ONCHAN B LEAD THE WAY

The second week of fixtures in the Tower Insurance over 60’s league saw the number of teams with 100% records drop from five to one. The Leaders Onchan A visited champions Castletown A and it was the southerners who took the points with a 5-3 victory, another team to fail on Tuesday was Castletown B who lost out, on their visit to Douglas A by 5 games to 3, two of the 100% teams met with Onchan B playing their home fixtures on Nobles 3 due to problems with their home green, hosting Peel A and in another close encounter Onchan B took the two points on offer with another 5-3 victory, Ballaugh the remaining unbeaten team again had the familiar score line of 5-3 by winning at home against Finch Hill B.

Other close games which all also ended 5-3 were Port Erin who visited and defeated Noble’s Mixed, North Ramsey B who won at home against Douglas B who were a couple of players short, and Marown who used home advantage to beat South Ramsey, North Ramsey A had a 8-0 victory on their travels at Peel B, while Port St Mary A used home advantage to beat Noble’s Park and Finch Hill A beat the Port St Mary B team both by 7-1 margins.

On Thursday joint leaders Ballaugh visited Peel A and suffered a 6-2 defeat, leaving Onchan B who travelled to hard to beat, Port Erin and came away with a superb 5-3 win to be the only team to have eight points from their first four games. Other 5-3 wins went to Castletown B who entertained Noble’s Mixed at the Crofts, and Douglas A and North Ramsey B who won on their travels at Port St Mary B and Finch Hill B respectively. The Finch Hill B North Ramsey B was very close with the finches losing two games to 20.

Onchan A also won 5-3 at home to Marown. South Ramsey beat Peel Sunset B 6-2, while 7-1 wins came from Port St Mary A on their visit to Douglas B, and North Ramsey A who entertained Finch Hill A at the Mooragh, while Castletown A inflicted a 8-0 win on their visit to Noble’s Park

The Tower Insurance Over 60’s Bowls League rolled into action on Aprils fools day, which was a nice sunny day, however it was back to the wet weather gear for the Thursday fixtures. On Tuesday the top clash was at the Crofts where defending champions Castletown hosted last year third placed team North Ramsey A, and although Town came away with both points in a 5-3 win, North Ramsey scored more chalks and came very close to at least a draw.  The other match between teams in last years top five, Port St Mary A and South Ramsey saw the southerners win by a convincing 6-2, Douglas A who have lost a few top players this season, hosted Peel A but could not get their season off to a flier going down by 5 games to 3 at the Villa, Ballaugh used their home knowledge to defeat Noble’s Park by 6 games to 2, While Onchan A hit the road running on their visit to North Ramsey B by getting the first 8-0 of the season. Home side Onchan B had a 6-2 win over Douglas B, as did Noble’s Mixed with a similar home win against Finch Hill B. Marown had a 5-3 home win over Port St Mary B while Port Erin visited Finch Hill A and came home with a 5-3 win as did Castletown B on their visit to Peel B.

The Thursday games saw South Ramsey bounce back from their trip to PSM by using their Home advantage to inflict a close 5-3 win over Castletown A. After just 2 games only five teams have a 100% record, Onchan A team continue to impress with a fine 7-1 victory over Port St Mary A, while Onchan B travelled to Finch Hill B and came away with 2 points in a 6-2 win, the other three teams to have full records are Ballaugh who defeated Douglas B 6-2 at the villa, Peel A who could also be a surprise team this year had a 6-2 home victory over Noble’s Mixed, while Castletown B won by a similar margin against Finch Hill A. North Ramsey A got back on track with a 5-3 win at the Mooragh against Marown, Port St Mary B also had a close home win over Peel B by 5-3 while Port Erin shared the points with Douglas A, and Noble’s Park did likewise with North Ramsey B.

Can I thank all the captains for getting their cards back to me and also thank them for letting Matthew Keggen know the results for inclusion on the website

Report by Mark Kneen

Stuart Garrett was a class apart as he won the revitalised Veterans Merit competition on Saturday at Port St Mary beating home greener Ron Maycox 21-14 in the final. Garrett asserted himself from the off in the final playing exceptionally well to build an unassailable 18-8 lead. Maycox who is a great competitor did not give in and dug deep to claw his way back into the game, however the bridge was far too big for him to build and he went down to a worthy victor.

It is fantastic to see this competition running again after being cancelled in recent years due to lack of numbers, and with entry numbers being above the required minimum next year’s winner should qualify to travel to the UK to play in a national competition. With all the recent success of junior initiatives it is great to see the more senior side of our sport go from strength to strength.

Garrett made the final thanks to a strong 21-11 victory over Douglas stable mate Ken Williams in the Semi-Finals with Maycox dispatching fellow Spaniard Ray Maddrell 21-12. Fallers in the quarterfinals were Mike Hargraves, Louis Callister, Ann Maddrell & Rita Callister.

At the conclusion of the competition IOMCCGBA Vice President Phil Kerruish presented the prizes and thanks Port St Mary for the excellent condition of the green and all their support in running the competition and catering.