News: Mixed
South Ramsey Stun Marown
South Ramsey A took on Marown A at ‘The Villa’ on Thursday evening with the Crosby men starting the match as favourites due to their five strongest men being available (as per the merit table), whilst South Ramsey used just two of their Men’s A team. Prior to the match commencing the captains carried out an inspection on the green to ensure it was fit to play with the rain that had fallen throughout the afternoon and the likelihood of further heavy rain due.
From the first five games on the green Neil Withers was first off for Marown with a good 21-14 win over Tony Dugdale, who was 2-9 and 5-13 before fighting back with singles to reach 14. Elaine Moore was next off for South Ramsey with a big 21-4 win. The next three games off all went in favour of Marown with Paul Dunn performing brilliantly to fight back from 2-12 down to win 21-14 against Gill Dixon. Credit must go to both players with tight ends being played and Dixon never far away from counting despite Dunn taking 19 of the next 21 points scored. Top Marown man Colin Kelly was next off beating 19 year old Stefan Kelly who was 3-12 behind before matching the Marown man point for point from there on, before losing out 13-21. Dean Kipling was the last player off in the first half of the match fighting back from 14-19 down to win 21-20 against James Teare. At the halfway point the match was finely balanced with Marown holding a six point lead.
During the second half of the match the rain continued to get heavier, resulting in the green getting heavier with the South Ramsey players using this to their advantage. First game off in the second half for South Ramsey was captain Glynn Hargraves who ran out on a long length to record a huge 21-2 win against Lil Smith. Lyn Bolton was next off with a 21-10 win over Shirley Whelan who did well to reach double figures after trailing 0-13. With the match now secured with South Ramsey holding a 24 point lead and both games on the green having scored enough points Ben Dugdale was next off winning 21-15 against Philippa Taylor. Jenny Moore was the last game off winning 21-16 against Paul Kelly, with Kelly fighting back from 9-20 down to reach 16. This resulted in South Ramsey winning the trophy by 35 chalks (166-131) and also recording a 5-4 win on games.
The presentation was made by Association Treasurer Phil Kelly who thanked Douglas for the use of the green, providing measurers and refreshments, along with John Gelling for stepping in to assist on the night. South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves acknowledged that the conditions had played a part in the result on the night, whilst also thanking his team and everyone who had came to support which made for a great atmosphere.
Cooper and Dawson Take First Mixed Doubles Title
Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Wilfred Quayle mixed doubles on Sunday with the competition attracting 37 pairs on a fine day.
The eventual winners were Clare Cooper (Noble’s) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) who overcame the strong challenge of Chrissy McManus (Ainsdale) and Steve McManus (Mere Brow) in a high quality final to secure their first mixed doubles win. After six ends the score was 13-12 to Cooper and Dawson with the McManus Husband and Wife partnership having only won two ends but scoring two three’s. From there the latter were kept down to four singles with Cooper and Dawson complimenting each other well with Cooper leading brilliantly at the front and Dawson doing the business at the back when needed to take three singles, a three and a double to take the title with a 21-16 win.
Losing out to the winners at the semi-final stage were Alison Keggen (Noble’s) and Neil Withers (Marown) 13-21, whilst the South Ramsey pairing of Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves lost out 12-21.
Falling at the quarter final stage were the Port St Mary pairings of Pauline Worrall and Paul Russell, Katy Williams and Tim Williams, home greeners Marie Ashurst and Dave Faragher, along with Paula Firth (Noble’s) and Sid Bolton (South Ramsey).
The presentation was made by Phil Taubman who thanked everyone who had entered and all the club members who had helped with the smooth running of the competition throughout the day. It was great to see some visitors extend their stay on the Island to enter the competition with the losing finalists playing on the green for the first time, showing how quickly they had adapted to a new green, with the visitors thanking everyone for such a warm welcome.
