Author Archives: Glynn Hargraves

South Ramsey Hit Top

Douglas A Mens Team 2017

Back: Merv Sayle, Ian Moore, Kieth Rise, Stuart Garrett, Andy Kennish
Front: Gary Conwell, Paul Kelly, Mike Cain

The Men played two set of fixtures last week, with the cold and windy conditions on Monday night being particularly challenging for all teams playing.

South Ramsey A started their week with a good 9-1 away win away to Castletown B, with Ross Moore being the sole winner for the home team, managing to take a 21-19 victory over Chas Grills, whilst on Wednesday South Ramsey brushed aside the visitors Douglas B to win 10-0, with the visitors averaging less than seven chalks each. These results now see South Ramsey with a six point lead over Douglas A, however both Marown & Onchan both have a game in hand to potentially close the gap and move up the table.

Marown A started their week with a visit north to take on South Ramsey B, taking a good 9-1 victory back to Crosby with both teams sneaking 21-20 wins. Marown then visited Onchan Park to take on Onchan A, who had sat out Monday night’s fixtures, but that didn’t stop them showing their title credentials to secure a 6-4 win over the visitors.

Douglas A (pictured) will have been pleased with their week, dropping only two points with a 9-1 over their B Team, matching this result on Wednesday over the visitors Port Erin A.

Castletown A continued their winning start to the season coming away with a 3-7 win away to Port Erin A on Monday evening.

Peel continue to consolidate their top flight status with a 6-4 win over visitors Port St Mary A, will have been pleased to come away from Mooragh Park with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday.

North Ramsey A fared better on Monday night taking a 7-3 victory way to Ballaugh A.

Castletown B ended their week with a visit to Port St Mary A, but only managed to take two points off the home team who won 8-2.

The bottom four teams Ballaugh A, Castletown B, Port Erin A and Douglas B look like they could be in a four way fight to stay in the top flight.

In the second division Marown B are starting to open up a gap at the top having won two home games, taking a 9-1 & 8-2 victory over Douglas C & Nobles B respectively.

Not far behind Marown are Peel B who made up for losing 4-6 away to North Ramsey B, by winning 10-0 at home to Onchan C.

Nobles B find themselves in the unusual position of being ahead of their A Team having picked up three points more than their club mates so far.

Finch Hill A are getting their season back on track with two victories this week to start to pull away from the bottom.

Douglas C are finding the second division much tougher this season, rooted to the bottom of the league, but with time to pull clear.

In the third division Peel C and Marown C continued their promising start to the season with both team securing good wins to extend the gap over the teams below them.

Castletown C started their week with a 10-0 win over visitors Ballaugh B. Their week didn’t end so well with a visit to Ballaugh to take on their C Team with the home team taking a 7-3 win.

Finch Hill B are at the bottom of the pile suffering a 1-9 home loss to Marown C. Thursday didn’t go any better with another 9-1 loss making it a long journey home.

Peel D secured a good 8-2 home win over South Ramsey C, following this up with a visit to Nobles C to come away with a 6-4 victory.

 

 

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Noble’s Cu-Plas Cup

Noble’s held their annual Men’s doubles competition on Sunday, with the pairing of Stuey Garrett and Ian Moore (Douglas) losing out 12-21 in the final to Jordan Cain and Kevin Quirk (Onchan).

Losing semi-finalists were Roy Murphy and Peter Karran 12-21, along with Derek Allen and Alec Taylor 15-21 to the eventual winners.

The presentation was made by club chairperson Clare Cooper, who thanked the sponsors Cu-Plas and all those who helped make a success of the competition.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Cringle Fours

Cringle Pairs Winners 2017

Neil Withers & Steve Wilson

The Cringle Fours were held on Saturday with an entry of 21 pairs.

At the conclusion of play it was the Marown pairing of Steve Wilson and Neil Withers who overcame the South Ramsey/Castletown combination of Alan Moore and Nathan Cooil 21-20 in the final, which was made all the more satisfying for the Crosby men, who came back from 15-20 down to run out in what was ‘Wilsy’s’ first men’s open competition.

Losing out 18-21 to the eventual winners in the semi-final were Stuey Garrett and Ian Moore (Douglas).

