The ever-popular pre-festival Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday attracting an entry of 84 bowlers, matching the 2023 entry, made up of locals and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in good condition, with the pace of the green picking up throughout the day following the recent downpours. The competition had a new sponsor on board with JRH Plumbing and Heating supporting the event.

At the quarter final stage Ricky Cochrane (Kirkham) held on to beat former winner Charlie Roberts (Dukinfield Central) 21-19, whilst Colin Price (Dukinfield Central) beat Josh Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood) 21-16. 

In the other half of the draw Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) led 19-11 against Neil Wright (Kirkham), with the latter fighting back to 17-19, however Kelly managed to see the game out with two singles to win 21-17. Chris Heyes (Dukinfield Central) took on home greener Nathan Hamilton, with the latter having played a great bowl on the deciding end against Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to take his place in the quarter finals 21-20. Heyes took a 14-7 lead, eventually went on to win 21-15 against the last home greener.

At the semi-final stage, it was the end of the road for Cochrane, with Price never trailing in the game, as the latter won 21-17 to book his spot in the final. The other semi-final was even closer as Kelly had to dig deep to get over the line 21-19 against Heyes.

The final saw two players with different game plans, as Kelly preferred to play up to the crown, whilst Price opted for the longer length in the corners. With neither player able put up a good lead bowl in the early part of the game, it was Price who made the first move to lead 17-12 after 11 ends.

A change in game plan arrived when Kelly got in on the 12^th end, as he won four consecutive ends in the corners to close the deficit to one chalk at 16-17. A timely two, followed by a single for Price put the visiting bowler within touching distance of the trophy, however Kelly got back in to pick up a single. On the next end Price was confident he had bowled the winner, singled for one shortly after sending his bowl with this coming back to haunt him, as his bowl just hung out wide. When given some gentle banter from some of his mates Price replied that he was thinking about the next end, so it proved, as a great last bowl from Price, saw him get over the line 21-18, as Price took home the famous trophy for the first time and the first prize of £400, whilst the South Ramsey man could console himself with £200 for his efforts on the day.

The presentation was made by Competition Secretary Nathan Hamilton who thanked the sponsors JRH Plumbing and Heating for sponsoring the competition, the ladies for the refreshments and Kath Kinley for the great work in the competition hut. Castletown Bowling Club President Hilary Kermode then introduced the sponsor James Hinchliffe to present the prizes. Upon accepting the trophy Colin commented that he had been coming to the Island for 49 years, since 1976, and that it was the first competition that he had won on the Isle of Man, also stated that this competition was his favourite day of the week.

South Ramsey hosted the Jim Kernan Cup on Saturday afternoon, in what is traditionally the first of the pre-festival opens with a healthy entry of 62 matching the 2024 entry. With heavy thunderstorms and lightning in the morning, the green was deemed playable with bursts of rain throughout the afternoon, however all 62 entrants turned up to play. The competition was sponsored by George Brew and CEF also on board this year.

At the quarter final stage Matthew Quirk (Onchan) beat Steve Barber (Grapes) after finishing the game strongly scoring six doubles on his way to a 21-15 win. Nick Wyer (Penn) was 19-19 with Paul Dunn (Marown) only for the latter to finish the game with a two to progress to the semi-final 21-19.

In the other half of the draw Reece Farr (Penn) seen off Andy Kennish (Peel) 21-16, whilst the last home greener Alan Moore put paid to the challenge of Joe Dicken (Woodfield) 21-14.

Both winners of the semi-finals ended up with comfortable wins as Quirk trailed 6-12, and 13-15 to Dunn who was the current holder having won the competition for the past two years, with the former running out to win 21-15. Moore managed to build up a healthy 16-8 lead over Farr, as the latter fought back only to lose out 16-21.

