Monthly Archives: June 2016
Ballacashtal
In contrast to the recent sunshine Castletown Bowling Club hosted the 50th Anniversary of the Veros Digital Sponsored Ballacashtal Cup in wind and rain on Sunday.
104 bowlers made the pilgrimage to the old capital for this biggest one day competition on the Island. It Was South Ramsey’s John Kennish went one step further that the previous day lifting the trophy thanks to a superb 21-7 final win over the Wirral’s Peter Jones.
Kennish eliminated Port St Mary’s Paul Skelly in the semi final 21-11 whilst Jones had to fight all the way to see of the challenge of Marown’s Neil Wilthers 21-20.
Losing out at the quarter final stage were Ian Johnson, Mark Bramhall, Dave Halstead & Michael Hewitson.
Thanks go to Casteltown Bowling Club for putting on and running a superb competition despite very testing conditions for organisers and competitors alike and also to Veros Digital for their sponsorship.
Jim Kernan
Visitor Wayne Ditchfield won the Jim Kernan trophy on a very tricky South Ramsey green beating John Kennish 21-19 in a highly entertaining final.
Ditchfield settled superbly from his first bowl of the day and had to be at the top of his game to beat pre-tournament favourite Kennish on his own patch.
Wayne had to overcome the challenge of another local in the semi-finals as he dispatched David Bradford 21-14. At the same stage Kennish beat his common adversary Colin Kelly by the same score.
Fallers at the quarter finals were Stevie Kelly, Tony Hary, Mark Bramhall & John ‘Doctor’ Watson.
Thanks go to South Ramsey and to George Brew in both his capacity as green keeper for turning out an immaculate playing surface but also as sponsor. Thanks George.
June Festival Preview
It’s always hard to predict what will happen in the Men’s main festival competition, as unlike the programme the games won’t be played on paper.
There is always someone who tears up the form book and puts in a barnstorming performance to set the cat amongst the pigeons!
This year is no different and with the usual host of top visiting names it is almost impossible to call. Nicholson, Gilpin, Ditchfield, Wraight, Bailey & Gilmore they are all now familiar names on the Island and will be hoping this is their year.
There are some new names this time too and some unfamiliar faces who will be hoping to make their first visit to the Island a fruitful one.
There should be a strong local showing as well, although John Kennish will need to play the tournament of his life to win as he is giving the field a five point start after winning back to back festivals in September 2014 and June 2015. Colin Kelly will hope to do well as will David Bradford, Glynn Hargraves and in form Matthew Keggen to name just a few.
This always backfires on me but my predictions to qualify from their sections and make the last eight on finals day is below:
Jack Dyson v James Palmer, Ian Nicholson v John Bailey, James Wilcox v Matt Gilmore, Callum Wraight v Colin Kelly
South Top At Half Way
South Ramsey A defeated Port Erin A 8-2 last week ensuring they top Ellan Vannin Fuels Men’s Division one at the half way stage.
As the domestic league scene now takes a week out, with the Island hosting the June Bowls Festival, South will be delighted with how they have performed so far this season winning all 12 of their matches to head Marown by four points at the turn.
Their talisman John Kennish also leads the way at the top of the individual merit with team mate Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly hot on his heals to add to what has been a brilliant start for the Ramsey men. They were most peoples tip for the title before a bowl was played and they are certainly living up to their billing as the ones to beat.
Marown A are course and distance men and are still very much in the hunt, knowing that a big result against South when they play each other would be enough to cancel out the points differential. They played South Ramsey B last time out and with an 8-2 win of their own kept the point’s difference static.
Defending champions Onchan A are third but trail the leaders by thirteen points, after a good 7-3 win away to Castletown A, which may be a bridge too far.
Realistically they need a near perfect second half to close the cap and mount a serious title challenge, and I am not sure they have enough in the tank to do it. That said they know how to win though, and if they can get themselves there or there about approaching the closing stages you just never know.
