The Islands premier doubles competition the Association Doubles Championship was held at Marown Bowling Club on Sunday. The competition was played 21-up off a handicap of +3 for all competitors. The event was well supported with 26 pairs entering in a bid to win the coveted title.

At the quarter final stage, the home pairing of Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly eased to a 21-11 win over Noble’s pair Jim Callister and Alex Yates, whilst another home pairing – Colin Kelly and Peter Jones won by a bigger margin, 21-6 against Breagle Glen pair Wayne Roberts and Trevor Quayle, who had just put out the current holders Glynn Hargraves and Jamie Box (South Ramsey/Marown) in the previous round.

In the other half of the draw it was an all-South Ramsey affair, with John Kennish and Bradford up against Tony Hart and Lee Dawson, as the former pair went on to win 21-14, having trailed 9-12, Kennish and Bradford scored four threes in five ends to secure a 21-14 win. The closest tie of the quarter finals was between Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk (South Ramsey/Onchan), who were up against Marown pair Paul Dunn and Neil Withers. The home pairing led 17-11 after 13 ends, only for their opponents to close the deficit to two chalks at 18-20. Dunn and Withers went on to pick up the one chalk needed to secure a 21-18 win to advance to the next round.

In the semi-finals an all-home tie took place, with Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly facing Colin Kelly and Peter Jones, with the latter pair securing their second consecutive single figure win as the cruised to a 21-9 victory to book their spot in the final.

In the second semi-final Kennish and Bradford had a tougher game, but were always in control against Dunn and Withers, as they eased their way to a 21-12 win.

The final got underway with Kennish and Bradford having won the title for the first four years looking to get their fifth win to match Withers and Dunn, with Kelly and Jones looking to pick up their maiden win in this competition, with only three different pairs winning the title over the first 10 years the competition has been played.

With the rain getting heavier conditions worsened throughout the final, in what was a low scoring match, with just five doubles scored during the entire match, the rest of the scoring ends being singles.

Kelly and Jones favoured the corners, whilst Kennish and Bradford preferred a shorter length. After five ends the South Ramsey pair had built up a four-chalk lead, to put the score at 9-5. The Marown men responded to win seven of the following nine ends in their favoured corners to lead 13-11. Getting back in on the following end, with Kennish put up good lead bowls to keep the pressure on, the South Ramsey pair went on to win nine of the last 11 ends taking a 21-15 win to secure the title for the first time since 2019, deservedly picking up title number five in this competition.

The presentation was made by Competition Committee member Brian Kelly, who thanked Marown Bowling Club for providing refreshments throughout the day, everyone who had helped with the smooth running of the competition and those who had entered.

The final of the 2026 PlumbMaster sponsored Rayner Shield took place on Friday evening at Nobles Park with the Number One green being used, on a good surface that was running better than it had been recently. A healthy crowd were in attendance to watch events unfold.

The top two were contesting the final, with Marown A the clear favourites on the night, holding a massive 16-point lead in the league after 16 games played, (with two games to play) whilst also beating South Ramsey A home and away in the league this season.

Marown, the current holders have won the Rayner Shield 18 times, whilst South Ramsey have won it eight times, with six of those wins in the past 11 years. The teams have faced each other five times in Rayner Shield finals over the years, with Marown winning the first three finals (1997, 2014 & 2017), whilst South have won the last two contested (2019 & 2022).

The draw took place on the night, with South Ramsey winning the toss, they elected to take the jack on the even number games, with Marown taking the jack on the odd games.

Jamie Box got things underway in the final, on a green he will be familiar with having played in the festival numerous times over the years as he faced John Kennish, with the latter making a strong start taking an early 6-1 lead. The South Ramsey man never fell behind in the game, with Box fighting to hang in having trailed 7-13 and 11-18 before ultimately losing out to 15-21 to the 12-time Manx Champion.

The next game on saw South Ramsey take a 2-0 lead on games, with Division One individual merit leader Jordan Cain performing well against Marown’s youngest player Glenn Boland to build up a 15-7 lead. Boland fought back to reduce the deficit to just three chalks at 15-18, only for Cain to score a single and a double to secure a 21-15 win.

