In division one Peel A hosted Noble’s A on a fine evening for bowling, with the hosts handing out a 10-0 whitewash to the visitors to go top of the league. The biggest win of the night came from Tommy McMeiken who beat Martyn Hobson 21-1. For the visitors Mark Quinn lost out 18-21 to Peel captain Gary Smith, whilst Dave Naughton pushed Tom Kelly all the way before losing 20-21.

The most interesting tie of the night was between Douglas A and Marown A, who visited the Villa. The Crosby men would have been disappointed not to come away with a 2-8 away victory, however the Villa men had other ideas to win four games on the night losing out 4-6 with Ian Moore seeing off former teammate Paul Kelly 21-20, whilst Merv Sayle beat Matthew Keggen to the same score. Shaun Seal recorded a good 21-16 win over John Gelling, whilst Andy Cannell made light work of Juan Killip with a 21-9 victory. All the wins for the visitors were comfortable, with Colin Kelly taking the biggest win of the night 21-6 over Gary Conwell.

South Ramsey A jump up into second place following their 9-1 home win over Peel B, with five of the home team winning to single figures. The whitewash was spared by the hero of the night Dave Smith, who edged home 21-20 against James Teare.

The new look Castletown A hosted Onchan A at the Crofts with the matched tied on games 4-4 they took the aggregate on chalks by six (133-127) to record a 6-4 win against a team they will be looking to get close to this season. Bob Clark continued his run of form to lead the way for the Town men with a 21-8 win over Jordan Cain, backed up by Jordan Drewett, Dean Kinley and Sam Clague who beat the vastly experienced Phil Kerruish 21-10. Colin Spence stepped in to beat home captain Ian Watson 21-13, Kevin Quirk and Reginald Temporaza returned to winning ways with Peter Slinger also winning.

Port St Mary A visited Crosby to take on Marown B, with the visitors pleased to come away with a 3-7 victory. For the visitors Trevor Quayle just got over the line 21-20 against Bobby Thorne, Robbie Cooil took a fine 21-13 over new signing Glenn Boland, Wayne Roberts inflicted a 21-4 defeat on Peter Kelly. For the home team John Kelly made his return winning 21-19 against Tim Williams, whilst Darren Kerruish held his nerve to beat Tom Collins 21-20. The most notable result of the night was Brian Kelly’s outstanding 21-12 win over Paul Skelly.

Ballaugh A got their first win of the season under their belt, beating local rivals North Ramsey A at home with a 7-3 win. Young Patrick Grant did enough to see off Gary Merrill 21-20, whilst Barry McDonald kept up his 100% record for the season, whilst Richard Hainge recorded his first ever top flight win with a 21-12 victory over John Cannan.

In division two Finch Hill A took on their lower ranked B team, with the A showing their dominance with a 9-1 win. Four of the wins were to single figures with the other three victories being comfortable. Stephen Oates was the only winner for the B Team with a 21-16 win over John Harris.

Port Erin A had a mini disaster away to Onchan B with a 4-6 away loss, however Harry Minor and Bernie Durcan both managed to keep their winning run going to maintain their perfect records.

South Ramsey B are starting to get their act together, they took a solid 3-7 away win against Port St Mary A which could just as easily have been 10-0, having lost two games 18-21 and a further game 19-21. Edward Carlyle continued his good form, whilst I can’t see Tony Dugdale losing many games in division two this season.

Marown C having beaten South Ramsey B 7-3 on their own turf the previous week would have been expecting to do as well if not better against the lower ranked C Team with another visit north, however the home team showed their B team how to do it seeing off the visitors 7-3, whilst Peel C hosted Douglas B in a tight encounter with the home team taking a 6-4 win.

In division three Ballaugh C went top on 24 points from three games after their 9-1 home win over Peel D, whilst Ballaugh B sit in second following their 2-8 away win over Douglas D. Onchan C currently sit in third, hosted Port Erin B, with the home team claiming a 7-3 victory.

Marown D continue to impress sitting in fourth and claimed another win courtesy of an 8-2 home success over Douglas with Jay Waters leading the way with a 21-1 win. Castletown C rounded off the weeks round of fixtures with a 3-7 away win over Noble’s B.

