North Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the Ken Parker Memorial Rose Bowl at Mooragh Park on Saturday in glorious weather, with 32 pairs entered.

At the quarter final stage Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (Marown) beat home greeners Lee Christian and Mike Dransfield 21-12, whilst Rose Waterworth and Michele Cubbon (Ballaugh) performed well to beat Marown’s Glenn Boland and Peter Jones 21-19. In the bottom half of the draw Onchan pair Kevin Quirk and Steve Parker won 21-11 against Alex Yates (Noble’s) and Caroline Parker (Mooragh Park), whilst South Ramsey’s Glynn & Kim Hargraves won 21-10 against John Cannan and Allan Callow.

It was the end of the road for Waterworth and Cubbon at the semi-final stage, as they were defeated in just seven ends 21-6 to Dunn and Withers as the Marown pair scored heavily. In the other semi-final the Onchan pair lost out 13-21 to the Husband and Wife pairing of Glynn and Kim.

The final was nip and tuck over the first seven ends with just one chalk separating the finalists with the Marown men 11-10 ahead. A good four was scored by Dunn and Withers on the next end to put the score at 15-10 with Kim slightly unfortunate not to save any chalks. Two doubles and a single, in between conceding a single saw the game finely poised at 16-15 to Dunn and Withers. A poor end from the South Ramsey pair gift wrapped an easy four to put the score at 20-15. On the following end a single for Glynn and Kim put the score at 16-20. The game was finished on the next end by the Crosby men, with Kim making a great effort to save the game, however her last bowl just gave up to seal a 21-16 win for Dunn and Withers.

North Ramsey competition secretary John Cannan thanked those who had entered the competition. Ken was a popular member at both North & South Ramsey clubs. John introduced Ken’s son Steve, who presented the prizes. Thanks were also given to those that had helped run the competition, for the preparation of the green & running of the afternoon in particular the ladies in the beehive.

On Sunday 4th August Finch Hill hosted the Apollo Blinds mixed doubles competition.

The event got underway with some very strong starts, notably from the Marown pairings of Clare Cooper with Sid Bolton along with Debbie Leece with Paul Kelly.

At the quarter final stage home greeners Lil Smith and Les Brookes had a titanic game to eventually overcome South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves and Austin Hart to progress into the semi-finals. Also winning through to the semi-finals were two Noble’s pairs – Tina and Steve Hampson together with Roz Cannon and Juan Drinkwater.

In the semi-finals Lil and Les continued their winning streak by beating Tina and Steve and progressed into the final. Jayne and Walter also won through against Roz and Juan.

Jayne and Walter began the final with a flying start taking a maximum four chalks but Lil and Les unfazed immediately took the next end and opened their account with several single shot wins. The weather was by now deteriorating rapidly but this didn’t dampen the determination of either pair. It was nip and tuck all the way until the final end when Jayne and Walter ran out the eventual winners. Well done Jayne and Walter!

A special mention must go to the two juniors in the completion, Arran Dunn (Marown) and Grayse Blencoe (Mooragh Park), who played an exceptional first round match against Roz and Juan and only just lost out with a final score of 19-21. They are certainly future stars in the making.

The presentation was made by Mr Chris Reynolds of Apollo Blinds who kindly sponsored this event.

Joyce Ogden

Men’s Player of the Month: David Bradford – South Ramsey

Ladies Player of the Month: Paula Garrett – Douglas

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Arran Dunn – Marown

The men’s pick went to David Bradford who impressed as he won three singles open competitions in a row – Dreswick Cup, Peel Town Cup, and Douglas Town Cup with an any combination doubles on home turf with John Kennish thrown in for good measure. Not to mention six games won for South Ramsey, with five of these wins to single figures. An outstanding month.

The Ladies pick went to Paula Garrett who picked up the award following her win in the Douglas Town Cup, winning it for a third time, following successes in 2014, 2017 and now 2024. Bizarrely on each occasion Paula has won this competition, the David Bradford has also won it, with this being the only three times both players have lifted the trophy. Paula also won six games for Douglas throughout the month of July.

Arran Dunn picked up the Under 21’s award, winning the Boy’s Roy Williamson Memorial Cup going one better than 2023, won a first round game with Kian Bradford at South Ramsey, beat Phil Clarke in the Peel Town Cup, then repeated the trick in the Mixed Team for Marown five days later. Arran had the unenviable task of carrying his Dad through the first round of the Men’s pairs at Noble’s. Arran also picked up his first league win at South Ramsey against Billy Blair, was lying game down, playing a great bowl to save the game, went on to finish the game strongly to win 21-19.

