Monthly Archives: July 2023

Trio Compete In British Senior Merit

Three local bowlers competed in the British Senior Merit on Saturday at Heaton Park in Manchester.

Onchan man Peter Slinger won his first game 21-10 against John Short from Wales, before losing out 8-21 in the second round to Reece Farr (Shropshire).

Marown’s Tom Kelly just got over the line 21-20 against Joe Stockdale (Yorkshire), before suffering a 7-21 defeat to Lee Brown (Potteries & District) in the next round.

The best run of the local men was from Manx Champion Neil Withers (Marown) as he won his first game 21-16 against Yorkshire man Gordon Flower, then went on to secure an even better win in the second round as he beat Ryan Sandham (Cheshire) 21-11.

At the quarter final stage Withers came up against a formidable opponent in Simon Coupe (North Lancs & Fylde), who has won top titles all over the U.K. and also went into the event as the favourite with the bookmakers priced at 3/1 in a field of 64 players. Despite Withers efforts Coupe went on to take a 21-14 victory.

The competition was eventually won by Coupe who beat Reece Farr 21-11, the same opponent who had put Slinger out in the second round. This was Coupe’s first time winning the British Senior Merit.

Bolton & Jones Take Wins in Douglas Town Cup

Sunday saw the holding of the Douglas Town Cup Ladies and Men’s Singles hosted by Douglas Bowling Club at the Villa. The Men’s event started at 10:30 in the morning with 42 entries, with the Ladies competition starting later in the day had an entry of 19 Ladies competing.

In the Men’s singles at the quarter final stage Peter Jones (Marown) beat David Bradford (South Ramsey) 21-11, whilst Keith Rise held off a late comeback from Walter McCarthy to win 21-19. In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) won 21-8 against Rob Monk (North Ramsey), whilst Phil Kelly beat Marown clubmate Juan Killip 21-17 to progress to the next round.

At the semi-final stage Jones ensured it was the end of the road for Rise, with the Marown man winning 21-13. In the other semi-final Hargraves led 18-12 against Kelly, only for the Marown man to score seven consecutive chalks to lead 19-18. Hargraves got back in at the right time to seal his place in the final with a 21-19 victory.

In the Men’s final the rain set in as Hargraves (+6) won the first end, only to concede two doubles to Jones (+5) who was the current holder to fall 9-7 behind. Hargraves took the next three ends to go two chalks ahead at 11-9, then Jones got in to settle on a longer length as he scored seven chalks over six ends to lead 16-11.

A slice of fortune got Hargraves back in, with the South Ramsey man then closing the deficit to two chalks at 16-18, however Jones played two good bowls on the following end to lead 20-16.

On the next end a good lead from Jones was beaten at the first attempt, then a further single followed for Hargraves to put the score at 18-20. On the next end Jones was in after a measure as he retained the trophy for another year with a hard earned 21-18 victory in an entertaining final.

In the Ladies quarter finals Lyn Bolton (Marown) beat Michele Cubbon (Ballaugh) 21-9, Janet Monk beat Mooragh Park teammate Shannon McMullan 21-12. Marown’s Debbie Leece beat Margie Tasker (Port St Mary) 21-14, whilst home greener Paula Garrett beat teammate Katie Jacobs 21-10.

In the Ladies semi-finals Bolton got the better of Monk, with a comfortable 21-11 win, whilst Garrett won 21-14 against Leece.

The Final got underway with Bolton making the better start to lead 11-6, then Garrett closed the gap to two chalks at 10-12.

Belton stepped up another gear or two, as the Marown player restricted her opponent to scoring on only two more ends for Bolton to run out with three two’s and three singles to seal a comfortable 21-13 to win the Ladies Douglas Town Cup.

There was also a prize for the Juniors going furthest in the competition and the Junior Girls was won by Katie Jacobs (Douglas) and the Junior Boys was shared by Kian Bradford (South Ramsey) & Clark Kelly (Douglas).

