The competition, an any combination doubles format is sponsored by Lilian’s family and took place at Mooragh Park on Sunday 26^th May.

An excellent entry of 31 pairs played some tremendous games in a very friendly atmosphere. The games started at 12 noon. The weather was overcast to start with but stayed dry until light rain started to fall before finally clearing up before the quarter finals. These changing conditions challenged the players on length as the running pace of the green changed throughout the afternoon.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Kevin Quirk and Steve Parker (Onchan) 15-21 to Rob Monk (North Ramsey) and Matthew Quirk (Onchan). Home greeners Steve Waters and Paul Allison 20-21 to clubmates Allan Callow and Ray Skelly. Patrick Grant and Maria Dinsdale (Ballaugh) 16-21 to Bryan Corner and Caroline Parker (North Ramsey/Mooragh Park) and Janet Monk and Madison McMullan (Mooragh Park) 13-21 to Paul Dunn and Neil Withers (Marown).

In the semi-finals Dunn and Withers controlled their game from the start, displaying the high standard of bowls they had shown all afternoon to beat Callow and Skelly 21-8 and in the other game Monk and Quirk also played exceptionally well to beat Corner and Parker 21-6.

And so, into the final and what a match it was. After eight ends they were 10-11 and end 16 saw them 16 across. Monk and Quirk picked up three points in the next two ends, but Dunn and Withers got the jack back gaining two then three singles over the last three ends. The match finished 21-19 to Dunn and Withers.

Paul Slinger presented the prizes following a lovely tribute to Lilian from Helen Martin. Neil Withers said the green was in excellent condition and a pleasure to play on and thanked everyone at North Ramsey for a well organised competition.

North Ramsey Bowling club are most grateful to Lilian’s family for their sponsorship and to everyone who entered the competition.

16 junior bowlers from all over the Island entered the Junior Manx Championship at Finch Hill Bowling Club on Saturday. There was a good crowd in attendance on a fine day, as the juniors impressed the spectators with a good standard of bowling throughout the entire day.

This year, it was back to the girls dominating the latter stages of the competition, with six of the last eight being made up of the girls. Losing out at the quarter final stage were Aalish Moore (Castletown) 14-21 to Mooragh Park player Lacey McMullan, Melody Marsh (Castletown) was defeated 7-21 by Alex Hampson (Noble’s).

In the other half of the draw Katie Jacobs won the closest game of the quarter finals, holding off Sam Colquitt (Noble’s) 21-18, whilst Grace Gawne (Noble’s) who picked up the title in 2023 advanced to the semi-finals with a 21-14 win over Bailey McMullan (Mooragh Park) 21-14.

Three of the four semi-finalists were hoping to pick up their first Junior Manx Championship win, it was Lacey who reached her first final with a solid 21-15 win over Alex, winning 13 ends to Alex’s 11 ends, with the main difference that Lacey scored eight doubles to Alex’s four two’s.

In the other game Katie dashed the hopes of Grace who was looking to retain the title with this being her last year eligible to enter the competition, as the Villa player won 21-17, with the game finely poised at 12-11 to Katie, two quickfire doubles put Katie into a 16-12 lead. Grace fought back to close the deficit to two, with two consecutive doubles of her own, however Katie managed to see the game out 21-17.

The final got underway with both players having very different game plans – Lacey preferring a longer ¾ length mark, whilst Katie was playing well on shorter marks. Lacey was quickest out of the blocks winning the first two ends with two doubles. Katie then settled into the game winning the next four ends to take a 6-4 lead. Lacey responded to win six of the next seven ends to lead 11-7, then went on to lead 14-10.

Winning four of the next five ends got Katie to a deficit of just one at 14-15. Lacey then got in to rally once more, finishing strongly to win five of the last six ends to secure a 21-15, with it her maiden Junior Manx Championship title, following in the footsteps of her eldest sister Shannon McMullan who picked up the title in 2019 and 2022.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson, who thanked Finch Hill Bowling Club for hosting, Tracy Moore for assisting with running the competition. Lacey was then presented with the Shield. Qualifiers will go on to represent the Isle of Man at the UK Junior Individual Merit on Saturday 17^th August at Mosborough Welfare Miners in South Yorkshire.

Saturday saw the staging of the 2024 Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs Crown Green Bowling Competition. All 25 pairs taking part were treated to a Green in superb condition with glorious weather throughout the day.

At the quarter final stage home greeners Katie Jacobs and Keith Rose lost out 12-21 to Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), with Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey) losing out to the same score to Marown’s Lyn Bolton and Peter Jones. Caroline Whitehead (Port Erin) and Kevin Firth (Douglas) held off South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves and Alan Moore 21-19, whilst Marown’s Debbie Leece and Neil Withers eased through to the semi-finals with a 21-9 win over Villa pair Rebecca Jacobs and Bob Callow.

