Author Archives: Glynn Hargraves

Title Still Up For Grabs In Division Two and Three

The tie of the week at the top of Ellan Vannin Fuels division one was between third placed Peel A & champions South Ramsey A in the Sunset City with the Northerners having already secured the title the previous week. The champions came away with a respectable 6-4 win on a tough night in extremely windy conditions. Winning for Peel were captain Ste Kelly 21-20 against Peter Collister, Tommy McMeiken won to single figures against Alan Moore, David Proctor beat Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly 21-17 and Frank Watson who inflicted a second league defeat of the season on South Ramsey skipper Glynn Hargraves 21-19. Winning for the visitors were John Kennish to single figures against Gary Smith, David Bradford 21-11 against Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, Stefan Kelly 21-18 against Tom Kelly and Chas Grills who defeated Jerome Surridge 21-17. With six close games the result could have been a lot different for both teams on another night.

South Ramsey B having had a tough start to the season confirmed their place in division one for another year with a fine 7-3 win over Port Erin A who would have had a long journey home having been relegated as a result of losing the game. Winning for South Ramsey were Ben Dugdale, Tony Dugdale, James Teare, Sid Bolton and George Brew. The three winners for Port Erin were David Cain, Bernie Durcan and David McCabe with McCabe set to leave Port Erin to continue playing first division bowls next season.

Douglas A took on their B Team with the lower ranked team having been relegated some time ago there was little to play for, however this did not prevent the B team from taking two games off the A team with Andy Cannell and Gordon Wynne-Smythe the two winners. Winning for the A team were Andy Kennish, Keith Rise, Jimmy Sansom, Shaun Seal, and Gary Conwell whilst Roy Williams stepped in and was fortunate enough to receive a walk over.

Castletown A had a good 7-3 home win over Port St Mary A with visiting captain Trevor Quayle back to winning ways, with Quayle set to secure the individual merit title providing that he can win his last two league games with both of them being at home. Nearest rival is John Kennish who has recorded 20 wins from 20 games with Kennish due to miss the last league match of the season, having missed a game earlier in the season, it is in Quayle’s hands.

Marown A had a good 8-2 home win against North Ramsey A with the usual suspects winning for the Crosby men, whilst Steve Wilson stepped up to the A team just losing out 20-21 to Allan Callow. The other winner for North Ramsey was Steve Walmsley who had a comfortable 21-14 win over Matthew Keggen.

Marown B took on Onchan A at Crosby on Tuesday evening with the visitors taking an 8-2 win. Winning to single figures for Onchan were Matthew Quirk, Peter Slinger and Rob Monk. Winning for the home team were Rob Corkill, who beat Mark Kelly 21-16 and Brian Kelly who beat Steve Crampton 21-10. There was a first league appearance of the season from Mark Moorley who lost out 13-21 to Jordan Cain.

In division two the title is still up for grabs for which team will be crowned champions with Noble’s A dropping two points in their 8-2 win against their B Team. Recording big wins to single figures for the A Team were Glenn Boland, Tommy Collister and John Ruscoe. The two winners for the B team were Stewart Cubbon who beat David Quayle 21-10 and Les Brookes who beat Mark Quinn 21-15.

Castletown B capitalised on the Noble’s result with a 9-1 win away to Port St Mary C to close the gap to just three points. The last league fixture of the season sees Castletown B with what looks like a fairly straightforward home game against Peel C, whilst Noble’s A have what could be a tricky away game against Finch Hill A. The two teams have matched each other blow for blow throughout the season and should Castletown manage to pull three points or more back on Noble’s Castletown would be crowned champions with a better games for record.

In the individual merit battle four players are tied on 18 wins each which David Pease (Noble’s A) can secure providing he wins his last game of the season. Hot on the heels of the Noble’s man are John Keenan (Ballaugh A), Dave Faragher and Ron Williams (both Castletown B) who only trail on points dropped having suffered heavier defeats than Pease.

