League leaders of the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league, Port St Mary, were spurred on by the fact that Castletown had been closing the gap between them, and showed them no mercy on Friday 29 July.The home side won eight of the nine games, only Kim Foy winning her game for the visitors, although it might have ended 6-3 as both Hannah Drewett and Kath Kinley reached 20, against Kath Looney and Jayne Kneen respectively. South Ramsey’s 5-4 win at Douglas was enough for them to leapfrog over Castletown to take second place by just 6 points. The star game of the match was Jan Osborne’s battle against Bethany Kennish, the home player coming through 21-20.Ballaugh dropped one point against Mooragh Park whose lone winner was Julie Reilly who pipped Ann Gale 21-20.Peel Sunset went down 6-3 against Noble’s, who have changed places with them in the table on points against, although the two teams have equal points for. Onchan are still at the bottom, but put up a creditable performance against Purt le Moirrey winning four games

Castletown have reduced the gap between themselves and league leaders Port St Mary to under 100 points after scoring a maximum against Marown in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league on Friday 22 July. With four players recording single figures, Rosie Winckle’s 16 against Kath Kinley was the best score for the visitors. Port St Mary travelled to Ballaugh to record a 7-2 win on games. The two winners for the home side were Ellie Faragher and Christine Mac Donald, while Voirrey Oates just lost out 20-21 to Win Collister. Peel also had a 7-2 win against an Onchan side who were unfortunately two players short, but had two winners in Rita Callan and Libby Andrade. Mooragh Park are improving each week, and managed a 6-3 win against Douglas and a 20 by Maureen Wright against Sue Caley, while South Ramsey had a comfortable win at Purt le Moirrey. Things were much closer at Port Erin, where the home side had six wins, but with Kim Hargraves and Jayne Smith winning to single figures, together with a 19 and a 20, the visitors were just 2 points down at the end of the match.

Mooragh Park had three winners against Port St Mary on Friday 15 July, Rosemary Quirk together with Helen Martin and Janet Monk who both won to 20 against Ann Maddrell and Jayne Kneen respectively. With five wins to single figures the home side came away with a convincing win. Philippa Taylor was the lone winner for Peel Sunset at South Ramsey, winning to single figures, However with two 20’s from Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt and a 19 from Pat Robertson, Peel managed to amass a respectable total. It was close at Nobles, where the home side won 6-3 on games, but with Sue Peach and Hannah Drewett reaching 20 against Lin Ruscoe and Rebecca Teare their advantage on points was only 3. Port Erin dropped just seven points against Onchan who could only field seven players, while Douglas had a convincing win over Purt le Moirrey with Chris Holland and Tracy Moore being the two winners for the visitors. Ballaugh had a fruitful journey to Marown, winning six games, three of them to single figures.

Castletown were in ruthless form against Onchan in their match played in May, re-arranged from Wednesday 13 July in the C Tarlteon Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league, winning all nine games, four of them to single figures, but were unable to make up any ground on league leaders, Port St Mary, who came away on Wednesday with a full house against Douglas. Peel Sunset were another team to pass the 180 point mark, winning seven games against Purt le Moirrey, whose two winners were Linda Dawson and Gill Aughton. South Ramsey just had the better of hosts Port Erin, winning 5-4 on games, and a lead of seven points. Lynda Cadamy fought well to reach 19 against Elaine Moore, while in reply Shelley Kennish lost out 20-21 to Jackie Elliott. Although going down 4-5 on games, Ballaugh managed to come out of their match with Nobles with a 15 point win, the game of the match being Lin Ruscoe’s 21-20 win over Ellie Faragher.

It was ironic that South Ramsey and Castletown should meet again in the C Tarleton Hodgson ladies’ league the evening after the Jean Kelly final, where Castletown had won by a narrow margin. In this game the visitors had the better of the match on games, 6-3, but the home side claimed victory by just one point. The game between Purt le Moirrey and Port Erin was another which showed the advantage of fighting for every point, as despite the visitors winning 6-3 the home side taking their three games to single figures meant Purt le Moirrey ended with a 12 point advantage. Ballaugh had a successful visit to Onchan, their 6-3 win being converted to a good win on points, while the other three winning teams passed the 180 point mark. Wins to single figures by Joyce Kelly and Lynda Wilson gave Peel Sunset the advantage at Douglas where the rest of the games were very close, two games going all the way, Cath Parker winning one and Wendy Cowin the other. Rosie Winckle was the lone winner for Marown against Port St Mary, who won 4 games to single figures, while top scorers of the night were Nobles against Mooragh Park who had two winners in Maureen Wright and Rosemary Quirk.

The rain which had been threatening all day on Friday 1 July stayed away from most of the matches played in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league that night. With all the re-arranged matches the top of the league table is a bit distorted, but Port St Mary, Castletown and South Ramsey seem to be the teams fighting for top spot. (Can I remind captains to let me know when matches have been re-scheduled and the date on which the match will actually be played ). Top scorers of the night were Castletown, dropping just one game to Purt le Moirrey, whose lone winner was Chris Price .Port St Mary were pegged back by Nobles in a low scoring encounter winning just 4 of the 9 games, three to single figures which did give them the advantage on points despite Paula Firth’s good win. South Ramsey won 7 games but with the two winners for Ballaugh, Christine MacDonald and Jenny Maddrell, winning to single figures, they too ended with a disappointing total. Marown had a terrific win against Douglas, ending as second highest scorers of the evening, with some very close games particularly the 21-20 win by Pat Withers over Sue Caley. There were also good wins for Peel at Port Erin and for Mooragh Park who had six wins against Onchan.