At the conclusion Gordy Wynne-Smythe thanked all those who supported the event and the Douglas Club Members for a great effort in putting on the event. He then announced that they had raised funds for A Little Bit of Hope to the total of £450. He then went on to thank Jaks & Barbary Coast for sponsoring the event, with Andrew Gibbs presenting the prizes.

Hargraves & Bradford Win Nobles Cup

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Nobles Cup Men’s Doubles on Saturday with 29 pairs taking part, on a superb playing surface which is returning to its former glory, as the club continue to move forward they had a new sponsor on board this year with Camelback Movers.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Archie Dunn & Paul Dunn (Marown) 10-21 to South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves & David Bradford, home greeners Stephen Corkill & Mikey Cooper got past the pairing of Tony Hart & Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) 21-19.

In the other half of the draw John Kennish & Peter Collister (South Ramsey) won 21-6 against Marown’s Stevie Rundle & Walter McCarthy, whilst Marown’s Juan Killip and Matthew Keggen beat Brian Lindsay & Less Brookes 21-15.

At the semi-final stage Hargraves & Bradford ensured it was the end of the road for the final home green pairing of Corkill & Cooper, with the South Ramsey men winning 21-9 to reach the final. The other semi-final was keenly contested as the Marown pairing of Killip and Keggen went 17-12 ahead against Kennish & Collister, before the Ramsey pair rallied to win five of the last six ends to run out with a 21-18 to take their place in the final.

In the final Kennish & Collister won the first end scoring a single, only for Hargraves & Bradford win the next four ends scoring seven points to take a 13-7 lead, with a three scored as Bradford played out the counting bowl perfectly.

Kennish & Collister got back into the game with two singles, only to concede their second three of the game, however they picked up a three themselves on the ninth end to trail by four chalks at 12-16.

Hargraves & Bradford rallied once more to see the game out scoring five chalks over the next four ends to take a deserved 21-12 victory to lift the cup for a second time, following their first success in 2017.

With prizes paid down to the quarter finals, there was additional prize money paid out and a trophy for Marown’s Archie Dunn for best Junior in the competition.

The presentation was made by Tina Hampson who thanked the club members for their help throughout the day, Camelback Movers for sponsoring the competition.

Photo: Mark Bradshaw

Hampson Wins Inaugural Roy Williamson Memorial Trophy

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the inaugural Junior Boys competition on Saturday morning, with a good standard of bowls from the Juniors with the games played 21 up off scratch.

At the quarter final stage Clark Kelly (Douglas) lost out 11-21 to Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey), whilst Arran Dunn (Marown) just got the better of Andrew Tomlinson (Douglas) 21-20. Home greener Alex Hampson had a tough game with Archie Dunn (Marown), as the latter led 17-13 before Hampson prevailed 21-17, whilst Rhys Moore (Castletown) beat Robert Tomlinson (Douglas) 21-16.

At the semi-final stage 10-year-old Dunn performed well to beat 15-year-old Hargraves 21-16, whilst Hampson had a slightly more comfortable 21-15 win over Moore to reach the final.

In the final Hampson, who is the more experienced bowler performed well as he went 10-1 ahead scoring five doubles in the first six ends. Dunn had to dig deep and didn’t let his head drop as he performed well in the second half of the game before eventually losing out 10-21 to Hampson, who became the first winner of this competition.

The presentation was made by Tina & Kerry Hampson, who introduced Jackie Williamson to present the prizes, with all competitors receiving a prize. It was a proud and emotional day for the Hampson family, with winner Alex being Roy Williamson’s Grandson, as he became the first winner of the new trophy.

Howland Pairs Win for McCabe & McDonald

On Friday we saw the ever-popular Howland Pairs Over 60’s Men’s Doubles take place on a well prepared Green at Ballaugh Bowling Club with an entry of 26 pairs.