Juan Kelly Cup
Marown Bowling Club held an end of season Floodlit competition, hosting the inaugural Juan Kelly Cup, with the format being an any competition doubles, played over 15 ends with ends 5, 10 and 15 played as ‘power’ ends with the points scored counting double. The pairs were given a handicap based on their rankings in the Men’s and Ladies game. If scores were tied after 15 ends a one bowl shootout would take place, with a player from each team nominated to play the deciding end.
The competition in this format, attracted a bumper entry of 40 pairs, with some interesting pairings making use of the handicap system played over two qualifying nights, with four pairs qualifying from each night for the quarter finals.
The finals night was held on Wednesday evening, with a live re-draw taking place to determine who the pairings would play on the night.
The eventual winners were the pairing of David Proctor and Glenn Boland, who mastered the extremely wet conditions, defeating Bethany and John Kennish in the final to a 29-19 score line. Proctor and Boland were superb throughout the whole competition, winning all of their games to comfortable scores.
Losing out in the semi-finals were Clare Cooper and Rebecca Teare 20-22 to the runners up, along with Kim Hargraves and Stefan Kelly 19-27 to the winners.
Losing quarter finalists were Dave Pease and Steve Cook, Thomas Keggen and Dave McCabe, Jenny Moore and James Teare, Lil Smith and Maureen Payne.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked Juan Kelly for sponsoring the competition, the Ladies for the refreshments, the players for entering, and all those who stayed to support. Juan Kelly then presented the prizes. Spot prizes were also given for highest score in the first round, which also went to David Proctor and Glenn Boland, (37 points) with the biggest break being awarded to Fiona Kennish and Alan Moore (15 points) Credit must also be given to Marown for trying something different, with the excellent entry showing the support for the new format.
Getting the Job ‘Dunn’
South Ramsey held the Income Plus Group sponsored Jim Senior Fours on Sunday. There was a good entry of 10 teams of four taking part, with teams selecting their players to play a doubles game and two singles games to take on opposing teams, with teams rotating at least one player from the doubles matches in each round.
The eventual winners were the team named ‘Getting the Job Dunn’ which was made of Paul Dunn, Colin Kelly, Tom Kelly and Neil Withers, who defeated the South Ramsey team ‘The Chuckers’ in the final, with the team being made up of Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly, Stefan Kelly, Alan Moore and Steven Waters.
In the Doubles match Neil Withers and Tom Kelly defeated Steven Waters and Alan Moore 21-16, whilst in the singles Stefan Kelly beat Paul Dunn 21-12. In the other singles game Colin Kelly had a strong 21-8 win over Dido Kelly to ensure the team were in fact ‘Getting the Job Dunn’ to secure the title for his team.
Losing out in the semi-final to the runners were ‘The Teacaddies’ made up of Lynda & Derek Cadamy, and Philippa & Alec Taylor. Losing out in the other semi-final to the eventual winners were the North Ramsey team ‘Smarticus and the Gladiators’ made up of Tony Smart, Allan Callow, Steve Parker and Steve Walmsley.
The presentation was made by Chas Grills, who thanked the sponsors Income Plus Group, all those who entered the competition and braved the conditions, the Ladies for the refreshments and the club members who assisted throughout the afternoon.
Marown ‘Mix’ Things Up
The Ellan Vannin Fuels Mixed League was brought to a conclusion on Thursday evening.
The competition commenced in early May, with 14 teams entering the competition, the teams were split into four groups playing each team in their group home and away, earning two points for a win on chalks, one for a draw. The winners with the most points from each group then qualified for the semi-finals.
The four group winners were South Ramsey A, Port St Mary A, Marown A, and Onchan A. The draw for the semi-finals put South Ramsey A v Marown A and Port St Mary A v Onchan A. The semi-final fixtures were held on neutral greens. Last year’s winners South Ramsey were disposed of comfortably on Noble’s one by Marown, who had a convincing win by 39 points. The other semi-final was a lot closer with Port St Mary booking their place in the final winning by 10 points to book their place in the final.
The final was held on a fantastic Peel green, who were able to show off their new floodlights, against the backdrop of a stunning sunset.
