The Islands premier doubles competition was hosted by Port St Mary Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon. The competition was played 21 up off a handicap of +3 for all competitors. The event was well supported with 33 pairs taking part in a bid to win the title, with the event sponsored by members of the Executive committee this year.  With the recent good weather, this played a factor in the green becoming increasingly tricky throughout the afternoon.

From the quarter final stage there would be a new name on the trophy with John Kennish & David Bradford having lost out 18-21 in the last 16 in a fantastic game to Jordan Cain & Bob Clark to suffer their first ever defeat in the competition having won the competition for four consecutive years since its inception. Another notable game in the early rounds was between the juniors Ryan Hargraves (Age 12) & Alex Hampson (Age 11) who took on the experienced pairing of Frank Watson & Mark Kneen with the junior pairing agonisingly losing out 20-21, with Ryan leading well at the front and Alex playing some good length bowls and play throughs all spectators were keenly watching on the young duo during the latter stages of the game.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were the Port St Mary pair Pete Collins & Tom Collins who lost 11-21 to Nathan Hamilton (Castletown) & Tom Kelly (Peel), Marown C Team players Stephen Rundle & Walter McCarthy performed well before losing out 13-21 to father & son pair Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly & Stevie Kelly (Peel). Glenn Boland & Nathan Cooil (Castletown) were well beaten 9-21 by Paul Dunn & Neil Withers (Marown), whilst a fantastic start helped Mike Ashmole (Peel) & Karl Parker (Marown) to get over the line 21-16 against Jordan Cain (Onchan) & Bob Clark (Castletown).

In the semi-finals with the green starting to lose a bit of pace Dunn & Withers made no mistake against Ashmole & Parker claiming their place in the final with a 21-7 win. The second semi-final was more keenly contested with Nathan Hamilton & Tom Kelly taking on Barney & Stevie Kelly with the latter pairing having enough to take a 21-17 win with Barney making a good two on the last end to progress to the final.

In the final there was nothing between the two pairings in the early stages of the game with the score being level on three occasions. In the middle part of the game neither pair was able to get more than two points ahead of the other, with the Peel pair leading 14-12 after 12 ends, before the Marown duo took control winning four consecutive ends scoring doubles to need just one more point to seal the victory at 20-14. The Peel men weren’t done there, battling back taking a single, a double, and another single to trail by just two chalks at 18-20, with Stevie playing a good lead bowl on a tough mark which was beaten by Dunn who played his first bowl six inches to the side of the jack, which the Peel were unable to beat which sealed the title for the Marown pair.

The presentation was made by Association Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked Port St Mary Bowling Club for the use of the green and its members for providing helpers throughout the day. Spot prizes were also awarded, with the prize for furthest juniors going to Ryan Hargraves & Alex Hampson. The prize for the furthest pairing with a second division player went to Mike Ashmole (Peel) who was paired with Karl Parker (Marown), whilst Paul Cowley (Douglas) & Steve Gregg (Douglas) received the prize for furthest third division players.

A bumper entry of 25 junior bowlers from all over the island entered the Ellan Vannin Fuels Junior Manx Championship on Saturday, it was 17 year old Glenn Boland who made the most of his final opportunity to win the Ellan Vannin Fuels Junior Manx Championship. This was a fantastic entry, that could have been a lot higher if some of the younger bowlers who attend the club sessions had also entered.

In what must be a first in the Junior Championship there were more girls entered to play than boys, which was fantastic to see, with some great bowls played by all the juniors. The experience gained from playing in these competitions will help the younger bowlers, however it was the older Juniors who progressed to the latter stages.

Losing out  at the quarter final stage were Victoria Johnson (Mooragh Park), who lost 16-21 to Grace Gawne (Onchan), Austin Hart (South Ramsey) who battled brilliantly pushing Glenn Boland (Noble’s) all the way before losing out 20-21, Aalish Howarth (Mooragh Park) who lost 19-21 to Toby Hart (South Ramsey), whilst last year’s winner Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park) lost out to younger sister Madison McMullan (Mooragh Park) 16-21.

