Ballaugh Bowling Club hosted the 31st Keenan Fours on Saturday afternoon. There were 31 pairs entered and although it was two weeks earlier this year the weather was still autumnal with a dry start then a belt of rain sent the spectators seeking shelter. 

Bowing out in the quarter finals two sets of home greeners John Looney & Brian Lace 10-21 in their first ever open quarter final, and Ray Parry & Bobby Clayton (Ballaugh) 15-21 the other two pairings were Paul Cowley & Steve Gregg (Douglas) 7-21 Bob Callow & Shaun Seal (Douglas) 14-21.

Losing semi-finalist were Derek Allen (Port Erin) & Alec Taylor (Peel) 14-21 to Glynn Hargraves & Alan Moore (South Ramsey), along with home greeners Richard Hainge & Paul Cubbon who also lost 14-21 to Paul Dunn & Neil Withers (Marown).

The final was well contested between Alan Moore & Glynn Hargraves and Paul Dunn & Neil Withers. Dunn & Withers took an early lead at 15-10 at the 7^th end, however Moore & Hargraves clawed to back to 17-17 by the 13^th end after scoring a three to level the match. Moore & Hargraves took the next four ends in singles to win 21-17.

The presentations were made by John Keenan who thanked the players for supporting the event and all members for organising the day especially the ladies in the kitchen, John Bolton  and team on the BBQ, and Richard Faragher for running the competition. Thanks also to W.E. Teare’s butchers for the sausages & burgers, Ramsey Bakery for the Baps and rolls and Bry Radcliffe for the onions. Glynn Hargraves in his speech thanked John Keenan for his continued sponsorship of the competition and Ballaugh Club for organising the day, for running the competition together with the measurers and markers.

Onchan Bowling Club are hosting the 2020 Canada Life International sponsored Manx Championship at the Park over the next two weekends it brings the event back to the same green that current holder Colin Kelly won his fifth title in 2011 beating team mate Neil Withers 21-10 in the final. Kelly has yet to hit top form this season, but if there is a competition to hit form in this is the one. With a fantastic entry of 73 it will make for some interesting early round clashes.

Marown have three previous winners with Colin Kelly’s six wins, Neil Withers who himself won his only championship home turf in 2009 and has managed to pick up the first open of the season at Noble’s, whilst Phil Kelly won his title on Noble’s 1 in 1994. Their man in form has to be Paul Dunn, and if there is to be a new name on the trophy you would be hard pressed to back against the Marown captain who has already picked up an open win this season taking home the Ramsey Town Cup last weekend.

Peel have just one previous winner with Andy Kennish, who won the last of his three titles in 1999, whilst newly crowned Over 60’s Manx Champion Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly will have competition from son Stevie to get his name on the trophy for the first time, with Stevie having won the pre-festival Autumn Shield on his home green last year, which was his first singles open title.

Onchan have two previous winners in their ranks with Kevin Quirk having won the title twice, his first in 2005 at Ronairco & 2008 on Noble’s 1, whilst Phil Kerruish won on Castletown in 1986. Both of these players have vast experience and will fancy their chances on home turf. As well as their experienced players Onchan have a couple of younger players who will looking to pick up their first title with Matthew Quirk and last year’s runner up Jordan Cain hoping to go one better.

South Ramsey’s David Bradford will be looking to fire up to win title number two, whilst Glynn Hargraves, who recently won the Douglas Town Cup will be hoping to take the trophy home to add to his two back to back wins on Finch Hill & Castletown in 2012 & 2013. Both players are familiar with the Onchan green having spent over 10 years playing for Onchan up to 2015. Father and Son Dido & Stefan Kelly will also fancy their chances to pick up their first title, whilst Dido has played very little bowls this season, he will not be an easy opponent to get past.

Other players in form include 19-year-old Sam Clague, who picked up his first ever open title last weekend winning the Association Cup on his own green, it will be interesting to see if Clague can kick on from here, whilst Tom Kelly who followed up his Ramsey Town Cup win to take home the Peel Town Cup will be looking to become only the second father & son to have both won the title.

