Douglas Bowling Club hosted the Association Singles on Saturday with the competition attracting 45 entries on a wet afternoon.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Neil Dunwell (Onchan) 14-21 to home greener Andy Cannell, Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) lost out 10-21 to Peter Jones (Marown). In the other half of the draw Marown’s Neil Withers beat David Bradford (South Ramsey) 21-16, whilst Paul Dunn won 21-10 against Marown clubmate James Kelly.

Both semi-finals were well contested, with Withers having a tough battle with Marown teammate Paul Dunn, with the former winning 21-18. The second semi-final was won to the same score, with Cannell leading 13-5 and 17-11 against Jones, with the Villa man going on to book his place in the final.

Withers made the better start to lead 12-6 playing his customary length. A fightback from Cannell saw the deficit close to just one chalk at 13-14, with Withers finishing the game strongly to run out with a 21-14 win to take the title.

The presentation was made by Association Competition Officer Wayne Roberts, who thanked the host club for the use of the green, providing measurers and the refreshments throughout the day.

The second half of the men’s night league season commenced this week in Canada Life International Division One with games on Monday evening being blessed with some much-needed sun.

Marown A returned to top spot following their 8-2 away win over North Ramsey A at Mooragh Park, with five single figure winners ensuring the chalks were never in doubt. The two winners for the home team were Paul Allison 21-11 over Peter Jones, whilst Steven Waters beat Sam Clague 21-14. Just missing out on a third win for the team was John Cannan who lost 20-21 to Glenn Boland, in what could prove to be a vital point for the Crosby men.

Game of the week was undoubtedly Peel A who hosted South Ramsey A. The home team led 3-1 after the first four games as Stevie Kelly beat James Teare 21-8, Pip Pemberton led 15-5 against Peter Collister, going on to win 21-17, whilst George Gadsby trailed 15-19 to Glynn Hargraves, with the former running out with a 21-19 win. Winning in the first half for the visitors David Bradford won 21-9 against the previously unbeaten Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.

The second half of the match flipped the other way, as Jordan Cain beat David Proctor 21-13, Dido Kelly won 21-4 against Peter Greenlees, whilst Bob Clark won 21-8 against Tommy McMeiken. Winning for the home team in the second half Gary Smith beat Stefan Kelly 21-14. South Ramsey did manage to secure the chalks comfortably (118-142) to secure a 4-6 away win.

Douglas A took on Port St Mary A at the Villa, with the home team winning 8-2. Andy Cannell won 21-3 against Chris Lever, with Dave McCabe winning 21-8 against Tim Williams, whilst Mark Kneen got over the line 21-20 against Dan McCabe. For the Port men Trevor Quayle beat Gordon Wynne-Smythe 21-19, whilst Wayne Roberts won 21-15 against Andy Foster.

Marown C took on their higher ranked B Team on Tuesday evening in poor conditions, in complete contrast to the night before. The C team did manage to take three games off their club mates, with wins from Jamie Joughin, James Kelly, and Steve Rough, with the latter winning 21-6 against Karl Parker. For the B Team Walter McCarthy and Matthew Keggen won to single figures, which helped secured the aggregate on chalks (128-145).

In Division Two Peel B surrendered top spot for the first time this season, as they lost 8-2 away to South Ramsey B, with both teams tied on 67 points. Captain Ben Dugdale led the way for his team with a 21-7 win over Gordon Corrin, with Dougie Allan matching this for the visitors as he beat Christian Caley.

Third placed Ballaugh A (61 points) kept in touch with the top two following their 3-7 away win over North Ramsey B, as both teams won games 21-6 and 21-9 to cancel each other out.

Finch Hill A continue to be something of a Jekyll and Hyde side, as they lost 9-1 away to Onchan B, with Les Brookes the lone winner for the Finch men as he beat Mike Kelly 21-16.

Noble’s A won 5-3 on games at home to Castletown B, however they lost out on the aggregate by three chalks (151-154) to draw 5-5 in a high scoring contest, as four of their five wins were keenly contested with wins to 20, 19, 19, and 18. Two of the three wins for the visitors ultimately made the difference on chalks.