The final saw neither player able to win more than two consecutive ends in the early stages, it was Quirk who led by two chalks after nine ends at 13-11. Moore went on to win seven of the next eight ends playing the corners to go within touching distance of his first win in this competition, however two doubles from Quirk cast a shadow of doubt on the outcome, however a single was enough for Moore to lift the trophy, along with the £350 first prize, whilst Quirk took home £150 for his efforts. This was also Moore’s third singles open competition win overall having previously lifting the Autumn Shield and Dreswick Cup.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey club member Glynn Hargraves, who thanked the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition. Thanks were given to long term sponsor George Brew, along with Richard Butler from sponsor CEF who presented the prizes.

Marown Bowling Club hosted the Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy on Sunday afternoon with the competition sponsored by Glenn Boland Plumbing & Heating attracting 61 entries. After the recent wet weather the rain held off for the majority of the day.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Tom Kelly (Marown) 15-21 to South Ramsey’s David Bradford, with the latter recovering from a 5-9 deficit. Onchan’s Will Penhallurick got the better of home greener Darren Kerruish 21-19.

In other half of the draw Peter Jones progressed to the semi-final with a 21-16 win over Peel man Paul Quirk. The last quarter final resulted in a big win for Glenn Boland who beat Marown teammate Colin Kelly for the first time doing it in style with a 21-8 victory.

Penhallurick had the unenviable task of taking on Bradford at the semi-final stage, the Onchan man didn’t get off to a great start as Bradford took a 11-5 lead. Penhallurick hit back losing just three more ends, scoring five doubles on his way to a 21-16 win to book his place in his first singles final.

The other semi-final saw Boland carry on his good form from his earlier rounds to defeat his doubles partner and teammate Peter Jones comfortably 21-10.

The final started with a huge upset looking to be on the cards as Penhallurick stormed into a 14-7 lead with 10 ends played, playing superbly. On the 11th end Boland played a good second bowl to get hold of the jack which he never forfeited from there scoring three singles, five consecutive doubles and finished the game with three singles to take a deserved 21-14 victory to lift the Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy for the first time.

The presentation was made by Marown President Brian Kelly who thanked Glenn Boland Plumbing and Heating for sponsoring the competition for the first time, everyone who had helped with the running of the competition and the ladies for providing refreshments throughout the day.

Men’s night league action took place on Monday evening, with the windy conditions ensuring no T.T. racing took place, however this made for difficult conditions for bowlers, with the top teams coming through unscathed.

Onchan A consolidated third place in Canada Life International Division One following their 9-1 home win over South Ramsey B, with the visitors scoring just 73 chalks. The lone winner for South was Tony Hart who ambled to a 21-10 win over Mike Alexander, with just two more of the visitors reaching double figures as Christian Caley lost out 10-21 to Neil Dunwell, whilst George Brew scored 11 against Will Penhallurick. Five single figure wins for the home team saw just 31 chalks scored by the visitors. After a difficult start to the season Onchan are now in a spot they are more accustomed to.

Marown A had a potential banana skin as they took on their B Team, whilst the lower ranked team lost 9-1, they put up a good fight with the chalks 157-125. Preventing the whitewash was Karl Parker whose 21-10 win over Tom Kelly was never in doubt. Marown captain Paul Dunn was given a fright as he edged home 21-20 against Stevie Rundle, whilst Peter Greenlees lost out 19-21 to Peter Jones. The only single figure winner on the night was Colin Kelly who beat Brian Kelly 21-9.

Like the Marown derby another tricky fixture was in store for South Ramsey A who faced local rivals North Ramsey A. Bob Clark was the only single figure winner as he beat Allan Callow 21-4 in blustery conditions to help his team to a 9-1 victory. Toby Hart stepped up from the B team to make his first team debut, putting in a solid performance as he held off Tom Collins 21-18. The only other win that was in doubt was Dido Kelly, who faced Mooragh captain Rob Monk, with the South man leading 11-4 and 17-9, a fightback from Monk saw the game go to the wire with the score tied at 19-19 Kelly knocked Monk in who went into the lead for only the second time in the game – since the first end to lead 20-19. Kelly drew on all his experience to see the game out picking up two singles to get over the line 21-20.

