The Over 60’s Tower Insurance League certainly produced a few upsets to the form book this week with leaders Castletown A dropping a point on their visit to Onchan B, while the Town B team used home green advantage to beat Onchan A 5-3 and Peel B travelled to the Villa and defeated Douglas A by a similar score line. Second placed Port St Mary had a narrow win over Ballaugh. Finch Hill A travelled to the Mooragh and came away victors in their clash with North Ramsey B. while in the reverse fixture North Ramsey A beat the Finch Hill B team by 7 -1, and South Ramsey made the long journey to Port St Mary B worthwhile with a 8-0 whitewash, as did Peel A at home to Douglas B, while Noble’s Mixed had a good 5-3 win at home to Marown, and Port Erin had an easier than expected victory over the rapidly improving Noble’s Park outfit.

In the Thursday set of fixtures Peel A entertained Castletown B and although all the games were close the final result certainly wasn’t with Peel winning 7-1. Another close game was at Port St Mary A who just managed to edge out Douglas A 5-3, while leaders Castletown A won 6-2 at home to Peel B. Points were shared by Onchan B who have had a superb week with their visit to the hard to beat at home Marown, while Finch Hill A were held at home by Ballaugh. North Ramsey A also had a close game just edging out Noble’s Park 5-3, while Onchan A got back on track with a 7-1 win at home to Port Erin. Noble’s Mixed continued their better run with a 7-1 home win against North Ramsey B and finally another team to win both thsi week was South Ramsey who had a 6-2 win against Finch Hill B. The League table after 16 games is Castletown A 29 points , PSM A 28, South Ramsey on 25, North Ramsey A 24, Onchan A and Peel A on 23, Castletown B 22, Onchan B 20, Marown 19, Ballaugh 16, Noble’s Mxd 15, Finch Hill A, Douglas A and Port Erin on 14, Noble’s Park and North Ramsey B on 10, PSM B 6, Peel B 5, Finch Hill B 3 and Douglas B 0.

There is a new leader in the Merit with Peter Kelly of Marown has won 15 with on 14 wins come Mike Thomas (Onchan A), Chas Grills (S. Ramsey), Stuart Garrett (Douglas A) Dave Foulis (Ballaugh) and Collin Holland (Castletown A) .

This week also saw the Ismay Cup second round games and the undoubted shock of the round was the defeat of holders and league leaders Castletown A by Finch Hill A at Finch Hill with a superb 5-4 win and this was made even more difficult for Casteltown as Finch Hill had to give the Town a game as they only had eight instead of nine players. The other three ties also went to the home teams with North Ramsey A defeating South Ramsey 7-2 , Peel A beat Ballaugh 8-1 and Port St Mary A had a walk over as North Ramsey B conceded their game.

The Draw for the Semi Finals was made on Thursday and sees Peel A v Port St Mary A, and North Ramsey A v Finch Hill A which will be played on Wednesday 25th June. The Draw for the Mini Cup will be made shortly.

With quarter of the season already gone in the Tower Insurance Over 60’s League, Champions Castletown hold a two point lead over close neighbours Port St Mary A, The Town had another 8-0 maximum at home to Finch Hill A on Tuesday, and then picked up the points on their travels to Ballaugh with a 5-3 victory, Port St Mary A dropped a point at home to Marown in a very close encounter, before bouncing back with a excellent 6-2 away win at Nobles Mixed. Onchan B hold onto third place three behind the leaders after defeating North Ramsey B at the Mooragh before dropping a surprise point at home to Peel B. North Ramsey A are having an up and down season but at the moment they are on a definite up, travelling to Onchan A and taking both points with a fine 6-2 win before banging in a full house against Douglas B at home to move into fourth place four points behind the leaders level with them are Onchan A who have had a bad week, following the loss to North Ramsey they dropped a further point on their visit to Peel A who are always difficult to beat at home. Also bracketed with these two teams are South Ramsey who also had a full house against Douglas B, before travelling to Castletown B to inflict a very close 5-3 defeat on the home team, Two teams on 13 points are Marown who after picking up a point at PSM A had a another draw at Finch Hill A. Castletown B had a good win at Finch Hill B,while on 12 points but with a game in hand are Peel A who had good win at Noble’s Park. Ballaugh are another outfit on 12 points beating Douglas A 5-3 at the Villa this week, Douglas A responded with a victory of their own against North Ramsey B. Noble’s Park are having a reasonable start to the season with four clubs below them in the league, Port St Mary B who they shared a point with on their trip down south, Peel Sunset B, Finch Hill B and Douglas B. The Ismay Cup pitted Onchan A against North Ramsey A and although Onchan with home advantage had a four game lead North Ramsey fought back to clinch the game 5-4, South Ramsey entertained Castletown B and had a good 6-3 win over the Southerners, Holders Castletown A defeated 2012 holders Douglas A at the Villa by a comprehensive 8 games to 1, While Finch Hill A made it a bad Ismay round for Onchan by putting the B team to the sword by 7 games to 2 at a tricky Finch hill Green. Unfortunately Port St Mary B conceded their game against their A Team as did Noble’s Park against Ballaugh, The two remaining Ismay games were played on Friday, Peel Sunset A travelled to Marown and came away victors by 5 games to 4, While North Ramsey B had a superb 6-3 away win over Finch Hill B to join their A team in the last eight.