Douglas B managed to win 7-3 at home to Port Erin A, despite having to give a game away to the visitors, with three of their players winning big to ensure they took the aggregate comfortably by 16 chalks (128-112).

In Division Three Noble’s B are five points clear at the top following their 3-7 away win against Port St Mary B at Breagle Glen, as they missed out on a bigger win as they lost two games to 18-21 and 19-21.

South Ramsey C sit in third place following an impressive 2-8 win away to Peel C, with Colin Moore and Andrew Cover the two winners for the home team.

Noble’s D lost ground on their B Team following a 6-4 defeat away to Ballaugh B, with two single figure defeats for the visitors sealing their fate on the aggregate.

South Ramsey D picked up their second successive win, as they beat Onchan C 6-4 at home, taking the aggregate by just two chalks (126-124). Single figure wins from Austin Hart and Alan Moore, along with good wins from Geoff Collier and Steve Kelly helped secure the win.

In Division Four Castletown C hosted Ballaugh C at the Crofts, with young Freddie Palmer continuing to progress as he sealed his third league win of the season, with a 21-18 victory over Paul Cubbon, whilst Kieran Krypner who only took up the game last season beat Dan Kelly 21-17.

Finch Hill B hosted Douglas D on Tuesday evening, with the Finch men conceding a game 0-21 due to being a player short, this didn’t stop them from securing a 7-3 home win, as single figure wins from Tony Epifani and Peter Smith helped them win by six chalks on the aggregate (129-123)

Plumbmaster Rayner Shield

The first semi-final of the Rayner Shield took place on Wednesday evening with players from both sides agreeing an earlier start time to ensure they could watch England take on the Netherlands. The home team were huge favourites going into the match, so it proved with five single wins, conceding just 22 chalks, whilst James Teare, Dido Kelly, Stefan Kelly had to work a bit harder for their wins over Sam Clague, John Gelling and Karl Parker respectively.

The remaining fixture is on Tuesday (16th July) with Castletown A hosting Marown C, as South Ramsey A await their opponents, with the final to be played on Friday 9th August. Town are also huge favourites, having won their home league fixture 10-0 earlier in the season.

Plumbmaster Rayner Plate

First division side Peel A hosted second division side Finch Hill A on Wednesday evening, despite having to give the visitors a 45 chalk start on the night, they managed to win by 11 chalks (154-143). Sam Stannard-Duke was the lone winner for Finch, as he beat Mike Ashmole 21-7.

Ballaugh B (+50) hosted South Ramsey C (+60), with both sides in the third division a close match was expected, so it proved as the home team won 5-3, however the Ballaugh men were unable to recover the 10 chalk start they had to give their opponents, as they lost by just two chalks (182-184).

South Ramsey C will face Peel A on Friday 2nd August, with the venue to be confirmed at a later date.

Following his previous win in 2014 Glynn Hargraves overcame a strong field to pick up his second Ramsey Town Cup trophy a decade later.

With a total entry of 52 bowlers from across the island, eight of whom are currently in the top 20 on the Island, a great day’s bowling was in prospect. With a dry start and a superbly prepared green the preliminary rounds kicked off on schedule at 12 noon with no great shocks, however in the 1^st round of 32 there were some very tight games and a few shock results. Greg Barlow (South Ramsey) overcame Tom Kelly (Marown) 21-20, home greener Steve Walmsley beat Dave Naughton (Noble’s) 21-20, John Cannan (North Ramsey) just failed to oust Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) 20-21 and unfancied John Piekalns (North Ramsey) defeated one of the competition favourites Paul Dunn (Marown) 21-16.  

The best game of the 2^nd round of 16 was the game between family rivals Stefan and Dido Kelly (both South Ramsey). After 17 ends Stefan was 20-15 ahead and looked certain to get across the finishing line in style however Dido won the next four ends to make it all square at 20 each. Following a nervy 22^nd end Stefan finally managed to get the one chalk to achieve the win.