Ballaugh Bowling Club hosted the Association Singles on Sunday afternoon with the competition attracting 53 entries. The green has continued to improve and was in excellent condition for those taking part in what started in very wet conditions, however as the day went on the conditions improved to end in glorious sunshine.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Glynn Hargraves to South Ramsey teammate David Bradford 13-21, Derek Allen (Port Erin) to the same score with his defeat to Bob Clark (Castletown), whilst Neil Withers lost out to Marown teammate Matthew Keggen 19-21, with Phil Kerruish (Onchan) being beaten by Peel man Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to the same score.

In the semi-finals Bradford, who had played consistently well all day was up against Clark, with the former continuing to play extremely well, however Clark had an answer for everything playing some great bowls to turn two down into a two for himself on more than one occasion with Bradford only being guilty of playing too well, it was Clark who edged a fantastic game 21-20 to take his place in the final. The other semi-final was also close throughout, with the game not up to the standard of the first semi-final it still had plenty of good bowls with Kelly doing enough to get over the line 21-19 against Keggen to reach the final.

In the final Kelly upped his game considerably to take eight of the first 11 ends playing his favourite corners, whilst keeping his opponent to singles throughout the match. Clark had no answer for Kelly, who went on to score two quick-fire doubles to seal a resounding 21-10 victory to claim the Association Singles title and the winner’s prize of £100 for his efforts  

The presentation was made by Association Competition Committee Officer Steve Moore, who thanked Ballaugh and their club members for hosting the competition and providing refreshments throughout the day.

Week two in division one had the weather play a factor with strong winds on Monday evening making for difficult bowling conditions with Onchan A hosting pace setters Marown A at the Park with the visitors taking the spoils with a 3-7 win. The five winners for the Crosby men were all comfortable with low double figures victories, with the biggest win from Juan Killip who inflicted a rare home defeat on Kevin Quirk 21-10. Winners for the home team were Jordan Cain with a 21-8 win over Matthew Keggen, Mike Thomas recorded a 21-16 victory over Phil Kelly, whilst captain Peter Slinger just got the win 21-20 over John Gelling.

Peel A sit in second place following their tricky away fixture against North Ramsey A, who now have their destiny in their own hands having recently taken over the maintenance of their bowling green, they will look to get their green back to its best over time. The visitors came away relatively unscathed with a good 2-8 victory thanks to Tommy McMeiken winning 21-19 against Ray Skelly, whilst George Gadsby inflicted a second consecutive 21-20 defeat of the season on Tony Smart. Winners for the Mooragh men were Gary Merrill with a 21-15 victory over Gary Smith, whilst John Cannan continues to be tough to beat at home with a 21-19 win over Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly.

South Ramsey keep ticking along quietly with a rewarding visit to the opposite end of the Island to take on Port St Mary A recording their second 8-2 win of the season. Winners for the home team were Trevor Quayle who won 21-7 against Chas Grills, with Dan McCabe not far behind with his 21-10 victory over Alan Moore. South Ramsey responded with three single figures wins from Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly beating Paul Russell 21-5, whilst David Bradford & Glynn Hargraves matched each other with their 21-7 wins over Paul Skelly & Tim Williams respectively. Peter Collister continued his fine form with a good 21-11 win over Wayne Roberts.

Promoted teams Peel B & Ballaugh A met in the Sunset City with the home team recording an assured 7-3 win, which on another night could have been 9-1 with Gordon Corrin losing out 19-21 to Barry McDonald, whilst Robert Middleton just missed out 20-21 to John Maddrell, Paul Quirk was heavily defeated 6-21 by Philip Quayle. For the home team captain Paul ‘Pookie’ Quirk continues to impress and is not looking out of place in division one with a 21-14 win over the experienced John Keenan.

Noble’s A hosted Castletown A and will have been pleased to take four games from the visitors with Les Brookes, Dave Naughton and Sam Stannard-Duke all winning 21-14, whilst Martyn Hobson will have been delighted with his 21-13 win over Nathan Cooil. A lot of credit must go to the Noble’s men with four of the players having never played first division bowls, yet all four are giving a good account of themselves as they look to gain experience. For the visitors Bob Clark recorded an unbelievable 21-0 win over Tommy Collister, which must be a first with Tommy always being the standout performer at every club he has played for. Sam Clague returned to winning ways with a 21-8 win over Mark Quinn, captain Ian Watson beat Stephen Hampson 21-14, whilst Nathan Hamilton continues his good start to the season with a 21-10 win over Steve Cook.