In division three Ballaugh B took advantage of league leaders Marown C taking their turn to sit out with a 9-1 win at home to South Ramsey D with Ian Moore suffering a second league defeat of the season losing out 18-21 to Tony Quine. John Kneen crept over the line 21-20 against Matthew Corkill with a fine bowl on the last end to help secure a further point for the home team. Preventing the whitewash and sparing the blushes of the visitors was Geoff Collier who made his debut in the night league and performed brilliantly to win 21-13 against Mike Buckeridge.

The final match of the season to settle the title in division three is between Marown C and Ballaugh B at Crosby with the visitors sitting just one point behind the Marown men only a win will do for Ballaugh against the league leaders it promises to be a huge match for both teams which I am sure the clubs members will support. Marown will go into the match as favourites having won all their home fixtures throughout the season.

In the rest of the matches South Ramsey C won 7-3 at home to Ballaugh C, Castletown C lost 3-7 away to Finch Hill B, Onchan C won 6-4 at home to Peel D in a close match winning the aggregate by nine chalks (143-132) whilst Douglas C and Douglas D were missing five players from both teams with the C Team winning 7-1, and with their B team missing a player in division one it may well be a case of Douglas dropping a team next year to fill all of their teams each week.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

South Ramsey Stun Marown

South Ramsey A - Mixed Team Winners 2018

Photo: Arnie Withers

South Ramsey A took on Marown A at ‘The Villa’ on Thursday evening with the Crosby men starting the match as favourites due to their five strongest men being available (as per the merit table), whilst South Ramsey used just two of their Men’s A team. Prior to the match commencing the captains carried out an inspection on the green to ensure it was fit to play with the rain that had fallen throughout the afternoon and the likelihood of further heavy rain due.

From the first five games on the green Neil Withers was first off for Marown with a good 21-14 win over Tony Dugdale, who was 2-9 and 5-13 before fighting back with singles to reach 14. Elaine Moore was next off for South Ramsey with a big 21-4 win. The next three games off all went in favour of Marown with Paul Dunn performing brilliantly to fight back from 2-12 down to win 21-14 against Gill Dixon. Credit must go to both players with tight ends being played and Dixon never far away from counting despite Dunn taking 19 of the next 21 points scored. Top Marown man Colin Kelly was next off beating 19 year old Stefan Kelly who was 3-12 behind before matching the Marown man point for point from there on, before losing out 13-21. Dean Kipling was the last player off in the first half of the match fighting back from 14-19 down to win 21-20 against James Teare. At the halfway point the match was finely balanced with Marown holding a six point lead.

During the second half of the match the rain continued to get heavier, resulting in the green getting heavier with the South Ramsey players using this to their advantage. First game off in the second half for South Ramsey was captain Glynn Hargraves who ran out on a long length to record a huge 21-2 win against Lil Smith. Lyn Bolton was next off with a 21-10 win over Shirley Whelan who did well to reach double figures after trailing 0-13. With the match now secured with South Ramsey holding a 24 point lead and both games on the green having scored enough points Ben Dugdale was next off winning 21-15 against Philippa Taylor. Jenny Moore was the last game off winning 21-16 against Paul Kelly, with Kelly fighting back from 9-20 down to reach 16. This resulted in South Ramsey winning the trophy by 35 chalks (166-131) and also recording a 5-4 win on games.

The presentation was made by Association Treasurer Phil Kelly who thanked Douglas for the use of the green, providing measurers and refreshments, along with John Gelling for stepping in to assist on the night. South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves acknowledged that the conditions had played a part in the result on the night, whilst also thanking his team and everyone who had came to support which made for a great atmosphere.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

A Great Day For Manx Bowls

Junior Manx Masters Competitors

South Ramsey held the Manx Masters on Saturday with four separate competitions taking place.

Winner of the Young Manx Masters was Sam Colquitt (Marown Juniors) defeating Emily Cooper (also Marown Juniors) in the final. This competition was played in a round robin format over seven ends with both Sam and Emily winning their respective groups to reach the final.

