Marown) 21-15 and Peter Jones (Marown) beat Walter McCarthy (Marown) 21-13.

The semi-finals saw Neil Withers beat Brian Kelly 21-11 and Peter Jones beating Tony Hart 21-13.

This led to a great final with both players producing some excellent shots to keep the spectators who stayed on the edge of their seats but eventually it was Peter Jones who took the win 21-19.

In the Ladies Quarter Finals we saw Paula Garrett (Douglas) lose out to Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) 21-13 and Sue Gawne (Onchan) beat Rebecca Teare(Marown) 21-11. In the remaining two games Debbie Leece (Marown) beat Jane Lothian (Douglas) 21-10 and Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) took a 21-14 win against Fiona Kennish (South Ramsey).

In the Ladies semi-finals we saw some absolutely wonderful bowls with Jenny Moore beating Sue Gawne 21-15 and Janet Monk beat Debbie Leece 21-16.

Once more we saw a fantastic Final with Jenny leading well but Janet also found some great shots but in the end Jenny was just too strong on the day and she won 21-16.

There was also a prize for the Juniors going furthest in the competition and the Junior Girls was won by Katie Jacobs (Douglas) and the Junior Boys by Alex Colquitt (Marown).

At the conclusion Douglas Bowling Club Chairman Norman Kneen thanked all those who supported the event and thanked the Douglas Club Members for a great team effort in putting on the event. He then announced that at this event they had raised funds for the Manx Gateway Club and had raised monies to the total of £550. He then went on to thank Rob Matthews and his company 3R’s Ltd for sponsoring the event and handed over to Rob Matthews to present the prizes.

South Ramsey hosted the Kennish Cup Mixed Doubles on Sunday with 25 pairs taking part to play in mixed conditions throughout the day in what started in glorious sunshine, it rapidly deteriorated with heavy showers for a brief period and blustery conditions which remained for the duration of the competition.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Marown pair Jayne Smith and Walter McCarthy who lost 17-21 to South Ramsey’s Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves. Clare Cooper (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) were well beaten 7-21 by Paula Firth (Onchan) and Alan Moore (South Ramsey). Another Marown and South Ramsey contest went in favour of the Crosby pair Debbie Leece and Neil Withers who edged home 21-19 against Fiona Kennish and Steven Waters, whilst an all South Ramsey clash went in favour of Jenny Moore and James Teare who beat Sue and Geoff Collier 21-4.

The semi-finals were straightforward for one pairing with Jenny and James winning 21-9 against Debbie and Neil. The other semi-final went on for a considerable amount of time, it was Paula and Alan who were always in control of the game as they led 18-12 before a bit of a fight back from Elaine and Glynn fizzled out as the latter pair lost 17-21.

The final appeared to be one way traffic early on as Jenny and James leapt into a 9-4 lead, scoring four singles and a double.

Paula and Alan fought back to win four of the next five ends with a two and a three helping boost their score as they went ahead 11-10, only to lose the next two ends as they fell behind 11-13.

The Onchan/South Ramsey pair rallied once more to win the next three ends, scoring a three on the 17th end, only to lose the next three ends but vitally kept their opponents down to singles. With the score now tied at 16-16 Paula and Alan went on another run with Paula leading well at the front all day and Alan providing the firepower at the back when they were in trouble as they scored three singles and a double to run out with a 21-16 victory to prevent Jenny and James from picking up the trophy for a third straight year.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Fiona Kennish, who thanked the club members who had helped with the running of the competition and the Ladies for the refreshments provided. Upon accepting the trophy Paula thanked the Kennish family for their sponsorship, and her partner Alan Moore for asking her to play. This competition was the qualifier for the BCGBA Mel Evans MBE Centenary Mixed Pairs at Heaton Park BC with the number of pairs qualifying to be confirmed at a later date.

Ballaugh Bowling hosted the Spar Mixed Doubles on Sunday afternoon with 36 pairs taking part on another glorious day, with those sat in the shade being more still feeling the heat.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Margaret Tasker (Port St Mary) and Derek Allen (Onchan) 8-21 to Clare Cooper (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary). Debbie Leece and Neil Withers lost out 16-21 to South Ramsey’s Jenny Moore and James Teare, with another South Ramsey pair Fiona Kennish and Steven Waters losing to the same score to Marown duo Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn. Sue Gawne (Onchan) and Brian Kelly (Marown) ended the home green hopes of Christine and Barry McDonald 21-11.

The first semi-final had Moore and Teare up against Cooper and Roberts with the South Ramsey pair winning 21-16. In the other semi-final Teare and Dunn were up against Gawne and Kelly with the latter pair lying three down a great last bowl secured their spot in the final with a 21-18 victory.

The final was expected to be a tight match with both pairs performing well all day, however it was Gawne and Kelly who got out of the blocks the quickest with two doubles to jump into a 10-6 lead, with Moore and Teare levelling the game up at 11-11 after six ends.

Gawne and Kelly then won the next two ends to go 15–11 up, only for the South Ramsey pair to score a single, two doubles to go 16-15 ahead. A double for the Onchan/Marown duo followed by a three put them 20-15 ahead and within touching distance of victory, only to concede two doubles to leave the game finely poised at 20-20. On the deciding end Gawne and Kelly got the point needed to secure their second open competition win.

The presentation was made by club captain John Maddrell, who thanked Richard Faragher, Maurice O’Reilly and the club members for helping run the competition along with the ladies for providing the catering throughout the day. Jonathon Kermode from Spar was then introduced to present the prizes.

Port St Mary Commissioners have put forward a planning application on behalf of the Village, having worked closely with the members of the Bowling Club and Haven Homes over the past 14 months, after the Commissioners were offered the lease on some land by a local family.

In reality the work has been going on a lot longer following a public meeting in March 2020, which was well attended to get matters to where they are today.

The Club formed in 1921, lost their home green after 100 years after the landlord decided not to renew the tenancy, have had plans put in for a new bowling green, clubhouse, car park and associated facilities – which is a stone’s throw away from the previous green, on the opposite side of the railway line, behind the Railway Station Pub.

The Club came to an agreement to share the green at Breagle Glen this season, which is occupied by Port Erin Bowling Club. With this application it gives the club and its members new hope for the future as they look to rebuild and grow for the next 100 years of their existence.

Chair of the Commissioners Bernadette Williams said in the application that the joint club/commissioners working group, ‘strongly supported by Haven Homes as a pro bono initiative’ has spent the last 14 months working to develop the plans which will hopefully see the club restored.

To view the full plans visit:-

https://services.gov.im/planningapplication/services/planning/planningapplicationdetails.iom?ApplicationReferenceNumber=22/00800/B

The IOMCCGBA in partnership with Canada Life International are looking to recognise high performance across the sport each month.

Congratulations to June Award winners: –

Men’s Player of the Month: Philip ‘Rambo’ Kelly – Marown

Ladies Player of the Month: Janet Monk – Mooragh Park

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Alex Hampson – Noble’s

Rambo won all his Canada Life International Division One games in June, whilst more impressively going on to win his first Open Competition in ‘a few’ years by picking up the Henry Kissack Trophy on home turf, where he excelled on the day beating a fine list of players Paul Dunn, Colin Kelly and Neil Withers on the way to victory.

Janet had a great month on the green across all the association team events, winning all six of her games played, with all but one match being won to single figures, even this only just crept into double figures – very impressive. This follows on from Janet’s success in May with the Top Lady event won at Onchan, beating the Island’s Top bowlers on her way to picking up the title.

Alex won both of his Division Three games in June, whilst only just being pipped in his Mixed League game 21-16 against a very experienced Men’s Division One player. In addition to this Alex excelled for the Junior Island Team whilst representing the Isle of Man at Heaton Park in Manchester, winning all three games against Warwick & Worcestershire B, Cheshire and Yorkshire – winning one game 15-0, another fairly comfortably 15-10, whilst also demonstrating his ability to dig deep as he held his nerve to win 15-14 to cap off a superb day.

The Isle of Man Junior Team took part in the British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at Heaton Park in Manchester on Sunday, having come through the group stages at Windle Bowling Club in St Helen’s in May.

As expected the opposition was a lot tougher this time round, as their group consisting of four teams included a strong South Yorkshire, Derbyshire B and Cumbria on a tricky green in blistering hot weather all day, with no shade available to provide any respite.

In the first round of matches they faced South Yorkshire who were widely fancied to win the group, with the Isle of Man team losing 1-5 and by 35 chalks. Shannon McMullan made it into double figures losing 11-15 to Jodie Dickinson, whilst younger sister Madison McMullan performed well on her debut for the Island Team and with it her first game on foreign soil as she scored 12 before losing out to Grace Rhodes. Rebekah Kelly was the lone winner in this fixture with a 15-12 win over James Haigh.

In the second round of games they faced Derbyshire B with the team performing well as they lost out 2-4 and by just 12 chalks (60-72) – just two chalks a player. Ryan Hargraves made his first outing in this fixture, led 9-8 against James Causer only for the latter to run out with a 15-9 victory. Madison McMullan picked up her first win as she performed brilliantly to pick up the best win of the day with a 15-6 victory over Max Pearson. Not to be outdone older sibling Shannon also won to the same score against Nathan Hawley. Rebekah Kelly cruelly missed out on a second successive victory as she was narrowly beaten 14-15 by Josh Leeson. Grace Gawne was unfortunate not to score more as she faced her second tough opponent of the day, with the score not reflecting the overall performance.

In their final round of fixtures they were up against Cumbria, the same team they lost out to by a solitary chalk to at St. Helens in May. This time they lost out by just five chalks (74-79) to show there is a very fine margin between the teams. Rebekah Kelly had to dig deep in this one as she got home with a 15-13 win over Sam Blackstone to cap off a good day. Shannon McMullan made it into double figures, only to lose out 10-15 to Harry Preston, Toby Hart bounced back from two tough games earlier in the day to beat Jack Preston 15-11, the same opponent he faced and won against back in May. Madison McMullan clocked up her second win of the day with a 15-10 win over Reuben MacPake, whilst Victoria Johnson also put her first round game out of her mind as she battled well and was unlucky not to run out on her opponent as she lost 13-15 to Jack Brannon.

South Yorkshire ended up topping the group, going on to the reach the final where they came up against a strong Warwick & Worcestershire A side who had also topped their group that included Derbyshire A, North Lancs & Fylde A and Greater Manchester A. In the final Warwick & Worcestershire proved to be too strong for South Yorkshire.

Once again the Islands Juniors represented themselves and the island in impeccable fashion, it was great to see more supporters than players there to help encourage our Junior bowlers. Thanks also to everyone who helped organise the trip.

Two Isle of Man Junior Teams took part in the Ladies British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at Heaton Park in Manchester last weekend, with the rules dictating that a minimum of two female bowlers be fielded in a team, this was never going to be a problem for the Isle of Man, who are well blessed in this area. Both teams were due to play four games, however due to other counties pulling out at late notice the competition had to be restructured.

Isle of Man ‘A’ were in Group 1, a four team group with Warwick & Worcestershire B, Yorkshire and Cheshire. In Group 2 Isle of Man ‘B’ were in a three team group with North Lancs & Fylde and Warwick & Worcestershire A.

In the first game the A against Warwick & Worcestershire B, Lacey McMullan was one of many making her debut for the Island, performing well as she went to win 15-12, whilst Alex Hampson romped home 15-0, with Castletown’s Dylan Marsh not far behind as he won 15-3. Dylan’s club mate Sam Quayle also scored well as he lost out 12-15. From the chalks secured across the six games played the A won 64-60 to make an impressive start.

In the second round of fixtures, it was a lot tougher against a strong Yorkshire side, with Noble’s Alex Hampson the lone winner as he won 15-10, whilst Castletown pair Aalish Moore and Dylan Marsh scored nine and eight chalks respectively. Overall the team were defeated 43-85.

In their final game they were up against Cheshire, once it again Alex Hampson who stood out as he racked up a third win of the day this time holding his nerve to win 15-14. Sam Quayle will have been delighted to pick up his first win representing the Island Team as he won 15-9. In this game the team lost 48-83.

In Group 2, Isle of Man B were up against North Lancs & Fylde in their first match, with Junior Merit runner up Grace Gawne storming home 15-2, whilst Katie Jacobs, also had a comfortable 15-6 victory. Grace’s twin sister Lily Gawne scored a good nine chalks. Overall the team lost out 47-68 in this game.

In the second round of games the B were up against Warwick & Worcestershire A, they performed extremely well losing out by just 16 chalks 55-71. Marown player Alex Colquitt had a brilliant 15-7 win, Lily Gawne picked up her first win for the Island with a solid 15-8 victory, whilst Douglas junior Katie Jacobs scored a respectable eight chalks.

The winner from each group went on to face each other with Yorkshire taking on Warwick & Worcestershire A in the final it was the latter who took the bragging rights as they won 63-89, dropping just one chalk.

Thank you to the coaches Tracy Moore and Merv Sayle, along with the parents who accompanied the children. Once again the Island Team received nothing but praise from other county team representatives, not just for the way they performed, but for the way they behaved on and on off the green, they were a credit to their parents, clubs and the Island. Despite tasting a few heavy defeats the scores did not reflect the performance, with most of our Juniors who were playing for the first time at this level facing more experienced bowlers.

For me personally, with a number of the more experienced Junior bowlers no longer being eligible to compete at this level next year, this was a good opportunity to give our younger Junior bowlers something to aspire to, with vital experience obtained and exposure to what it is like to represent the island at this level. Once again it was a great weekend for our Juniors.