Friday evening saw the return of a post festival invitational competition, with Marown Bowling Club hosting the event and 32 bowlers accepting the invitation to play, with the competition featuring 16 of the top local bowlers, and 16 visitors who had taken part in the Isle of Man June Bowls Festival.

The competition was put in place in memory of the late Sheila Freeman, who visited the Island for a number of years with her partner Derek Halsall who sponsored the competition.

The format was 21 up with 5 on the card for visiting bowlers and 3 on the card for home greeners, with the draw taking place earlier in the afternoon from two pots with visiting bowlers playing local players in the first round.

With a strong field taking part, it proved tough for the local bowlers, with only three of the 16 locals winning their first round games, with Jordan Cain (South Ramsey), John Kennish (South Ramsey) and home greener Colin Kelly going into the second round.

Cain won his first game 21-17 against Richie Goddard (Shropshire), John Kennish edged through 21-18 against Ryan Clark (South Yorkshire), whilst Colin Kelly made light work of Dave McDermott (Merseyside) with a 21-11 win.

Cain was knocked out in the second round with a 12-21 defeat to Billy Speed (Lancashire). With the rain well and truly set in at the quarter final stage it left Kennish and Kelly as the last locals in the competition, with the former winning 21-17 against one of the top bowlers in the game Callum Wraight (Shropshire), as the South Ramsey man started to show signs of his old form returning having not played regularly since 2018. Conor Chamberlain (Derbyshire) progressed with a 21-14 win over Speed. In the other half of the draw Kelly disposed of Josh Mordue (Yorkshire) with relative ease with a 21-12 win, whilst Joe Cranston (Yorkshire) had to work for his 21-17 win over Matt Gilmore (Merseyside) to progress to the semi-final stage.

The first semi-final saw Kennish breeze through with a 21-12 victory over Chamberlain, whilst Kelly was comfortable in his game to book his spot in the final with a 21-15 win over Cranston.

The final got underway labelled as ‘El Clasico’ by one spectator with the finalists having played each other in countless finals over the years, with both men winning most of the top titles in Manx Bowls over the past 30 years. Kelly may have been fancied to take the win with home advantage and the conditions perhaps favouring him, however Kennish rolled back the years putting in a superb performance, scoring five doubles on his way to a resounding 21-9 victory to pick up the first prize of £500, keeping the Marown man down to six singles and never allowing Kelly to win two consecutive ends.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Marown club Chairman Peter Kelly and competition organiser Paul Dunn who thanked everyone had had accepted the invitation to play, the ladies for providing the refreshments, all the club members who had helped in any way, along with competition sponsor Derek Halsall who was introduced to present the prizes, as he pledged to sponsor the competition in 2024.

The ever-popular pre-festival Ballacashtal Cup was held on Sunday attracting an entry of 84 bowler, which was an increase on the 2023 entry, made up of local and visiting bowlers. The Castletown green was in good condition, the competition was once again sponsored by ABS Solutions.

At the quarter final stages it was the end of the road for three locals as Marown’s Tom Kelly lost out 20-21 to John Clarke (Wrockwardine Wood), with Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) defeated 14-21 to Peter Jones (Marown).

The third local to dip out in the quarter finals was Kelly’s Dad Colin, as he also lost out 20-21 to Jamie King (Wrockwardine Wood) after leading 20-15 only for King to hit some vital strikes to keep him in the game, with the last game being won by Martin Gaut (Wrockwardine Wood) with a hard fought 21-18 win over Paul Bradley (Fairfield).

At the semi-final stage Jones kept his opponent Clarke to six singles as the Marown man won 21-12, scoring five doubles and five singles on the way to booking his place in the final.

The other semi-final was an all Wrockwardine Wood affair with King and Gaut battling it out for a place in the final, with King having won this competition two years ago. It was Gaut who got off to the better start taking a 14-7 lead, swiftly extended to 17-8. King hit back with two doubles and a single in between conceding a single to close the deficit to five chalks (13-18). It looked all over barring a miracle on the next end with Gaut scoring two to lead 20-13, however King had other ideas as three consecutive doubles playing along the edge on the road side of the green put the score at 19-20. On the next end King was counting two for game, with a play through by Gaut saving one. With the score now 20-20 on the deciding end, King played back along the edge however he didn’t send his jack far enough, being just under the 19 metres required after a measure it allowed Gaut to set the mark. With King lying game once again Gaut held his nerve to seal the win with a good last bowl to take his place in the final.

The final was a good watch for the spectators with neither player being able to get away from the other as they drew level on 11 occasions throughout the final, rather bizarrely each time the players card markers checked the score, it was level to prove how close this final was with there never being a run of two winning ends for either player or a gap of more than two points all game. It was Jones who made the first move to go within touching distance of the title in his third final in this competition as he scored a single to lead 20-18. Gaut responded with a two to level the game up at 20-20, he headed into the corner to play a good lead bowl, with Jones just failing to beat it as he clipped the wrong side of the bowl. Gaut then doubled up to apply the pressure, leaving Jones no option other to strike, which didn’t make the right connection for Gaut to pick up the famous old trophy for the first time, whilst Jones lost out for the third time in the final of this competition.