The Junior Manx Masters was played as a straight knockout for the older and more experienced player and the title was retained by Glenn Boland (Noble’s) who beat Austin Hart (South Ramsey) 21-18 in the final, with Boland beating 10 year old Ryan Hargraves to reach the final, whilst Hart beat his younger brother Toby Hart in a close game (21-18) to book his spot in the final.

The standard of play in both events was brilliant and it was great to have over 50 people around the green watching the future of the game with the numbers steadily increasing throughout the morning, making for a great atmosphere on and around the green.

The junior competitions were sponsored by Stonemasons IOM Limited for a second successive year with the presentation made by Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly. All those who took part received a prize, with the younger players also receiving a certificate.

Huge thanks must go to the five coaches (Sonya Mercer, Clare Cooper, Phil Kelly, Colin Kelly and Neil Withers) who helped the younger players with their games throughout the morning, with their guidance being invaluable to those taking part.

Once the Junior competitions came to a conclusion the men’s and ladies events got underway with the ladies event being an invitation of 16 players, whilst the men’s event had 32 taking part.

In the ladies losing out at the quarter final stages were Mary Moffatt (Peel), Gill Dixon (Ballaugh), Elaine Moore (South Ramsey) and Philippa Taylor (Marown).

In the semi-finals Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) was too strong for Chris Price (Port St Mary) taking a 21-14 win, whilst Clare Cooper (Noble’s) ended the challenge of home greener Lyn Bolton with a 21-16 win to book her place in the final.

In the final Moore was quickest out of the blocks under the floodlights with Cooper being kept down to winning five ends throughout the game with Moore scoring six two’s on the way to securing a well deserved 21-9 win to pick up the title.

In the men’s event 12 of the 16 first round games were well contested with the player losing out scoring 15 or more to show there were some good games taking place. This continued in the second round with five of the eight games being played going to 15 and above.

Losing out at the quarter final stage was multi time Manx Masters champion and recent festival winner John Kennish (South Ramsey), who lost out 18-21 to his nephew Alan Moore (South Ramsey). Another home greener who fell at this stage was Chas Grills losing out 15-21 to Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly (Peel). In another all home green encounter David Bradford lost out 13-21 to Glynn Hargraves, whilst Dean Kipling (Marown) ended the hopes of Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly with his own 21-13 win.

In the semi-final Alan Moore took on Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly with Moore fighting back from well behind to get back to 19-19 before Kelly picked up a two to secure a 21-19 win. In the second semi-final Glynn Hargraves took on Dean Kipling with Hargraves taking a 17-8 lead with Kipling coming back to 15-17 before Hargraves went on another run to finish the game off to win 21-15.

In the final Kelly made a strong start on the long lengths with Hargraves chipping in with the odd point to trail 7-11. Kelly then took the next four ends with two singles and two doubles to take a huge step towards winning taking a 17-7 lead. Hargraves dug in to take the next seven ends on a short round peg that he had played well in three of his previous games to take four singles and three doubles to drag himself back into the game to sit level at 17-17. Kelly picked the perfect time to stop the rot playing a good first bowl which wasn’t beaten to get back in to go 18-17 ahead. A double and a single on the next two ends was enough to secure a well deserved victory for Kelly, who had performed well all day.

At the end of the competition the prizes were presented by Cleveland Perry of behalf of the sponsors Feltons who have supported this event for the past few years.

Competition secretary John Kennish gave thanks to those who had helped prepare the green, along with those who had helped in any way towards the smooth running of the competitions throughout the whole day. A special mention to the ladies who once again put on a superb selection of pasties, sandwiches, cakes etc along with hot and cold refreshments throughout the entire day.

Also a special mention must go to John Kennish and Alan Moore who put in considerable time and effort to invite the players that took part and did brilliantly to get 21 juniors playing competitive bowls that was enjoyed by all.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Marown & South Ramsey Set to Clash In Final

The mixed team semi-finals were played on Thursday evening with the matches played at neutral venues.

