Monthly Archives: August 2019
Leaders Drop Points Against Marown
Last week saw rounds 19 and 20 played in the Ladies Bowling League which is the last double game week of the season.
Wednesday saw straightforward wins for the top three sides Nobles, Castletown A and Port St Mary A. Nobles defeated Port St Mary B 189-58 (9-0) to collect their third maximum of the season. Castletown A dropped only one chalk defeating Mooragh Park 188-97 (8-1). Port St Mary A also dropped one chalk in their win against Douglas 188-88 (8-1).
Ballaugh and Peel Sunset played out the closest match of the night with Peel coming through the close affair winning by only four chalks. Ballaugh picked up four wins from Elaine Fenton, Alison Millard, Michelle Cubbon and Barbara Graham who won 21-4. Peel replied with five wins from Mary Moffatt, Heather Horsburgh, Joyce Kelly, Shirley Corrin who won 21-9 and Lynda Wilson who won 21-8. The final score 154-158 (4-5).
Marown had a strong home performance against Castletown B winning seven of the nine games. Shirley Whelan, Philippa Taylor, Helen Withers and Lil Smith all won to single figures and Pat Withers, Rosie Winckle and Margaret Scarffe also won. Barbara Young and Joy Stephens won for the away team with the final score 182-106 (7-2).
Onchan welcomed South Ramsey with the away team taking all the spoils following a good performance. Onchan picked up two wins from Sue Gawne and Maureen Payne but was unable to get close in the other games. For South Ramsey, Elaine Moore, Jenny Moore, Lyn Bolton and Sue Collier all won to single figures and Kim Hargraves, Ann Gale and Fiona Kennish also won. Final score 105-171 (2-7).
On Friday Castletown A had their sit out and South Ramsey against Port St Mary A was postponed which would allow leaders Nobles to try and increase their advantage. However, despite Nobles winning by 33 chalks they struggled at home against Marown only winning five games and scoring 160 chalks, their second-lowest at home this season.
For Nobles Viv Cook, Jan West, Paula Firth and Debbie Leece all won to single figures to build their advantage and Sylvia Kennaugh also won for the home team. Ceila Joughin beat the current Top Lady Rebecca Teare. Wins also for Margaret Scarffe,Phillippa Taylor and Shirley Whelan dented their overall score with the match finishing 160-127 (5-4). The result leaves Nobles 184 chalks ahead of second-placed Castletown A who have a game in hand.
Ballaugh took on Douglas with the home team winning by just 10 chalks despite winning six games. Brenda Bowyer top-scored winning 21-5 and Elaine Fenton, Gill Dixon, Alison Millard, Michelle Cubbon and Voirrey Oates also won for Ballaugh. Shantelle Thorpe 21-16, Kay McKiernan 21-4 and Sue Caley 21-8 pushed the match back into the balance but Ballaugh had done enough to claim a 154-144 (6-3) victory.
Castletown B picked up their second win of the season defeating Onchan 153-121 (6-3). Castletown’s wins came from Linda Dobinson 21-9, Elaine McElroy 21-17, Emma Hurst 21-7, Sonya Mercer 21-4, Grace Quayle 21-12, and Barbara Young 21-9. Onchan had wins from Jo Smith 21-7, Sue Gawne 21-8 and Dee Lewis 21-12.
Port St Mary B managed to beat Mooragh Park by six chalks despite losing 4-5 on games. Mooragh Park had two wins to single figures from Janet Monk 21-8, Rosemary Quirk 21-9. Another good win for Mooragh Park came from Helen Martin but much closers affairs came from Ellie Cowell v Dot Mylchreest 21 -18 and Caroline Parker v Christine Holland 21-19. Single figure wins for PSM B came from Wyn Collister and Pauline Worrall. The game finish 150-144 (4-5).