In the first of the quarter finals David Bradford (South Ramsey) faced off against teammate John Kennish. The game was nip and tuck all the way through with neither player able to make a decisive break with the final result being a win for David Bradford 21-19. The second quarter final saw home favourite Rob Monk paired with Stefan Kelly. This again was a very tight match with both players trading blows until end 17, with the score standing at 17-16 in Stefan’s favour he managed to win four ends in a row to win 21-16.

The third quarter final featured Dean Kinley (Castletown) against home player Paul Allison. The game was tit-for-tat all the way through with the scores standing at “all-but” across after 19 ends. However, it was Paul who managed to hold his nerve to get across the line 21-20. In the last of the quarter finals in another all South Ramsey clash Peter Collister met Glynn Hargraves. Whilst the first six ends were shared Glynn upped his game and finally ran out as the 21-10 winner.

In the first of the semi-finals between Bradford and Kelly after eight ends Stefan was leading 14-8 and looked set to romp home to victory, however last year’s champion David is made of sterner stuff and by end 14 was just one chalk behind at 15-16. In the following ends the players traded blows to reach “all-but” across after 22 ends with David winning the 23^rd end to take the match.

The second semi-final between Paul Allison and Glynn Hargraves was a much more clear-cut affair. With Paul struggling to find line and length and Glynn always in close proximity to the jack Glynn ran out as the winner 21-9 after just 13 ends.

As was to be expected with the top two players in the competition competing in the final this was a fine end to an excellent day’s bowling. After eight ends David and Glynn were tied on 11 chalks each. At this point a shower of rain possibly affected the characteristics of the green which Glynn was better able to adjust to enabling him to win eight of the next nine ends to stretch the score to 20-12 in his favour. Whilst David managed to pick up three chalks in the next two ends Glynn managed to win the 20^th end to secure the game and the Ramsey Town Cup for the second time.

Rob Monk, President of North Ramsey Bowling Club, introduced Tim Pressley representing the sponsors Corkhill and Callow Ltd and thanked him and the club members who organised the competition and provided catering and raffle support for their efforts. He then presented prizes to the losing quarter and semi-finalists, runner up and winner. The trophy was then presented to Glynn Hargraves by Tim Pressley.

Marown hosted the ever-popular Tynwald Day R & A Grimshaw Pairs Trophy on the Bank Holiday Friday with the green in superb condition. 22 pairs took part, and the competition was once again sponsored by Investasure Financial Services Ltd.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were home greeners Paul Dunn and Neil Withers 14-21 to Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk (South Ramsey/Onchan), with the Marown men having a sizeable lead, never scoring again. Noble’s Steve Colquitt and Mark Bradshaw lost 10-21 to Tom Kelly and Colin Kelly (Marown). In the other half of the draw Port St Mary’s Tim Williams and Ray Maddrell were defeated 6-21 to another Marown pair Glenn Boland and Peter Jones, whilst James Teare and Paul Allison (South Ramsey/North Ramsey) progressed with a 21-15 win over Derek Allen and Bernard Thackrah (Port Erin/Port St Mary).

At the semi-final stage both winning pairs came through their games comfortably, as Cain and Quirk won 21-12 against the Kelly’s, whilst Boland and Jones ended the hopes of Teare and Allison with a 21-14 win.

So to the final, defending champions Cain and Quirk kept up the good form they had shown throughout the day playing short and tricky marks, as they made a good start to lead 16-4 after just five ends, scoring a four on the first end and the fifth end. Boland and Jones finally got in to win three of the next four ends scoring a four themselves to reach double figures, with the score now 10-17. Cain and Quirk put a stop to the comeback with two doubles to take a well-deserved 21-10 victory to retain the title, lifting the title for a fourth time overall.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked the sponsors for their support, Brian Kelly for running the sheet, everyone who had helped with the running of the competition, the Marown Ladies for the refreshments provided. Thanks were also given to Arnie Withers and Colin Kelly for preparing the green for the competition.