There are eight previous Manx Championship winners in the field, with a further 12 who have won singles titles over the years, who are all capable of winning. As with any Manx Championship there will be shocks along the way, with favourites taking an early bath. A tasty looking encounter in the preliminary round is between Paul Dunn & Phil Kerruish, home greener Matthew Quirk and Neil Withers face off in a repeat of the 2013 June Festival final, which Neil came out on top on last time round, whilst Tom Kelly takes on Wayne Roberts.

Best of luck to all bowlers this weekend, who knows there might just be a new name on the trophy…

South Ramsey Bowling Club hosted this year’s Over 60’s Manx Championship with the competition attracting 64 entries, 32 played on each of the qualifying days on the Tuesday & Wednesday afternoon with players having to win two games on their qualifying day to reach the finals day on Thursday.

Reaching the Last 16 before losing out were Bryan Corner (North Ramsey), Mike Thomas (Onchan), Steve Kelly (South Ramsey), there were five players who pushed their opponents all the way with Andy Kennish (Peel) losing out 19-21 to Steve Bridson (Marown), Geoff Porter (North Ramsey) lost 18-21 to Derek Allen (Onchan), team mate Colin Spence reached 20 against Frank Watson (Peel), as did Mike Alexander (Onchan) against Peter Oates (Castletown), whilst Alec Taylor (Peel) lost 19-21 to Ron Williams (Castletown).

In the quarter finals Harry Kelly (Peel) had his challenge ended by Steve Bridson, whilst home greener Chas Grills was leading 19-14 and lying game against Derek Allen, only for Derek to wick in and go on to run out with a 21-19 win. Frank Watson lost 16-21 to Ron Williams, whilst Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel) won 21-11 against Peter Oates.

The semi-finals were straightforward with Derek Allen taking a 21-15 win against Steve Bridson to take his place in the final, whilst Dave ’Barney’ Kelly took a comfortable 21-6 win over Ron Williams.

The final started with Derek Allen taking a single on the first end, then putting his jack into the corner which Barney jumped on to score a single to get into the corners, then picking up a two on the next end. Derek capitalised on two poor bowls from Barney to score a good two to level things up at 3-3. This proved to be the last end that Derek scored, and was possibly one game too many on the day for Derek, with Barney eventually coming out of the corners to play a tricky mark over the crown due to not playing up to his usual standard in the corners. Barney scored 18 consecutive chalks to take an emphatic 21-3 victory to seal the Over 60’s Manx Championship title at the first time of asking.

The presentation was made by competition secretary John Ryder, who introduced Roger Thomas to present the prizes. Thanks were given to John & Joan Ryder for running the sheet, South Ramsey for hosting the event over the three days, the greenkeepers for the excellent condition of the green, the ladies for the selection of refreshments provided, and all the club members who assisted with the measuring & stewarding throughout.

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Association Cup on Sunday with the competition attracting 47 entries. The green was in excellent condition and was running as well as it has done for a number of years.

There were a number of shocks in the first round with some big names Neil Withers, David Bradford, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly and last year’s winner Colin Kelly all making an early exit, which meant by the quarter final stage there would be a new name on the trophy.  

Losing out in the quarter finals were home greener Nathan Hamilton, who lost out 16-21 to team mate Sam Clague, Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) was beaten 15-21 by South Ramsey’s Stefan Kelly, another home greener Nathan Cooil lost 16-21 to Tom Kelly (Peel) whilst Ron Williams (Castletown) lost out 14-21 to Paul Dunn (Marown).

In the semi-finals Paul Dunn ended Tom Kelly’s run with Dunn taking a comfortable 21-14 victory, whilst in the other semi-final Sam Clague just got over the line 21-19 defeating Stefan Kelly to take his place in the final.