The Merit Table has changed once again, after Tuesday both Peter Kelly (Marown) and Dave Foulis (Ballaugh) lost their games to leave Dave Faragher sitting all alone on the top of the pile, however he to lost on Thursday, so that at present Chas Grills (South Ramsey and Collin Holland (Castletown A) who have both played 9 and won 9 are on the top of the perch, with Peter Kelly, Dave Faragher (Castletown A), Douglas pair Roy Williams and Stuart Garrett and Dave Foulis all having played 10 for 9 victories. Can I remind all bowler that the Foster Cup which is being played at Douglas on Wednesday 14th May please get your entries to George Peach (471301)

The lead in the race for the 2014 Tower Insurance Over 60’s Championship has changed after surprise early leaders Onchan B hit the buffers this week firstly losing at home to visitors North Ramsey A by 5 games to 3 then losing by a similar score on their visit to South Ramsey. This has allowed Castletwon A to gain top spot with a 7-1 home victory against Peel A followed by a visit to their bogey team Port Erin where they came away with the points in a 6-2 win, right on Castletown A’s tail come Port St Mary A and Onchan A both just a point in arrears, Port St Mary had a good home win over neighbours Port Erin by 7-1 and then followed this up with a excellent but very close 5-3 win at the Mooragh against a always difficult to beat North Ramsey A. Onchan A had a far better week than their B team and moved ahead of them by a position and point, firstly a shared point at Douglas A in a close 4-4 encounter, before using their adopted home advantage to see of Ballaugh by 6 -2. The teams how in 5th and 6th places both on 11 points Marown and Castletown B both had 5-3 wins on the Tuesday, Marown at home to Finch Hill B while Castletown B just made it after the last game went in their favour 21-20 to beat North Ramsey B at the Mooragh, it was a bit de jay vu when Marown visited the Crofts to play Castletown B with the town again winning the last game 21-20 but this time it was to share the points against a very good Marown outfit. Noble’s Mixed held South Ramsey to a draw at home on the Tuesday then completed a good week with a 6-2 win against Douglas B at the Villa. Noble’s Park pulled off a major surprise by getting both points against Douglas B at home on Thursday in a close 5-3 victory, while Peel B eventually got their points score on the move with a home victory over a depleted Douglas B on Tuesday, while Finch Hill B also got their first points on Thursday by beating Peel B by 5 games to 3. Port St Mary B had a poor week losing to Ballaugh and then at home to North Ramsey B by 5 games to 3 in another close game. The Merit Table now sees the number of players having played every game and won every one drop from 6 to 3 with Peter Kelly (Marown), Dave (Fagsy) Faragher (Castletown A) and Dave Foulis (Ballaugh) being the 3, two players have played 7 and won 7 they are Chas Grills (S Ramsey) and Collin Holland (Castletown A), which I think shows what a competitive league we have. The Mini Cup first Round was played this week and the clear favourites after the super start to the league Onchan B visited Peel B and came away with a 6-3 win, Port Erin had a good 7-2 win over neighbours Port St Mary B, while North Ramsey B just managed to win at Noble’s Park with a 5-4 score line and a game they won 21-20, while Douglas B had to concede their game against Finch Hill B at Finch Hill. So this leaves Finch Hill B, Onchan B, Port Erin and North Ramsey B as the teams that will go in the hat for the Semi Final Draw.

Onchan B continue to lead the way after games 5 and 6 of the Tower Insurance Over 60’s League. Onchan were in sparkling form against Castletown B at a very quick second home at Noble’s 3 to come away with a 7-1 victory, Their better halves at Onchan A kept up the pressure with a similar score line on their visit to Peel B, while Champions Castletown recorded their second maximum in consequetive matches against Douglas B to remain in touch with the chasing pack, as did Port St Mary A who also had a maximum to see of Finch Hill B, while Peel A had a tough fight on their hands before they left North Ramsey B with both points in a 5-3 away win, while at the Villa Douglas A had agood victory over North Ramsey A to dent the Northerners title asperations, while Ballaugh got back on form and used home advantage to defeat Port Erin, a similar scoreline was recorded by Marown A who beat Nobles Park A, While Finch Hill A are starting to find their feet and got a good point at home to South Ramsey in a 4-4 draw. While the final game saw Noble’s Mixed gain two points in a 5-3 win at home to Port St Mary B.