In the semi-final Dave McCabe and Bernie Durcan (Port Erin) lost out 12-21 to the runners up.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Noel Cringle, with thanks made to the club for running the competition, with the sum of £250 being donated to Manx Blind Welfare Society.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Week 3 Report

The third round of fixtures were played on Easter Monday with Marown A having a free week, but perhaps being the biggest winners on the night without even playing.
Port Erin A travelled to Onchan for their second successive away fixture having lost 0-10 in their first game. They fared slightly better this time taking two points off the home team, who would have been looking to match Marown’s 10-0 home win the previous week. The winners for the visitors were David Cain & Seamus Whelan over Kevin Quirk & Mike Thomas.
South Ramsey A had a tough home fixture over Peel A who didn’t disappoint on my early season prediction that they had the players to take points off the top teams over the course of the season with Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, Tom Kelly & captain Darren Young all picking up strong wins for the visitors to take three points back to Peel.  For the home team Stefan Kelly & John Kennish both won to single figures.
Castletown A made it three wins in a row with an 8-2 success over Douglas B with four of their players winning comfortably.
North Ramsey A hosted South Ramsey B with Gary Merrill, Geoff Porter & Adam Yates all winning to single figures on their way to a 7-3 victory over their local rivals.
Port St Mary A made the trip north to Ballaugh with the home side pleased to have taken four points off the visitors having won two games 21-19. After three games Trevor Quayle sits at the top of the individual merit standings having only conceded 13 points in total.
Douglas A took an 8-2 victory at home to Castletown B with two of the visiting players losing out 18-21.

In the second division Port Erin B were shock winners 7-3 over Marown B, who will be hoping to go up to the top tier following their heartbreak last season.
Noble’s A hosted Onchan B with the result ending in a ‘true draw’,  the games being 4-4 and the chalks also being tied on 142 to take home an aggregate point each.
Peel B used all their home green advantage to obtain an 8-2 win over Port St Mary B who had two players losing out 18-21.
Douglas C were well beaten 1-9 on their own green by visitors Noble’s B with Keith Fearnley being the lone winner for the home team and two more of their players just making double figures.
Onchan C made the journey north along the Coast road to play North Ramsey B at the Mooragh with the visitors taking three points off the home team and losing out on the aggregate by six chalks.

In the third division it was very much a case of advantage to the home teams with Ballaugh B having won 8-2 over visitors Douglas D who had two of their new players John Ferguson and Lee Butterworth managing to reach the magical 21 point mark, whilst Greg Brew had to suffer a 20-21 loss to miss out on his first individual win.
Peel C and Marown C carried on the run of home 8-2 wins over South Ramsey D and Peel D respectively.
South Ramsey C were somewhat fortunate to win 5-3 on games, but lost out on the aggregate due to two heavy defeats, with the visitors Ballaugh C disappointed not to have taken one or two more individual wins having lost two games to 20-21 and a further game 18-21.
Noble’s C and Castletown C had an unusual 6-3 score line in favour of the home team, due to both teams being in the unusual position of only being able to field seven players.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Lancaster Cup

Following the postponement of the Team Fours at South Ramsey, Peel took the opportunity to use the free date to host a mixed pairs on their green on Sunday with 33 pairs taking part at short notice.

Losing quarter-finalists were Alison Keggen and Neil Withers, Paula and Stuart Garrett, Joyce Ogden and Mike Hargraves, Gill Dixon and Glynn Hargraves.

The first semi-final had home greeners Shirley and Gordon Corrin up against Lyn Bolton (South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) with the latter wasting no time easing to a 21-8 victory.
In the other semi-final the Husband and Wife pairing of Joyce and Harry Kelly were 20-13 up against fellow home-greeners Mary Moffatt and Dougie Allan, but were unable to get the all important last chalk to lose out 20-21.

The final started with Quayle and Bolton taking their time to get into the game, having been sat off for over 30 minutes going 6-12 down, before kicking into gear to go 16-12 up. Moffatt and Allan levelled at 16-16 to then give away three points on the next end. Bolton and Quayle then managed to get the two points needed to become the first winners of the Lancaster Cup winning 21-18.

The presentation was made by David Lancaster’s family with thanks given to all those who helped make a success of the competition.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Business as Usual for Kennish

April Association Singles Finalists 2017

l-r: Kevin Quirk (runner up), Matthew Keggen (Comp. Sec), John Kennish (winner)

The first men’s singles competition of the season was played at the Villa on Saturday with an entry of 51 taking part.