Dunn started as favourite with the form he is in, was looking to win his second open competition of the weekend, whilst 19 year old Clague was looking to win his first singles open competition since taking up the game just over three years ago. Dunn made a good start making a great two on the first end, then moving around the green, constantly changing the mark to build up a 12-6 lead. Clague won the next four ends playing a tricky mark over the crown to trail by one chalk at 11-12. Clague continued to plug away taking three of the next four ends to take the lead for the first time in the game at 14-13. The game swung back and forth from there with Dunn responding to go 17-14 ahead and lying two only for Clague to pull out a great bowl on a long length to count and went on to take the next three ends to lead again at 18-17. Dunn wasn’t done there responding with a single and a double to lead 20-18 and was lying game only for Clague to gently tap the jack to save game and bring the score to 19-20. On the next end Dunn was once again lying game after playing a good first bowl only for Clague to play a great second bowl to once again save game and level the scores at 20-20. With a one end shootout Clague played his jack over the crown with his lead bowl going 18 inches past the jack, which Dunn failed to beat, Clague won one of the Associations top titles. Whilst the defeat was harsh on Dunn who had played his part in a great final, it was great to see Clague win his first open to the delight of his team mates and his grandad Cliff who was watching on proudly, with the final being live streamed a number of the Castletown Ladies who were bowling at Marown eagerly watched on and were said to be in tears after the final.

The presentation was made by Press Officer Glynn Hargraves, who thanked the Castletown green keeper Dave Faragher for the excellent condition of the green, thanked the club members for providing helpers throughout the day and the competition committee for running the competition.

North Ramsey hosted the Ramsey Town Cup on Saturday attracting 40 entries on one of the hottest days of the year. Due to the town cup being damaged a few years ago it has now been replaced by a shield.

Losing out in the quarter finals were home greener Brian Colquitt, who lost out to 15-21 to South Ramsey’s Austin Hart, last year’s winner Tom Kelly (Peel) lost out Alan Moore 14-21 (South Ramsey), Bryan Corner (North Ramsey) who lost to the same score to Marown captain Paul Dunn, whilst Richard Hainge (Ballaugh) reached his first quarter final in an open competition before losing out to Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) 11-21.

In the semi-finals Alan Moore ended Austin Hart’s hopes of reaching his first open final with Moore taking a convincing 21-13 victory, whilst in the other semi-final Paul Dunn had it all to do with a tough encounter against Dave McCabe before taking a 21-17 win.

In the final Dunn was quickest out of the blocks, sticking to a comfortable length to build up a good lead over his opponent. Moore could never quite recover from a poor start and was unable to get a run in the corners, as he had done in previous games throughout the day. Dunn performed well to take a deserved 21-15 victory to win his first Ramsey Town Cup. Dunn’s game has gone from strength to strength since his first open win in 2018, having won several opens since then.  The win meant each men’s singles open played for so far this year has had a different name win the competition.

The presentation was made by Mike Skelly, who thanked everyone for entering and the club members for all their assistance throughout the day. Lawrie Hooper MHK for Ramsey was then introduced to present the prizes.

The Islands premier doubles competition was hosted by Port St Mary Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon. The competition was played 21 up off a handicap of +3 for all competitors. The event was well supported with 33 pairs taking part in a bid to win the title, with the event sponsored by members of the Executive committee this year.  With the recent good weather, this played a factor in the green becoming increasingly tricky throughout the afternoon.

From the quarter final stage there would be a new name on the trophy with John Kennish & David Bradford having lost out 18-21 in the last 16 in a fantastic game to Jordan Cain & Bob Clark to suffer their first ever defeat in the competition having won the competition for four consecutive years since its inception. Another notable game in the early rounds was between the juniors Ryan Hargraves (Age 12) & Alex Hampson (Age 11) who took on the experienced pairing of Frank Watson & Mark Kneen with the junior pairing agonisingly losing out 20-21, with Ryan leading well at the front and Alex playing some good length bowls and play throughs all spectators were keenly watching on the young duo during the latter stages of the game.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were the Port St Mary pair Pete Collins & Tom Collins who lost 11-21 to Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) & Tom Kelly (Peel), Marown C Team players Stephen Rundle & Walter McCarthy performed well before losing out 13-21 to father & son pair Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly & Stevie Kelly (Peel). Glenn Boland & Nathan Cooil (Castletown) were well beaten 9-21 by Paul Dunn & Neil Withers (Marown), whilst a fantastic start helped Mike Ashmole (Peel) & Karl Parker (Marown) to get over the line 21-16 against Jordan Cain (Onchan) & Bob Clark (Castletown).