The third game off was between Tom Kelly and David Bradford, with the Marown man having better joy in the early stages, taking a 6-1 lead, extending the lead to 12-6, then maintaining the six chalk advantage at 14-8. Bradford battled back to close the deficit, eventually going on to take the lead for the first time in the game on the 28th end 18-17. With an exchange of ends over the next five ends, it was Kelly who won three of those five ends, crucially scoring a two on the way to securing a 21-20 win to get Marown’s first win of the night.

The next game off was between the youngest player turning out for both sides, with Toby Hart showing nerves of steel against seven-time Manx Champion and 2019 Champion of Champions winner Colin Kelly. The Marown man would have been a heavy favourite to win this one, however Hart dug deep to put in a huge performance to stun Kelly and the watching crowd. The South Ramsey man had scored three doubles by the eighth end on his way to lead 8-5, these proved to be the last of the doubles, with Hart scoring 13 singles after that winning 18 of the 31 ends played. Hart played superbly to lead 17-11, with five consecutive singles, with Kelly doing all he could to stay in the game playing saving bowls, to prevent the damage of giving away costly doubles.

Being the player and opponent that he is, Kelly fought back to get himself level for the first time in the game at 19-19 after 29 ends. The following end saw Kelly counting, with Hart as calm as he been all game, playing a superb bowl, just nipping inside of the counting bowl to score a single to lead 20-19. Hart played two good bowls on the following end, with the Marown man certain to be up at the end, he didn’t disappoint playing a reaching bowl, making good contact, it looked to the watching crowd that the game was going to a deciding end, however Kelly’s bowl hadn’t quite won the end, as Hart secured South’s third win of the night.

This put the match score at 3-1 to South Ramsey at the halfway point, with a 13-chalk lead (83-70).

The first game off in the second half of the match was between South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves and Paul Kelly, with the South captain putting in a solid performance with the only single figure win for South on the night, picking up seven doubles on his way to a 21-9 victory. This put the match score at 4-1 to South, and a healthy 25 chalk advantage, South knew either one more win or securing the chalks would ensure a win on the night.

The next game off followed swiftly with Marown pulling a game back, with Neil Withers putting in a dominant performance against James Teare, with a 21-7 win, scoring nine doubles on his way to victory, keeping the South man down to seven singles. The match looked to be finely poised, with the match score now 4-2 to South Ramsey and the lead reduced to just 11-chalks.

The last two games on the green at this point saw South Ramsey in the lead in both games, they quickly ensured that there was no hope of a comeback with Dido Kelly performing well to lead 16-9 against Peter Jones, whilst Peter Collister led 17-10 against Marown captain Paul Dunn, meaning the most chalks that could be dropped at this stage of the match for South were nine chalks.

With word seemingly getting round the green, it was the Marown men who kicked on as Jones won nine of the last 10 ends performing well, playing some great second bowls to run out with a 21-17 victory over Kelly.

This left Dunn and Collister on the green, with the Marown man finishing in a similar fashion to Jones, as Dunn won nine of the last 11 ends to secure a hard fought 21-19 win. This put the match at 4-4 on games won, with South Ramsey winning the match by five chalks to pick up their ninth Rayner Shield win, (147-142) to bring a conclusion to an entertaining final.

The presentation was made by IOMCCGBA President Mark Kneen, who thanked the sponsors Plumbmaster for their ongoing support, competition secretary Matthew Keggen for running the evening and Nobles Bowling Club for hosting the final. Upon accepting the trophy South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves expressed how proud he was of his team for their performance on the night, offered his commiserations to Marown, who contributed to a good final, whilst also congratulating Marown A on winning back the league, which is due to be sealed officially this week.

The final of the 2026 PlumbMaster sponsored Rayner Plate took place on Thursday evening in the Sunset City on a vastly improved Peel Bowling green.

