North Ramsey Bowling Club hosted the Ken Parker Memorial Rose Bowl at Mooragh Park on Saturday, with 23 pairs entered on a much improved surface, which was running well.

At the quarter final stage all four games were keenly contested with John Kennish and David Bradford (South Ramsey) beating Glenn Boland and Jordan Cain (Marown/South Ramsey) 21-16. Onchan pair Kevin Quirk and Steve Parker got over the line 21-18 against the home pairing of John Piekalns and Bryan Corner. In the bottom half of the draw Mooragh pair Rob Monk and Paul Allison were trailing 11-16 against Marown pair Philippa Taylor and Lynda Cadamy, as the home duo went on to win 21-18 on a longer length. The closest game of the quarter finals was between South Ramsey’s Dido Kelly and Glynn Hargraves and Marown’s Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly, with the South men edging home 21-19 to take their place in the next round.

It was the end of the road for Quirk and Parker at the semi-final stage, as they were defeated 19-21 to Kennish and Bradford in a keenly contested game. In the other semi-final the home pairing of Monk and Allison were tied 13-13 with Kelly and Hargraves, as the Mooragh men went on to see the game out 21-13.

In the early stages of the final neither pairing was able to get a run of the jack with the score tied 9-9 after six ends, with six singles scored. Kennish and Bradford made their move as they went on to win five of the next six ends scoring heavily to take the lead 18-10.

What looked to be an unlikely comeback from the Mooragh men, after taking two singles, and a four to put the score at 16-18, which was followed by three good singles to put Monk and Allison ahead 19-18. To get into this position Monk had led brilliantly at the front to his own jack, putting pressure on with every bowl played, while Allison came to the rescue when they weren’t counting.

A single was picked up by the South Ramsey men to level the game at 19-19. On the following end Kennish played a short round peg, putting up two great bowls, with Monk taking the time to consider playing a reaching bowl which connected perfectly to count for one. Allison put the pressure on playing a good bowl to count for two, with Bradford saving one to buy another end. On the following end a great lead from Monk over distance ultimately went unbeaten to seal the comeback and a 21-19 victory. A final which was played with great sportsmanship between both pairings in the right spirit.

North Ramsey competition secretary Gary Merrill thanked those who had entered the competition. Ken was a popular member at both North & South Ramsey clubs. Gary introduced Ken’s daughter in law Caroline Parker to present the prizes. Thanks were also given to those that had helped run the competition, for the preparation of the green & running of the afternoon in particular the ladies in the beehive.

The 2025 Apollo mixed doubles comp was held at Finch Hill  in sunny & windy conditions the threat of Storm Floris did not deter the 22 entries. The Preliminary round saw Jamie Box and Debbie Leece (Marown) off to a flying start – “home-greeners” Les Brookes & Lil Smith, Peter Woods & Anne Hon had mixed fortunes with the latter pair narrowly missing out gaining six points when all-but against.

In round one the enthusiastic youngsters Grayse & Martha Blencoe (Mooragh Park) put up a creditable performance against the maturity of Les & Lil; surprise upset when youngsters Sam Quayle & Lacey McMullan (Castleotwn/Mooragh Park) narrowly progressed against the experience of Sid Bolton & Clare Cooper (Marown). Jamie & Debbie’s pairing again triumphed against the in-form Kim Hargraves and Alan Moore (South Ramsey) Willie & Pauline Cowley (Douglas/Ballaugh) saw off the runner up of Saturday’s competition – Brian Kelly & Sue Gawne (Marown/Nobles).

Calmer conditions had set in by the time of the quarter finals which saw two close fought games with remaining” home-greeners” Les & Lil winning by two points over Willie & Pauline and Sam & Lacey by three points over Steve & Judy Kelly (South Ramsey). Although hard fought, in the two other matches James Teare & Jenny Moore and Jamie & Debbie sailed comfortably into the semi-finals.

At the bottom half of the draw the good form of James & Jenny proved too strong for Les & Lil; in the top half of the draw Jamie & Debbie’s accuracy ended Sam & Lacey’s afternoon adventure.

The final was hard fought affair with Jamie & Debbie closing in on the eventual winners whilst they were standing at “all-but” for five ends finally the final bowl of the 20^th end clinched it.

Congratulations to James Teare & Jenny Moore on their victory. Thank you to Chris Reynolds of Apollo Blinds for support & sponsorship; to Joyce Ogden for her competent management of the event and to all Finch Hill members who helped and provided the refreshments.

Published by David Holmes

Last Saturday, 2^nd August saw Onchan Bowling Club host the Derek Killey Memorial Charity Trophy for mixed doubles. The weather was excellent for the 22 teams who entered.

The final was played between Sue Gawne and Brian Kelly (Nobles/Marown) against Kim Hargraves and Dido Kelly (South Ramsey) with both pairs having played the extra game in the preliminary round.  

Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey), considered strong contenders, were narrowly defeated in the first round by Mike Spooner and Julie Riley (Ballaugh) with a score of 21-18, after Spooner and Riley secured three points on the final end.

Three very close games were contested in the quarter finals with Gawne, and Kelly winning over Breagle Glen pair Anita and Wayne Roberts 21-19. Spooner and Riley couldn’t quite repeat their first round going down this time 18-21 to Debbie Leece and Jamie Box (Marown).

In the third quarter final Rose and Tom Waterworth (Ballaugh) edged out Cherise Fiahlo and Matthew Keggen 21-19 (Marown). In the last quarter final Hargraves and Kelly had a decisive win over Ballaugh’s Edward Trustham and Michele Cubbon 21-8.