The final got underway with Matthew Keggen first off for Marown, with a 21-18 win over Paul Skelly in a good quality and entertaining game to watch. Second game off was Phil Kelly who overcame the strong challenge of Chris Price to win 21-14 to extend Marown’s lead to 10 chalks. The third game off was Dan McCabe who had a comfortable 21-12 win over Mary Alderson, to reduce the deficit to one chalk for Port St Mary. This was swiftly followed by Neil Withers who won 21-8 defeating Margaret Tasker to extend Marown’s lead to 14 chalks. The last game of the first blocks on the green went to the wire, with Wayne Roberts just getting home with a 21-20 victory over Philippa Taylor, reducing the deficit to 13 chalks.
The second set of games all became vital, with Jayne Kneen leading 15-6 over Paul Dunn, with Dunn having to dig deep to get back into the game, however Kneen managed to get over the line with a 21-15 win to reduce the deficit to seven points for Port St Mary. Ewan Cooil put in a good performance for his team to turn the match on its head with a 21-5 win over Shirley Whelan to swing the match in favour of Port St Mary for the first time on the night by nine chalks. In the penultimate game, it was a blockbuster of a game with the men currently sat first and second in the division one merit facing off. After a slow start Colin Kelly built a commanding 15-6 lead over Trevor Quayle, with Kelly finishing the game off 21-13 to reduce the deficit to one chalk for Marown. At this point the last game of the evening was finely balanced between Lil Smith and Patricia Bull, with the match score being 4-4 on games only a win for Marown’s Lil Smith would do. The game could so easily have gone either way, however Smith wasn’t to be denied and became the hero of the night for her team, getting over the line 21-19 to secure a win by one chalk for Marown, who in doing so secured their first Mixed League title and are the only fifth team to take the title since its inception in 2005.
At the conclusion of play after what was a thrilling final, the presentation was made by the President of the Men’s Association Clare Cooper, who congratulated Marown on their win, thanked the sponsors Ellan Vannin Fuels for their continued support of the competition, Peel for hosting the final, and the spectators who came to support.
Kennish at the Double
Following the success of the Juniors, there was definitely a feel good factor around the green, with the Ladies and Men’s event immediately following the Juniors.
The Ladies event was an invitational 16, with the Men’s event being an invitational 32.
The eventual winner in the Ladies competition was the current Ladies Manx Champion Shelley Kennish, who overcame the challenge of teammate Lyn Bolton to win 21-20 after being 20-16 down.
Kennish came through her semi-final game with an assured win over last years winner Elaine Moore (South Ramsey), whilst Bolton had to dig deep with a 21-17 win over Chris Price (Port St Mary).
Kennish didn’t have it all her own way though, having to battle back from 19-10 down in her quarter final with Rebecca Teare (Nobles) to run out with a 21-19 victory. The other losing quarter finalists were Clare Cooper (Nobles), Philippa Taylor (Marown), and Gill Dixon (South Ramsey).
Glenn Boland carried his good form into the Men’s Manx Masters by winning his first game, demonstrating that he is one to watch out for in the Men’s game.
Not to be outdone by his daughter Shelley, John Kennish who is also the Men’s Manx Champion managed to retain the Men’s Manx Masters, with a resounding 21-6 victory over Neil Withers (Marown) in a good quality final.
In the semi-finals Kennish ended the challenge of Colin Kelly (Marown) with a 21-13 victory, whilst Withers booked his place in the final with a 21-15 win over Stuart Garrett.
Losing out in the quarter finals were Paul Skelly (Port St Mary), Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly (South Ramsey), Nathan Cooil (Castletown) and Phil ‘Rambo’ Kelly (Marown).
At the conclusion of the competition thanks were given to Feltons for their continued sponsorship of the Ladies and Men’s competitions, the South Ramsey Ladies for the excellent refreshments provided throughout a long day, those who helped run the competition and prepare the green.
Finally good luck to Jenny Moore, Shelley Kennish and John Kennish who will all be representing the Island next weekend (23rd/24th September) in Blackpool at the Waterloo in the Champion of Champions by virtue of their success in other competitions.