Peel welcomed Port Erin in their second game of the week and it was Peel who won the match by 29 chalks. A tough battle between Joyce Kelly and Di Benson saw the away player taking a strong win 21-19. Lynda Cadamy, Jacqui Elliott and Caroline Whitehead also won for the away side. But big single figure wins from Peel saw Pat Robertson win 21-5 and Sue Jones winning 21-5 restricting Port Erin to 136. Winner for Peel was Shirley Corrin, Heather Horsburgh and Mary Moffatt. The match finished 165-136 (5-4)
Next week sees Nobles sit out and gives Castletown A the opportunity to leap over into the top spot if they score 187 in their match against Onchan. PSM are two matches behind Nobles due to a rearranged game but should they average around the 185 mark in those games they could easily take the top spot.
Ballaugh finished 12th in the league last year and are currently sitting in 7th position. The season continues to be one of the closest seen in the last few years and no doubt will also see strong finishes from South Ramsey, Marown and Peel Sunet.
Future of the Game is Bright
Phil Johnson Memorial Trophy Competitors and some of the Coaches
Photo: Arnie WithersSaturday 3rd August saw the Phil Johnson Memorial trophy return in a revamped format. The IOMCCGBA would like to thank Canada Life International for supporting the association for helping get this event up and running.
Phil worked at Canada Life International before he suddenly passed away in 2011 with an undiagnosed heart condition, thought to have been Long QT Syndrome. His family came up with the idea of remembering Phil by presenting this trophy after speaking with Mark Kneen who at the time was the IOM Bowls Development Officer and worked at Canada Life with Phil and Mike Johnson (Phil’s father).
The IOMCCGBA have been working on the development of a junior league with great strides being made in 2019. The focus on the monthly events being held are effectively follow on events from the Manx Youth Games to ensure opportunities are given to all the young bowlers to continue their bowls in a fun yet competitive environment.
The format of the events is that the regional teams (North/South/East/West) all compete against each other in doubles games with some fun events added in along the way.
Over 20 juniors took part in the most recent event held at Marown Bowling Club, with the East team being crowned as the Phil Johnson Memorial Trophy winners for 2019 just pipping the other teams in a very tight contest.
Results (Points Per Game Average)
East – 3.8
West – 3.5
North – 3.4
South – 3.5
Thanks must also go out to all the coaches who volunteer their time every week to run the junior clubs around the Island as well as Phil Kelly as head coach on the Island and Sonya Mercer as MYG Coordinator.
Ladies’ IOM Merit
A small, but select field of sixteen ladies, gathered at Marown on Sunday 4th. August to compete for Barbara Lee Memorial ladies’ IOM Merit competition. The weather was iffy for most of the afternoon the with sun eventually making an appearance during the final.
Looking at the entry some good bowling could be expected, and the players did not disappoint with some very close and exciting games. Even when the scores were not close there were few easy points with each end being strongly contested.
In the first round Philippa Taylor faced last year’s winner, Jenny Moore, and had the better of the early skirmishes to lead 15-8 after nineteen ends. After exchanging points to 17-11, Jenny produced five 2’s in a row to move into the quarter-finals 21-17.
The game between Margaret Tasker and Helen Martin was definitely a game of two halves, with Margaret in control initially, leading 14-7 after fourteen ends, and then Helen pulling back to 18-18 by end 25. Three singles saw Helen progress to the next round 21-18.
Two home greeners, Helen Withers and Lil Smith also had a tough battle with honours being even over the first 11 ends, before Helen edged into a 15-10 lead. Lil then wrested the initiative from her to eventually come through 21-18.
It was pleasing to see one of the Junior girls, Rebekah Kelly, taking part and putting up a creditable performance before losing out 11-21 to Fiona Kennish.
The first two quarter-finals saw Jenny Moore and Helen Martin being too strong for their opponents, reaching the semi-finals without too much difficulty but it was a different story in the bottom half of the draw.
Caroline Whitehead and Kim Hargraves could hardly be separated as they kept together for 29 ends with neither of them having a lead of more than 2 throughout. On the thirtieth end, despite Caroline having the jack, Kim scored a two to end their titanic battle 21-19.
It was another close game between Fiona Kennish and Tricia Bull, with Tricia maintaining a slight lead up to 14-10 before Fiona won four ends in a row to level at 14-14. Two 2’s eventually gave Tricia a 19-15 lead and sharing the last four ends saw her into the semis.