The first semi-final was a close game at 11-11 until Gawne and Kelly picked up a single, three two’s and a three to beat Leece and Box 21-11. In the other semi-final the Waterworth’s were leading 15-9 over Hargraves and Kelly then lost a four, three singles, a two and finally a three going down 9-21.

In the final Hargraves and Dido Kelly were leading 16-6 after just seven ends played (with 5 handicap). Gawne and Brian Kelly took four points in the next three ends to make it 10-16 but Hargraves and Kelly replied with the same scores in the next three ends to make it 20-10. Once again Gawne and Kelly replied with singles on the next three ends to make it 13-20 but ran out of steam going down 21-13.

The presentation of the trophy and prize money was made by Onchan Bowling Clubs President Kevin Quirk who congratulated the finalists and thanked those who had helped to run the competition.

The winners and runners up kindly donated their winnings to this years charity which is the Parkinsons Disease Society Isle of Man. This added to the entrance fees, catering profit and a donation from the club came to £400.  A big thank you to all who entered.

Published by David Tait

The Isle of Man Team took part in the 2025 BCGBA Senior Supplementary County Championship which was held on Sunday at Fleetwood Bowling Club. The day started in wet conditions, with the wind playing a factor for the first two rounds of matches.

Drawn in Group 1, the opposition was tough with Staffordshire, North Midlands and Cheshire awaiting. The matches were played for on chalks with two points for a win, and one for a draw.

In the first round of matches the eight man team were up against Staffordshire, with the Manx men winning by 13 chalks (149-136). Peter Jones won 21-20 against Paul Evans, Neil Withers also crept home 21-19 against Reece Farr, with the latter hitting a high percentage of his strikes as the Marown man kept his composure to see the game out having trailed 13-19. Tom Kelly performed brilliantly leading 16-5 against Daryl Handley, as he went on to win 21-12 to give the Manx men an eight chalk lead at the halfway point.

The second half of the match saw Colin Kelly win 21-8 against Owen Evans, while Paul Dunn beat Kevin Hocknall 21-14. The five wins helped the team to secure the two points to get their day off to a good start.

In their second round match North Midlands were the opposition, they managed to share four individual games with the winners being Neil Withers who stormed to a 21-12 win against Ronan Allen, Glynn Hargraves wasn’t far behind as he beat Tyler Dewes 21-13, David Bradford won 21-16 against Jordan Badderley, while Paul Dunn beat Matt Horton 21-14. Tom Kelly lost out 18-21 after a good battle with Will Beal, while Colin Kelly lost out 20-21 to Max Jefferson. The chalks went in favour of the Island men by 10 (149-139) to put the team on four points and sitting in top spot after two games played.

In their final match they faced Cheshire. The team knew a win or a draw would guarantee safe passage to a first ever final, with a defeat leaving them in the unenviable position of relying on results in the other game. This fixture turned out to be their closest as they managed to secure a win by just three chalks (145-142) despite losing 3-5 on games, which says a lot about the games they did win and the chalks scored by the players who lost. Losing out 18-21 were John Kennish and Tom Kelly, with the former having a tough day at number one, but scoring well in each game as he lost to Richard Peach, while Tom lost out to Simon White. The three winners for the Island Team were Matthew Quirk who beat Nathan Brown 21-13, Neil Withers kept his 100% record going with a 21-15 win over Andy Gregory, as did Paul Dunn who was the last man on the green needing to win to 21-12 or better, he took any tension out of the situation with a 21-9 win over Darren O’Hanlon.

Taking six points from the group stages was enough to top the group with a chalks difference of +26. Staffordshire were runners up in the group with four points and a slightly better chalks difference of +28.

Group 2 consisted of Shropshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, and Merseyside with the latter topping the group to take their place in the final.

The final got underway with the first four games played on the green that the Manx men had been on all day. Tom Kelly didn’t get the chalks to reflect his performance as he lost 12-21 to Matt Gilmore, Paul Dunn had a battle with Stephen Glover only to lose out 17-21, Neil Withers picked up Manx win number one in the final as he trailed Phil Lee 15-17, finishing the game strongly with three doubles to win 21-17. Glynn Hargraves trailed 8-17 against Danny Barwise, with the former picking up another eight chalks to lose out 16-21.

The second half of the match moved to Green 2, with the Merseyside men building on the 14 chalk lead that they had built up from the first four games. Wayne Ditchfield won 21-5 against John Kennish to put the Merseyside men into a 30 chalk lead, to all but put the match beyond any doubt. Next off was Peter Jones who lost 15-21 to John Finch, swiftly followed by Matthew Quirk 12-21 to Andy Hayes. The last match off saw David Bradford recover from a 14-18 deficit to win 21-19 against Nick Burridge as the team lost by 43 chalks 119-162, picking up their second win of the match, as the Merseyside men took a deserved win.

The Isle of Man Team who were managed by Bob Clark and assisted by Nicola Kneale outdid any performance of any Manx team over the years as they reached the final, they can be proud of their performance to win all three group games and reach the final of this competition. Thanks must also go to Bob and Nicola for their efforts on the lead up to the day, especially on the day, with the incoming storm leading to a change in travel arrangements at short notice.

A great team effort overall, with Paul Dunn winning three out of four games, while teammate Neil Withers won all four games. The performance by the team and support from the supporters throughout the day was superb.