The second set of fixtures saw Onchan B travel to Port St Mary B and they kept up their 100% record with a fine 6-2 win, Castletown A made it three maximums in a row with a good win at Finch Hill B, while Onchan A has a very close win over Finch Hill B 5-3 with two Finch Hill players getting to 20 it could of easily gone the other way. Peel A enteratained Post St Mary A and this game ended all square at 4-4 again Peel has a player on 20 so this game again could have had a different outcome. North Ramsey A got their week back on track with a maximum 8-0 win over Noble’s Mixed while North Ramsey B shared a point on their tripm top Port Erin, While Castletown B got back to form with a 6-2 victoruy over Ballaugh, and Noble’s Park had a good 5-3 win over Peel B who are having a difficult time this season, and Marown visited the Villa and defeated a depleted Douglas by 7 games to 1, while South Ramsey used home advantage to defeat Douglas A by 5 games to 3. After 6 games on six players have won all theri matches they are Peter Kelly( Marown), Dave Faragher (Castletown) Dave Foulis (Ballaugh), Colin Hinds (Onchan A), David Kelly (Onchan B) and Ray Maddrell (PSM A) with both Collin Holland (Castletowen A) and Chas Crills (South Ramsey) having won the five games they have played.

The Prelim Round of the Ismay Cup was held on Wednesday and saw home teams Castletown B defeat Noble’s Mixed by 6-3, and Finch Hill B beat Port Erin by the same score line. While Finch Hill A made it a good day for their club with a 6-3 win at Peel B, and the reamining game was a walkover for North Ramsey A against Douglas B. On a very sad note I would like to express all the over 60’s players condolences to Willie Craig family and friends. Willie who passed away aged 89 was a fine bowler and was captain of Finch Hill Over 60’s until this year as well as a multiple Island snooker champion.

ONCHAN B LEAD THE WAY

The second week of fixtures in the Tower Insurance over 60’s league saw the number of teams with 100% records drop from five to one. The Leaders Onchan A visited champions Castletown A and it was the southerners who took the points with a 5-3 victory, another team to fail on Tuesday was Castletown B who lost out, on their visit to Douglas A by 5 games to 3, two of the 100% teams met with Onchan B playing their home fixtures on Nobles 3 due to problems with their home green, hosting Peel A and in another close encounter Onchan B took the two points on offer with another 5-3 victory, Ballaugh the remaining unbeaten team again had the familiar score line of 5-3 by winning at home against Finch Hill B.

Other close games which all also ended 5-3 were Port Erin who visited and defeated Noble’s Mixed, North Ramsey B who won at home against Douglas B who were a couple of players short, and Marown who used home advantage to beat South Ramsey, North Ramsey A had a 8-0 victory on their travels at Peel B, while Port St Mary A used home advantage to beat Noble’s Park and Finch Hill A beat the Port St Mary B team both by 7-1 margins.

On Thursday joint leaders Ballaugh visited Peel A and suffered a 6-2 defeat, leaving Onchan B who travelled to hard to beat, Port Erin and came away with a superb 5-3 win to be the only team to have eight points from their first four games. Other 5-3 wins went to Castletown B who entertained Noble’s Mixed at the Crofts, and Douglas A and North Ramsey B who won on their travels at Port St Mary B and Finch Hill B respectively. The Finch Hill B North Ramsey B was very close with the finches losing two games to 20.

Onchan A also won 5-3 at home to Marown. South Ramsey beat Peel Sunset B 6-2, while 7-1 wins came from Port St Mary A on their visit to Douglas B, and North Ramsey A who entertained Finch Hill A at the Mooragh, while Castletown A inflicted a 8-0 win on their visit to Noble’s Park

The Tower Insurance Over 60’s Bowls League rolled into action on Aprils fools day, which was a nice sunny day, however it was back to the wet weather gear for the Thursday fixtures. On Tuesday the top clash was at the Crofts where defending champions Castletown hosted last year third placed team North Ramsey A, and although Town came away with both points in a 5-3 win, North Ramsey scored more chalks and came very close to at least a draw.  The other match between teams in last years top five, Port St Mary A and South Ramsey saw the southerners win by a convincing 6-2, Douglas A who have lost a few top players this season, hosted Peel A but could not get their season off to a flier going down by 5 games to 3 at the Villa, Ballaugh used their home knowledge to defeat Noble’s Park by 6 games to 2, While Onchan A hit the road running on their visit to North Ramsey B by getting the first 8-0 of the season. Home side Onchan B had a 6-2 win over Douglas B, as did Noble’s Mixed with a similar home win against Finch Hill B. Marown had a 5-3 home win over Port St Mary B while Port Erin visited Finch Hill A and came home with a 5-3 win as did Castletown B on their visit to Peel B.

The Thursday games saw South Ramsey bounce back from their trip to PSM by using their Home advantage to inflict a close 5-3 win over Castletown A. After just 2 games only five teams have a 100% record, Onchan A team continue to impress with a fine 7-1 victory over Port St Mary A, while Onchan B travelled to Finch Hill B and came away with 2 points in a 6-2 win, the other three teams to have full records are Ballaugh who defeated Douglas B 6-2 at the villa, Peel A who could also be a surprise team this year had a 6-2 home victory over Noble’s Mixed, while Castletown B won by a similar margin against Finch Hill A. North Ramsey A got back on track with a 5-3 win at the Mooragh against Marown, Port St Mary B also had a close home win over Peel B by 5-3 while Port Erin shared the points with Douglas A, and Noble’s Park did likewise with North Ramsey B.

Can I thank all the captains for getting their cards back to me and also thank them for letting Matthew Keggen know the results for inclusion on the website