Marown B reversed their 2-8 defeat from the previous week with an 8-2 home win over Douglas A with two changes made from the last team with Bobby Thorne coming in to record a 21-14 win over Andy Cannell, whilst James Kelly also came in and just missed out 20-21 against Shaun Seal. Stephen Rundle stayed with the B Team this week and got his reward with a 21-20 win over Ian Moore, whilst Karl Parker beat Gary Conwell 21-7, with Brian Kelly winning 21-8 against Gordon Wynne-Smythe. The second winner for Douglas was Jimmy Sansom, who would have been pleased to take a 21-10 win over Glenn Boland.

In division two Marown C pulled off the shock of the night with a 3-7 win away to South Ramsey B, who continue to make life hard for themselves in their quest for an immediate return to division one. Winning for the visitors were Kevin Kelly who recorded his second win in five days on the same green, this time seeing off Christian Caley with a 21-12 win, Jamie Joughin performed well to win 21-13 against Austin Hart, whilst Carey Dewhirst just got home with a 21-20 win over Steven Waters. Winning for the home team were Edward Carlyle who has returned from an injury over the winter to beat Matt Derrick 21-12, ably backed up Bryan Corner and the ever reliable Tony Dugdale.

Port Erin A continue to set the pace at the top of division two with their second 9-1 win of the season, this time seeing off Finch Hill B at Breagle Glen. For the home team Harry Minor, Derek Cadamy, Bernie Durcan and David Cain all won to single figures, with Brian Murphy sparing the whitewash with a surprise 21-19 win over Steve Durcan.

Finch Hill A sit in second place following their 8-2 home win over Peel C, with Onchan B performing well to record a 3-7 away victory over Castletown B with Will Penhallurick continues to impress in division two having only taken up the game last year, he took a 21-15 win over George Peach. Douglas B won 8-2 at home against Port St Mary B with single figure wins from Andy Foster, Steve Gregg & Willy Cowley. In division three only a point separates Ballaugh C and their higher ranked B side who sit at the top, with the B winning 7-3 at home against Castletown C, whilst the C bettered this with a 1-9 away win over Douglas C. South Ramsey D won 7-3 over Douglas with all five wins being to single figures. Marown D recorded their first ever win with 7-3 home victory over Noble’s B, with the visitors Junior player – 12-year-old Alex Hampson impressing with a 21-20 win over Steve Cain. Finishing off the round of fixtures Onchan C won 3-7 away to Peel D.

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Charity Cringle Fours men’s open competition on Sunday attracting 26 pairs to compete for the trophy.

The quarter finals had three Castletown pairings lose out with Derek Lewney & Ian Watson well beaten 8-21 by Port St Mary pair Wayne Roberts & Trevor Quayle, Jordan Drewett & Nathan Hamilton were defeated 15-21 to brothers Kevin & Tom Kelly (Marown/Peel), George Foy & Mike Hargraves lost out 8-21 to Marown men Juan Killip & Colin Kelly, whilst South Ramsey pair James Teare & Stefan Kelly were defeated 11-21 by home duo Sam Clague & Bob Clark.

Both semi-finals finished around the same time with Roberts & Quayle seeing off the Kelly brothers with a 21-12 win from 15 ends played to take their place in the final, whilst Clague & Clark also progressed with a 21-16 win over Killip & Kelly, also with 15 ends played.

The final got underway with the scored tied 8-8 after three ends played. Roberts & Quayle stepped up a couple of gears to put themselves firmly in control of the game taking four of the next six ends to lead 19-11, scoring three trebles and a double on the way. The last four ends were shared by both teams, this was enough to see Roberts and Quayle over the line with a 21-13 win to seal Roberts’ second win in this competition and Quayle’s first.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Ron Williams, who thanked Kath Kinley and the club members for the smooth running of the competition & announced that £280 had been raised for Manx Blind Welfare Society. Noel Cringle, the long standing sponsor of the competition then presented the prizes.

After over 19 months since league games took place it was great to be back bowling in the night league. After a day of heavy rain on Monday only three first division fixtures went ahead with the current champions and league favourites Marown A hosting Noble’s A at Crosby. The home team showed no mercy to the visitors with a 10-0 whitewash. One notable absence from the Marown line-up this season is Dean Kipling, with Juan Killip stepping up from the B Team, with Killip just scraping home with a 21-20 win over Steve Cook to ensure the visitors went home empty handed and soaked through. Noble’s look to be in for a tough time this season, having had a tough winter with the club rumoured to be close to collapsing, there has been a fantastic effort from the remaining club members to ensure the club survived and are able to prosper once more. 

Ballaugh A having been promoted in 2019 have had to wait a considerable amount of time following their return to the top tier, they hosted Port St Mary A with the visitors claiming a 2-8 win thanks to Robbie Cooil winning 21-19 against Patrick Grant, whilst Paul Skelly won to the same score against John Maddrell. For Ballaugh Barry McDonald and Tony Quine beat Tom Collins and Paul Russell respectively. Ballaugh look to have a good blend of youth and experience, however I do feel they will need to rely heavily on their home form to remain in division one come the end of the season.

Castletown A look to have got their team heading towards their strongest eight players at the club with one eye on the future, they hosted North Ramsey A at the Crofts with the home team claiming a 7-3 victory. That said 79-year-old Mike Hargraves stepped in at late notice and proved he can still compete seeing off Tony Smart 21-20. Bob Clark marked his return to the A Team with a 21-4 victory over Allan Callow. Winners for the visitors were Gary Merrill who beat town captain Ian Watson, Ray Skelly who took a notable 21-15 win against Association Cup holder Sam Clague, whilst Steve Walmsley beat Jordan Drewett 21-18.

On Wednesday evening the weather was much kinder to the teams that had rearranged their fixtures with the closest match of the first round of fixtures between Douglas A and Onchan A at the Villa. With the match tied 4-4 on games the visitors just edged the chalks by seven (136-143) to claim the two aggregate points with a 4-6 victory. For the visitors Mike Thomas beat Mervin Sayle with a 21-13 win, Kevin Quirk & Frank Watson beat Gordon Wynne-Smythe & Shaun Seal 21-11 respectively, whilst Peter Slinger had to work for his 21-17 win over Gary Conwell. For the home team Andy Cannell claimed the biggest win of the night with his 21-6 victory over Reginald Temporaza. Keith Rise claimed a good 21-15 win against Phil Kerruish, whilst Ian Moore and Jimmy Sansom both edged home 21-19 against Jordan Cain and Mark Kelly respectively.

Rayner Shield holders Peel A hosted their newly promoted B Team in the sunset city with the higher ranked team taking a 9-1 win. The only winner for the B team was Paul ‘Pookie’ Quirk who claimed a stunning 21-7 win over Gary Smith. Rayner Shield hero Peter Greenlees continues to impress and has remained with the A Team this season, George Gadsby made his comeback after a seven-year gap, whilst Darren Young returned to the fold after last turning out for Peel in 2018.

South Ramsey A hosted Marown B with the visitors coming away with two points following their 8-2 loss. New Marown signing Glenn Boland won 21-15 against James Teare, whilst Kevin Kelly stepped up from the C Team to stun Alan Moore with a 21-18 victory. Leading the way for the home team were David Bradford and Glynn Hargraves with single figure victories, whilst the other four home wins were comfortable.

In division two Castletown B have a wealth of experience and will be looking for an immediate return to division one, they got their season off to a flying start with a 1-9 success away to Finch Hill B. The other team relegated to division two was South Ramsey B, they started off their campaign with a 3-7 victory against their C Team who have been promoted from division three, they will be keen to consolidate their place in the division this season.

There are just two A teams in division two with Port Erin looking the most likely to challenge at the top, they got off to a good start with a 1-9 away win against Peel C with David Cain & Peter Addison both winning to single figures. The other A Team in division two are Finch Hill A who made a solid start to the season with a 3-7 victory at Port St Mary, with Dave McCabe and Peter Hughes both taking single figures victories.

Marown C had to juggle their team this week due to rearranged fixtures, this didn’t stop them from recording a 7-3 home win over Douglas B with Jamie Joughin the biggest winner for the Crosby men.

In division three Port Erin B gave Douglas D a drubbing with a 0-10 away win at the Villa, with the D Team including a number of new bowlers it was always going to be tough. Noble’s B scored well individually despite losing 1-9 at home to Ballaugh B, with Terry Bates sparing the whitewash with a 21-20 win over Dicky Watson. Onchan C matched Ballaugh’s victory with their 9-1 home win over Douglas C with Michael Knowles the only winner for the visitors, who won 21-18 against Jamie Clague.

Marown fielded a D Team for the first time in their history and performed well taking four points following their 6-4 loss away to Ballaugh C, whilst Castletown C made a positive start to the season with a 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D.