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 52 entries, with the Ladies competition starting later in the day had an entry of 22 Ladies competing. Entries in both competitions were up by 13 overall on last year.

In the Men’s singles at the quarter final stage Neil Withers (Marown) beat Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) 21-15, whilst Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) beat Glenn Boland (Marown) 21-12. In the other half of the draw David Bradford (South Ramsey) won 21-14 against Paul Kelly (Marown), whilst Alex Hampson (Noble’s) who was the furthest Junior in the competition lost out 11-21 to Peter Jones (Marown).

At the semi-final stage Withers took an early 13-8 lead, then led 18-14 against Hargraves, with the players exchanging doubles over four ends. The latter fought back to lead 19-18, then led a side toucher only for Withers to beat this bowl and then made a brilliant two to lead 20-19. Hargraves then scored a two to take his place in the final with a 21-20 win.

In the other semi-final neither Bradford nor Jones were able to pull away from the other. Jones made his move taking the lead 17-16 having scored two successive doubles, with Bradford responding with his own two doubles and a single to see the game out 21-17.

In the Men’s final the early ends were keenly contested, with tight ends, it was Bradford who took the lead 12-8, playing two brilliant bowls to score two and lead 12-8. Hargraves picked up a single, then led a four-inch bowl into the corner, with Bradford playing another great bowl to lie one inch to the side of the jack to score one. Hargraves picked up three consecutive singles to close the deficit to just one chalk at 12-13, was counting for one on the following end, with Bradford picking up the jack with his last bowl. A change of tactics saw Bradford play the edges, pushing through the greener parts of the green, which caught out his South Ramsey teammate on more than one end, with Bradford running out with a well-deserved 21-12 victory.

In the Ladies quarter finals Lyn Bolton (Marown) lost out 13-21 to Louise Tebay (Ballaugh), whilst Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) prevailed 21-18 against Debbie Leece (Marown). In the other half of the draw home greener Paula Garrett held off a fightback from Kim Hargraves (South Ramsey) to win 21-18, whilst Jayne Smith beat Marown teammate Lynda Cadamy to book her place in the next round.

In the Ladies semi-finals Monk got the better of Tebay with a comfortable 21-10 win, whilst Garrett edged home 21-20 against Smith in a keenly contested game to take her place in the final.

The Final got underway with Garrett taking control of the game throughout, whilst scoring three doubles of her own, keeping Monk down to scoring six singles, whilst never allowing the Mooragh Park player to win two consecutive ends to runout with a brilliant 21-12 victory to pick up her third Douglas Town Cup win.

In a somewhat bizarre turn of events Bradford and Garrett have both won the Douglas Town Cup on three occasions each, with both players winning their respective competition in 2014, 2017, and 2024.

At the conclusion Gordy Wynne-Smythe thanked all those who supported the event and the Douglas Club Members for their assistance throughout the day. The club were happy to support one of their Junior members Katie Jacobs, who had requested to donate the funds raised to the Name a Guide Dog fundraiser with £500 being raised. Gordy went on to thank Jaks & Barbary Coast for sponsoring the event, with Director Steve Pickett presenting the prizes.

The Kennish Cup took place at South Ramsey Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon with 36 pairs taking part, with the competition changed from a mixed doubles to an any combination doubles this year. In addition to the change in format there was a new sponsor on board with Voice Over Sarah Hart supporting the competition.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Marown’s Debbie Leece and Neil Withers 14-21 to Glynn Hargraves and Matthew Quirk (South Ramsey/Onchan). South Ramsey’s Jenny Moore and James Teare lost out 13-21 to Castletown’s Jordan Drewett and Nathan Hamilton.

In the other half of the draw the Marown versus South Ramsey battle was won by the home pairing as John Kennish and David Bradford beat Glenn Boland and Peter Jones 21-12, whilst another home team pairing won as Alan Moore and Austin Hart beat Eddie Carlyle and Brian Lindsay (South Ramsey/Peel) 21-10.

At the semi-final stage it was Hargraves and Quirk who got the better of Drewett and Hamilton 21-14, with Kennish and Bradford winning to single figures (21-9) against Moore and Hart to book their place in the final.