At the quarter final stage we saw home greeners Fred Waggett and John Kneen lose 14-21 to Andy Kennish (Peel) and Jimmy Sansom (Douglas) while Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) and Barry McDonald (Ballaugh) beat Neil Dunwell and Mike Thomas (Onchan) 21-20. We also saw two more home green players John Keenan and John Maddrell take a 21-14 win against Bryan Corner (South Ramsey) and Ray Skelly (North Ramsey) and Brian Colquitt and Geoff Porter (North Ramsey) lost 19-21 to Kevin Quirk (Onchan) and Steve Parker (North Ramsey and Onchan).

In the semi-finals the pairing of McCabe and McDonald proved to be too strong for Kennish and Sansom as they ran out winners 21-14 and the home pairing of Keenan and Maddrell beat Quirk and Parker 21-18.

In the Final we saw Dave McCabe and Barry McDonald start well and maintain the pressure to run out as winners 21-11 against John Keenan and John Maddrell.

The Chairman of the Over 60’s Bowling Association thanked Ballaugh for hosting the Competition and the ladies for their wonderful catering the awards were presented by Gordie Moore the Chairman of Ballaugh Bowling Club.

Jean Kelly Prelim Continues

Jean Kelly Prelim

Port Erin (+53) 200 V 199 Nobles (+43) The Port Erin side just managed to take the win by 1 point overall taking full advantage of that 10 point advantage. Susan Inch (Port Erin) won 21-9. Marilyn Ellison’s 21-7 and Sue Gawne’s 21-6 wins for nobles wasn’t quite enough and left them with the title of the plate in their sight.

Castletown A (+13) 196 V 158 Douglas (+57) Even with a 44 point advantage Douglas still had a lot of work to do, unfortunately for them Castletown were the much stronger team winning 8 – 1 on games. Paula Garrett took a 21-15 win for Douglas.But with Castletown winning 5 of their

 games to single figures they were always on the top.

The final prelim game was Peel Sunset (+45) 183 V 202 Ballaugh (+39) The Ballaugh team won 6-3 on games with 3 of them to single figures, giving them enough points to take them on to the next round, where the will face Marown A. 

Maximum Points for Ballaugh O60’s

Ballaugh received a full house against Castletown B who were 1 player short.

All games were won to singles figures leaving an overall score of Ballaugh 126 V Castletown B 28 (6-0)

Castletown A also recorded a full sweep winning 126 V 56 Mooragh Park A (6-0) Sue Peach, Anne Oates and Kim Foy all won to single figures.

The closest game of the day was Peel Sunset 107 V 91 Douglas A (3-3) Shirley Corrin and Joyce Kelly both had single wins for the west side. As did Paula Garret for Douglas.

Other Results: Mooragh Park B 101 V 75 Port Erin B (4-2), Port Erin A 80 V 110 Nobles (2-4), Onchan A 68  V 116 Finch Hill (1-5),Port St Many A 77 V 117 Marown(1-5.

A couple of close games later in the week. The first being Port Erin B 84 V94 Peel Sunset (3-3) The other game was Douglas A 87 V 93 Onchan A (3-3)  Douglas A were a player short so they had to give away a 0-21 game, But Paula Garrett scored a 21-1 win to keep the scores even.

Other Results: Marown 123 V 87 Ballaugh (5-1), Castletown B 106 V 89 Mooragh Park B (4-2), Nobles 99 V 124 Castletown A (1-5), Finch Hill 122 V 91 Port Erin A (4-2), Port St Mary A 94 V 106 South Ramsey (2-4)

Busy Week For Ladies Open Age League

Ladies open age league saw a couple of games that were postponed by the weather the week before played this week.

Mooragh Park 103 V 175  Marown A  (2-7) Janet monk 21-13 and Madison McMullan 21-15 were the Park winners.

Castletown B  121 V 180 Peel Sunset (2-7) Debra Cooper came close to another win for the southside just losing 20-21 to Gill Clarke.

Castletown A 165 V 131 South Ramsey (6-3) Kath Kinley (Castletown A) and Elaine Moore (South Ramsey) both recorded 21-6 wins.

Marown B 175 V 107 Douglas (6-3) Celia Joughin, Joyce Ogden and Lil Smith all had single figure wins.