Port St Mary A seem to have settled into fourth spot now and will have their sights firmly set on Onchan who are 9 points ahead of them, and results like their 8-2 win over North Ramsey will do them no harm at all.
As the division starts to take shape it’s the bottom that proves equally as interesting as the top. Ballaugh A occupy the foot of the table after narrowly losing out 4-6 away from home to second bottom Nobles A. Both these teams have improved dramatically in recent weeks and they will be hoping to build on their first half results as they fight for their first division lives.
Finch Hill A are third bottom, four points ahead of Nobles, and will be delighted to have picked up four points in the last match at the Villa against Douglas A narrowly losing out 6-4 after tying on games.
Peel A remain at the summit of Division Two however they were made to fight all the way to the end last time out at Ballaugh A winning 6-4 thanks to the aggregate points.
Castletown B are second, seven points behind the leaders, and will be delighted to have left Port St Mary C with a 7-3 win.
Peel B put in a great performance to beat Noble B 8-2 and move within one point of Town. This will be a remarkable turn around for the club if they can get both of their teams in the top two spots and back into division one.
Peel C aren’t having the same good fortunes and are bottom trailing second bottom team Ballaugh C by seven points. North Ramsey B are only one point better off in tenth place.
Division Three leaders Douglas C put in a really strong showing at home to beat new boys Marown C 9-1 and extend their lead at the top to ten points.
Port Erin B are still in second place and should be happy with a good 6-4 win away from home at Finch Hill B.
Microgaming ladies’ doubles
The weather was beautiful in Castletown on Saturday 18 June when 21 pairs entered for the ladies’ doubles competition sponsored by Microgaming. The field included several visiting ladies who were over for the June Festival.
Semi-finals: Paula Firth and Sylvia Kennaugh 21, Brigid Lunn and Hilary Kermode 19; Fiona Kennish and Jenny Moore 21, Lyn Bolton and Paula Garrett 18
In a very close final Fiona and Jenny eventually came through to win 21-19.
The presentation was made by Hilary Kermode on behalf of the sponsors, Microgaming.
Pre-Festival ladies’ open
There was an entry of 32 for the Association Pre-Festival ladies’ singles played at Port Erin on Sunday 19 June.
In contrast to Castletown the previous day the weather was atrocious, and the organisers did well to finish before the green was completely water-logged !
Quarter-finals: Jenny Wilby 21, Joan Jolly 21; Ronnie Lyon 21, Kathryn Gee 20; Heather Johnson 21, Rita Manning 18; Elaine Moore 21, Jenny Moore 17.
By the time the semi-finals started the players were trying to avoid the pools on the green !
Semi-finals: Jen Wilby 21, Ronnie Lyon 13; Heather Johnson 21, Elaine Moore 19
In the final Jen dealt with the conditions better than Heather, coming through to win 21-6.
The presentation was made by Janet Shilling who thanked everyone, particularly the Port Erin ladies’ for their work and Heather and Elaine for running the sheet.
June Festival Blog
C Tarleton Hodgson ladies’ league Friday 17 June
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.
Jean Kelly semi-finals
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;
Ladies’ over 60’s Thursday 16 June
It was back to normal after the break for the TT in the Trend sponsored over 60’s league on Thursday 16 June when the last game of the first half of the season was played. Top scorers were Castletown who dropped just 6 points to Villa who had two winners, Kay McKiernan and Muriel Cain who pipped Barbara Young 21-20.Onchan won 4 games, and with Lynda Clarke winning to single figures, ended with a 15 point lead over Breagle. Moira Anderson and Ann Chapman were the two winners for Mooragh Park at Marown while Maureen Wright fell just short reaching 20 against Shirley Whelan. The closest game at Noble’s saw Kath Looney edge out Sonja Lees 21-19 in a match which league leaders Port St Mary won 4-2, while Ballaugh’s visit to Purt le Moirrey saw them go down 2-4 on games, their two winners being Ann Gale and Brenda Bowyer. There was not much separating the two sides at Peel in a match that ended level on games, with home advantage giving the westerners the win on points over Port Erin.