In the semi-finals Glenn Boland was up against Grace Gawne with the latter performing brilliantly, taking a 17-16 lead against the more experienced player, before eventually losing out 17-21. In the second semi-final Madison McMullan was up against Toby Hart with Madison starting well taking a 14-5 lead. Toby hit back with five doubles in the next six ends to level the match at 15-15. The unflappable Madison kept her composure well to take two singles and two doubles to take a fantastic 21-15 victory to reach the final.

In the final it was close over the first 11 ends with neither player able to build a lead. In the second half of the game Glenn got into his stride scoring several doubles, which ultimately proved to be the difference with Glenn scoring nine doubles to Madison’s three doubles during the course of the match. Glenn ran out to deservedly win 21-13 to take the Junior Manx Championship title, following his first win in 2018.

The presentation was made by Association competition committee member Mark Kneen, who thanked all the juniors for taking part, Douglas Bowling Club for providing the refreshments and measurers and the team who had prepared the green for the early start. A special mention was also given to the Mooragh Park girls who had performed really well.

Following the success of the Junior Championship on Saturday Onchan Bowling Club hosted the Derek Killey Memorial with 44 pairs entering on a good green with great weather throughout the afternoon. Some pairings turned up late due to the Junior event overrunning, however all pairings managed to make it without being scratched from the competition.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Kim Hargraves & Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) who were unlucky to lose 18-21 to club mates Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves. The Castletown/Marown duo of Hannah Drewett & Neil Withers made a rare appearance together before losing out to South Ramsey pair Jenny Moore & James Teare 17-21. A new pairing of Caroline Whitehead (Port Erin) & home greener Mark Kelly lost out 16-21 to Marown pair Helen Withers & Karl Parker, whilst another South Ramsey pair Fiona Kennish & Steven Waters ended the challenge of Sylvia Kennaugh & Terry Bates (Noble’s) 21-12.

Losing out in the semi-finals were Helen Withers & Karl Parker 12-21 to Fiona Kennish & Steven Waters, with the second semi-final a lot closer with Jenny Moore & James Teare recovering from a 12-19 deficit with Teare putting up good lead bowls and Moore performing brilliantly at the back to win some crucial points every end to run out with a 21-19 victory over Elaine Moore & Glynn Hargraves.

Moore & Teare started the final strongly taking a 15-7 lead, with Kennish & Waters not doing a lot if anything wrong in the early stages, however a switch round with Waters going to the front seemed to do the trick with Waters & Kennish digging in to pull the score back to 15-18, however Moore & Teare then took the next three ends scoring singles to take a hard earned 21-15 victory.

The presentation was made by Mike Thomas, who thanked the Onchan club members for organising and running the competition, everyone for entering, also to those who had stayed to watch the final. It was then announced that the fantastic sum of £850 had been raised for the Manx Kidney Patients Association, with a special thanks to the finalists who handed back their prize money to add to the total figure raised for the nominated charity.

Monday evening saw the quarter finals of the Rayner Shield take place with the tie of the week undoubtedly being the match at Onchan Park between Onchan A & South Ramsey A. The home team took control of the match in the first half with Reginald Temporaza winning 21-14 against Alan Moore, Kevin Quirk recovered from a 3-9 deficit to win 21-17 against Glynn Hargraves, whilst Jordan Cain fought back from trailing 16-19 to run out with a 21-19 win over James Teare. Keeping the visitors in the match was Steven Waters who claimed a 21-12 win over Steve Parker to ensure South Ramsey were still in the tie trailing 3-1 on games and by just four chalks (75-71) at the halfway stage.