Marown A scored a maximum win at home against Peel Sunset 189 V 105 (9-0) Clare Cooper, Rebekah Kelly and Helen Withers all took single figure wins.

Castletown B hosted the castletown Derby with a much improved scoreline to their last derby. 78 V 187 (1-8) Linda Dawson for the B team taking a win off the A team 21-19. 

Other Results: Douglas 107 V 171 Mooragh Park (2-7), Nobles 175 V 132 Port Erin (6-3), Port St Mary 143 V 163 Marown B (4-5), South Ramsey 172 V 118 Ballaugh (6-3),

Six Games to Go In Men’s Night League

Match number 16 of the Canada Life International took place this week as league leaders South Ramsey A edged another point ahead of second placed Marown A in Division One, with just six games left to play – with a visit to Marown yet to come following their 9-1 home win over Peel A. The lone winner for the visitors was Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly whose 21-13 win was never in doubt against Stefan Kelly, whilst the only other close games for the visitors were two 17-21 defeats for Dean Kinley against James Teare and Tommy McMeiken against Bob Clark. Winning to single figures for the home team were Peter Collister who won 21-3 against David Proctor, whilst Jordan Cain beat Gary Smith 21-8.

Marown A had a short trip to the Sunset City as they took on Peel B who managed to take two games off the Crosby men, with wins from Dewi Bartlett who beat Glenn Boland 21-8, whilst Dave Smith beat Paul Kelly 21-15. Michael Kavanagh just missed out on snatching a third point for Peel as he lost 20-21 to John Gelling. Winning big for Marown were Colin Kelly who beat Andy Mackie 21-4, whilst merit leader Paul Dunn beat opposing captain Paul Quirk 21-8.

The closest match of the night took place between Douglas A who were at home to bottom side South Ramsey B, as the teams played out a 5-5 draw, with the visitors only winning three games they will have been delighted to take the aggregate by four chalks (149-153) in what was a high scoring contest the Ramsey men could quite easily have picked up more points as their worst defeat was to 17-21, with Eddie Carlyle and Toby Hart losing to Keith Rise and Andy Cannell respectively. Tony Hart lost out 18-21 to Jimmy Sansom, whilst Austin Hart lost out 19-21 to Ian Moore, with Christian Caley losing to the same score to Gordon Wynne-Smythe. All three wins for the visitors were comfortable, which together with their high scoring defeats helped their cause with the aggregate as South Ramsey captain Ben Dugdale beat Gary Conwell 21-12, Frank Watson returned to the team as he picked up his second win of the season as he beat Mark Kneen 21-16, whilst Tony Dugdale won to the same score against Shaun Seal.

Castletown A continued their climb up the table as they won 7-3 against North Ramsey A at the Crofts. For the home team David Quayle finished strongly to beat Steve Walmsley 21-20, whilst Aaron Richardson was another man to pick up his second win of the season as he beat Gary Merrill 21-7. Also picking up good wins for Town were Nathan Cooil and Nathan Hamilton with both men winning 21-11 against Steven Waters and Paul Allison respectively, whilst George Foy made light work of Mooragh captain Rob Monk with a 21-12 win. For North Ramsey Allan Callow returned to winning ways as he beat Ron Williams 21-13, Jimmy Moffatt won 21-16 against Chris Lever, whilst John Cannan beat Town captain Jordan Drewett 21-18.

Marown B sit in seventh place following their 7-3 home victory over Port St Mary A. There is no stopping Crosby captain Darren Kerruish who picked up his second consecutive league win of the season as he beat Dave Saxon 21-13. Walter McCarthy was the best winner for the home team as he won 21-6 against Bernard Thackrah, whilst Karl Parker had to earn his 21-18 victory over Robbie Cooil. Trevor Quayle was the best winner for Port as he won 21-10 against Matthew Keggen, Dan McCabe wasn’t too far behind with a 21-13 win over Juan Killip, whilst captain Wayne Roberts beat John Kelly 21-18.

