Monthly Archives: April 2022

Hargraves Wins Association Singles

Port Erin Bowling Club hosted the Association Singles on Sunday with the competition attracting a perfect 32 entries on a much improved green, which was running well.

The first two quarter finals were well contested with Neil Withers (Marown) losing out 18-21 to South Ramsey’s David Bradford, whilst Matthew Keggen (Marown) just lost 19-21 to Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary). In the bottom half of the draw it was a lot more straightforward with Colin Kelly (Marown) seeing off Peter Greenlees (Peel) with a 21-11 win, whilst Marown captain Paul Dunn had his challenge ended by South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves with the latter taking a 21-9 victory.

In the semi-finals Bradford took on Roberts with the game well contested throughout, the scores were tied at 15-15 after 14 ends, with Bradford going on to take four of the last six ends to secure his place in the final with a 21-17 win. In the other semi-final between Kelly and Hargraves it was the latter who was the quickest out of the blocks taking a 11-6 lead early on only for Kelly to draw level at 13-13 after 11 ends. From there Hargraves took control of the game to win the next five ends scoring seven chalks in the process to lead 20-13. Kelly threatened a comeback with four successive singles, however Hargraves got the single point needed to win 21-17.

The final got underway between the two long time team mates, with Hargraves settling into the game well to hold a three chalk lead over Bradford after eight ends with the score at 11-8. From there Hargraves never fell behind in the game, playing good length bowls to build a 16-12 lead, only to concede a double to leave the game finely poised at 16-14. Hargraves immediately bounced back with a double after a poor end from Bradford. Three good leads over the next three ends were enough for Hargraves to secure a 21-14 win and with it the first Men’s singles competition title of the 2022 season.

The presentation was made by competition secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked Port Erin for the use of the green, the club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day and the competition committee for the smooth running of the competition.

KNR Construction Win for Moore & Teare

Saturday saw the first ever running of the KNR Construction Mixed Pairs, which was hosted by Douglas Bowling Club at their Villa Marina Green. On a bright but chilly day with the Green running well those watching were treated to some good bowls.

At the quarter final stage Tina Hampson (Onchan) and Dave Naughton (Noble’s) lost 8-21 to the Mother and Son pairing of Paula (Onchan) and Nick Firth (Douglas) and a great battle between Clare Cooper (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) and home greeners Jan West and Andy Cannell saw the latter pairing use their home green knowledge to take the win 21-18. Caroline Whitehead (Port Erin) and Mark Kelly (Onchan) showed good form to beat South Ramsey pair Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves 21-15, whilst another South Ramsey pairing Jenny Moore and James Teare took a 21-19 win against Sue Gawne (Onchan) and Andy Kennish (Peel).

In the semi-finals Jan West and Andy Cannell were forced to fight hard to eventually overcome Paula and Nick Firth, while Jenny Moore and James Teare put on a great show of bowling to beat Caroline Whitehead and Mark Kelly 21-7.

In the final Jenny and James started well to soon build up a lead with Jan and Andy then putting up a comeback but eventually found their opponents too strong and it was James and Jenny that took the win 21-13.

Gordon Wynne-Smythe of Douglas Bowling Club introduced Neil Clarke of KNR Construction to present the prizes and in his speech James Teare thanked the Sponsors, Douglas Bowling Club and the Greenkeeper and everyone who helped to run the event.

Douglas Bowling Club would also like to thank the Sponsors and everyone who helped on the day.

2022 Bowls Season Underway – Peel A Top

With the first round of fixtures for the 2022 Canada Life International season getting underway this week all three divisions started with the a double week to get into the swing of things.

Peel A who finished third last year got off to a flier this week with a 2-8 away win on Monday over Castletown A. The Western team followed this up with a storming 10-0 win over Douglas A, with four single figure wins from Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, George Gadsby, Tommy McMeiken and Gary Smith. Dean Kinley who was rumoured to be going into Peel’s B Team this season, has played both games for the A Team so far, could well remain there having won both of his games, this included a return to his old stomping ground for the first game of the season. The highest scoring visiting player was Jimmy Sansom as he lost 14-21 to Peter Greenlees.