In the second half South Ramsey fought back to turn the match around with David Bradford turning on the style to win 21-6 against Peter Slinger, whilst Austin Hart performed well to beat Mark Kelly 21-12. Matthew Quirk against Dido Kelly was the game of the night, with Quirk getting over the line 21-19. Stefan Kelly recovered from a dreadful start against Phil Kerruish (0-7) to run out with a fine 21-11 victory to seal the win for South Ramsey with the games ending 4-4 on the night, South Ramsey won by 28 chalks (125-153) to progress to the semi-finals.

If Onchan versus South Ramsey was a good match, then Marown A at home to North Ramsey A was the complete opposite, with the Crosby men crushing the Mooragh Park men 8-0 (168 -74) with just two of the visitor bowlers reaching double figures.

Peel A had the visit of Finch Hill A, with the home team winning 6-2 on the night. The two winners for Finch Hill were Paul Dougherty who beat Tommy McMeiken 21-17, whilst Pat Maher beat Peter Greenlees 21-14. Winning big for the home team were Tom Kelly who won 21-3 against Peter Hughes, whilst Ste Kelly beat Paddy Murphy 21-9.

The last quarter final tie was between Douglas A & Marown B at the Villa with the home team winning 6-2. On another night it could have been a different result with Peter Kelly losing out 20-21 to Andy Cannell, whilst Brian Kelly & Bobby Thorne lost 17-21 to Jimmy Sansom and Shaun Seal respectively.

In the Rayner Plate there was another good matchup between Peel B (+20) who had the visit of Port St Mary A (+10). Despite Tim Williams suffering a 7-21 loss to Paul Quirk the southern outfit were able to cancel this out with Trevor Quayle taking a 21-6 victory over Gordon Corrin, whilst good wins from Will Cain & Paul Russell also helped the team to take the win by just three chalks (149-152).

Ballaugh A (+22) made light work of Peel C (+48) winning 8-0 on games taking the win by 54 chalks (190-136). Castletown B (+32) are emerging as the team to beat in the Rayner Plate this season seeing off last season’s Rayner Plate Winners Marown C (+40) claiming a home victory by 69 chalks (195-126). Ballaugh B (+60) hosted Onchan B (+38) with the match ending 4-4 on games it was the home team who progressed to the next round with an 18 chalk victory (200-182).

Saturday saw a quality field of 31 pairs entered for the R & A Grimshaw pairs hosted by Marown Bowling Club. This competition is traditionally held on Tynwald Day, however due to COVID-19 it was hosted later this year. Handicaps ranged from +4 to +9, so a good start was vital for those on a low handicap.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Peel men Peter Greenlees & Brian Lindsay 16-21 to South Ramsey’s Alan Moore & Stefan Kelly, Phil Kerruish & Glynn Hargraves (Onchan/South Ramsey) 20-21 to Dean Kinley & Sam Clague (Castletown). Home greeners Paul Dunn & Neil Withers ended the challenge of Glenn Boland & Nathan Cooil (Castletown) with a 21-10 win, whilst another home pairing of Matthew Keggen & Paul Kelly edged out Jay Waters (Marown) & father Steven Waters (South Ramsey) 21-19 to reach the semi-finals.

The two semi-finals could not have been any different with Alan Moore & Stefan Kelly making no mistake with a 21-6 win over Dean Kinley & Sam Clague, with the Castletown pair failing to score a point. The other semi-final was keenly contested early on with Keggen leading well in the corners and Paul Kelly playing some good through bowls when needed to ensure they took their place in the final with a 21-14 victory over Paul Dunn & Neil Withers.

The final started with home greeners Matthew Keggen & Paul Kelly hoping to go one better than last year with Paul making his third consecutive appearance in the final, whilst Alan Moore & Stefan Kelly were looking to take their first win as a pair. Alan & Stefan took a single on the first end, before Matthew & Paul took the next five ends with the Marown men scoring two singles and a three doubles in the corners to lead 12-6. Alan & Stefan started to work their way back into the game with four consecutive singles to trail by two at 10-12. Matthew & Paul scored a two to lead 14-10. From there Alan played some good lead bowls, with Stefan hitting some great strikes to turn the game around, taking five of the next seven ends with two singles and three doubles of their own to lead 18-16. Matthew & Paul responded with a double to level the game up at 18-18 after 19 ends, however the South Ramsey men had enough left in the tank taking a single followed by another double to run out with a 21-18 victory.