First Division side Castletown A, the current holders were looking to become the first side to ever retain the trophy, which is a feat in itself with two things needing to happen – losing in the first round of the Rayner Shield, which they duly did 3-5 at home to Marown A despite losing two close games, and having to claw back some sizeable deficits at the start of play to lower ranked teams in each round of the Plate competition. Their route to the final included a 14-chalk victory away to Noble’s C, who had a 20-chalk start, a quarter final victory by the same margin (14-chalks) at home to Marown D who had a 50-chalk head start on the Town men, whilst their semi-final win was much more comfortable at home to Ballaugh A, winning by 52 chalks, despite having to overturn a 25-chalk deficit.

Onchan C who ply their trade in Division Three are well accustomed to turning out in the Rayner Plate, they faced Noble’s D in the first round of the Plate, held on to their 20-chalk advantage to ultimately win by a comfortable 33-chalks. Their quarter final contest was much closer, with their home advantage over South Ramsey C enough to turn over a 5-chalk deficit on the handicap to win by 11-chalks. At the semi-final stage the Onchan men were drawn away to Noble’s B, their 40-chalk head start was enough to hold onto victory by 18-chalks on the night.

The final got underway with the Town men favourites despite having to give Onchan a 40-chalk start on the night. Castletown A (+30) and Onchan C (+70).

Game by game the Town men started to pull the handicap back, with Stefan Kelly having plenty of experience in the bag, as he ran out with a 21-5 win over Michael Jones to get the night off to a perfect start. The next three games off gave Onchan hope as they knew they didn’t have to win games, they just had to score well, which is exactly what they did. Kieran Krypner got over the line 21-17 against Roy Corlett, Andy Kennish the most experienced man on the green, who has three Manx Championships to his name held off Kelvin McNicholl 21-19, whilst Town veteran Ian Watson beat Colin Brown 21-20.

At the halfway point the 40-chalk deficit had been reduced to 17-chalks, with Paul Callister giving Onchan some hope with a 21-17 win over Aaron Richardson to put the advantage back to 21-chalks in favour of Onchan. The turning point in the match came from Nathan ‘Billy’ Cooil who recorded the second 21-5 win of the night for Town as he beat Lawrence McMullen.

This win proved to be decisive with the change in atmosphere spurring on Town with captain Nathan Hamilton putting in a captains innings with a 21-13 win over Rob Cowley. With Castletown now ahead by three chalks, leading for the first time on the night Dean Kinley needed only to get to 18 chalks to seal the win with Town already having the superiority on games won. Kinley managed to see the game out to win 21-16 against Marcus Avery to help the Town men to win by eight chalks, to bring a conclusion to an entertaining final.

The presentation was made by Tracy Moore and Lynda Wilson, who kept the evening ticking over. Upon accepting the trophy Castletown captain Nathan Hamilton expressed his delight at becoming the first team to ever retain the Rayner Plate, also paid tribute to Onchan C for putting up a good fight, with their performance not being out of place in the first division.

Peel Sunset Bowling Club hosted the popular Peel Town Cup on Saturday afternoon, attracting an entry of 60 players. Despite blustery conditions throughout the day, competitors were greeted by a much-improved playing surface, which helped ensure an enjoyable and competitive afternoon of bowls.

The quarter-final line-up featured a strong mix of home greeners and visiting players. In an all-Peel clash, Stevie Kelly booked his place in the semi-finals with a convincing 21-13 victory over Tommy McMeiken. Another closely contested encounter saw Marown’s Neil Withers overcome teammate Jamie Box, with Withers pulling away late on to secure a 21-16 win.

The closest match of the round saw Nathan Jones (Peel) edge past Austin Hart (South Ramsey) in a thrilling contest, eventually prevailing 21-20. The final quarter-final saw Paul Dunn defeat fellow Marown clubmate Juan Killip by 21-13 to complete the semi-final line-up.

The first semi-final saw Kelly continue his impressive form with a solid 21-16 win over Withers. Kelly controlled much of the contest and gradually built an advantage before seeing the game out to reach the final.

In the second semi-final, Dunn produced a solid performance to defeat Jones, whose run was ended, with Dunn in good form taking a 21-10 win to secure his place in the final.