Marown A took on Port St Mary at Finch Hill in a match that went to the wire (145-139), however it was Marown who booked their place in the final despite suffering two heavy defeats. Lil Smith lost 2-21 to Trevor Quayle, whilst Shirley Whelan lost 5-21 to Wayne Roberts. The other winner for Port St Mary was Margaret Tasker who beat Mary Alderson 21-12. Marown’s five wins were enough to see them over the line with Dean Kipling the only single figure winner for Marown beating Ray Watterson 21-8. Paul Dunn beat Tim Williams 21-10, Neil Withers won 21-11 against Dan McCabe, with Colin Kelly beating Mavis Franks 21-13 whilst Paul Kelly won 21-14 against Jayne Kneen. The closest match of the night was between Philippa Taylor and Chris Price with Taylor edging it 21-20.

South Ramsey A took on Noble’s A at Onchan on Thursday evening with the match expected to be close. South Ramsey wasted no time in the first five games to all but secure their place in the final winning all the games to comfortable score lines to build up a 59 point lead. James Teare performed well to record a 21-5 win over Alison Keggen, Stefan Kelly beat Clare Cooper 21-13, whilst Glynn Hargraves defeated Paula Firth 21-8. The next two games off were 21-10 wins for Ben Dugdale & Elaine Moore against John Ruscoe and Reginald Temporaza respectively. In the second half of the match Lyn Bolton beat Sylvia Kennaugh 21-8, with Jenny Moore seeing off Glenn Boland 21-13. Noble’s two wins were well deserved with David Pease beating Alan Moore 21-10, whilst Rebecca Teare played well to beat Gill Dixon 21-15. South Ramsey won the match 7-2 on games and taking the victory by 63 chalks (172-109).

The mixed team final between Marown and South Ramsey takes place on Thursday 20th September with the venue still to be confirmed. Marown will start the match as favourites on the night.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Marown Book Final Spot

Marown Club Team who took on Peel at Crosby

Photo: Arnie Withers

In Group A Marown secured their spot in the final with a game to spare despite suffering losses in all of their doubles games at home to Peel. Jerome Surridge & Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat Neil Withers & Paul Kelly 21-18, Gary Smith & Gordon Corrin defeated Phil Kelly and Juan Killip 21-14, with Stevie Kelly and David Proctor seeing off Paul Dunn & Peter Kelly 21-16. In the singles Frank Watson was the only Peel winner defeating Matthew Keggen 21-17. Marown’s victory ended up being comfortable (149-112) thanks to wins in the singles from Dean Kipling, Brian Kelly and John Gelling all winning to single figures against Dave Smith, Mike Ashmole and Tommy McMeiken respectively, whilst Colin Kelly showed no mercy against his eldest son Tom Kelly with a 21-13 win.

In Group B it is set up nicely for the last group match at Onchan against South Ramsey who sit top by two points holding an 18 chalk advantage. For Onchan to progress to the final they need to win the match by 19 chalks to reach the final.

South Ramsey picked up two points this week with a victory over Douglas (150-124) with the floodlights now coming into play early on in matches due to the nights closing in. In the singles matches Steven Waters and Chas Grills both recorded 21-18 wins over Gary Conwell and Shaun Seal respectively, whilst Stefan Kelly beat Willie Cowley to single figures. Austin Hart lost out 15-21 to Ian Moore, whilst Sid Bolton lost 19-21 to Andy Cannell. In the doubles matches Ben Dugdale & James Teare were well beaten 11-21 against Mervin Sayle and Keith Rise, with Alan Moore & Peter Collister cancelling this defeat out with a 21-10 win. Glynn Hargraves & Dido Kelly won 21-7 against Jimmy Sansom & Gordon Wynne-Smythe.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

South Ramsey Retain Title

League Champions 2018

South Ramsey A confirmed their dominance of the Ellan Vannin Fuels sponsored division one with their third straight league title following a 10-0 home win over Port St Mary A on a particularly wet Monday evening.