The presentation was made by competition secretary Philip Kelly, who thanked everyone for entering and assisting throughout the day. Upon being presented with the trophy Alan Moore thanked his partner for the day Stefan, Marown for hosting the competition, the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, commented on the good condition of the green, and that it was great to see the new clubhouse being built.

The Rayner Plate got underway last week with one preliminary round match to be played between South Ramsey B (+30) hosted Marown C (+40) with the visitors taking the win by 23 chalks with two single figures winners from Jamie Joughin & Stephen Rundle being the difference on the night.

Onchan B (+38) hosted Finch Hill B (+52) with the Onchan men easily overturning the 14 chalk deficit to win by 41 chalks (197-156). Peel B (+20) who would have been competing in division one this season were too strong for home team Noble’s A (+18) taking the win by 33 chalks (135-168). Port St Mary A (+10) overturned a 24 chalk deficit against local rivals Port Erin A (+34) to crush them with an 8-0 win on games and winning by 51 chalks (178-127). Ballaugh A (+22) also whitewashed Peel D (+76), yet the match ended up fairly close with the Ballaugh men taking the win by 19 chalks (190-171).

The following evening (Tuesday) had South Ramsey C (+50) hosting Peel C (+48) with the Peel men claiming a comfortable win by 39 chalks (171-210). The closest match of the week was between Ballaugh B (+60) and Castletown A (+12) who despite winning 7-1 on the night lost the match by just nine chalks (178-169) with the 48 chalk deficit proving too much to pull back on the night. Castletown B (+32) made the short journey south to take on Port St Mary B (+42) with the town men taking a good victory by 22 chalks to progress to the next round. A new signing was also in their ranks with Glenn Boland surprisingly turning out for Castletown.

The final match of the last 16 was held on Friday evening with Marown C (+40) at home to Douglas B (+44). The Crosby men made no mistake with a 28 chalk victory (194-166) to progress to the next round, as they look to retain the title they won in style last season.

The mixed team group stages continued with six fixtures taking place. Port Mary A made sure it was a worthwhile trip to take on South Ramsey B, with the visitors crushing their opponents winning by 131 chalks (58-189), with only three of the home team reaching double figures.  Travelling to the opposite end of the island on the same evening South Ramsey C took on Port Erin A with the home team winning by 50 chalks (175-125), however the C Team did manage to claim four wins on the night with Steve Kelly performing well to beat the experienced David Cain 21-19. Captain Tony Hart won 21-15 against Jacqui Elliott, whilst son Austin Hart got home 21-18 against Voirrey Curphey, a score matched by Kim Hargraves against Harry Minor. Megan Hargraves made her competitive debut at the tender age of 9 for South Ramsey, losing out 8-21 to Seamus Whelan. Port Erin have recently taking over the maintenance of their green, it is great to see the condition of the green moving in the right direction.

Castletown A look to have strengthened their mixed team this year, they hosted Finch Hill at the Crofts with the home team winning by 35 chalks (164-129), however the Finch men did manage to get four winners on the night losing 5-4 on games. Onchan A made no mistake in their away tie taking on Marown B claiming the win by 75 chalks (114-189) with no home team winners, however highest Marown scorer was Celia Joughin who lost out 17-21 against Maureen Payne, whilst Helen Withers did well to score 16 against Reginald Temporaza.

Nobles who generally perform well in the mixed competition claimed a home win over Peel by 32 chalks (172-140) with Debbie Leece winning 21-5 over Sue Jones, whilst for the visitors Dougie Allan performed well to defeat Glenn Boland 21-16. Marown A visited Mooragh Park, they made no mistake winning by 92 chalks (93-185) over North Ramsey. Lone winner for the home team was Lee Christian who beat Lil Smith 21-17, whilst Paul Cannon agonisingly lost out 20-21 to Joyce Ogden.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan any combination doubles on Sunday with an excellent entry of 47 pairs taking part. The green was in superb condition, with the weather being ideal apart from a short shower early in the afternoon.