The final produced an excellent contest between two Island players, with Stevie Kelly overcoming Paul Dunn 21-20 to claim his maiden Peel Town Cup title. Dunn made the brighter start and looked in control during the early stages, opening up a commanding 18-13 lead, a couple of end later the Marown man was lying two for game with the score at 19-15 a superb reaching bowl from Kelly took both of Dunn’s bowls away from the jack and with it stunned the jack through for the Peel man to score two to leave the game finely poised at 17-19. A single for Dunn put him within touching distance of the trophy with the score now 20-17.

Kelly, however, refused to be beaten. Showing great composure under pressure, he dug deep to win the next two ends scoring two doubles, the four points he needed to finish the match. The comeback saw Kelly overturn a three-point deficit to complete a 21-20 victory.

It was a fitting conclusion to an entertaining day’s bowls, with Kelly producing a superb comeback to cap off an impressive run through the competition. His victories over David Bradford, Tommy McMeiken, Neil Withers and finally Paul Dunn proved to be a tough route to victory, earning him a deserved maiden Peel Town Cup success.

At the conclusion of play, the presentation was made by competition organiser Philip “Pip” Pemberton, who thanked all 60 competitors for their support, along with the club members who assisted throughout the day. He also acknowledged the efforts of the greenkeeping team for providing a much-improved playing surface that received positive feedback from those taking part. Thanks were also given to Lynda Wilson, and Vall Allwood for their work off the green.

Pemberton also thanked the competition sponsors, Island Civils & Plant, for their generous support of the event. Robert Cottier, representing the sponsors, who confirmed they will continue to sponsor the competition for another two years, then presented the prizes to the successful competitors, bringing another enjoyable Peel Town Cup to a close.

In his speech Kelly reiterated Pemberton’s comments, particularly those about the condition of the green, thanking everyone including his opponent for a good final. A special mention must also go to Pip for the smooth running of the competition.

The 2026 Manx Championship was brought to a conclusion on Wednesday evening at Douglas Bowling Club, in poor conditions for the bowlers which worsened throughout the evening.

The qualifying for the quarter finals had taken place on Sunday afternoon with Finch Hill and South Ramsey the two greens used to get through the earlier rounds. This method of qualifying has caused a lot of talk from local bowlers, it is certain there will be a change in 2027 to how the competition is played.

To ensure fairness in the latter rounds a re-draw took place for the quarter finals, due to the possibility of players qualifying from a venue that they are required to play on due to being one of the host clubs, however there were no qualifiers from either host club on this occasion.

The first quarter final saw Reg Temporaza (Onchan) take on Alex Yates (Nobles), with the former having three tough qualifying games on the Sunday, the Nobles man was level after 15 ends, went on a five end scoring run, taking eight chalks to build a commanding 17-9 lead. Temporaza fought back to get to within two chalks at 18-20, only for Yates to take a single to seal a 21-18 win to advance to the semi-finals for the first time.

The second semi-final was billed as a blockbuster, but in reality was anything but that with Peter Jones taking on his Marown teammate and captain Paul Dunn, with the latter building a 10-2 lead after nine ends. Jones reduced the deficit to three chalks winning five of the next seven ends, to put the score at 10-13, however Dunn finished the game strongly to score eight chalks over five ends to seal a convincing 21-10 win in just 21 ends.

In the bottom half of the draw the surprise package, Rob Middleton (Peel) who I previously reported as a man not to be written off, got off to a flier to lead 7-0 against Jamie Box (Marown) after just four ends. The Marown man responded by winning the next five ends to lead 8-7. From there Middleton was in control of the game, never losing two consecutive ends, whilst going on a five end scoring run on his way to a convincing 21-14 victory.

The last semi-final was between two big hitters, with the worsening conditions most would have expected this to play into Colin Kelly’s (Marown) hands, however Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly had other ideas as he led by four chalks after 19 ends with the score at 14-10. Colin managed to take the lead at 16-15, scoring three doubles to turn the game round, only for Barney to see the game out, with the Peel veteran sealing a 21-17 win.

The semi-finals were nicely set up with Dunn and Kelly the clear favourites to advance to the final, with Yates and Middleton undoubtedly the underdogs.

Dunn had to battle throughout his game with Yates, with the latter leading early on in the game at 8-6, then again at 14-13 after 18 ends. The Marown captain won five of the last ends, scoring three doubles, keeping Yates to singles to secure his place in the final with a 21-17 win.

With Dunn doing his part, it was now up to Kelly to set up the final that everyone wanted to see, however Middleton had other ideas. Despite trailing 1-7 early on Middleton responded positively to turn a deficit of six chalks into a five chalk lead by the 20th end, with the score at 14-9. Over the next four ends the Peel men exchanged three chalks for the gap to remain at five chalks, but putting Middleton four chalks from the final with the score at 17-12. A composed finish saw Middleton seal a 21-15 victory to advance to the final.

At the final stage the neutrals would undoubtedly and perhaps rightly have been hoping for a huge upset, however this didn’t look to be on the cards with Dunn starting the game strongly to build a solid lead of 9-1 after six ends. From there Middleton settled into the game to reduce the deficit to just three chalks after 14 ends, with the score now 8-11.

The Marown man found another gear to retake an eight chalk advantage after 19 ends with the score 17-9. Dunn got to within one end of victory, with the score now 19-12. Once again Middleton fought back to close the gap to three chalks (17-20) as he won four of the next five ends. Dunn secured the one chalk needed to pick up his second Manx Championship title in front of his Fiancée, and his two boys who got to see him lift the famous trophy.

The presentation was made by Association President Mark Kneen, who thanked all the host clubs for the preparations on the greens, providing refreshments, along with the Competition Committee for running the sheets.

There will be three representatives representing the Isle of Man in the British Senior Merit in Crosby, Liverpool on Saturday 25th July. Best of luck to all our representatives.

The Manx Championship got underway on Sunday afternoon with a healthy entry of 62, despite the competition being played in a split format over two greens for the first time ever.

With South Ramsey as one of the two qualifying greens, there weren’t too many shocks that took place, with perhaps the closest thing to a shock was Noble’s captain Alex Yates reaching the quarter finals with a solid 21-14 win over Marown B captain Juan Killip.

The second qualifier was Marown’s Peter Jones, who had a good tussle with Breagle man Wayne Roberts, with the latter fighting back from a 7-14 deficit to level the game up at 17-17, only for Jones to steady the ship and see the game out with four singles to progress with a 21-17 win.

The third spot in the quarters went to seven-time champion Colin Kelly (Marown), who had a battle on his hands with Onchan captain Matthew Quirk, with the latter leading 15-11, the game went to 20-20, with the Marown man winning the deciding end.

The final spot at South Ramsey went to Marown captain Paul Dunn, with a 21-8 win over Finch Hill’s Stephen Oates. Dunn rather unusually only had to play one game, as he had received a bye in the first game, then his opponent who also had a bye withdrew from the competition. This contrasted with the other qualifiers who had to win three games to qualify.

In the capital of the Island, Finch Hill hosted the remaining bowlers, with several big hitters clashing in the early rounds, with this there were high-profile casualties.

Peel’s Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly breezed through his qualifying game with a 21-9 win over Phil Kelly (Marown) to become the first Peel man to qualify for finals night.

Marown’s Jamie Box had to face teammate Tom Kelly in his qualifying game, with the game being well contested throughout, however Box had enough in the locker to see the game out with a battling 21-19 win.

12-time Manx Champion John Kennish (South Ramsey) lost out to Reg Temporaza (Onchan), in the second round, with the Onchan man recovering from a heavy deficit to progress. In his qualifying game Temporaza faced 2001 Manx Champion Ewan Cooil, with the Breagle man leading 17-11, Reg once again fought back to see the game out with a strong finish to qualify for finals night. Temporaza had a tough run, having faced Jordan Cain (South Ramsey) in the first round.

The last game on the green was between Rob Monk (North Ramsey) and Rob Middleton (Peel), with the latter taking a 10-4 lead, Monk went on to lead 17-16 after 26 ends. Middleton secured two successive singles to lead 18-17, with the North Ramsey man doing likewise. With the game finely poised at 19-18, Middleton scored the three chalks required taking three singles to win 21-19.

Other casualties in the earlier rounds were the current holder and three-time Manx Champion David Bradford who went out to Ballaugh man Mike Spooner, two-time winner Neil Withers, who lost out to Alan Moore (South Ramsey), another two-time winner Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) went out to Tom Kelly, whilst recent Association Cup winner Stevie Kelly lost out to Ewan Cooil in the first round.

Due to players being unable to play on their home green, a redraw took place to decide who would play who in the last 8 of the competition.

The draw was done live on Facebook as follows:-

Reg Temporaza vs Alex Yates

Paul Dunn vs Peter Jones

Jamie Box vs Rob Middleton

Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly vs Colin Kelly

The competition will be played to a conclusion on Wednesday evening at Douglas Bowling club with play getting underway at 6:30, with BCGBA dress code required.

Preview

The Onchan man Temporaza starts as favourite in this tie, however Yates has been known to cause an upset having reached the quarter final stages of the September Festival a couple of years ago, so should be written off at your peril.

Marown teammates Paul Dunn and Peter Jones promises to be a blockbuster of a game, with Dunn having one Manx Championship title to his name, he will be looking to add number two. Jones on the other hand, has settled into Island life since his move four years ago, has won four singles open competitions, with the biggest win being the Manx Masters at the end of the first season he moved over in 2022. Jones also turns out regularly for the island team, is more than capable of upsetting his captain. A tough one to call.

Jamie Box is another Merseyside man, who is settling into Island life, having moved over in the latter part of the 2025 season, he is finding his feet in Marown A team. His opponent Rob Middleton plies his trade for Peel B, doesn’t enter a huge number of opens, but generally gets through a few rounds when he does, he has proven he can mix it with the better players in the past. Middleton is another man who will just keep plugging away, should not be written off.

The final matchup is between two stalwarts of the game, Peel man Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly whose name is forever written into the History of the Bowling Festival having picked up a June festival title in June 2000, whilst Colin Kelly (Marown) did the same in June 2008. The Marown man does have seven Manx Championship wins under his belt, and with it the ultimate prize in the game when he won the Champions of Champions title at the Waterloo Bowling Green in Blackpool in 2019. Whilst Colin starts as the favourite, Barney will be looking to pick up his first Manx Championship having suffered heartache in the final on four occasions to date, with the two most recent efforts being in 2020 and 2022.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday afternoon, in what is traditionally the first of the pre-festival opens with a superb entry of 72 beating the 2025 entry of 62. The visiting bowlers were treated to improved weather on a good playing surface. The competition was sponsored by CEF Electrical for a second successive year.

Due to the number entered some bowlers would need to win four games just to reach the quarter final stage. At this stage Adam Hawker (Fairfield) got the better of regular visitor Kevan Shaw (Carleton) 21-13, whilst Tom Boyd (Cylinders) held off Peel man Gary Smith 21-20, with the latter trailing 17-20, three singles saw the game go to a deciding end at 20-20 with Boyd scoring the all-important chalk to get over the line.

In the other half of the draw the locals found their way through to the latter stages of the competition with home greener John Kennish holding off Marown captain Paul Dunn 21-17. Keeping the theme of keenly contested quarter finals matches going Neil Withers (Marown) held off the 2025 winner Alan Moore (21-19).

Kennish was the first man to book his place in the final with a dominant display in the semi-finals as he beat Withers 21-8. The second semi-final between Hawker and Boyd almost went to the wire, with the latter doing enough to secure a 21-18 win to progress to the final.

In what could be an early warning for the upcoming Festival week, the final was another dominant display by Kennish, who raced into a 16-6 lead over Boyd, winning the first three ends with doubles, followed by five singles. Boyd managed to get in with a single, however Kennish ensured there was to be no comeback scoring a further two doubles, and a single to secure a superb 21-7 victory to pick up his 12th win in this competition and his first since 2017, along with securing the first prize of £250.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey competition secretary James Teare, who thanked the ladies for providing a superb range of refreshments throughout the day, Steve Moore for assisting with running the sheet, the club members who had helped with the running of the competition. Thanks were also given to the sponsors CEF Electrical for their continued support. In his speech Kennish noted how well the running of the competition had been handled despite the boat being delayed, also praised the condition of the green.