In the semi-finals Bolton and Jones were pulled back to 14-15 by Moore and Hargraves, with the latter pair counting for three a great last bowl from Bolton ensured they kept their opponents at arms length as the Marown pair went on to win 21-16.

The other semi-final finished to the same score, with Whitehead and Firth getting the better of Leece and Withers with both pairs winning the same number of ends the Port Erin/Douglas duo scored better on the ends they won to progress to the final.

The final got underway with Whitehead and Firth scoring a single on the first end, then Jones led well at the front in the corners ably assisted by Bolton to win seven consecutive ends, only to concede a single, then picked up two singles to see the game out with a 21-8 victory to win the title.

The prizes were presented by competition secretary Andy Cannell who thanked Haldane Fisher for sponsoring the event. Douglas Bowling Club also allowed Junior bowlers to enter for a reduced entry fee and the option was given for Junior bowlers under 16 to enter with a member of the same sex, it is hoped more clubs participate in this approach with so many mixed doubles in the calendar it gives our Junior bowlers the opportunity to play more bowls, gaining valuable experience.

The Isle of Man Junior Team took part in the British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at The Grange in Warrington Club on Sunday, on a glorious day.

With 10 Juniors selected the Isle of Man would have been in the enviable position of being able to rotate players, however with other counties short of players on the day four of the Isle of Man juniors stepped in to play for other counties to ensure the teams were full, this also had the added bonus of ensuring all 10 players played in all three games, no walkovers were awarded.

Every single one of them did themselves and the Island proud in the way that they performed and more importantly the way they behaved on and off the green, not to mention how well turned out they all were.

The team won the first game 5-1 on games against Cheshire B by a convincing 39 chalks (85-46), with four games being won to single figures.

In the second round this proved to be a considerably tougher fixture against the heavily fancied South Yorkshire A, a solid performance saw the team draw 3-3, however they lost out by just four chalks (70-74) for their opponents to get the two points.

In the final round North Lancs & Fylde were the opponents, this went in favour of the Manx Juniors 4-2 and by 26 chalks (79-53).

Bailey McMullan was the standout performer for Team Isle of Man having won all three games scoring 45 chalks, conceding just 14 chalks all day. That said a further four of the juniors won two games each, with even those suffering defeat performing well.

With 2 points for each win the team finished on 4 points to finish in second place overall in the group. The Junior team will again be away in July for the next stage of the competition.

With Erin Quayle and Katie Jacobs filling in for South Yorkshire B, both Juniors performed well with Katie’s scores not reflecting how well she played in all of her games against older and more experienced bowlers, however Katie lost out by just three chalks (12-15) in her first outing against Greater Manchester.

Erin won her first two games against Greater Manchester and Cheshire A, just lost out by two chalks (13-15) in her final game against Cumbria. 

Martha Butler turned out for North Lancs & Fylde and had a sizeable lead in her second game against Cheshire B, however once her opponent got in and opted for a longer length Martha lost out by just two chalks (13-15).

Dylan Marsh turned out for Cheshire B and after a tough first game against the Isle of Man Dylan bounced back to win 15-9 against North Lancs & Fylde.

Thank you to everyone who came to support, to the coaches and everyone who helped organise the trip.

The Port Erin Cup Mixed Doubles was held at Breagle Glen on Sunday afternoon.

Marown had three pairs lose out at the quarter final stage with Clare Cooper and Sid Bolton defeated 19-21 to Ballaugh pair Maria and Mark Dimsdale, Lyn Bolton and Peter Jones lost out 15-21 to Marown club mates Debbie Leece and Neil Withers. Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn just lost out 20-21 to home greener Caroline Whitehead and Kevin Firth (Douglas), whilst Shirley and Gordon Corrin (Peel) were beaten 12-21 by Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey).

The semi-finals saw the Dimsdale’s edge home 21-20 against Leece and Withers to reach their first final, whilst Moore and Teare eased through with a 21-14 win over Whitehead and Firth.

The final was all one way traffic as the more experienced pairing of Moore and Teare kept their opponents down to two scoring ends securing a 21-9 victory. 

Thanks were given to the club members for their help throughout the competition and Ed Benson for preparing the green.

Men’s Player of the Month: Gordon Wynne Smythe – Douglas

Ladies Player of the Month: Nicci Cain – Port St Mary

Under 21’s Player of the Month: Katie Jacobs – Douglas

The men’s pick went to Gordy Wynne-Smythe who impressed as he went undefeated in April, winning four games comfortably for Douglas A in the league, then impressed with a superb 21-19 win over the vastly experienced John Gelling (Marown).

The Ladies award went to Nicci Cain who picked up her first singles title last month, as she held off tough competition to pick up the Ladies Non-Winners Cup, coming through a tough semi-final with Joy Stevens 21-19, then beating home greener Alison Stockham 21-14 in the final.