The quarter finals were well contested with the Marown pairing of Colin Kelly & Juan Killip holding off the strong challenge of Debbie Leece & Clare Cooper (Noble’s) with a 21-18 win, Jordan Cain & Glynn Hargraves (Onchan/South Ramsey) just lost out 20-21 to Port St Mary pair of Trevor Quayle & Wayne Roberts, Lynda & Derek Cadamy (Port Erin) battled well before losing out 19-21 to Phil Kerruish & Ian Moore (Onchan/Douglas), whilst the Marown pairing of Darren Kerruish & Walter McCarthy were defeated 18-21 by Glenn Boland & Nathan Cooil (Noble’s/Castletown).

Whilst the quarter finals were well contested both semi-finals were more straightforward with Kelly & Killip claiming their place in the final with a 21-9 win over Quayle & Roberts. The second semi-final seen Kerruish & Moore take a 21-13 win over Boland & Cooil to reach the final.

The final which was live streamed on Facebook, started with Kerruish & Moore taking a single on the first end, to then concede the next four ends with a three, a double and a single to trail 6-13 to Kelly & Killip. Kerruish & Moore switched over with Kerruish going to the back. The switch worked almost immediately thanks to taking four consecutive ends with a four and three singles to level the match at 13-13. Kelly & Killip responded with their own run of four ends scoring three singles and a double to take the lead 17-13. Kerruish and Moore stepped up a couple of gears to run out with a double, two singles and two more doubles to win 21-17 to claim the trophy and £160 first prize. Kelly & Killip were able to console themselves with £100 for their efforts.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by South Ramsey Chairman Steve Moore, who thanked George Brew for sponsoring the competition, the club members who helped with the running of the competition and the Ladies for the excellent refreshments provided throughout the day. George Brew then presented the prizes with over £400 paid out. Spot prizes were also awarded to furthest Junior (Glenn Boland), furthest Lady and furthest Over 60’s Lady (Both Lynda Cadamy) and furthest Over 60’s man (Phil Kerruish).

Saturday saw a quality field of 29 pairs of all ages entered for the MannMade Men’s Doubles at Noble’s Number Two green, whilst the Ladies competed on Number One green, with the weather holding out for the duration of the competition.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Evan Leece & Glenn Boland (Noble’s), with Evan playing in one of his first competitions winning two games and playing some great bowls before losing out to the Marown pairing of Matthew Keggen & Paul Kelly. The Castletown duo of Sam Clague & Nathan Hamilton lost out to Finch Hill’s Dave McCabe & Zain Abideen, with Zain fairly new to the game and is getting himself around the open competitions to gain experience. Marown pair Paul Dunn & Neil Withers lost out to Onchan duo Jordan Cain & Matthew Quirk, whilst Alan Moore & Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey) ended the challenge of Colin Kelly & Juan Killip (Marown).

Losing out in the semi-finals were Dave McCabe & Zain Abideen 13-21 to Jordan Cain & Matthew Quirk, whilst Alan Moore & Ryan Hargraves lost out to Matthew Keggen & Paul Kelly 15-21, despite a strong start on the first end with 12-year-old Ryan trailing the jack to count for three. Young Ryan is showing that his game is definitely moving in the right direction and will be one to watch in the future.

With both finalists off a handicap of +3 it was nip and tuck in the early stages. Both finalists went with the tactic of playing a long length, however neither pair were able to get away from the other with the scores finally balanced at 11-11 after 10 ends. From there Cain and Quirk took control over the next three ends scoring a single, a four, which was then compounded by a three to jump into a 19-11 lead. Both teams played some good bowls during what was an entertaining final, however Cain & Quirk then took a single to lead 20-11, before conceding one on the next end. On the last end the Onchan pair took a single to take a 21-12 victory to claim a deserved victory.