Occupying second place are South Ramsey A, having a solid week with a 2-8 away win over Douglas A who were unlucky not to take two points more off the visitors as Bob Clark battled back from a huge deficit to get over the line 21-20 against Shaun Seal, whilst fellow new signing Jordan Cain also got home with a 21-20 win over Ian Moore. Winning for Douglas were Andy Cannell with a 21-20 win over Glynn Hargraves, with Jimmy Sansom taking a 21-18 win over Peter Collister.

On Wednesday South Ramsey A were at home to Peel B, with the weather changing swiftly as they started in sun, with heavy hailstone and then rain arriving, with the weather clearing just as quickly again. The wins for the home team were comfortable, with stand-in Andy Mackie stepping up from the D Team and proving his appearance in the final at the Marown Floodlit competition recently was no fluke as he beat Stefan Kelly 21-19 to save the whitewash as he won 18 ends to his opponents 12 ends.

In third place are Marown A as they too started the season strongly with a 9-1 home win over Port St Mary A, with Port’s new signing Nathan Hamilton taking a brilliant 21-14 win over Manx Champion Colin Kelly. For the home team Harry Barton has made the step up from the B Team and he won 21-15 against Tim Williams, with Sam Clague who has joined from Castletown inflicting a 21-14 defeat on Trevor Quayle.

On Wednesday Marown A had a tough away trip to Onchan A, would have been happy to come away with a 3-7 win, with Colin Kelly returning to winning ways, Marown captain Paul Dunn showing a return to form with a 21-9 win over Matthew Quirk, which was matched by Neil Withers beating Mike Thomas. Will Penhallurick has stepped up from the B Team and he made it two wins from two games with a 21-14 win over Paul Kelly, with Phil Kerruish and Reg Temporaza both winning 21-11 against Sam Clague and Phil Kelly respectively.

Elsewhere Castletown A have had to move a number of players up from the B Team following the exodus of five of their younger players of the winter, they bounced back from their opening fixture defeat to Peel A by beating Port Erin A 3-7 at Breagle Glen on Wednesday evening.

North Ramsey A start the season with a run of away fixtures due to not having floodlights, their form will no doubt pick up once they get a run of home fixtures, as they suffered back to back 3-7 defeats at the hands of a strong looking Marown B and Peel B.

Newly promoted Onchan B currently sit in mid table on eight points as they lost 2-8 at home to Marown B, they quickly picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday, 6-4 at home to Port St Mary A, whilst Port Erin A weren’t able to capitalise on home advantage as they lost both of their opening fixtures.

In Division Two Finch Hill A are the early leaders with 15 points after two games, with South Ramsey B hot on their heels just one point off top spot following a good 8-2 home win over Douglas B on Monday, and a 4-6 away win over a strong looking Marown C who themselves will be looking for promotion.

Last year’s relegated teams Ballaugh A beat South Ramsey C 7-3 at home, only to suffer a 6-4 loss away to Castletown B, whilst Noble’s A are finding their feet with a 7-3 win at home and a 7-3 defeat away to Ballaugh B who were promoted from Division Three over the winter. The Noble’s members have recruited a number of signings over the winter as they look to take a step forward and rebuild the club, with some great effort and enthusiasm I would like to wish them all the best.

In Division Three Douglas C are the early pacesetters following two 8-2 victories at the expense of Noble’s B and Port Erin B as they hold a four-point lead over North Ramsey B and Ballaugh C.

It was great to see Noble’s field a second team once again this season after a winter of doubt, with the B team fielding a full team in both fixtures.

Ballaugh C will once again look to be in the mix for promotion, having finished last season in third place.

Elsewhere Castletown’s C team survived, despite the exodus from their A Team over the winter, whilst Peel D will look to continue their improvement with a full seasons experience now under their belt.

Season Preview

League champions South Ramsey A will start as favourites for the league title in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One following two big signings over the winter in the form of Onchan’s Jordan Cain and Castletown man Bob Clark, with both players having huge experience and a good pedigree in the local game. Whilst South Ramsey undoubtedly start as favourites on paper, that will count for nothing once the new season gets underway with teams looking to cause an upset.

Marown A should not be written off just yet with their captain Paul Dunn making some sweeping changes in their top team bringing in youth, with Sam Clague coming in from Castletown and Harry Barton stepping up from their B Team whilst they are also rumoured to be signing a well-known Merseyside county player who is said to be moving to the Isle of Man. A full season of Dean Kipling should not be under-estimated, with Kipling winning all 12 league games played last season.