Katie Jacobs picked up the Junior award thanks to a solid start to the season winning her first match 21-9 at Ballaugh. Whilst her next outing was a defeat every chalk counts in the ladies league, Katie lost out by just two chalks (19-21) to one of Castletown’s top bowlers – Hannah Drewett. Katie went on to pick up a further three wins, beating Ballaugh’s Maria Dimsdale 21-16, which is her only defeat of the season to date, then went on to win 21-12 against Lisa Bradshaw and won 21-11 at Mooragh Park against Joy Morris. Well done Katie!

Marown Bowling Club were the host club on Saturday as they held the Marown Magic Carpets Mixed Singles for the fourth time attracting an entry of 42, with fine weather and a good atmosphere around the green.

The competition was once again played in a big smash style format, which has proved popular in the U.K. and is played over 15 ends with ends 5, 10 and 15 played as ‘power’ ends with the points scored counting double. Players were given a handicap ranging from 0 to 4. If scores were tied after 15 ends a one bowl shootout would take place to decide the winner of the game.

Losing quarter finalists were visiting bowler Ben Phillips by the finest of margins 13-14 to 2023 winner David Bradford (South Ramsey), Paul Quirk (Peel) lost 13-15 to Dave McCabe (Douglas), with South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves also losing to the same score to Marown man Peter Jones, with Bob Clark comfortably winning 19-10 against South Ramsey teammate Glynn Hargraves.

The semi-finals were low scoring affairs as Bradford won 13-8 against McCabe, whilst Clark held off Jones 14-9 to book his place in the final.

The final got underway with a close contest expected between the South Ramsey clubmates, however Bradford proved he is back to his best as he won eight of the first nine ends taking a 12-1 lead to realistically put the final out of reach of Clark. With two points scored on the power end and a two on the next end the score stood at 5-12 with four ends left, however Bradford got the single he needed to seal the win and in doing so retained the trophy.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by competition secretary Phil Kelly, who thanked Magic Carpets for their continued sponsorship, the Ladies for the refreshments, the players for entering, with Ken Bawden then presenting the prizes.

South Ramsey Bowling Club held the Chas Grills Memorial Trophy for the second time on Sunday. The format of triples once again proved to be popular amongst the Islands bowlers as 22 teams – 66 bowlers took part. The competition was supported by CTH Insurance.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were the South Ramsey trio of Jenny Moore, James Teare and John Kennish 12-21 to Marown’s Glenn Boland, Peter Jones and visiting bowler Jamie Box, with Andy Clark (Castletown), Kian Bradford and Dad David Bradford (both South Ramsey) losing out to 11-21 to South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves, Fiona Kennish and Peter Collister.

In the other half of the draw Lynda Cadamy, Jayne Smith and another visiting bowler Danny Barwise took a 21-8 win against Marown’s Debbie Leece, Clare Cooper and Rebecca Teare, whilst Marown’s Colin Kelly, Walter McCarthy and Tom Kelly led 19-10 against Jordan Cain, Glynn Hargraves (both South Ramsey) and Matthew Quirk (Onchan) only to concede 11 chalks over three ends to lose 19-21.

Both semi-finals were keenly contested as Boland, Box and Jones led 17-9 against Hargraves, Kennish and Collister, only for a spirited fightback from the latter team to level the game up at 18-18, with the visiting trio seeing the game out with a single and double to book their place in the final 21-18. The other semi-final went to the wire as Cain, Hargraves and Quirk only won seven ends to their opponents nine ends, however a five and two three’s ultimately got them over the line 21-20 against Cadamy, Smith and Barwise.

In the final Boland, Box and Jones won the first two ends, were unfortunate not to pick up a five on the first end as Quirk saved four points with his last bowl. The first scoring end for Cain, Hargraves and Quirk was a five, followed by three singles and a six which quickly moved them into a 19-8 lead. Two singles pulled the score back to 19-10 and with Boland, Box and Jones counting for four only for a superb last bowl from Quirk which won the end to put the score at 20-10, instead of what could have been 19-14. The next end the game finished with Cain, Hargraves and Quirk getting the one chalk needed to secure the superb trophy with a 21-10 victory.

At the presentation, competition organiser Glynn Hargraves thanked the sponsors, competition secretary James Teare for running the sheet, the ladies for the superb choice of refreshments, along with everyone who had supported the competition with their generous donations. Arlo’s Adventure were the charity supported, having recently supported members of the bowling community, with this a grand sum of £1,500 was raised on the day with thanks to the generosity of everyone who had entered the competition, with Charity Trustee Sarah Owen and her family present to present the prizes and accept a cheque for the funds raised for Arlo’s Adventure throughout the day, with the charity supporting Manx Residents and their family members who require Hospital treatment in the United Kingdom, also provided bereaved families with emotional and practical support.