Five of the home team wins were to single figures with the most notable being David Bradford defeating Paul Skelly 21-4. Three of the visiting players made it into double figures with Wayne Roberts losing out 15-21 against Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly and Steve Franks losing 13-21 to Peter Collister. There was also a first league defeat of the season for Port St Mary captain Trevor Quayle losing out 12-21 against South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves to shake things up at the top of the individual merit.

At the start of the season I stated that Marown A were favourites for the league with the squad they had, and I am surprised that a stronger challenge did not come from the Crosby men, however I am sure that they will be back next year.

Marown A took on their B Team and without taking too much away from the B team the weather did play a part in levelling things up, with the B team securing a 7-3 win over the higher ranked team to officially secure their place in division one for next season after gaining promotion last year. The three winners for the A team were Paul Kelly who won a close game against Brian Kelly 21-19, with Colin Kelly and Neil Withers both winning to single figures. For the B Team captain Harry Barton led the way with a 21-17 win over opposition captain Paul Dunn, Steve Bridson recorded a memorable win to the same score over Dean Kipling, John Kelly beat Phil Kelly 21-19, with James Kelly beating Matthew Keggen 21-10 and Arnie Withers defeating Peter Kelly 21-9.

At the other end of the table South Ramsey B have all but secured their top flight status for another year with a 7-3 home win over near neighbours North Ramsey A. Austin Hart having waited most the season for a league win has now won three of his last four games with a 21-20 victory over Allan Callow with his confidence soaring on the back of picking up his first win. Home team captain Ben Dugdale recorded a 21-18 win over Steve Parker, with the other three wins from Steven Waters, James Teare and Sid Bolton all being fairly comfortable. For the visitors Ray Skelly and Geoff Porter defeated George Brew and Christian Caley respectively, whilst Tony Smart won to single figures.

Port Erin A made the trip to ‘The Villa’ to take on Douglas A, with the Breagle Glen men taking three games off the home team with Dave McCabe beating Mervin Sayle 21-20, Derek Cadamy won 21-18 against Shaun Seal and captain Bernie Durcan won 21-8 against Gary Conwell.

Douglas B are officially relegated, however they did pick up one of their best results of the season taking four games off Peel A away from home with Pat O’ Donohue, Andy Cannell, Andy Foster and Gordon Wynne-Smythe the winners.

In division two Noble’s A edged closer to winning the league following a 9-1 home win against Peel B. For the home team John Ruscoe and Reginald Temporaza won to single figures, whilst for the visitors Harry Kelly prevented a whitewash with a 21-11 win over David Quayle. Noble’s have two fairly straightforward fixtures left to play against their B Team and away to Finch Hill A.

Castletown B sit just four points behind Noble’s following their 8-2 away win against Port St Mary C, helped by Ross Moore and Aaron Richardson both sneaking 21-20 wins against Derek Cain and Louis Callister respectively, however they still face a tough away game against Port St Mary B, finishing up with a home game against Peel C.

In the individual merit stakes Dave Faragher (Castletown B) suffered a hammer blow to his hopes following a 4-21 defeat against Bernard Thackrah (Port St Mary C), which has allowed David Pease (Noble’s) and John Keenan (Ballaugh) to leapfrog Faragher at the top.

At the other end of the table Port Erin B have been relegated to the third division, following a 3-7 home loss to Noble’s B who themselves are all but relegated with just two games left and sit 17 points from safety.

In the third division Marown C sit on the brink of winning the title and gaining promotion to the second division following a fantastic 10-0 away win against Onchan C. Marown have done some fantastic work as five years ago their B Team pulled out of the league as they couldn’t field a team that season. Since then the club led by Neil Withers have done some fantastic work to recruit new players into the game which culminated in Marown introducing a C Team into the league in 2016 and got them to where they are now, with players who have stuck together and improved each year, with some of their players enjoying some success in open competitions with Steve Wilson winning a men’s doubles at Castletown last year and Walter McCarthy performing brilliantly to win the men’s doubles in the September festival.