The presentation was made by Castletown Club Chairman Phil Taubman who thanked the sponsors ABS Solutions for their continued support of the competition, the ladies for the refreshments and Kath Kinley for running the competition. Upon accepting the trophy Martin commented that it was great for both players to have support around the green.

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. With heavy rain late morning and just as the competition started this took away any prospect of a quick green.

At the quarter final stage Danny Barwise (Merseyside) put paid to hopes of the last home greener Glynn Hargraves with a 21-15 win, whilst fellow Merseyside man Paul Ashmore had a good run only to lose out 12-21 to 2023 winner Paul Dunn (Marown). In the bottom half of the draw Matt Gilmore (Wirral) beat Jon Guess (Fairfield) 21-13, whilst Marown man Colin Kelly just edged home 21-20 against Michael Coupe (Wirral).

Both semi-finals were fascinating matches for the spectators who were treated to some top quality play, with Barwise leading 15-11 against Dunn, only to trail by three chalks at 15-18. Four consecutive singles saw the Merseyside man lead 19-18 only for Dunn to see the game out with three singles to book his place in the final with a 21-19 win.

The other semi-final was just as close, as Gilmore led 16-10 against Kelly, only for the latter to take the lead 18-16. A single and a double for the Wirral man saw him edge ahead 19-18, with Kelly matching this mini run to see the game out with a 21-19 victory to join his Marown teammate in the final.

Kelly got off to a flier in the final scoring three doubles and three singles over the first six ends in the corners to lead 14-5. With Dunn finally picking up his first point, the Marown captain went on to win six of the next seven ends to close the deficit to just two chalks at 14-16. Kelly got in at the right time to keep ahead and in doing so extended the lead to 19-15. Dunn scored four singles on the bounce to level the game up at 19-19, then finished with a two to retain the title, in doing so won the cup for the third time in four years with his 21-19 victory – the only time he was ahead all game, but crucially at the most important time, as he proved once again a game is not over until you get to the magic score of 21.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey competition secretary James Teare who thanked the ladies for providing the refreshments throughout the day, along with everyone who had helped with the running of the competition. James then introduced long term sponsor George Brew to present the prizes. In his speech Dunn thanked George for the sponsorship of the competition.

Link to full draw – https://challonge.com/h90ebuk

After a two week break of men’s night league fixtures, action got back underway in Canada Life International League Division One, with someone forgetting to tell the weather man it was June and not November.

League leaders Marown A made the short trip along the A1 out to Peel to take on their A Team on a windy evening across the island. With a five point lead the Crosby men were looking to extend their advantage at the top, however the men from the Sunset City had other ideas, as they inflicted a first league defeat of the season on their opponents 7-3. For the home team Peter Greenlees and Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly were the best winners as they won 21-10, with these two wins helping sealing the aggregate on chalks (146-134). Tommy McMeiken beat former teammate Tom Kelly 21-16, George Gadsby won 21-17 against Matthew Keggen, whilst Pip Pemberton caused the biggest upset of the night as he prevailed 21-18 against Manx Champion Neil Withers. For the visitors Peter Jones and Dean Kipling won 21-13 against David Proctor and Gary Smith respectively, with Marown captain Paul Dunn picking up their third win as he beat Stevie Kelly 21-15.

Taking full advantage of Marown’s defeat were South Ramsey A, who made the short journey across Ramsey to take on North Ramsey A at Mooragh Park, with the fixture being notoriously tough for visiting teams as proven by the Mooragh men going through the 2023 undefeated on games. The South men came away with a stunning 1-9 victory to jump ahead of Marown A by a point to hit top spot for the first time this season. Jordan Cain led the way with a 21-8 win over Steven Waters, with Stefan Kelly winning 21-9 against Gary Merrill. James Teare put in the performance of the night to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Rob Monk 21-10. Having to battle for their wins were David Bradford who prevailed 21-19 against Allan Callow, whilst Alan Moore won to the same score against Dave Moncaster, with the former trailing 18-8, a change in tactics saw Moore run out with a stunning 21-19 victory. Sparing the whitewash was Steve Walmsley who trailed 2-9 against Peter Collister, with the former going on to win 21-18.

Elsewhere Marown B had a solid 8-2 win at home to Port St Mary A, Douglas A beat Castletown A 7-3 at the Villa, whilst Onchan A came away from Crosby with a 1-9 victory over Marown C on Tuesday evening.

In Division Two Peel B stayed top with a 4-6 away win over Finch Hill A, whilst second placed South Ramsey B closed the gap to six points following a 10-0 whitewash over North Ramsey B. Ballaugh A occupy third place, however they lost ground on South Ramsey B as they won 3-7 away to Onchan B. Port Erin A were just three chalks off a maximum win as they won 9-1 at home to Noble’s A, whilst Castletown B continue their recovery from a poor start to the season as they won 6-4 at home to Douglas B.