In the semi-finals with the green starting to lose a bit of pace Dunn & Withers made no mistake against Ashmole & Parker claiming their place in the final with a 21-7 win. The second semi-final was more keenly contested with Nathan Hamilton & Tom Kelly taking on Barney & Stevie Kelly with the latter pairing having enough to take a 21-17 win with Barney making a good two on the last end to progress to the final.

In the final there was nothing between the two pairings in the early stages of the game with the score being level on three occasions. In the middle part of the game neither pair was able to get more than two points ahead of the other, with the Peel pair leading 14-12 after 12 ends, before the Marown duo took control winning four consecutive ends scoring doubles to need just one more point to seal the victory at 20-14. The Peel men weren’t done there, battling back taking a single, a double, and another single to trail by just two chalks at 18-20, with Stevie playing a good lead bowl on a tough mark which was beaten by Dunn who played his first bowl six inches to the side of the jack, which the Peel were unable to beat which sealed the title for the Marown pair.

The presentation was made by Association Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked Port St Mary Bowling Club for the use of the green and its members for providing helpers throughout the day. Spot prizes were also awarded, with the prize for furthest juniors going to Ryan Hargraves & Alex Hampson. The prize for the furthest pairing with a second division player went to Mike Ashmole (Peel) who was paired with Karl Parker (Marown), whilst Paul Cowley (Douglas) & Steve Gregg (Douglas) received the prize for furthest third division players.

A bumper entry of 25 junior bowlers from all over the island entered the Ellan Vannin Fuels Junior Manx Championship on Saturday, it was 17 year old Glenn Boland who made the most of his final opportunity to win the Ellan Vannin Fuels Junior Manx Championship. This was a fantastic entry, that could have been a lot higher if some of the younger bowlers who attend the club sessions had also entered.

In what must be a first in the Junior Championship there were more girls entered to play than boys, which was fantastic to see, with some great bowls played by all the juniors. The experience gained from playing in these competitions will help the younger bowlers, however it was the older Juniors who progressed to the latter stages.

Losing out  at the quarter final stage were Victoria Johnson (Mooragh Park), who lost 16-21 to Grace Gawne (Onchan), Austin Hart (South Ramsey) who battled brilliantly pushing Glenn Boland (Noble’s) all the way before losing out 20-21, Aalish Howarth (Mooragh Park) who lost 19-21 to Toby Hart (South Ramsey), whilst last year’s winner Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park) lost out to younger sister Madison McMullan (Mooragh Park) 16-21.

In the semi-finals Glenn Boland was up against Grace Gawne with the latter performing brilliantly, taking a 17-16 lead against the more experienced player, before eventually losing out 17-21. In the second semi-final Madison McMullan was up against Toby Hart with Madison starting well taking a 14-5 lead. Toby hit back with five doubles in the next six ends to level the match at 15-15. The unflappable Madison kept her composure well to take two singles and two doubles to take a fantastic 21-15 victory to reach the final.

In the final it was close over the first 11 ends with neither player able to build a lead. In the second half of the game Glenn got into his stride scoring several doubles, which ultimately proved to be the difference with Glenn scoring nine doubles to Madison’s three doubles during the course of the match. Glenn ran out to deservedly win 21-13 to take the Junior Manx Championship title, following his first win in 2018.

The presentation was made by Association competition committee member Mark Kneen, who thanked all the juniors for taking part, Douglas Bowling Club for providing the refreshments and measurers and the team who had prepared the green for the early start. A special mention was also given to the Mooragh Park girls who had performed really well.

Following the success of the Junior Championship on Saturday Onchan Bowling Club hosted the Derek Killey Memorial with 44 pairs entering on a good green with great weather throughout the afternoon. Some pairings turned up late due to the Junior event overrunning, however all pairings managed to make it without being scratched from the competition.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Kim Hargraves & Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) who were unlucky to lose 18-21 to club mates Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves. The Castletown/Marown duo of Hannah Drewett & Neil Withers made a rare appearance together before losing out to South Ramsey pair Jenny Moore & James Teare 17-21. A new pairing of Caroline Whitehead (Port Erin) & home greener Mark Kelly lost out 16-21 to Marown pair Helen Withers & Karl Parker, whilst another South Ramsey pair Fiona Kennish & Steven Waters ended the challenge of Sylvia Kennaugh & Terry Bates (Noble’s) 21-12.