The final was keenly contested with some great bowls played by both pairs. Hargraves and Quirk took the lead 11-8, then led 14-12, only for Kennish and Bradford to shift up a gear to lead 17-14, then 20-15, putting three bowls inside their opponents 10 inch bowl on end 14 to count for three. Hargraves and Quirk responded with a single then a double, with Quirk saving game by playing out the counting bowl to put the score at 18-20, however Kennish and Bradford got the single required to seal a 21-18 win in an entertaining game.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey Chairman Steve Moore, who thanked the sponsors for supporting the competition, the ladies for the catering, the team who helped run the competition, along with the measurers. James Teare then presented the prizes on behalf of the sponsors. It was great to see all 16 prize winners there at the end to receive their prize money.

The Island Junior Team competed in the 6-a-side consolation competition on Sunday, having narrowly missed out on going through to the next stage in May.

The squad consisted of nine players Dylan Marsh (Port Erin), Grace Gawne and Alex Hampson (Noble’s), Katie Jacobs and Erin Quayle (Douglas), Aalish Moore (Castletown), Bailey McMullan and Lacey McMullan (Mooragh Park), and Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey), with all Juniors playing two games each.

The group consisted of three other teams North Lancs & Fylde, Cheshire B, and Cumbria.

In the first round the Island Team faced North Lancs & Fylde, it was a full house as all six Juniors won their games, as they went on to win by 26 chalks (90-64) to pick up the two points for the win.

In round two this a tougher test, however the team won by 21 chalks (83-62), winning 4-2 on games with both losers reaching double figures. Two single figure wins from Grace Gawne and Aalish Moore ensured it was a comfortable win on chalks.

In the final round they faced Cumbria, which was always going to be the toughest test. In a high scoring match the team lost by 14 chalks (73-87), with five of the six players reaching double figures, as they lost 2-4 on games, with both wins being close as Alex Hampson and Lacey McMullan won 15-13 and 15-14 respectively, with both players battling back to get over the line.

The team finished runners up in the group to Cumbria, who won the consolation competition with six points, with the Isle of Man two points behind on four points.

Once again thanks to everyone who helped organise the trip, also to the parents for accompanying and supporting the Juniors.

For full results click on the following link…

https://bowlsresults.co.uk/competitions/results.php?compid=2&yearid=2024&web=bcgbacomps&if=0&ret=0&qual=0&ord=0&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0LWFWwaSHd2eX1d2eYhaTW-XCrczwrh3aPVDmyNNPW2cwud4UkLVPnSY4_aem_5kBIJkvpaxfOeDzSJE-qhg

Marown pair Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn won the Spar Mixed Doubles on Sunday at Ballaugh with a 21-19 win over South Ramsey’s Gill Dixon and Alan Moore.

The South Ramsey pair made the better start to the final going into a 12-6 lead, with the Marown duo fighting back to level the match at 14-14. Dixon and Moore scored a three to lead 19-18, with Teare and Dunn scoring a single, then a double to see the game out to take the win.

Full report to follow…

Men’s Player of the Month: John Kennish – South Ramsey

Ladies Player of the Month: Jenny Moore – South Ramsey

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Grace Gawne – Noble’s

The men’s pick went to John Kennish who impressed as he won the inaugaral Sheila Freeman Memorial invitational event coming through a field of 32 top bowlers, including a win against arguably the games number one player Callum Wraight on his way to victory. Incredibly John wasn’t done there as he picked up a staggering 12th Manx Championship at Peel, with finals day seeing him beat some of the Islands best bowlers, with wins against Matthew Quirk, Colin Kelly, and a 21-20 win in the final against Neil Withers with a superb last bowl when lying game down, as he proved beyond doubt that he is still the number one bowler on the island.

The Ladies award went to Jenny Moore who picked up the award for a second successive month, reaching the final of the June Festival only to agonisingly lose out 20-21, despite putting up a great lead bowl on the deciding end, won all four games representing South Ramsey, then capped the month off winning the Ladies Manx Championship for a 7th time.

Grace Gawne picked up the Under 21’s award, winning the Junior Girls Championship, comfortably winning her games in the group stages, then taking a dominant win in the semi-final against Enya Christian, then going on to hold her nerve in the final with a 11-10 victory over Bailey McMullan.