Peel A won 8-2 at home to Breagle Glen A, with the visitors putting up a good fight as they scored highly (151-135). A much-changed line up for Breagle saw three changes as Ewan Cooil stepped up from the B Team as he lost out 20-21 to Andy Mackie, Dave Saxon faced a fully fit Peel captain George Gadsby only to suffer a 7-21 defeat, whilst Chris Oates beat Gary Smith 21-8. Other close games saw Dan McCabe lose 18-21 to Pip Pemberton, whilst Wayne Roberts lost to the same score against Paul Quirk. Tommy McMeiken continues to go well in the individual merit having suffered just one league defeat all season, as he held off Trevor Quayle 21-15, with Steve Durcan picking up a second point for the visitors with a 21-17 win over Charlie McMeiken.

The closest game in the top division on Monday night was between Douglas A and Castletown A at the Villa, with the home team winning 7-3, taking the aggregate by nine chalks (144-135). Stuart Garrett stepped in and impressed with a 21-6 win over Jordan Drewett, whilst three home wins were close as Merv Sayle faced opposing captain Nathan Hamilton, with the former winning 21-18. Ian Moore held off Kieran Krypner 21-19, whilst Keith Rise beat Andy Clark to the same score. Winning for the visitors were Dean Kinley, Nathan Cooil, and a visiting Mikey Collister, who won the kitty as he beat Shaun Seal 21-11.

With the undefeated Ballaugh A having already played their T.T. fixture it was an opportunity for second placed Marown C to close the gap on the league leaders in Division Two as they faced Onchan B at home. With a 7-3 home win the gap was closed to three points, with Colin Spence, Derek Allen, and Mike Thomas ensuring the visitors took three points off the Crosby men. For the home team Sid Bolton got over the line 21-20 against Neil Richmond, whilst single figure wins were secured by James Kelly and John Kelly over Neil Taylor and Bernie McPhee respectively.

With fixtures creatively done to ensure as little travel as possible Noble’s A faced off against their B Team on number two green, as they extended the gap over the ever improving lower ranked side to 10 points, following their 8-2 win, with 12 chalks separating the teams to show it was a good match (150-138). Winning close games for the A Team were Stephen Corkill, Jim Callister, and captain Alex Yates over Steve Brennan, Steve Cain, and Lee Greggor respectively. Winning for the B team were Lee Price 21-11 against Martyn Hobson, whilst Dean Sowerby beat Mark Bradshaw 21-13.

Home advantage ensured it was a better week for Breagle Glen B as they faced Peel B, with the home team securing a vital 6-4 win, taking the win on the aggregate (145-134)

In Division Three it couldn’t have been much closer for South Ramsey C who won 6-4 at home to North Ramsey B, snatching the aggregate by just one chalk (131-130), with Paul Routledge the biggest winner for the home team as he beat Paul Cannan 21-6. Not to be outdone on single figure wins Ray Skelly beat Anthony Kelly 21-7, whilst Bryan Corner returned to his old stomping ground with a 21-4 win over James Moore. The two single figure wins for the visitors couldn’t prevent the defeat for the visitors.

Ballaugh C held off their B Team B 7-3 in another keenly contested game as the higher ranked team took the aggregate by eight chalks (144-136).

Peel C won 7-3 at home to Noble’s C, with three games finishing to a 21-20 scoreline all of which involved three members of the same family, as two went in favour of the home team, with Kevin Mort and Andy Jackson holding off Steve Colquitt and Sam Colquitt, whilst the youngest member of the family Alex Colquitt went home with his 21-20 win over Ross Menton.

Just two fixtures went ahead in Division Four with both games finishing with 9-1 wins. The ever-improving Noble’s E won at home to Peel D, with the visitors being kept under 100 chalks (161-89), with this also the case as Douglas C beat Douglas D (164-88).

Several fixtures had been moved due to the T.T. racing as agreed by both team captains.