Ballaugh B are by no means down and out from taking the title themselves, and sit 10 points behind the league leaders with a game in hand. Their cause wasn’t helped by dropping four games against their C Team with a 6-4 win.

Sitting just three points further back on Ballaugh B in third place are Castletown C who took their turn to sit out the fixtures last week.

South Ramsey D Team player Ian Moore looks to have secured the individual merit title following another comfortable win away from home winning 21-11 against Tommy Rougvie (Douglas C). Moore has lost just one league game all season losing 20-21 at home to Trevor Jones.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Cooper and Dawson Take First Mixed Doubles Title

Wilfred Quayle Winners 2018

Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Wilfred Quayle mixed doubles on Sunday with the competition attracting 37 pairs on a fine day.

The eventual winners were Clare Cooper (Noble’s) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) who overcame the strong challenge of Chrissy McManus (Ainsdale) and Steve McManus (Mere Brow) in a high quality final to secure their first mixed doubles win. After six ends the score was 13-12 to Cooper and Dawson with the McManus Husband and Wife partnership having only won two ends but scoring two three’s. From there the latter were kept down to four singles with Cooper and Dawson complimenting each other well with Cooper leading brilliantly at the front and Dawson doing the business at the back when needed to take three singles, a three and a double to take the title with a 21-16 win.

Losing out to the winners at the semi-final stage were Alison Keggen (Noble’s) and Neil Withers (Marown) 13-21, whilst the South Ramsey pairing of Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves lost out 12-21.

Falling at the quarter final stage were the Port St Mary pairings of Pauline Worrall and Paul Russell, Katy Williams and Tim Williams, home greeners Marie Ashurst and Dave Faragher, along with Paula Firth (Noble’s) and Sid Bolton (South Ramsey).

The presentation was made by Phil Taubman who thanked everyone who had entered and all the club members who had helped with the smooth running of the competition throughout the day. It was great to see some visitors extend their stay on the Island to enter the competition with the losing finalists playing on the green for the first time, showing how quickly they had adapted to a new green, with the visitors thanking everyone for such a warm welcome.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Monk Wins Thurlwell Bowl

Thurlwell Bowl Winner 2018

Noble’s Bowling Club hosted the Thurlwell Bowl on Saturday with the rain mostly holding off throughout the day.

The eventual winner was Rob Monk (Onchan) who defeated Paul Skelly (Port St Mary) 21-19 in a hard fought final. Both players performed well making good two’s throughout the game despite their opponent having good bowls. The game changer was at 18-18 with Monk playing a short round peg and Skelly was lying one on and looking to make two resulted in Skelly flicking his own bowl out to leave Monk on to go 19-18 ahead. Skelly got back in next again, however very nearly turned his counting bowl out again. At 19-19 Skelly headed for the corner and couldn’t have had a worse time to play his poorest end of the game to allow Monk to pick up an easy two for game in an otherwise entertaining and high quality game.

In the semi-final Monk ended the challenge of Paul Dunn (Marown) with a good display to book his place in the final, whilst Skelly was pushed all the way by team mate Trevor Quayle with the latter losing out 20-21.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were home greener Alison Keggen, Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey), Harry Barton (Marown) and Mike Hargraves (Castletown).

The presentation was made by Wendy Leece who thanked Clare Cooper for running the sheet throughout the day, the club members who had helped with the running of the competition and for providing refreshments to those taking part.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Moore & Kennish Take Top Titles

September Festival Winners 2018

The top prizes in the Isle of Man September Bowls Festival went to two local players.