The final stages of the Canada Life International Manx Championship were played at Peel Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon, with the qualifying rounds having taken place the previous day, with 78 entries this year, a good increase on the 2023 entry, boosted by over 20 entries from the host club alone.

As is always the case there were high profile casualties on the Saturday, with the draw being played down to 16, the target being to navigate safely through the early rounds to reach finals day.

After a week’s break for the Isle of Man June Festival the Canada Life International Division One got back underway on Monday evening, as the league season approaches the halfway stage.

The closest match in Division One was between Castletown A and Peel A at the Crofts, as the town men beat fourth placed Peel A 6-4, although the Town men won comfortably on chalks (146-119). For the visitors Dave ‘Barney Kelly leads the way in the merit as he maintained his unbeaten start to the season, with a 21-7 win over David Quayle. The other three wins for Peel were close, as Ste Kelly won 21-17 against Nathan Cooil, Tony Carroon beat George Foy 21-18, whilst Peter Greenless held his nerve to beat Ian Watson 21-20. The home team wins were all comfortable with Aaron Richardson beating Pip Pemberton 21-3, whilst Nathan Hamilton also won to single figures 21-9 against David Proctor.

Onchan A took on Douglas A at home, with the Onchan men winning 7-3. Kevin Quirk was the only single figure on the night, as he beat Mark Kneen 21-3, whilst Will Penhallurick held off Gordon Wynne-Smythe 21-19. Winning to the same score for the visitors were Mervin Sayle and Dave McCabe against Neil Dunwell and Phil Kerruish respectively.

North Ramsey A picked up their third win of the season at home to Port St Mary A. For the home team captain Rob Monk beat Chris Lever 21-7, whilst Steve Walmsley went one better with a 21-6 win over Tom Collins. The three wins for the Port men was enough to keep from off the foot of the table, although they are now eight points adrift of the Mooragh Park men.

League leaders South Ramsey A took on Marown C, with the Crosby men managing to take a vital point as Steven Rough performed well to win 21-11 against Peter Collister, however five single figure wins from the home team ensured a 9-1 win for the South men, keeping the visitors down to 77 chalks.

Marown A ensured that South Ramsey didn’t extend their lead as they beat their lower ranked B team 9-1. Karl Parker was the lone winner for the B, with a 21-8 victory over Glenn Boland. John Gelling was the only other potential winner, however he just lost out 20-21 to Colin Kelly. Winning to single figures for the A team were Peter Jones and Tom Kelly over Phil Kelly and Juan Killip respectively.

In Division Two Peel B show no sign of taking their foot off the gas, with a 9-1 home win over Castletown B, with Andy Mackie and Jimmy Corlett sitting in second and third place in the individual merit.

South Ramsey B are in second place eight points behind the league leaders, they have a five-point cushion on third placed Ballaugh A who they beat 4-6 away from home. Tony Dugdale made it eight wins from eight games played with a 21-7 win over Mike Spooner.

Port Erin A make the trek north to Mooragh Park as the Breagle men came away with a 3-7 away victory, edging the aggregate by two chalks (146-148), with David Cain just missing out on an extra point for his side as he slipped to a 20-21 defeat to Brian Colquitt.

Noble’s A closed the gap on Finch Hill A to a single point with a 6-4 home win over the Finch men, with Mark Bradshaw beating Mark Taylor 21-4, with Mike Caley stepping up from the D team he won 21-10 against Brian Aspden.

Douglas B would have been disappointed to slip to a 3-7 home defeat to Onchan B, with their fate sealed on the aggregate as Colin Spence stunned David Pease 21-1.

Over to Division Three, Noble’s C used home advantage to beat South Ramsey D, edging the aggregate by seven chalks (141-134). The match did see a battle of the Juniors as Kian Bradford picked up his first ever league win for South Ramsey, as he beat Max Johnson 21-17, with the latter making his league debut.

South Ramsey C beat high flying Noble’s D 7-3 at home, with Lee Price winning 21-2 for the visitors.

