Week two of the ladies night league and a double week of fixtures began with a close encounter at Peel Sunset Bowling Club.  A strong South Ramsey team managed to edge past Peel by six chalks winning 151-145 however Peel won 5-4 on games.  On the night both teams were evenly matched however, South Ramsey’s individual scores were generally higher allowing them to hold on for the win.

Ballaugh welcomed a Mooragh Park team which is filled with both youth and experience.  Mooragh won the match 159-106 (7-2).  Gill Dixon and Alison Millard won for Ballaugh and Elaine Fenton almost making it three wins but just losing out 21-20 to Rosemary Quirk.  Fantastic to see two young bowlers from Mouragh Park picking up their first wins of the season.

Purt Le Moirrey hosted fellow homegreeners Port St Mary.  Linda Dawson won 21-17 against Wendy Kennuagh preventing a whitewash as Port St Mary won 185-96 (8-1)

Castletown A were visited by Marown who were unfortunately short a player.  Final score 172-128 (5-4) to Castletown with newcomer Rachel Palmer just missing out on her first win losing 21-20 to Elaine Dewhirst. Close individual matches overall.

In the other matches on Wednesday Port Erin beat Castletown B 157-91 (7-2).  Nobles won 188-80 (8-1) at home to Douglas and missed out by a maximum by a single chalk.

On Friday Nobles faced Castletown A who they have only beaten twice in the last seven years.  Nobles players Jan West and Alison Keggen won to single figures as the home team won 162-135 (6-3).

Onchan Ladies were visited by Purt Le Moirrey in what was the closest match on Friday night.   The result finished with a win for Purt Le Moirrey 157-165 (5-4). A testament to how close the match was Onchan won three games 21-20 and one loss of 21-19.

Douglas lost at home to Port Erin 88-182 (1-8) however it is good seeing another team introducing new members.  Pauline Cowley won 21-14 against Susan Inch to stop a full house.

South Ramsey put in a dominant home performance against Marown winning the match 184-102 with Lyn Bolton, Elaine Moore, Kim Hargraves and Shelley Kennish all winning to single figures.  Elaine Dewhirst prevented a maximum by beating Gill Morgan 21-16.

Peel Sunset picked up their second win of the season by defeating Mooragh Park 167-107 (7-2) with Janet Monk and Caroline Parker winning for the away team.

Finally Champions Port St Mary won comfortably at home to Ballaugh 176-82 with Gill Dixon winning for Ballaugh.

Looking ahead to next week the Prelim round of the Jean Kelly competition is played on Wednesday with a full set of night league fixtures on Friday including two big matches as Peel Sunset host Port St Mary and South Ramsey head down to Castletown.

The Ladies Crown Green Bowling Night League returned this week and welcomed a new team into the competition with Castletown B making it 13 teams in the league. The odd number does mean one team sits out each week and last years and seven times champions Port StMary were the first to sit out.

Newcomers Castletown B had a tough start losing 89-185 (1-8) to Nobles with Tracey Moore beating Joyce Ogden 21-17 to ensure there was no full house on the card. Sheila Preston also came close losing 21-18 to Lisa Boland.

Last years runners up South Ramsey faced Ballaugh at home and with six players winning to single figures underlined their title credentials winning 173-68 (8-1). The only winner for Ballaugh was former South Ramsey player Gill Dixon winning 21-5.

Castletown haven’t been outside of the top 3 since 2012 and made a good start beating Douglas away 153-120 (5-4). Paula Garrett, Hilary Kermode, Sue Peach and Anne Oates all won to single figures on the night.

Onchan who have finished bottom the last two seasons welcomed Port Erin to Onchan Park. Onchan have introduced a lot of new bowlers over the last two seasons and their improvement was shown by picking up their first win since June 2016 winning the match 150-142 (6-3).

Peel picked up a fine away win at Crosby beating Marown 165-144 (5-4) with Heather Horsburgh and Cath Parker winning to single figures for the away side.

The tightest match of the night came down south as Purt Le Moirrey faced Mooragh Park. The match finished with Mooragh Park winning by a single chalk 150-149 and 6-3 on games. Cath Parker edged her game against Linda Dawson 21-20 which looks crucial on paper.

Next week is a double week with matches on Wednesday and Friday. On Wednesday tie of the night sees Peel Sunset host South Ramsey whilst on Friday Nobles welcome Castletown A.

Champions Port St Mary will kick off their campaign with matches against Purt Le Moirrey and Ballaugh.

Port St Mary finished the season in a blaze of glory when they recorded a maximum at Onchan, with seven of their nine wins being to single figures, in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored league on Friday 18 August. Only two of the home players put up any resistance with Jo Smith and Sue Gawne both reaching 17 against Katy Williams and Val Macfarlane respectively. Last week South Ramsey leap-frogged over Castletown for second place, and with both teams reaching the same score, 165, they remain in that order. South Ramsey travelled to Ballaugh who had two winners in Barbara Graham, to single figures, and Christine Macdonald, while Port Erin also had two winners against Castletown. Lynda Cadamy, to single figures, and Jean Thackrah won their games while Jackie Elliott almost added a third losing out 20-21 to Kath Kinley. Nobles had a 6-3 win against Peel Sunset, with two wins to single figres, the three winners for Peel being Mary Moffatt, Joyce kelly and Sarah Quirk. It was a low scoring affair at Douglas with six of the games, two to Douglas and four to Mooragh Park, being won to single figures. In contrast Rebekah Kelly and Aalish Howarth went all the way with the Mooragh player coming through 21-20.The closest match of the night was at Purt le Moirrey, where the home side won 5-4 on games, with one of their games and two of Marown’s ending 21-20. For the home side Roma Ware pipped Rosie Winckle while Elaine Dewhirst and Lil Smith came through against Linda Dawson and Brenda Hawkard by that score.
Congratulations go once again to Port St Mary for retaining the title and also to Ann Maddrell for winning the merit, just overtaking Mary Moffatt on points against.

A team representing the Isle of Man travelled to Winnington Park, near Northwich in Cheshire, to play in the Mavis Dearden Supplementary County Championship on Sunday 20 August.
The competition consiste of eight teams made up from the the second and third placed teams in the four sections of the county championship. A withdrawal of one of those teams led to an invitation for the Isle of Man to participate.

The eight teams were split into two groups, each group being played as a round-robin. The Isle of Man was in a group containing the holders, Burton and District, the 2013 winners North Lancashire and Fylde, and Warwick and Worcester. The green they played on was small and rectangular and it took some players a while to get used to it.
In their first game, against holders Burton and District, the team had three winners, Chris Price, Debbie Leece and Jayne Kneen, but despite creditable performances from the other five lost out 136-161 on points.

The second game, against Warwick and Worcester, was drawn on games, the four winners for the island being Mary Moffatt, Lynda Cadamy, Jayne Kneen and Joyce Kelly, but won on points 151-140.
The game against North Lancs. And Fylde was also drawn on games, but unfortunately the English side had the advantage on points 149-146. The four Manx winners were Heike Perry, Lynda Cadamy, Debbie Leece and Jayne Kneen.

With Burton and District beating North Lancs and Fylde 159-141, and Warwick and Worcester 155-149 they headed the group and progressed to the final. Warwick and Worcester beat North Lancs and Fylde 159-141 leaving the final group table:
Burton and District 461; Warwick and Worcester 448; IOM 433; North Lancs and Fylde 421.

The island girls proved that they are a force to be reckoned with, and all put up some very strong performances.

They thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and hope the opportunity to participate may come again in furture years

With the Marown v Onchan match being postponed due to Philippa Taylor being off island with Joyce Ogden to represent us in the Dorothy Piearce Pairs, there were only five matches played in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored league on Friday 11 August.
With only one match left to play, Port St Mary look safe in top spot, although it is still mathematically possible for them to be overtaken. The real battle is for second place where, having leap-frogged over Castletown last week, South Ramsey consolidated their lead with a maximum against Purt le Moirrey. Castletown are just 19 points behind in third place, so the minor placings are still up for grabs.
South Ramsey were taking no prisoners when they faced Purt le Moirrey, winning all nine games, five of them to single figures. Linda Dawson was top scorer for the visitors, reaching 16 against Jill Quayle. Castletown were also in strong form posting 6 wins, three to single figures and two twenties with Heike Perry losing out to Debbie Leece and Marie Ashurst to Lin Ruscoe. Nobles’ other winner was Paula Firth. Phil Dobson and Jackie Elliott were the two winners for Port Erin at Port St Mary, who won four of their seven games to single figures. Ballaugh had the better of their match against Mooragh Park, winning 6-3 on games, although it could have been closer as two of the matches went all the way with Shannon McMullen just losing out 20-21 to Jane Teare, and Madison McMullen being pipped by Ellie Faragher. Peel Sunset were, unfortunately, two players short when they came from the west to face Douglas. However the seven who did play were “magnificent.”, dropping just two points in the games played, and managing to win the match by six points.

A team from the Isle of Man have been invited to take part in the Mavis Dearden Supplementary County Championship which takes place at Winnington Park, near Northwich, this coming Sunday, 20 August.

The competition is open to the teams that finish second and third in the four sections of the ladies’ County Championship, and is played as a round-robin in two groups, the two group winners going forward to contest the final. The Isle of Man has been included this year to make up eight teams, the round-robin stage consisting of two groups of four.

The nine ladies representing the island will be, in alphabetical order, Lynda Cadamy, Joyce Kelly, Jayne Kneen, Debbie Leece, Ann Maddrell, Mary Moffatt, Jenny Moore, Heike Perry and Chris Price with Elaine Moore going along as team manager.

It is to be hoped that Cheshire is ready for this invasion and wish the girls the best of luck.

It is tight at the top of the table in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored league, and the matches on Wednesday 2 August saw non-of the top three teams gaining an advantage as they all ended with similar scores. The meeting between the top two teams saw second placed Castletown with a 5-4 advantage on games, with Kath Kinley winning to single figures, while Port St Mary had two winners to single figures in Ann Maddrell and Margaret Tasker. The rest of the games were close with Kellie Maddrell-Reeve reaching 19 against Kim Foy and Jayne Kneen reaching the same score against Sue Peach, the final score showing the home team winning by six points. South Ramsey in third place gained just one point on the leaders when they visited Port Erin, where they won six games, three to single figures. Wins by Jacqui Elliott, to single figures, Caroline Whitehead and Carol Kaye for the visitors kept the home side’s score down.Mooragh Park had a comfortable win against Onchan, who were unfortunately a player short, winning 7-2, the two winners for Onchan being Jo Smith and Sue Gawne, while Libby Andrade reached 20 against Gill Morgan. Alison Keggen and Jayne Smith were the two winners for Nobles when they visited Marown, while Sylvia Kennaugh reached 18 against Rosie Winckle. Peel Sunset had a successful journey to Ballaugh, where the home side had two winners in Pat Mason and Christine Macdonald. Sue Jones and Mary Moffatt won to single figures while Heather Horsburgh and Shirley Corrin came through 21-19 against Brenda Bowyer and Barbara Graham respectively. With three wins to single figures a 5-4 win on games saw Douglas with a comfortable victory over Purt le Moirrey. The feature game of the match saw Tracy Moore edge out Brenda Williams 21-19.
Friday 4 August
With just two games left to play after tonight, Port St Mary’ lead looks fairly safe, but not unassailable. The real battle is for second place, where South Ramsey have now leap-frogged over Castletown and have a seven point advantage over them.
South Ramsey were in determined mood when they visited Onchan, winning all nine games, three to single figures. Once again Libby Andrade lost out 20-21, this time to Lauren Groen. Port St Mary were also in ruthless form on their visit to Nobles, winning six games, five of them to single figures, Sylvia Kennaugh nearly giving Nobles a fourth game reaching 18 against Ann Maddrell. Nobles’ three winners were Jayne Smith, Alison Keggen and Lin Ruscoe. Castletown visited Peel Sunset and came away with a comfortable points win although they did not have it all their own way as the home side won four games with Mary Moffatt winning to single figures. However Castletown won three of their games to single figures. There were some close games, in particular between Pat Robertson and Hilary Kermode where Pat came through 21-20.Port Erin and Marown slugged it out in a hard fought battle where all eighteen players reached double figures. The visitors had the better of it 5-4 on games and a winning margin of one point. The game between Carole Kaye and Celia Joughin could have gone either way, Celia taking it 21-19.Douglas won 5-4 at Ballaugh with Jan Osborne and Paula Garrett winning to single figures, as did Christine Macdonald and Brenda Bowyer for the home side. Pat Mason and Sue Caley had a good tussle before Sue came through 21-20.Mooragh Park won 6-3 at Purt le Moirrey, keeping the home side’s score down with three wins to single figures. Roma Ware almost gave Purt le Moirrey a fourth game, reaching 20 against Diana White.