On Tuesday evening Marown C hosted Onchan A, with the game ending 4-4 on games, however the visitors earned the two bonus points as they took the aggregate by just six chalks (128-134). For the home team Sam Clague picked up the most impressive result of the night as he beat Peter Slinger 21-15, with Tom Kelly winning to the same score against Phil Kerruish. Jamie Joughin was the best winner for the Crosby men as he beat Mike Thomas 21-8. For the visitors Kevin Quirk was the only single figure winner as he beat Marown captain Stevie Rundle 21-6, with teammate Neil Dunwell continuing his good form as he beat Peter Kelly 21-12.

In Division Two second placed Ballaugh A had the opportunity to close the gap as they hosted league leaders Finch Hill A. Whilst they did claim a 6-4 home win, they would have hoped for a bigger win to close the gap further. For the home team Mike Spooner won 21-3 against Paul Dougherty, Richard Hainge beat Mark Taylor 21-9, John Keenan just got over the line 21-20 against Les Brookes, whilst Nigel Tebay took a good scalp as he inflicted a first league defeat of the season on merit leader Dave McCabe 21-17. For the visitors Pat Maher won 21-10 against John Maddrell, Stephen Oates impressed with a 21-13 win over Ballaugh captain Phil Quayle, Tony Epifani held on to beat Patrick Grant 21-20, whilst Dave Jones won his game 21-18 against Tony Grant.

Port Erin A sit in fourth place with a game in hand on third placed Castletown B, as they closed the gap to 10 points with a game in hand following their 8-2 home win at Breagle Glen. Ed Benson was the best winner for the Breagle men as he won 21-9 against Ray Harris, whilst Mark Stockham got the better of George Peach 21-20, with Steve Durcan also winning a close game as he beat Willie Corkill 21-19. For the Town mean Peter Oates beat Ken Horsley 21-15, with Ross Moore winning 21-11 against David Cain.

Third placed Douglas B are well placed in the league as they came away from Onchan B with a hard earned 4-6 win at the park, winning the aggregate by 11 chalks (125-136). Single figures victories from Bob Callow and Stuart Garrett over Paul Callister and Mike Alexander helped their cause with the aggregate.

Noble’s B occupy ninth place, but aren’t fully out of danger yet, as they are just five points away from the relegation places, however they kept Peel C in the danger zone as they inflicted an 8-2 win on the Western men with three 21-20 wins going in their favour, along with two single figure victories from Stephen Corkill and Phil Salmon.

South Ramsey C had a better week as they beat Noble’s A 7-3 at home, as they missed out on a further two points with Mark Quinn just getting the better of home captain Dave Corkill 21-20, Jim Collister beat Jay Moore 21-18, with Mark Bradshaw picking up a comfortable 21-12 win over James Moore. For the home team Ian Moore was the best winner with a 21-11 victory over Dave Naughton, with Andy Morgan winning a close game 21-19 against John Andrew.

In Division Three Ballaugh B came away from Breagle Glen with a 3-7 win over Port Erin B as they remain in top spot. For the home team Ben Mowle won 21-17 against Mike Buckeridge, Nigel Haymes beat Gary Griffiths 21-18, whilst Alan Crebbin eased to a 21-11 win over Stephen Swift.

Noble’s D kept themselves within touch of Ballaugh B, following their 7-3 home win over Douglas C (pictured). Winning for the Villa men were David Caley who beat Stan Cooper 21-2, Juan Readshaw, and Steve Gregg. For the home team winning to single figures were Terry Bates, Kevin Moore, and Andrew Bell.

South Ramsey D sit in fourth place, as they continued one of their most impressive seasons to date, following their 2-8 victory over Douglas D at the Villa. Greg Barlow won 21-2 against Junior bowler William Cowley, whilst another Junior bowler Ryan Hargraves beat Mark Clarke 21-20, with Billy Blair beating David Manley 21-19. For the home team Bob Banning ensured he cancelled out the 21-2 win from the opposition as he beat Chris Brown to the same score.