Spot prizes were also awarded to the furthest Junior – Kian Bradford (South Ramsey), the team to score the first six of the competition, and the losers in the longest game, with a £50 note roll up being held before the semi-finals, which was won by Peter Collister.

Storm Kathleen was in full force on a blustery Saturday afternoon, with 24 pairs braving the conditions to compete for the KNR Construction trophy, with the rain holding off for the duration of the competition.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Lynda Cadamy and Glenn Boland to Marown clubmates Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn 20-21, South Ramsey’s James Teare and Jenny Moore were defeated 15-21 by Lyn Bolton and Peter Jones (Marown), home greeners Katie Jacobs and Bob Callow led 19-14 against Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), before losing out 19-21, with Paula Garrett and Mark Kneen coming through 21-16 against fellow home greeners Mel Smith and Keith Rise.

At the semi-final stage Moore and Hargraves took a comfortable 21-13 win over Garrett and Kneen to book their place in the final. In the other game Teare and Dunn led all game before losing out 20-21 to Bolton and Jones who trailed 17-20, only to finish with two doubles to win 21-20.

The final was a fantastic tussle, that had high scoring ends, with just 14 ends played. Moore and Hargraves claimed the first three on the second end, only to immediately concede a three. On the next end Bolton and Jones were counting for one with Elaine playing out the counting bowl perfectly to score four, as they went on to lead 14-10. The Marown duo hit back superbly to score eight chalks over three ends to lead 18-14. The South Ramsey pair hit back once more scoring a four themselves to level the game up at 18-18. A two for Jones and Bolton on the next end had them within touching distance of the trophy, however a single for Moore and Hargraves saw the game finely poised at 19-20. A good lead from Hargraves, and a great bowl from Moore were unbeaten to give Moore and Hargraves a 21-20 victory in a good final.

The trophies were presented by Neil Clarke of KNR Construction, with Glynn Hargraves thanking the sponsors, Douglas Bowling Club for hosting the event and the Greenkeeper for a much-improved playing surface.

Marown held the opening tournament of the highly anticipated 2024 season, with the Ian Kissack floodlight competition sponsored by Ardern & Druggan Limited attracting a healthy entry of 68. The competition was played over four days, with handicaps ranging from two to eight with two qualifiers from the four qualifying sessions.

The competition commenced on Sunday afternoon with Peel man George Gadsby the first to qualify for finals night, whilst home greener Colin Kelly eased his way through the afternoon session.

Sunday evening resulted in two home green players qualifying with Paul Kelly seeing off teammate Neil Withers along the way, while Phil Kelly progressed as he beat club mate Matthew Keggen 21-18 to progress.

Monday evening saw South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves safely navigating his way through his four qualifying games. In the other half of the session another South Ramsey player booked their spot in the quarter finals with two victories over home greeners Juan Killip 21-7 and Clare Cooper 21-16.

The last qualifying session took place on Tuesday evening, as a further two home greeners booked their spot as Walter McCarthy beat three time champion David Bradford (South Ramsey) 21-12 to qualify, whilst Peter Jones got through his three games.

The competition was redrawn at the quarter final stage with Colin Kelly seeing off Jenny Moore 21-11, whilst Phil Kelly recovered from a big deficit to run out with a 21-20 win over George Gadsby.

In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves held off Walter McCarthy to win 21-15, whilst Peter Jones staged a comeback to see off teammate Paul Kelly 21-19. Unfortunately due to a power failure it was agreed to finish the competition on Sunday afternoon.

In the first semi-final Colin Kelly’s route to the final was never in doubt with a 21-6 victory over Phil Kelly. In the other semi-final Hargraves performed well to take 18-7 lead over Jones, with the latter staging a remarkable comeback to level the game up 18-18. Hargraves got back in at right time when lying two down to retake the lead 19-18, with Jones picking up a single to level up at 19-19. Another single from Hargraves put him within touching distance as a good second bowl a foot behind the jack forced Jones to play the perfect bowl to save game and level the game up at 20-20. On the deciding end Jones played an 18 inch bowl which wasn’t beaten to reach the final and complete a stunning comeback.

The final being played on a green that is in superb condition got underway with Kelly taking the first five ends, as he threatened to run away with the game scoring five singles in the corners to lead 7-2. Jones, not one to panic got back in to the game taking a 16-10 lead, and then led 17-13 with a superb display of bowling. Four singles from Jones was enough to take the victory to pick up the Ian Kissack Shield.

The presentation was made by Marown President Peter Kelly, thanked the sponsor Ardern & Druggan for their continued support, with thanks also given to the Marown ladies for the excellent refreshments provided over the duration of the competition. Ian Kissack’s sister Gill Kissack-Grundey was then introduced to present the prizes.