There were only four games played in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league on Friday 24 June., due to the involvement of other teams in the Super 32 event at South Ramsey. League leaders, Port St Mary, had a comfortable win over Onchan, dropping just two points to the home side’s lone winner Marilyn Ellison. The match between Douglas and Port Erin showed the importance of fighting for every point, as although they lost 6-3 on games the home side ended with a deficit of only 4 points. Purt le Moirrey were in fine form against Ballaugh, winning 5-4 on games but nearly getting a sixth game when Tracy Moore lost out 20-21 to Ellie Faragher. It is not often that Peel Sunset get the better of Castletown, but a 6-3 win gave them victory by 8 points as their opponents all fought well and all reached double figures.

Ten pairs entered the qualifier for the Dorothy Piearce Pairs which was played at Finch Hill on Sunday 26 June, the winning pair to represent the island at the Longton VM Sports and Social Club, Lancashire, on Saturday 13 August.

The weather was not kind and waterproofs were the order of the day.

Semi-finals: Helen Martin and Janet Monk 21, Fiona Kennish and Jenny Moore 13; Joyce Ogden and Philippa Taylor 21, Jean Thackrah and Mavis Franks 4

Helen and Janet had the better of the first exchanges in the final, taking a 10-5 lead. The other pair fought back staunchly to level at 11-11.The Mooragh pairing swept through to lead again at 17-12 before Philippa and Joyce staged another come-back to 17 across, but their effort was in vain as a single followed by a three gave the game to Helen and Janet, who will now represent the IOM in Lancashire on Saturday 13 August.

There were some very close matches in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored league on Friday June. Noble’s and Castletown took advantage of this to try to close in on the league leaders. With 5 wins, 20 by Sue Peach against Sylvia Shelbourne and their other players reaching double figures, Castletown posted a score of 172, while Noble’s top scored with 7 wins and 174 points. The two winners for Douglas were Paula Garrett and Muriel Cain to single figures. The top two teams met at South Ramsey with leaders Port St Mary having the better of a low scoring encounter, despite South Ramsey winning 5-4 on games, with Win Collister reaching 20 against Fiona Kennish and three of their players winning to single figures. Purt le Moirrey dropped just three games against Mooragh Park, although Helen Martin and Rosemary Quirk won to single figures for the visitors. There was not much difference in the final points when Ballaugh visited Peel, despite the home side winning 6 games, with each side winning two games to single figures. Two close games saw Shirley Corrin with a 21-18 lead over Voirrey Oates while Heather Horsburgh came through 21-20 in “a game of two halves” against Brenda Bowyer. Things were even closer at Onchan where the visitors, Marown won 5 games but lost by one point. The closest match saw Maureen Payne lose out 19-21 to Mary Alderson.

The two contrasting semi-finals of the Jean Kelly Memorial team handicap competition were held on Thursday 16 June. Castletown had the better of Port St Mary winning by 6 games to 3 and, despite a good win to single figures by Val Macfarlane for the visitors, a strong advantage on points, making their +5 handicap irrelevant. Things were much closer in the other match, although South Ramsey also had the advantage 6-3 on games. The three wins for Noble’s were all to single figures and South Ramsey had two in reply. Two of the home players reached 19, Rebecca Teare against Lyn Bolton and Lin Ruscoe against Fiona Kennish, which together with their 5 point handicap advantage meant Noble’s ended just 4 points short of their opponents.

The final, between Castletown and South Ramsey will be played on Thursday 7 July, provisionally at Onchan.

SEMI-FINAL: CASTLETOWN 163, PORT ST MARY 138

: Handicap 5, Handicap 0; Kim Foy 21, Ann Maddrell 9; Hilary Kermode 21, Wyn Collister 10; Hannah Drewett 21, Kath Looney 16; Heike Perry 21, Alison Keggen 14; Kathryn Kinley 21, Katy Williams 10; Ann Hollingworth 11, Margaret Tasker 21; Anne Oates 19, Jayne Kneen 21; Sue Peach 21, Tricia Bull 16; Joy Stevens 2, Val Macfarlane 21;

NOBLE’S 152, SOUTH RAMSEY 156

: Handicap 15, Handicap 10; Deborah Leece 12, Shelley Kennish 21; Rebecca Teare 19, Lyn Bolton 21; Clare Cooper 21, Jill Quayle 8; Kim Hargraves 4, Jenny Moore 21; Joyce Ogden 9, Elaine Moore 21; Sylvia Kennaugh 21, Lauren Groen 9; Paula Firth 21, Nicola Kneale 3; Lin Ruscoe 19, Fiona Kennish 21; Jayne Smith 11, Gillian Dixon 21;