Elsewhere Marown D slipped to a 3-7 home defeat to Peel C, with the visitors claiming two single figure wins, whilst Ballaugh B also suffered the same fate with a 3-7 loss to Noble’s B, as they lost out on the aggregate by a solitary chalk (140-141).  Onchan C were well beaten 1-9 at home to Port St Mary B.

In Division Four it was Ballaugh C who took their turn to sit out this round of fixtures, giving the teams below them an opportunity to close the gap. North Ramsey C took home a good 8-2 win over Douglas D at Mooragh Park, whilst Peel D hosted Castletown C in the Sunset City with the home team taking home a 7-3 win. Elsewhere Noble’s E were at home to Douglas C, with the Villa men taking a 4-6 away win.

Friday evening saw the return of a post festival invitational competition, with Marown Bowling Club hosting the event and 32 bowlers accepting the invitation to play, with the competition featuring 16 of the top local bowlers, and 16 visitors who had taken part in the Isle of Man June Bowls Festival.

The competition was put in place in memory of the late Sheila Freeman, who visited the Island for a number of years with her partner Derek Halsall who sponsored the competition.

The format was 21 up with 5 on the card for visiting bowlers and 3 on the card for home greeners, with the draw taking place earlier in the afternoon from two pots with visiting bowlers playing local players in the first round.

With a strong field taking part, it proved tough for the local bowlers, with only three of the 16 locals winning their first round games, with Jordan Cain (South Ramsey), John Kennish (South Ramsey) and home greener Colin Kelly going into the second round.

Cain won his first game 21-17 against Richie Goddard (Shropshire), John Kennish edged through 21-18 against Ryan Clark (South Yorkshire), whilst Colin Kelly made light work of Dave McDermott (Merseyside) with a 21-11 win.

Cain was knocked out in the second round with a 12-21 defeat to Billy Speed (Lancashire). With the rain well and truly set in at the quarter final stage it left Kennish and Kelly as the last locals in the competition, with the former winning 21-17 against one of the top bowlers in the game Callum Wraight (Shropshire), as the South Ramsey man started to show signs of his old form returning having not played regularly since 2018. Conor Chamberlain (Derbyshire) progressed with a 21-14 win over Speed. In the other half of the draw Kelly disposed of Josh Mordue (Yorkshire) with relative ease with a 21-12 win, whilst Joe Cranston (Yorkshire) had to work for his 21-17 win over Matt Gilmore (Merseyside) to progress to the semi-final stage.

The first semi-final saw Kennish breeze through with a 21-12 victory over Chamberlain, whilst Kelly was comfortable in his game to book his spot in the final with a 21-15 win over Cranston.

The final got underway labelled as ‘El Clasico’ by one spectator with the finalists having played each other in countless finals over the years, with both men winning most of the top titles in Manx Bowls over the past 30 years. Kelly may have been fancied to take the win with home advantage and the conditions perhaps favouring him, however Kennish rolled back the years putting in a superb performance, scoring five doubles on his way to a resounding 21-9 victory to pick up the first prize of £500, keeping the Marown man down to six singles and never allowing Kelly to win two consecutive ends.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Marown club Chairman Peter Kelly and competition organiser Paul Dunn who thanked everyone had had accepted the invitation to play, the ladies for providing the refreshments, all the club members who had helped in any way, along with competition sponsor Derek Halsall who was introduced to present the prizes, as he pledged to sponsor the competition in 2024.

The ever-popular pre-festival Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday attracting an entry of 84 bowler, which was an increase on the 2023 entry, made up of local and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in good condition, the competition was once again sponsored by ABS Solutions.

At the quarter final stages it was the end of the road for three locals as Marown’s Tom Kelly lost out 20-21 to John Clarke (Wrockwardine Wood), with Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) defeated 14-21 to Peter Jones (Marown).

The third local to dip out in the quarter finals was Kelly’s Dad Colin, as he also lost out 20-21 to Jamie King (Wrockwardine Wood) after leading 20-15 only for King to hit some vital strikes to keep him in the game, with the last game being won by Martin Gaut (Wrockwardine Wood) with a hard fought 21-18 win over Paul Bradley (Fairfield).