Losing out in the semi-finals were Helen Withers & Karl Parker 12-21 to Fiona Kennish & Steven Waters, with the second semi-final a lot closer with Jenny Moore & James Teare recovering from a 12-19 deficit with Teare putting up good lead bowls and Moore performing brilliantly at the back to win some crucial points every end to run out with a 21-19 victory over Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves.

Moore & Teare started the final strongly taking a 15-7 lead, with Kennish & Waters not doing a lot if anything wrong in the early stages, however a switch round with Waters going to the front seemed to do the trick with Waters & Kennish digging in to pull the score back to 15-18, however Moore & Teare then took the next three ends scoring singles to take a hard earned 21-15 victory.

The presentation was made by Mike Thomas, 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. It was then announced that the fantastic sum of £850 had been raised for the Manx Kidney Patients Association, with a special thanks to the finalists who handed back their prize money to add to the total figure raised for the nominated charity.

Monday evening saw the quarter finals of the Rayner Shield take place with the tie of the week undoubtedly being the match at Onchan Park between Onchan A & South Ramsey A. The home team took control of the match in the first half with Reginald Temporaza winning 21-14 against Alan Moore, Kevin Quirk recovered from a 3-9 deficit to win 21-17 against Glynn Hargraves, whilst Jordan Cain fought back from trailing 16-19 to run out with a 21-19 win over James Teare. Keeping the visitors in the match was Steven Waters who claimed a 21-12 win over Steve Parker to ensure South Ramsey were still in the tie trailing 3-1 on games and by just four chalks (75-71) at the halfway stage.

In the second half South Ramsey fought back to turn the match around with David Bradford turning on the style to win 21-6 against Peter Slinger, whilst Austin Hart performed well to beat Mark Kelly 21-12. Matthew Quirk against Dido Kelly was the game of the night, with Quirk getting over the line 21-19. Stefan Kelly recovered from a dreadful start against Phil Kerruish (0-7) to run out with a fine 21-11 victory to seal the win for South Ramsey with the games ending 4-4 on the night, South Ramsey won by 28 chalks (125-153) to progress to the semi-finals.

If Onchan versus South Ramsey was a good match, then Marown A at home to North Ramsey A was the complete opposite, with the Crosby men crushing the Mooragh Park men 8-0 (168 -74) with just two of the visitor bowlers reaching double figures.

Peel A had the visit of Finch Hill A, with the home team winning 6-2 on the night. The two winners for Finch Hill were Paul Dougherty who beat Tommy McMeiken 21-17, whilst Pat Maher beat Peter Greenlees 21-14. Winning big for the home team were Tom Kelly who won 21-3 against Peter Hughes, whilst Ste Kelly beat Paddy Murphy 21-9.

The last quarter final tie was between Douglas A & Marown B at the Villa with the home team winning 6-2. On another night it could have been a different result with Peter Kelly losing out 20-21 to Andy Cannell, whilst Brian Kelly & Bobby Thorne lost 17-21 to Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal respectively.

In the Rayner Plate there was another good matchup between Peel B (+20) who had the visit of Port St Mary A (+10). Despite Tim Williams suffering a 7-21 loss to Paul Quirk the southern outfit were able to cancel this out with Trevor Quayle taking a 21-6 victory over Gordon Corrin, whilst good wins from Will Cain & Paul Russell also helped the team to take the win by just three chalks (149-152).

Ballaugh A (+22) made light work of Peel C (+48) winning 8-0 on games taking the win by 54 chalks (190-136). Castletown B (+32) are emerging as the team to beat in the Rayner Plate this season seeing off last season’s Rayner Plate Winners Marown C (+40) claiming a home victory by 69 chalks (195-126). Ballaugh B (+60) hosted Onchan B (+38) with the match ending 4-4 on games it was the home team who progressed to the next round with an 18 chalk victory (200-182).