Wilfred Quayle Mixed Doubles
The Wilfred Quayle Mixed Doubles was held on Sunday at Castletown with 25 pairs taking part.
The eventual winners were Lyn Bolton South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary), who overcame the strong challenge of Chris Price (Port St Mary) and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly (South Ramsey) with a 21-17 victory.
Losing out at the semi-final stage were Philippa & Alec Taylor, along with Margaret Tasker and Derek Allen.
Losing quarter finalists were Jenny Moore & James Teare, Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves, Heike Perry & Derek Lewney, along with Trish Bull and Sid Bolton.
The presentation was made by Hilary Kermode & Linda Richman, who thanked the sponsors Sure Media, along with anyone who helped throughout the day.
Hargraves and Kelly Retain Commissioners Cup
Onchan Bowling Club held the Commissioners Cup on Sunday with 28 pairs taking part with the format being any combination doubles. The green was running well on the most improved surface on the Island over the past few years.
The eventual winners were the South Ramsey duo of Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly, who retained the trophy by defeating Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk 21-13 (Onchan) in a good final, with Kelly playing some great bowls at the back to keep the home greeners at arms length throughout the final.
Losing out in the semi-final to a 21-15 score line to the eventual winners, were James Teare and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly (South Ramsey), along with Dave McCabe and Derek Allen (Port Erin), who just lost out 21-17.
The presentation was made by Kevin Quirk and Anthony Allen of Onchan Commissioners, with thanks given for the condition of the green, along with thanks to those who helped run the competition, and the Ladies for providing the refreshments.
Keith and Helen Surridge Memorial Rosebowl
Under sunny Northern skies a total of 18 pairs of bowlers gathered at the Mooragh Park to contest the Keith and Helen Surridge Memorial Rosebowl. After a competitive afternoon of bowling on a green now showing signs of improvement the final was an all South Ramsey affair with the added spice of pitting husband against wife as Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargarves came up against Stefan Kelly and Kim Hargraves.
In the final all the ends were closely fought but the Kelly and Hargraves combination edged ahead and eventually established a 20 – 14 lead. At this point Moore and Hargraves wrested control of the jack with a single and then produced a devastating couple of ends scoring a 3 on each to run out the winners by 21-20.
In the semi finals Kelly and Hargraves ended the challenge of the North Ramsey pairing of Anne Kean and John Cannan while Moore and Hargraves came through against another North Ramsey duo of Julie Reilly and Geoff Porter.
Losers at the quarter final stage were Derek Allen and Caroline Whitehead, Frances Radcliffe and Tony Smart, David and Maureen Lacey and Caroline and Steve Parker.
The trophy was presented by North Ramsey Competition Secretary Tony Smart who thanked the Surridge family for their continued sponsorship of the event.
Charity Is The Real Winner
South Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the Kennish Cup mixed doubles competition on Sunday afternoon with 27 pairs taking part, with the Kennish family running the competition in favour of local charity Hospice Isle of Man. In what must surely be a record for an open competition on the Isle of Man £1,200 was raised for this worthy cause.
The eventual winners were last years winners Gill Dixon and Dido Kelly defeating club mates Jenny Moore and James Teare 21-6 in the final, with the score not reflecting the standard of play.
Gill and Dido got through their semi-final with a comfortable victory over the Southern duo of Tracy Moore and Wayne Roberts. In the other semi-final Jenny and James ended the challenge of club mates Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves.
Losing out at the quarter-final stage were Lyn Bolton and Trevor Quayle (South Ramsey/Port St Mary) Bethany Kennish and Steven Waters (South Ramsey), Lorraine and James Moore (South Ramsey), Diana White and David Thomson (North Ramsey).
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Elaine Moore on behalf of the Kennish family and Alan Moore, who thanked everyone for their generous donations, the Ladies for the excellent refreshments, and everyone who helped throughout the day.
Anyone who would still like to donate please contact Chas Grills or Alan Moore.