Losing out in the quarter-finalists were Neil Withers (Marown), Robert Monk (Onchan), Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), and home-greener Jimmy Samson.

The first semi-final had Kevin Quirk (Onchan) easing to a 21-7 win over Stuart Garrett (Douglas) to book his place in the final. In the other semi, John Kennish was up against Colin Kelly (Marown), with Kennish taking an early lead before Kelly managed to get the score back to 14-15, Kennish then ran out to secure the victory.

In an excellent final Quirk made a strong start with some good leads and length bowls as we have come to expect of him by taking a 11-4 lead over Kennish. From there Kennish started to work his way back into the game to draw level at 15 all. Quirk went on to go 18-16 up, before Kennish took the last five ends with singles to secure the win.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Association competition secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked his team of helpers, Douglas Bowling Club for hosting the competition, with refreshments provided throughout the day and the green keeper for the excellent condition of the green.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Top Teams Dominate

Port Erin A Mens Team - 2017

Back (l-r): Stuart Gale, Harry Minor, Bernard Thackarah Front (l-r): Seamus Whealan, David Cain, Dave McCabe, Steve Durcan, Bernie Durcan

The league table is getting a familiar look about it following the second set of fixtures played on Monday evening, with what most bowlers consider to be the top two teams Marown and South Ramsey both winning 10-0 with the opposing teams failing to reach the 100 point mark.
Marown stormed to a convincing home win against Port Erin (pictured), who having sat out the first round of fixtures last week were unable to capitalise against a Marown team who were missing a couple of regulars.
South Ramsey A got over the disappointment of two dropped points last week with a convincing win at Ballaugh.
Onchan were a solitary point away from a maximum, with Jimmy Samson being the only winner for Douglas B over Jordan Cain.
Port St Mary got their first full house of the season with a 10-0 victory over North Ramsey who almost picked up a point, with Gary Merrill just losing out 20-21.
Castletown continued their confident start to the season with an assured 9-1 result over their B Team with Dave Faragher the lone winner for the B Team.
All eyes were on newly promoted Peel with three players coming up against the Douglas team they played for last season. This did not stop their season from getting up and running with a 7-3 victory over the visiting Villa side with Keith Rise holding off the challenge of former team mate Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly with an assured 21-16 win on a green that Barney is notoriously tough to beat on.

In the second division Marown B are proving their title credentials having now played both teams relegated from the first division last season, this week winning 8-2 over the visitors Noble’s A.
It is not looking so good for Finch Hill A, who suffered their second straight 9-1 loss of the season, this time to Onchan B.
Port St Mary C lost 5-3 on games to Peel B, but just edged the aggregate by a solitary chalk to obtain a draw overall.
Onchan C were unable to hold off the strong challenge of Port St Mary B who came away from the Park with an 8-2 victory.
Newly promoted Port Erin B will have been pleased to have taken the spoils from a Douglas C Team that got promoted with them last season, with an 8-2 win having edged the aggregate by two chalks. The home team were unfortunate to not get over the line in two or three of the games.

In the third division Marown C visited a much improved Ballaugh green, but were unable to get to grips with it on the night, with the home team winning 8-2.
South Ramsey D played their first home fixture of the season, with the result being 4-4 on games and the visitors Ballaugh B taking the overall victory 6-4.
South Ramsey C visited Noble’s C, with the visitors taking a comfortable 7-3 win.
Castletown C were convincing 9-1 winners over the newly formed Douglas D Team, who for many of their players would have had their first experience of playing on an away green. I am sure this season will give the team a number of ups and downs.

Upcoming Opens

Sat April 23 – Douglas – Association Singles

Announcement

Sun April 23 – Peel Sunset will now hold a Mixed Doubles Competition The Lancaster Cup.  This competition replaces the South Ramsey Team 4s competition which has been moved to September due to the extensive work being carried out on the new club house & surrounds.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Monk’s Have a Happy Easter

Douglas Mixed Doubles Winners 2017

L-R: Janet Monk, Norman Kneen, Robert Monk

North Ramsey held their first open of the season on Good Friday, the Ken Parker Trophy having recently returned to Mooragh Park following a seasons break from the green due to extensive work carried out over the past year.

The competition was played as an any combination doubles and attracted an entry of 34 pairs, with the field having a strong northern based look about it.

Losing quarter finalists were Chris Price and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary), Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey), along with homegreeners Caroline Parker and Adam Yates, Geoff Porter and Brian Colquitt.