In Division Three Noble’s B, D and C lead the way – in that order with the B Team defeating South Ramsey C 7-3. Noble’s D jumped ahead of their C Team as they won 9-1 at home to Onchan C, whilst the C Team suffered a 7-3 defeat away to Peel C. Elsewhere Port St Mary B won 8-2 at Breagle Glen against Marown D, whilst Ballaugh B came away with an 8-2 win over South Ramsey D.

In Division Four Ballaugh C look to be running away with the title as they extended their lead at the top to 17 points following a 9-1 home win over Douglas D, with new boys North Ramsey C winning 7-3 at home to Peel D, whilst Finch Hill B winning 7-3 at home to Noble’s E.

Rayner Shield

All four ties of the quarter finals of the Plumbmaster sponsored Rayner Shield took place on Wednesday evening with Castletown A seeing off Onchan C 8-0 at the Crofts. Marown C progressed to the semi-finals for a second consecutive year as they beat Peel C 6-2 at Crosby. Favourites South Ramsey A progressed thanks to a 5-3 home win in a tough game against Onchan A. In a somewhat bizarre event North Ramsey A thought they had gone into the draw for the semi-finals with a 5-3 win (chalks 137-115) at home to an under strength Marown B only to discover that a player they had called upon to help out had already featured for another team in an earlier round of the competition. This swung the result in favour of Marown B, with the score 4-4 on games chalks became the deciding factor, as the 21-10 home win became a 0-21 result for the vistors to win by 10 chalks (116-126).

Rayner Plate

In the Plumbmaster Rayner Plate the highest ranked team Peel A easily overcame a 25 chalk deficit away to Noble’s A as they won all eight games to win by 56 chalks (127-183). Finch Hill A made light work of Port St Mary B as they won 7-1 to overturn a 40 chalk deficit at home to win by 16 chalks (195-179). Ballaugh B and Onchan B started off the same handicap, however home advantage paid off for the Ballaugh men as despite drawing 4-4 on games they won by nine chalks (182-173). The final fixture was played the following evening in much harsher conditions, following heavy rain throughout the day and during the match as the visitors South Ramsey C had just a five chalk lead against Marown D, however the Ramsey men progressed into the next round thanks to a 21 chalk victory (182-203) with the games tied 4-4 there was little to choose between the two teams.

Marown Bowling Club hosted the Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy on Sunday attracting an entry of 47, down on last years’ entry of 56, however there was a good quality of bowlers in the field, who were treated to a top quality playing surface.

With the rain setting in before the quarter finals, losing out in the quarter finals were Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) 18-21 to Onchan man Matthew Quirk, with the latter getting himself out of trouble when lying two down at 17-18 to score two himself, going on to run out with a 21-18 win. Glenn Boland scored just three chalks against Marown team mate Colin Kelly as the former lost 6-21. Mike Hargraves (Castletown) made a rare appearance at an open, however the 82 year old lost out 10-21 in his third game to home greener Neil Withers, whilst Andy Kennish (Marown) held off Marown A team captain Paul Dunn 21-18.

The semi-finals were very one-sided affairs as Quirk shown the form he was in, beating Colin Kelly to single figures as he romped home 21-8. In the other semi-final this ended up the same score as Withers eased his way into the final as he beat Kennish.

The final started with Quirk the favourite, despite having not previously won a men’s singles competition, due to the form he had displayed throughout the afternoon, having defeated three fellow island players en route to the final (Peter Jones/Glynn Hargraves/Colin Kelly).

The early ends saw Quirk take a 7-3 lead over the Marown man, with Withers closing the deficit to just one chalk at 6-7. Quirk then took control of the game to lead 14-7, extending this further to 19-12 playing to the crown and back to the corner, with good quality bowls from both players. Withers took four consecutive singles to put the deficit at just three chalks (16-19). A good lead from Withers was beaten by a great bowl from the Onchan man to put himself with touching distance of the title. Withers had other ideas as two singles, with a close measure going in his favour made it three consecutive singles to put himself right in the mix with the score now 19-20.

A good lead from Withers approximately six inches to the side of the jack was nearly beaten by Quirk’s first bowl. Withers was unable to make two due to where Quirks’s bowl sat, there was quite a bit of danger. Quirk’s last bowl was sent right down the track, as the Onchan man made sure he was up as he had two shots to play – promoting his own bowl onto the jack, or to sit out Withers counting bowl, with the latter option being taken, with a great last bowl to settle a good quality final for a 21-19 win. This was Quirk’s first men’s singles open competition, having suffered heartbreak in a number of finals over the years, this success was more than deserved beating four fellow Island team players on his way to winning.

The presentation was made by competition secretary Brian Kelly, who thanked the club members for assisting throughout the day, the team in the kitchen for the refreshments and the green keeper for preparing the green. Marown President Peter Kelly then presented the prizes. In his speech Matthew stated it was his first men’s singles opens win and he was delighted to have won the competition.