At the semi-final stage Jones kept his opponent Clarke to six singles as the Marown man won 21-12, scoring five doubles and five singles on the way to booking his place in the final.

The other semi-final was an all Wrockwardine Wood affair with King and Gaut battling it out for a place in the final, with King having won this competition two years ago. It was Gaut who got off to the better start taking a 14-7 lead, swiftly extended to 17-8. King hit back with two doubles and a single in between conceding a single to close the deficit to five chalks (13-18). It looked all over barring a miracle on the next end with Gaut scoring two to lead 20-13, however King had other ideas as three consecutive doubles playing along the edge on the road side of the green put the score at 19-20. On the next end King was counting two for game, with a play through by Gaut saving one. With the score now 20-20 on the deciding end, King played back along the edge however he didn’t send his jack far enough, being just under the 19 metres required after a measure it allowed Gaut to set the mark. With King lying game once again Gaut held his nerve to seal the win with a good last bowl to take his place in the final.

The final was a good watch for the spectators with neither player being able to get away from the other as they drew level on 11 occasions throughout the final, rather bizarrely each time the players card markers checked the score, it was level to prove how close this final was with there never being a run of two winning ends for either player or a gap of more than two points all game. It was Jones who made the first move to go within touching distance of the title in his third final in this competition as he scored a single to lead 20-18. Gaut responded with a two to level the game up at 20-20, he headed into the corner to play a good lead bowl, with Jones just failing to beat it as he clipped the wrong side of the bowl. Gaut then doubled up to apply the pressure, leaving Jones no option other to strike, which didn’t make the right connection for Gaut to pick up the famous old trophy for the first time, whilst Jones lost out for the third time in the final of this competition.

The presentation was made by Castletown Club Chairman Phil Taubman who thanked the sponsors ABS Solutions for their continued support of the competition, the ladies for the refreshments and Kath Kinley for running the competition. Upon accepting the trophy Martin commented that it was great for both players to have support around the green.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday afternoon, in what is traditionally the first of the pre-festival opens with a healthy entry of 62. With heavy rain late morning and just as the competition started this took away any prospect of a quick green.

At the quarter final stage Danny Barwise (Merseyside) put paid to hopes of the last home greener Glynn Hargraves with a 21-15 win, whilst fellow Merseyside man Paul Ashmore had a good run only to lose out 12-21 to 2023 winner Paul Dunn (Marown). In the bottom half of the draw Matt Gilmore (Wirral) beat Jon Guess (Fairfield) 21-13, whilst Marown man Colin Kelly just edged home 21-20 against Michael Coupe (Wirral).

Both semi-finals were fascinating matches for the spectators who were treated to some top quality play, with Barwise leading 15-11 against Dunn, only to trail by three chalks at 15-18. Four consecutive singles saw the Merseyside man lead 19-18 only for Dunn to see the game out with three singles to book his place in the final with a 21-19 win.

The other semi-final was just as close, as Gilmore led 16-10 against Kelly, only for the latter to take the lead 18-16. A single and a double for the Wirral man saw him edge ahead 19-18, with Kelly matching this mini run to see the game out with a 21-19 victory to join his Marown teammate in the final.

Kelly got off to a flier in the final scoring three doubles and three singles over the first six ends in the corners to lead 14-5. With Dunn finally picking up his first point, the Marown captain went on to win six of the next seven ends to close the deficit to just two chalks at 14-16. Kelly got in at the right time to keep ahead and in doing so extended the lead to 19-15. Dunn scored four singles on the bounce to level the game up at 19-19, then finished with a two to retain the title, in doing so won the cup for the third time in four years with his 21-19 victory – the only time he was ahead all game, but crucially at the most important time, as he proved once again a game is not over until you get to the magic score of 21.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey competition secretary James Teare who thanked the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition. James then introduced long term sponsor George Brew to present the prizes. In his speech Dunn thanked George for the sponsorship of the competition.

Link to full draw – https://challonge.com/h90ebuk