The first semi final had homegreeners Helen Martin and Allan Callow up against Alan Moore and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey), with the latter storming to a 21-8 victory.
In the other semi final mother and son pairing Janet and Robert Monk had their work cut out to beat southerners Dave McCabe and Derek Allen (Port Erin) with the Monk’s booking their place in the final with a 21-18 win.

The final started with the Monk’s taking the first few ends, before Moore and Kelly then won a few ends to close the gap. From there the Monk’s took control of the game, using all their knowledge and experience of the green to take a comfortable win 21-13.

The presentation was made by Caroline Parker on behalf of the Parker family with thanks expressed to all those who helped make a success of the competition.

The following day Douglas held their first mixed doubles competition of the season with an entry of 31 pairs taking part.

The Monk’s once again paired up to storm to their second victory in two days. Douglas seems to have become a favourite for the Monk’s, having had a number of victories on the Villa green over the past few years.

Losing out in the final were the Port St Mary pair of Margaret Tasker and Ken Karran, who did well to shake off the strong challenge of Amanda Lawler and Jordan Cain in the semi final. Chris Price and Dido Kelly also dipped out at the semi final stage.

Losing quarter finalists were homegreeners Jimmy Samson and Pauline Cowley, Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey, the Husband and Wife pairings of Caroline and Steve Parker, along with Philippa and Alec Taylor.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by club chairman Norman Kneen, who thanked the club for running the competition.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

South Ramsey Trio Triumph

 

With no open competitions on Saturday, there was a good entry of 66 at Port St. Mary for the C. Tarleton Hodgson & Son Ltd sponsored Mixed Triples Jubilee Cup on Sunday.

Eventual winners after five tough games were the South Ramsey trio of Kim Hargraves, Glynn Hargraves and Dido Kelly, with a 21-14 victory under the floodlights over last year’s winners Lyn Bolton (South Ramsey), Sid Bolton (South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary).

Losing out in the semi finals to the eventual winners were homegreeners Chris Price, Wayne Roberts and Ewan Cooil 21-16.

In the other semi final Janet Monk (Mooragh Park), Robert Monk (Onchan) and Jordan Cain (Onchan) were unlucky to lose out 21-18.

The presentation was made by club President Ken Karran, who thanked the sponsors, everyone involved, from the team who prepared the excellent green and surrounds to the club members who ran the competition, not forgetting the ladies who provided the refreshments throughout the day.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves

Marown Teams Make Strong Start

Despite the poor weather conditions Marown A got their season off to a solid start with a 9-1 win at home to Douglas B.  The visiting team would have been disappointed not to have taken one or two more points off the home team having lost out 21-19 & 21-20 with both the Douglas players letting commanding leads slip away. 

 

Defending champions South Ramsey A had a tough home fixture against local rivals North Ramsey A with the ‘North’ men taking two points off the home team & running close in a couple of other games. 

 

Douglas A shrugged off the disappointment off losing over half of last year’s team with a comfortable 9-1 victory over a visiting Ballaugh team who tend to struggle on their travels. Onchan A matched the Villa side with a 9-1 scoreline.

 

South Ramsey B made the trek to Port St Mary & will have been pleased to have taken three points off the home team, who don’t drop many points on their home turf.

 

Castletown A used their home advantage to take a 6-4 victory over Peel A, with the result being 4-4 on games, but just edging out Peel by one chalk to take the crucial aggregate to gain the two ‘bonus’ points.

 

In the second division Marown B had an excellent start to their season having beat Finch Hill A 9-1 away from home. 

 

Nobles A came closest to matching Marown B with a 7-3 victory, dropping only six chalks. 

 

Peel B started their season with a 7-3 win over Onchan B, however this doesn’t tell the whole story with only three chalks separating the teams.

 

In the third division Douglas introduced a D team for the first time despite losing a number of players over the winter. It is really positive to see six new players taking up the game. The newly formed D Team did themselves proud to take 4 games off the visitors.

 

Marown C look to have stuck together, having introduced a new team last season & will look to improve on last season’s fifth place finish. I am sure they will improve on last season’s league position with an extra year’s experience under their belt.

 

Ballaugh B made an assured start to their season with a 10-0 win over Finch Hill B with the visitors failing to reach the 100 point mark.

Post published by Glynn Hargraves