Newly promoted teams Port Erin A and Onchan B will be looking to consolidate their place in the top division.

In Division Two South Ramsey B have strengthened, whilst Ballaugh A will look to go straight back up. Noble’s A who were also relegated have survived another winter as they look to continue to rebuild the club, they will look to find their feet in Division Two this season. Last season’s teams promoted from Division Three Ballaugh B and Onchan C will look to adjust to life in Division Two.

In Division Three a number of teams will be looking to push on and improve, with Finch Hill looking for an immediate return to Division Two. Something always worth watching out for in Division Three is the players new to the game as they gain experience and improve.

Bradford Wins First Title of 2022 Season

Marown held the opening tournament of the season following a gap of two years due to COVID, with the newly named Ian Kissack floodlight competition sponsored by Ardern & Druggan Limited attracting a healthy entry of 71. The competition was played over four days, handicaps ranging from two to eight with two qualifiers from the four qualifying sessions.

The competition commenced on Sunday afternoon with home greener Colin Kelly doing enough to qualify for the finals night ending the challenge of visitor Peter Jones, whilst club mate Debbie Leece performed well to book her spot in the quarter finals.

Sunday evening continued the run of home green players qualifying with Neil Withers seeing off his team mate and captain Paul Dunn on his way to book his spot in finals night, while Rebecca Teare ensured she progressed with a close fought game against Marown A player Phil Kelly.

Monday evening’s action started to see the away greeners progress with South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves navigating his way through his three qualifying games, with Hargraves being pushed hard by Will Penhallurick (Onchan) who lost out 19-21. In the other half of the session Peel D player Andy Mackie who only took the game up part way through last season, was playing off a handicap of seven, however Mackie was not to be underestimated as he recovered from a 11-14 deficit in his last game of the night to take 10 consecutive chalks to win 21-14 against the highly rated Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary).

The last qualifying session took place on Tuesday evening with new South Ramsey signing Bob Clark squeezing through his last game of the night 21-17 against Peel’s David Proctor, whilst team mate David Bradford who had only had one run out this season following a recent bout of COVID made no mistake in taking his spot in finals night as he beat Marown player Paul Kelly 21-15 on the way to qualifying.

Finals night was highly anticipated with two strong players from the Ladies game, five top Men’s players split between Marown and South Ramsey, with Peel D man Andy Mackie the surprise package.

The competition was redrawn at the quarter final stage with Rebecca Teare leading 18-14 against Clark, only for the latter to fight back and run out with a 21-18 victory. Debbie Leece led 13-10 after nine ends against Andy Mackie only for Mackie to stamp his authority on the game taking a 21-16 win to book his spot in the next round.

In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves built up a 17-8 lead only for Withers to fight back to 19-20, with Hargraves securing the single he needed to win 21-19. David Bradford also had a good lead on Manx Champion Colin Kelly, only for Kelly to get back into the game at 17-18. Bradford took the next two ends with a double and a single to win 21-17.

Continuing the trend both semi-finals were well contested with Mackie having a good lead on Clark, with Clark fighting back to lie game counting two at 19-20, however a slice of good fortune with an ‘in-off’ his own bowl secured the single needed by Mackie to book his place in the final. In the other semi-final the South Ramsey team mates had a good battle with Bradford edging it 21-17 against Hargraves.

The final was eagerly anticipated with Bradford starting on a handicap of three and Mackie starting on seven. Bradford pulled the handicap back early, with Mackie picking up the odd point to stay in contention. Mackie fought back with two quick doubles to threaten a huge upset as he took a 15-12 lead, however Bradford’s experience came through as he scored nine chalks over the next six ends to win 21-15 to pick up his second title in this competition after his 2018 success. Huge credit must go to Mackie who has not yet played a full season of bowls and having only played a couple of open competitions.

The presentation was made by Marown President Peter Kelly, with Kevin Druggan introduced from the sponsor Ardern & Druggan, whilst Ian Kissack’s sister Gill presented the shield to the winner. Thanks were given to the Marown ladies for the excellent refreshments provided. In his speech Bradford spoke of the huge loss to Marown over the past couple of months with the passing of Pat Withers and Ian Kissack.