In the Men’s competition it was South Ramsey’s John Kennish who picked up his fourth September Festival win and the winners cheque for £3,000. Kennish had to overcome the challenge of Onchan man Peter Slinger in a repeat of the 2017 Manx Championship on the same green, this was also the first all local final since September 2014 between John Kennish and Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly.

The final started with Slinger taking a single point on the first end after trailing the jack with his last bowl. The second end proved to be crucial and was probably a first for a festival final with Slinger heading for the corner the jack went off the green, allowing Kennish the opportunity to set the mark, to which Kennish then headed for the edge also sending the jack off, allowing Slinger a second chance to set the mark again in the corner however the jack went off the green once again. Kennish didn’t waste the second opportunity of setting the mark along the edge. From there Kennish was ruthless wasting little more than 20 minutes to win the game picking up five two’s and five one’s along the way. To be fair to Slinger he was never far away with his bowls just pegging away at the end or falling just short or running out, it is more a reflection of how devastating Kennish was on the day. Slinger could take consolation in the runners up cheque for £1,000.

Kennish reached the final courtesy of a 21-13 win over David Jackson (Knutsford), whilst Slinger booked his place in the final defeating Callum Wraight (Knutsford) in a thrilling game coming back from 6-12 down, then 13-17 down before Slinger got level at 17-17. Slinger headed for the corner and played two poor bowls, which Wraight wasn’t able to punish fully taking just a point to go 18-17 up. Slinger picked up a single on the next end up to the crown to level matters again, then lay one next end with Wraight contemplating striking which was risky given how close his own bowl was to the one he was hoping to take out. Wraight struck taking out his own bowl to gift Slinger two to go 20-18 up. Slinger headed along the edge on a straight peg which is well known to be a push to reach into, he led a good bowl with Wraight pushing two yards through. Crucially Slinger made two with Wraight playing through taking out Slinger’s nearest bowl, however Slinger’s other bowl was left counting for game to win 21-18.

The quarter finals were all fairly straightforward with Kennish seeing off Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) with a 21-10 win. The closest game of the quarters was between John Bailey (Knutsford) and David Jackson, with Jackson falling 7-10 behind early on, before taking a 17-11 lead and eventually seeing the game out 21-17. Wraight ended the challenge of Danny Petcher (Netherseal) with a 21-12 win. Slinger booked his place in the semi-final courtesy of a 21-14 win over Gareth Jones (Dalton Cricket).

There is always that one game in a festival that makes or breaks you and that came for Kennish on the Thursday afternoon against another local Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) in the last 16 with Kennish edging it 21-20 with Quayle leading for the entire game and having a good opportunity on the last end to win it. Kennish has now won five Isle of Man festival titles, with one June win and four September wins it is surely only a question of when, not if he will pick up his next title. John will also be playing in the Champion of Champions at Blackpool at the end of the month, an event that he had already qualified for through winning the Manx Championship earlier in the season.

In the Ladies main competition it was another South Ramsey player Elaine Moore who won the Ladies title and the cheque for £1,000 with a hard fought 21-18 win over Gill Simm (Lune Road) with Simm being quickest out of the blocks taking a 14-8 lead with Moore working her way back into the game to go 17-16 ahead slightly varying the length being played. Simm took two singles on the next two ends to take the lead 18-17. Moore dug in to take two singles and a two on the last end playing over the crown to win her first festival and the relief and emotion was clear for everyone to see.

In the semi-finals Simm booked her place in the final with a 21-10 win over Helen Clee (Wrockwardine Wood), whilst Moore was pushed all the way by daughter Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) with Elaine fighting back from 12-18 down to eventually win 21-20 after lying two down at 20-20 Elaine trailed the jack with a brilliant bowl to reach the final.

Gill Simm started her day with a 21-16 win over Veronica Lyon (Unison), whilst Helen Clee ended the challenge of Alison Cotton with a hard fought 21-17 win. Jenny Moore made light work of her quarter final game with a 21-11 win over Margo Sinclare (Meersbrook BC) whilst Elaine Moore had to battle hard to see off Tracy Ryan (Meole Brace BC) with a 21-18 win having lost to Ryan in the semi-finals of the Tourism on Thursday morning.