The presentation was made by Alison Keggen, Competition Secretary for Noble’s, who thanked everyone for entering and assisting throughout the day. Tina Hampson from sponsors MannMade Group was then introduced to present the prizes.

Special thanks must go to sponsors MannMade Group, to everyone who helped make the competition a success.

This week seen the start of the Rayner Shield competition with 9 preliminary round matches taking place to decided who progressed to the next round.

On Monday evening South Ramsey B started their campaign with a 7-1 home win over Douglas B, who gave a good account of themselves with Rob Matthews losing out 17-21 to Edward Carlyle, whilst Andy Foster, Bob Callow and Pat O’Donohue each scored 18 chalks before losing out. South Ramsey’s reward is a tough home fixture against league champions Marown A in the following round.

Marown A hosted Ballaugh A at Crosby, the visitors would have been competing in Division One this season, having been promoted as runners up in division two last season. The Ballaugh men performed admirably with Steve Grant beating Dean Kipling 21-11, whilst John Maddrell romped home with a 21-8 victory over Matthew Keggen. Paul Kelly didn’t have it all his own way either, with a 21-19 win over John Keenan, whilst Richard Hainge rose to the challenge against Colin Kelly before losing out 17-21, a score matched by Paul Cubbon against Neil Withers. Ballaugh can take confidence from this match, will look to take it into the league next season with their new look team.

In the closest match of the week Finch Hill B hosted Ballaugh B in a high scoring match it was the Finch men who after drawing 4-4 on games progressed to the next round taking the win on chalks (152-143).

Onchan A made light work of Peel B with an 8-0 home victory, their new signing Reginald Temporaza won 21-6 against Michael Kavanagh. Coming closest for Peel were Gordon Corrin who lost 19-21 to Kevin Quirk, whilst Harry Kelly lost out 18-21 to Frank Watson.

Completing Monday’s matches Marown B performed admirably to take a deserved 5-3 win on the night, whilst also winning by 6 chalks.

On Tuesday evening South Ramsey A won 6-2 at home to Onchan B, despite missing three of their regular league players on the night. Instead of taking the easy decision of turning to the tried and trusted the A Team gave opportunities to players with one eye on the future, bringing in Steven Waters, Austin Hart and Ryan Hargraves. After the first half of the match it was finely balanced with David Bradford winning 21-7 against Brian Woodall, this was immediately cancelled out by Mike Kelly who defeated Ryan Hargraves to the same score. Allan Kennaugh won 21-18 against Austin Hart, whilst Steven Waters had to dig deep to see off Colin Spence 21-19. In the second half of the match Alan Moore, Glynn Hargraves & James Teare all won to single figures, whilst Stefan Kelly recovered from a dreadful start (0-9) to win 21-16 against Mike Alexander.

Port St Mary A got their revenge on Marown C who defeated them in last year’s Rayner Plate final, with the home winners for the Crosby men Darren Kerruish, Kevin Kelly and Jamie Joughin seeing off Rob Cooil, Paul Russell and Will Cain respectively. The visitors had four winners to single figures with Wayne Roberts, Trevor Quayle, Paul Skelly and Dan McCabe showing no mercy to their opponents.

Castletown A made no mistake with a 7-1 home win over Port Erin A, with the town men having a good mixture of youth and experience in their top team. The sole winner for the Breagle Glen men was Bernie Durcan.

The final match of the week was between South Ramsey C and Peel Sunset A, with the Peel men enjoying their visit to play on a green in fantastic condition with an 8-0 win, with nobody enjoying it more than visiting captain Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly who had a runaway 21-3 victory, backed up by three of his teammates Tom Kelly, Alec Taylor and Tommy McMeiken also winning to single figures.

The first round of the Rayner Shield commences next week, along with the Mixed Team competition group stages.