Marown D took the spoil with a 4-6 away victory over Peel D (133-142). Mike Ashmole was the best winner for the Peel men as he beat Ryan Holdaway 21-10, Andy Jackson held off James Kelly 21-19, whilst Joshua Trickett won 21-17 against Keith Watterson. For the Crosby men Alan Gault eased to a 21- won over William Quirk, whilst Jay Waters beat Own Crompton 21-17.

Ballaugh C welcomed Port St Mary B, as the visitors slipped to a 7-3 defeat to the Ballaugh men, as Juan Hargraves made a rare appearance on a bowling green, as he won 21-7 against Brian lace, a result matched by Nicholas Peterson who beat Tom Waterworth, whilst Ken Karran got over the line 21-20 against Jamie Kelly.

New formed team Noble’s C pulled off a great 2-8 victory away to Finch Hill B. The best winner for the visitors Nigel Hinds who beat Samson Smith 21-7, with Finch Hill captain Kevin Stannard responding with a 21-2 win over Dean Sowerby.

Port St Mary B rearranged their match at home to Douglas D, as they ended their week on a high as they hit top spot by two points thanks to a 9-1 win. Greg Brew ensured the visitors picked up a point as he beat Pete Collins 21-13.

Canada Life International Mixed Team Championship

In Group A Marown A hosted Ballaugh at Crosby as the home team eased to victory by 86 chalks (189-103), whilst North Ramsey A took the win over visitors Douglas A by 43 chalks (172-129).

In Group B current holders South Ramsey A took on Peel with the home team taking a comfortable victory by 79 chalks (180-101). In the other fixture Noble’s A fell to defeat at home to Port St Mary A by just seven chalks (147-154) as the visitors won 4-5 on games.

Canada Life International Mixed Team Plate

In the Plate competition in Group A Finch Hill took on the youthful Marown B at Kensington Road, with the hosts taking the win by 43 chalks (169-126), whilst Noble’s B beat North Ramsey B by 58 chalks (171-113).

Group B consists of just three teams as the fixture took place between Douglas B and South Ramsey B at the Villa the visitors won 4-5 on games and secured the all important chalks by 21 in a high scoring game (157-178).

Withers Wins 3rd Peel Town Cup

Peel Sunset Bowling club hosted the popular Peel Town Cup on Saturday afternoon. The competition returned to its home venue after being played on Ballaugh last year, with the Peel green vastly improved on last year the competition attracted 55 entries, despite the poor weather forecast the rain held off for most of the day. With handicaps ranging from +3 to +9, it certainly made for an interesting day with some shock results. There were a number of high profile casualties early on.

Losing out at the quarter-final stage were James Kelly (Marown) who was beaten 13-21 by clubmate Neil Withers, Sammy Clague (Marown) who lost 18-21 to South Ramsey’s Tony Hart, Nathan Cooil (Castletown) was well beaten 13-21 by Glenn Boland (Marown), whilst another Marown man Colin Kelly eased past Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) 21-10.

The first semi-final was well contested between Withers (+3) and Hart (+6), with the latter leading 15-8 after 12 ends, before a flurry of two’s from Withers ensured he reached the final with a 21-17 victory. In the other semi-final Boland had his work cut out with Kelly, as the latter ran out with a 21-14 win.

Both finalists have clashed a number of times on the green this season, with the match a tough one to call, with both players having enjoyed success on the Peel green over the years. After 10 ends the score was 10-10 with the players having tied the score on five occasions up to that point of the game, only for Withers to make the first move to go 16-12 ahead, then extending the lead by another point to go 19-14 and within touching distance of victory.

On the 20th end Kelly picked up a two following a measure to close the gap to three points. With Kelly intent on heading for the corners Withers capitalised on a poor lead from his teammate to count for one, with Kelly not beating this bowl Withers had the opportunity to make two for game, which he did to seal a 21-16 win and with it his third time lifting the famous trophy, with his previous titles picked up in 2013 and 1996, which was the first time that Withers had won a singles open.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Peel President Lynda Wilson, who thanked the new sponsors Central Bar & Bistro for their support, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, Arran & Archie Dunn for helping to run the competition and the club members for assisting throughout the day.