Elaine certainly won her first festival the hard way with her games from the quarter finals onwards all being close, and having to play two of the favourites on the way against her daughter Jenny Moore and Tracy Ryan, no doubt Elaine was made all the more determined having suffered the heartache of losing out in the final of the June festival to Debbie Farmer on a particularly wet finals day several years ago. Elaine has also qualified to play in the Champion of Champions at the Waterloo Hotel in Blackpool.

Following their festival wins John Kennish received the Chris Quayle trophy for the furthest Manx Man, whilst Elaine Moore received the Blanche Kaye Trophy for the furthest Manx Lady.

The Men’s Tourism was played down to the winner on Thursday morning on Noble’s 1 with Colin Kelly (Marown) performing brilliantly in the corners to take the Tourism title defeating Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) 21-11.

Kelly booked his place in the final with a hard fought win over Callum Wraight (Knutsford), whilst Ditchfield defeated Dave Phillips (Lloyd Hotel).

The Ladies Tourism was also played down to the winner on Thursday morning on Noble’s 2 green it was Tracy Ryan (Meole Brace) who defeated Helen Martin (North Ramsey) 21-13 in the final.

Tracy Ryan booked her place in the final following a tough game with Elaine Moore (South Ramsey), whilst Helen Martin ended the run of Lynn Bennett (Orrell Rovers).

The Men’s consolation was won by Chris Talbot (Knutsford) who beat Robert Whyatt (Packhorse BC) 21-9. The Ladies consolation was won by Hazel Borrowdale (Kendal Vic) defeating Olwen Edwards (Llanfair PG) 21-20 in a close final.

The Visit.Com Flyer title went to Paul Beer (Meole Brace) who had a 9-6 win over Callum Wraight (Knutsford), whilst the Last Chance Mixed Final was won by Neil Rigden (New Longton) who beat John Clark (Wrockwardine Wood) 21-19 in another close final.

In the doubles competitions the Open Doubles was won by Peter Yates (Kirkham) and Steve McCall (Kirkham) with a 11-5 win over Martin Gilpin (Kendal Vic) and Ian Nicholson (Kendal Vic).

The Men’s doubles was won by Walter McCarthy (Marown) and David Jackson (Knutsford) defeating Paul Bailey (Meersbrook BC) and Frank Jolly (Canberra) 11-6 in an entertaining final.

The Ladies pairs was won convincingly 11-1 by Jenny Moore (South Ramsey) and Carleen Doody-Millington (Meole Brace) who beat Sylvia Bentham (Tarleton) and Joan Jolly (Canberra).

The Mixed pairs was won by Patricia Edwards (Winstanley) and Michael Coupe (Hoghton) defeating Sharon Ridgen (Penwortham Sports) and Kevin Nicholas (Gresford Colliery) 9-4.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Ditchfield Secures Davisons Autumn Shield

Peel Bowling Club hosted the popular pre-festival competition the Davisons Autumn Shield on Sunday. The competition attracted 96 entries which made for a long day, with start times given out to those taking part.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Bob Wyatt (Packhorse BC), Brian Furber (Pavilions) Tom Kelly (Peel) and Dido Kelly (South Ramsey).

In the semi-finals Neil Wright (Kirkham) ended the challenge of Neil Ridgen (New Longton) with a 21-15, whilst Wayne Ditchfield (Kirkham) booked his place in the final with a 21-12 win over Steve McCall (Kirkham).

In the final club mates Wright and Ditchfield took to the green with both players knowing each other’s game well it was always going to be a close final, however Ditchfield did enough to take a 21-18 win and his third success in this competition.

The presentation was made by Ian Davison, who once again sponsored the competition. There was over £750 paid out in prize money with the winner receiving £300. Thanks were also given to everyone who had helped with the running of the competition.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves