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.

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

Congratulations to May Award winners: –

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Shannon McMullan – Mooragh Park

Men’s Player of the Month: Matthew Quirk – Onchan

Ladies Player of the Month: Sue Gawne – Onchan

Shannon had a superb month winning three out of four games in the league for her night league team, starting the month in good form whilst representing the Isle of Man Junior Team in St Helen’s, again winning three games out of four scoring 54 points out of a possible 60 to help the team finish runners up in the group on what was a successful day. To top the month off Shannon came through a field of 29 players to win the Junior Manx Championship for the second time, following her previous success in 2019, after looking down and out in the final Shannon dug deep to recover from an 8-16 deficit to finish in style with a deserved 21-18 win on what her last opportunity to compete for the title. Shannon now goes on to represent the IOM in the BCGBA Junior Individual Merit at Royton Cricket, Bowling & Tennis Club in Oldham on Saturday 20^th August.

Matthew received the award from the Men’s section for his performances in May, as he won eight games from eight played, with six league wins and two Rayner Shield victories. To evidence what good form he was in, Matthew comfortably defeated the previously undefeated Dido Kelly 21-10, with the latter having won the award the previous month.

Sue picked up the award as decided by the Ladies section having won eight games out of eight, having previously qualified for the British Senior Merit Finals to be played at Brighouse Sports Club in July. Sue also picked up a win in the Onchan Commissioners Cup picking up the title with Lynda Cadamy, whilst further success in the doubles arrived more recently winning the Port St Mary Cup with Andy Kennish.

20 pairs took part in this year’s Port St Mary mixed doubles open competition held at Breagle Glen on Thursday afternoon, with the competition having a new sponsor this year with Cooil’s Dairy sponsoring the competition.

There were some good close matches in the early rounds with an all Port Erin contest of Philomena Dobson & Nigel Haymes who took on Pauline Worrall & Alan Crebbin, with this game taking over one and a half hours to complete, this was eventually won by Pauline & Alan.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Margaret Tasker (Port St Mary) and Derek Allen (Onchan) 17-21 to South Ramsey’s Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves. Castletown pair Tracy Moore and Ross Moore succumbed to Onchan’s Sue Gawne and Andy Kennish 12-21. Home greener Caroline Whitehead and Mark Kelly (Onchan) lost out to Philippa Taylor (Marown) and Alec Taylor (Peel) 15-21, while Clare Cooper (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) were well beaten 12-21 by Lyn Bolton (South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary).

The first semi-final between Moore/Hargraves and Gawne/Kennish was quite even early on with the score 13-11 after nine ends to Gawne/Kennish, with a four on end 10 putting the latter in control of the match as they went on to win 21-15. The second semi-final between the Taylor’s and Bolton/Quayle was a bit more one sided, with the latter always in control and scoring a four on the final end to win 21-10.

The final was expected to be a tight match with two strong pairs that have won several competitions between them. After 10 ends the score was 11-11, Gawne/Kennish then had a good run over four ends scoring two doubles, a single and a three to lead 19-11, Bolton/Quayle fought back well getting back to 20-17 before Gawne/Kennish got the single point they needed to secure the win.

The presentation was made by Club President Margaret Tasker who thanked the sponsors Juan and Kirstie Hargraves at Cooil’s Dairy, everyone at the club that helped on the day, Ed Benson for preparing the green and all the players that took part.

IOMCCGBA: Canada Life International Players of the Month – April

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

With that in mind we are introducing the Player of the Month award for Ladies, Men and Under 21 player. League results as well as competition success will be considered.

We hope that this new initiative will help promote our sport and reward individuals who have had a great month on the green.

Congratulations to April Award winners:-

Ladies Player of the Month: Mary Moffatt – Peel Sunset

Men’s Player of the Month: Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly – South Ramsey

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Glenn Boland – Marown

Mary has had a fabulous start to the season with 4 wins from 4 games in the night league which left her top of the Individual Merit in April. In addition to this Mary dropped just one chalk in six games in the Over 60’s League.

Dido also maintained a 100% record in the men’s night league as he conceded just 26 chalks in his four matches and sits top of the Division One individual merit, whilst also recording a great win in the first round of the Rayner Shield.

Glenn has started off the season strongly with 3 wins out of 4, dropping just four chalks in his only loss with a superb win in the Rayner Shield match to top off a great month. Whilst not in April but worth a mention on 1st May Glenn won the inaugural IOMCCGBA Non-Winners Trophy at Nobles to pick up his first men’s singles open title.