In the first semi-final Jenny was in imperious form, coming through 21-6 against Helen, but again it was more tricky for the protagonists in the other. Although Tricia had a slight edge from the beginning, Kim was only 2 points behind at 14-16. A single and a 2 for both players saw the score at 19-17 when two singles gave Tricia the game
In the final it was nip and tuck to 5-5 after nine ends. The ends were hotly contested and the final score of 21-9 to Jenny makes her victory sound easier than it was !
The Competition secretary thanked those who had taken part, Marown for the use of their green and their members for their help measuring and marking.
Jenny thanked the organisers of the competition and Marown for their help and for their providing refreshments
Marown A Edge Closer – Peel B Go Top – South Ramsey C March On
Rayner Shield Finalists Marown A Bounced Back on Monday Evening With a 10-0 win over their B Team
Photo: Arnie WithersIn Ellan Vannin Fuels division one champions elect Marown A bounced back from the disappointment of their Rayner Shield final loss with their ‘away’ fixture against their B team at Crosby with last year’s 3-7 defeat fresh in their mind the A team were keen to put things right, doing just that with a 0-10 victory. Coming closest to picking up a win for the B team was Arnie Withers who just lost out 20-21 to Walter McCarthy who stepped up from the C team. Winning to single figures for the A team were Colin Kelly and Paul Dunn, beating Bobby Thorne and James Kelly respectively. The result leaves the A team 14 points ahead of second placed South Ramsey A with just six games left, whilst the B team are just seven points ahead of the bottom two teams South Ramsey B and Castletown B.
The bottom two sides South Ramsey B and Castletown B faced each other with the town men coming away from Ramsey with a 4-6 win to boost their hopes of staying up. Winning for the home team were Tony Dugdale, Edward Carlyle, Austin Hart and Christian Caley who has started to find some form picking up some good wins recently. Responding for the town men were Mike Hargraves, Ron Williams, Bob Clark and Nathan Cooil whose 21-8 victory helped his team edge the aggregate by six chalks (132-138).
Port St Mary A were the hosts for the visit of second placed South Ramsey A. The visitors recorded a good 2-8 win with Trevor Quayle in fine form to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Dido Kelly (21-17), whilst Wayne Roberts performed well to win 21-9 against Ian Moore. Hitting back for South Ramsey were David Bradford with a 21-6 win over Dan McCabe, whilst the remaining five winners for the visitors were all comfortable.
Noble’s A are 12 points ahead of the bottom two after picking up four points at home to Onchan A losing 4-6. For the visitors Kevin Quirk and Mark Kelly both won 21-17 against Reginald Temporaza and Tommy Collister respectively, Matthew Quirk had a good 21-12 win over Glenn Boland, whilst Jordan Cain won 21-9 against David Quayle. For the home team Steve Hall and Steve Cook both got home by the tightest of margins 21-20 with good wins over Rob Monk and Phil Kerruish, David Pease won 21-16 against Neil Dunwell, whilst captain Kevin Firth had a superb 21-5 win over Steve Parker. Just six chalks separated the teams with Onchan edging the aggregate (139-145).
In the third 4-4 of the night Peel A hosted Douglas A, with the home team comfortably taking the chalks to round off a 6-4 win (150-124). Winning 21-13 for the Villa men were Ian Moore and Stuart Garrett, whilst they picked up two 21-20 wins from Merv Sayle and Jimmy Sansom against David Proctor and Alec Taylor. For Peel their wins were all comfortable from Tommy McMeiken, Andy Kennish, Alan Cromwell and Dave Kelly.
Castletown A hosted North Ramsey A at the Crofts with the home team taking a good 8-2 win. Sam Clague continues to impress in his first season in division one and just his third year since taking up the game with a 21-10 over Geoff Porter. Other winners for the younger generation were Jordan Drewett (21-9) over Steve Walmsley, whilst Dean Kinley won 21-20 against Bryan Corner. Of the more experienced bowlers for the home team the winners were Derek Lewney, George Peach and Peter Oates.
In division two Peel B have taken over at the top of the table from Ballaugh A, who recently visited Peel for a game brought forward and suffered a 0-10 defeat at the hands of the Peel men. Peel B had most of their good work undone with their 2-8 away defeat at the hands of third placed Port Erin A, who with a few big wins could be right up there in the mix.
With Ballaugh A looking to bounce back they suffered another setback with a 3-7 home loss to Marown C, with the Crosby men receiving a massive boost ahead of Friday’s Rayner Plate final against first division side Port St Mary A. Ballaugh currently occupy second place, five points behind Peel B with a game in hand.
Finch Hill A are in fourth place, they recorded a good 2-8 away win over North Ramsey B at Mooragh Park. Douglas B will have been pleased with their 7-3 home win over Port St Mary B, Onchan B took a 6-4 home win over Ballaugh B whilst Port St Mary C took the spoils 7-3 at home to Peel C.
In division three South Ramsey C made it 15 wins from 15 games to maintain their 100% record with their crushing 9-1 home win over Port Erin B.
Second placed Finch Hill B took their turn to sit out the latest round of fixtures, which gave third placed Noble’s B the opportunity to close the gap, they made the short visit to take on Onchan C at the Park, however the home team were too strong for the Noble’s men with Onchan recording an 8-2 victory. The Finch Hill men now have a game in hand in addition to their four point lead.
South Ramsey D came away from the Villa with a good 2-8 win, Peel D eased to a 7-3 home win over Castletown C, whilst Nobles C matched this with their win over Ballaugh C.
Kennish & Bradford Reign Supreme
Browne Craine & Co Doubles Champions 2019
The Islands premier doubles competition was hosted by Castletown Bowling Club on Sunday which was played 21 up off scratch. The event was well supported with 26 pairs taking part in a bid to win the title, which was once again sponsored by Brown Craine & Co.
Losing out at the quarter final stage were the Marown/South Ramsey pairing of Matthew Keggen and Glynn Hargraves, Paul Kelly & Juan Killip (Marown), Paul Dunn & Neil Withers (Marown) and the Port St Mary duo of Wayne Roberts and Trevor Quayle.
In the semi-finals the first game off was the Douglas pairing of Stuart Garrett and Ian Moore who beat the Peel father and son duo of Dave Kelly and Stevie Kelly 21-13 to take their spot in the final. The South Ramsey combination of John Kennish & David Bradford took their spot in the semi-final after earlier coming through two tough battles against Bob Clark (Castletown) and Matthew Quirk (Onchan) 21-18, followed by Dunn & Withers in the quarter final to the same score with both games being of the highest quality. Their semi-final game against Walter McCarthy and Colin Kelly looked more comfortable with their 21-12 win not really reflecting the game.
In the final Kennish and Bradford started as big favourites having taken the title for the previous three years, taking an 8-0 lead before Garrett & Moore got on the scoreboard with Moore bowling within a foot to beat their opponents counting bowl. Kennish and Bradford kept the pressure firmly on with both of the South Ramsey men playing the corners well to build a commanding 18-3 lead before Moore & Garrett got back in with a double. Moore & Garrett managed to get into double figures with Moore playing another great last bowl when lying game down to take a double before losing out 11-21 for Kennish & Bradford to seal their fourth consecutive victory in the Island premier doubles competition.
The presentation was made by Association Chairman Neil Withers, who thanked the sponsors Browne Craine & Co for their continued support, Castletown Bowling Club for the use of the green and its members for providing helpers throughout the day. Spot prizes were also awarded, with the prize for furthest junior going to Sam Clague (Castletown) The prize for the furthest pairing with a second division player went to Walter McCarthy (Marown) who was paired with Colin Kelly, whilst Cliff Clague (Castletown) received the prize for furthest third division player. Further Over 60’s player was losing finalist Stuart Garrett. The top prize paid out to the winners was £200, with further prizes paid out to the runners up and losing semi-finalists on what was a great day of bowling.
Collister Seals Rayner Shield Win
Rayner Shield Winners 2019
Photo: Arnie WithersThe Canada Life International Rayner Shield final was held at Douglas Bowling Club on Friday evening on a superb surface, between South Ramsey A and Marown A in a match which was once again billed as ‘Thriller at the Villa’, with the current top two teams on the Island going head to head it certainly lived up to its billing with many predicting an outright win for the Crosby men, whilst the players themselves were looking at a 4-4 result and the match being decided on chalks.
Earlier in the week both captains had agreed to do the draw ahead of the match, which was streamed live and has since racked up almost 1000 views on Facebook this seemed to generate a bit of interest.
First off the green for South Ramsey was Stefan Kelly, who took a good 21-15 win over the experienced Dean Kipling with Kipling 3-14 down he dug in to score a further 12 chalks. Next off was South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, knowing he faced a dangerous opponent in Phil ‘Rambo’ Kelly, Hargraves recorded a resounding 21-9 win with a good performance. Hitting back for Marown was Neil Withers who cancelled out South Ramsey’s second win with his own 21-9 victory against Chas Grills, with Grills taking a couple of vital chalks after lying game down at 7-20. Last off in the first half was Dido Kelly who played well to win 21-8 against young Bobby Thorne. At the half way point South Ramsey led 3-1 on games with a 19 chalk advantage (72-53). This brought back memories of 2017 in which the Ramsey men led by the same score and 25 chalks before Marown fought back to win.
In the second half of the match the atmosphere was building in front of a good crowd with great support for both teams around the green the expected fight back came with Marown captain Paul Dunn putting in a superb performance to win 21-6 over Alan Moore, with Moore 0-15 before he got on the board to score six vital chalks. Next off was Paul Kelly who got his revenge for his defeat last time out against James Teare, with Kelly winning 21-10 Teare was another Ramsey man to put a couple more vital chalks on the board before losing out. The match now stood at 3-3 with the Crosby men holding a seven chalk advantage (88-95).
The games left on the green at this point were in the latter stages with David Bradford leading 14-11 against Matthew Keggen, whilst Peter Collister was trailing 15-18 against Colin Kelly after battling well throughout the game to never go more than three chalks behind. Bradford knew he had to run out to give his side the lead once again and he did just that playing the edge of the green well to win 21-11. With things standing at 4-3 to South Ramsey and Collister 17-20 behind if Kelly came off winning by four chalks then a one end shootout would have taken place. Collister had other ideas taking four singles to run out with a superb 21-20 victory to put the icing on the cake for a 5-3 win. Collister was unanimously named Man of the Match by his team mates for his performance on the night under the circumstances.
The presentation was made by stand in competition secretary Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, who thanked Canada Life International for their continued sponsorship of the competition, Douglas Bowling Club for the use of the green and their club members for assisting throughout the evening. Association President John Keenan was then introduced to present the Rayner Shield to South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves, who offered his commiserations to Marown who had played their part in making it a fantastic final and congratulated his side for a superb team performance to make up for the disappointment of losing out in 2017. South Ramsey’s win sees them take their fourth win in the competition.
Results
| Time | Round | Home | Score | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | Final
| South Ramsey A | 5–3(130–126) | Marown A | |
Venue: Douglas
Ballapaws Ladies’ Doubles
The ladies’ doubles open, sponsored by Ballapaws Boarding Kennels took place at Peel on Saturday 27 July, with an entry of fifteen pairs. The event started in overcast conditions which turned to rain for the later stages.
In the first round all the matches were won to double figures. Lyndas Cadamy and Lyn Bolton had a tough draw against last year’s winners, Kim Hargraves and Jenny Moore, who seemed to be cruising at 19-13. A three and a single saw the possibility of a come- back from Lynda and Lyn, but it was too little too late as Kim and Jenny came through 21-17.In a similar vein, Celia Joughin and Lil Smith raced to an 18 -11 lead over Caroline Whitehead and Jan West, before their opponents scored seven over the next four ends to close to 18-19. A two from the Marown pair saw them progress to the next round 21-18. The Peel pairing of Lynda Wilson and Cath Parker also came from behind, trailing 14-18. They won the next five ends, including two 2’s to take the game 21-18.
In the quarter-finals Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt won their game against Sue Jones and newcomer Courtney Moore 21-7, while Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden got of to a flyer against Paula Firth and Lin Ruscoe, sprinting to a 16-7 lead, before winning 21-10. Cath Parker and Lynda Wilson were inspired in their match against Margaret Tasker and Tricia Bull taking the game 21-14, and in the other quarter-final Jenny Moore and Kim Hargraves experienced some dogged resistance from Lil Smith and Celia Joughin, who had the better start, leading 12-8 and holding on to the advantage to 13-12 when Jenny and Kim switched up a gear to reach the semi-finals 21-15.
Quarter-finals: Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt 21, Sue Jones and Courtney Moore 7; Kim Hargraves and Jenny Moore 21, Celia Joughin and Lil Smith 15; Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden 21, Paula Firth and Lin Ruscoe 10; Cath Parker and Lynda Wilson 21, Margaret Tasker and Tricia Bull 14.
In the first semi-final, Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt stayed with Kim and Jenny to 9 – 9, but their challenge collapsed when they could only manage one more point, while Cath and Lynda had shot their bolt in the previous round and could not find their mojo again, going down 21-9 to Philippa and Joyce
The rain, which had started during the semi-finals was also a factor in the final, with conditions becoming a little inclement.
In the final early exchanges saw the score level at 9-9, but Kim and Jenny were determined to hold on to their title, scoring twelve in five ends to take the trophy 21-9.
Heather Horsburgh thanked those who had entered and those who had helped during the afternoon. Particular thanks went to Ballapaws Boarding Kennels for their sponsorship of the event. Heather then asked club Vice-President, Mona Kerruish to present the prizes.
Canada Life International Rayner Shield Final
Glynn Hargraves & Paul Dunn after concluding the draw for Fridays Rayner Shield Final
Photo: Neil WithersFriday night sees the Associations top team event the Rayner Shield come to a conclusion with the final taking place at the Villa between the top two teams, South Ramsey A and Marown A.
South Ramsey reached the final with four home games, nearly coming unstuck in the first round on what at the time was a poor South Ramsey green against Port St Mary A, before eventually getting through 5-3. In the next round they took on North Ramsey B recording a 8-0 home win, then in the quarter finals recorded 7-1 home win over Castletown B with undoubtedly one of the individual games of the season to watch between David Bradford and Bob Clark with Clark edging it 21-20. By the time the semi-final came around South Ramsey had improved to such an extent it is now one of the best surfaces to play on the island once again, the home team took on Onchan A and ran out 6-2 winners on a blustery evening to book their place in the final, however Onchan battled well cruelly losing three games 20-21 on the night.
Marown’s route to the final was less complicated starting with an 8-0 home win over third division side Peel D, then a visit to the sunset city to take on Peel B resulted in a 1-7 away win. Marown took their place in the semi-final with a 8-0 home win over Finch Hill A, they made no mistake with their 2-6 away win over South Ramsey B to reach the final.
Current holders Marown have won the Rayner Shield 16 times, start as slight favourites due to their huge 12 point lead over their opponents, however South Ramsey have won it three times with their last two wins coming back to back in 2015 & 2016, they know that they can beat Marown after recently visiting Crosby taking a 5-3 win on games, before agonisingly losing out on the aggregate by just one chalk. The final takes place at the same venue that Marown won one of the best finals in recent history in 2017 with the Crosby men winning 5-3 on the night against South Ramsey, with this still no doubt fresh in the mind both teams will be hoping to use this to spur them on.
Best of luck to both teams for what should be a superb encounter, with the weather set to be ideal conditions it should make for a great evening in the Manx bowls calendar.
Draw & Order Of Play
| 1 | Stefan Kelly | vs | Dean Kipling |
| 2 | Chas Grills | vs | Neil Withers |
| 3 | Glynn Hargraves | vs | Phil Kelly |
| 4 | Dido Kelly | vs | Bobby Thorne |
| 5 | Alan Moore | vs | Paul Dunn |
| 6 | Peter Collister | vs | Colin Kelly |
| 7 | David Bradford | vs | Matthew Keggen |
| 8 | James Teare | vs | Paul Kelly |