The following thirteen juniors travelled to Heaton Park on Saturday 20th May to play in the BCGBA ladies section run Junior Championships, Emily Cooper, Grace Cooper, Emily Jacobs, Katie Jacobs, Graiagh Smith, David Manley, Aalish Moore, Sam Quayle, Dylan Marsh, Erin Quayle, Alex Hampson, Lacey McMullan and Bailey McMullan. With only five teams taking part there was only one group and the first round saw IOM A play IOM B. The result shows just how how well match all of them are with the B beating the A team 81-79. Grace, Emily C, David and Lacey winning for the B and Graiagh and Katie winning for the A.

The second round for IOM A saw them change greens which will have had an impact on their match result when they were beaten by a strong Yorkshire side, 32-90. The IOM B stayed on the same green as their first match and did well against Warwick & Worcester B 45-81. David and Erin both winning their games.

The third round for IOM A was against Warwick & Worcester A. Alex Hampson helped keep the opponents score down with a 15-0 win. Dylan Marsh came back from 0-10 down to just lose 14-15 on the last bowl of the game. Thanks goes to our super supporter Shannon McMullan for her encouragement. Final match result was 50-75. The IOM B team sat this round out.

The forth round was the final match for IOM A against Warwick & Worcester B and with four winners, Dylan, Sam, Katie and Graiagh, Alex dropping 3 points and Aalish dropping 7 points the team won 80-51. IOM B were up against the strong Yorkshire side but came away with a great score of 67-75. David winning his third game, Grace and Emily C winning their second.

The fifth and final round, IOM B played Warwick & Worcester B and there was only 1 point in it. Winners were Grace, Bailey and Lacey. David got 12, so only dropping 3 points all day. Last game of the day saw our youngest bowler Emily Jacobs have an epic battle. 3-9 down to 12-12, then unfortunately losing the next three ends to ones. The match result was 79-80.

Yorkshire were the overall winners, Warwick & Worcester A second, with Warwick & Worcester B, IOM A & IOM B coming joint third.

Thanks goes to BCGBA Ladies section and Yvette Gregory for running the competition, IOMCCGBA for expenses, Tina Hampson for all the organising of the teams on the day, Andy Kennish for travel and all parents and supporters.

Sunday May 21^st saw the staging of the 2023 Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs Crown Green Bowling Competition. All the twenty four pairs taking part were treated to a Green that was running well and found by many to be quite tricky.

At the Quarter Final stage we saw Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn (Marown) beat Joyce Ogden (Marown) and Lee Dawson (South Ramsey) 21-17 while home greeners Jan West and Andy Cannell (Douglas) took a 21-16 victory against Sandra May and Mark Kelly (Onchan). In the bottom half of the draw we saw Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey) beat Debbie Leece and Neil Withers (Marown) 21-19 and Paula and Stuart Garrett (Douglas) beat Paula and Nick Firth (Nobles and Douglas) 21-17.

In the semi-finals a strong performance on their own Green from Jan West and Andy Cannell resulted in a 21-9 win against Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn , while Jenny Moore and James Teare took a 21-17 win against Paula and Stuart Garrett.

This brought us to what turned out to be a thrilling Final with the Moore/Teare pairing starting well and building up a 12-9 lead but then a run of three singles for West and Cannell brought the score to 12-12. Jenny and James then built up their lead to 18-12 but their opponents then got a three to make it 18-15 only to lose a two on the next end and leave the South Ramsey pairing leading 20-15. Jan and Andy then scored five over the next three ends leaving the score at 20-20 but then Jenny and James won the deciding end to win the competition.

The prizes were presented by the President of Douglas Bowling Club Kay McKiernan and James Teare thanked Haldane Fisher for sponsoring the event and Douglas Bowling Club for hosting it and the Green Keeper for a Green that was running well but tricky.

With a free date in the Bowls Calendar Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly took the opportunity to hold a competition open to all with players paying £25 for the privilege, resulting in an £800 prize fund. The location of choice was Douglas Bowling club, with the competition being touted as the Villa Classic. The weather was fair all day, with music being played it made for a good atmosphere around the green, with 32 players taking part and plenty of spectators in attendance.

Losing out at the quarter final stage to earn themselves £40 each were Bob Clark (South Ramsey) who lost out 17-21 to Neil Withers (Marown), Rebecca Teare (Marown) was beaten 15-21 by Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), Glenn Boland (Marown) was heavily defeated 6-21 by David Bradford (South Ramsey), whilst Peel man Stevie Kelly lost out 15-21 to Paul Dunn (Marown).

At the semi-final stage it was South Ramsey versus Marown in both games. Losing out to collect £90 were Hargraves, who was well beaten 11-21 by Withers, whilst Dunn fell to Bradford 15-21.

The final still had almost 50 people in attendance. It was Bradford who got off to a flier, was always in control of the game as he built up a lead of 13-4 after seven ends playing a mark over the middle of the green. Bradford never relented as he managed to claim a solid 21-10 victory over Withers and with it the first prize of £300, whilst the Marown man could console himself with £160 for his effort on the day.

The presentation was made by competition organiser Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, who thanked Douglas Bowling Club for the use of the green and for the refreshments, Brian Kelly for helping run the competition and everyone who had entered.

The Isle of Man Junior Team took part in the British Crown Green Bowling Association six-a-side Championship at Windle Bowling Club in St Helens on Sunday, on what turned out to be another good day for the team. With three of last years’ Junior Team now ineligible to play it was an opportunity for younger Junior bowlers to gain experience representing the Island competing on a different green.

The format was six players in a team in a group of five teams all playing each other, it was a positive start as they won the first game 5-1 against Lancashire by a comfortable margin of 18 chalks (87-69) with Grace Gawne winning 15-6 against Wade Hunting, whilst Ryan Hargraves beat Matthew Finch 15-9.

The second round was against last year’s group winners Cumbria the same side that the team lost out to by a single chalk, however it was a tough fixture as the team won just one game (1-5) with Grace Gawne again winning to single figures 15-8 against Sam Brannon as the team losing out by 43 chalks (40-83).

In the third round the team bounced back in style beating Cheshire 5-1 and by a margin of 37 chalks (83-46) with all of the wins to single figures. Grace Gawne and Alex Hampson won 15-3 against Kannikaa Duncan and Megan Hulme respectively, Sam Colquitt beat Holly MacPake 15-7, whilst Madison McMullan beat Lawrence McNeela 15-9, with Ryan Hargraves matching that win as he beat Max Blackburn.

In the final round they faced South Yorkshire, this game was a lot closer as the team claimed a 4-2 win on games and winning by 12 chalks (80-68). Birthday Boy Ryan Hargraves who was celebrating his 15^th Birthday beat Keira Fox 15-11 to secure his third win of the day, Madison McMullan won 15-5 against Jacob Morgan, Alex Hampson claimed another single figure win beating Liam Dickenson 15-9, whilst Victoria Johnson just got the better of Isaac Cook 15-13. The defeats in this game were also high scoring to help the team claim the win on chalks as Alex Colquitt battled well before losing out 9-15 to Grace Rhodes, whilst Grace Gawne lost out 11-15 against Harley Baker.

The Group was topped by an all-conquering Cumbria on eight points, with two points awarded for a win on chalks, closely followed by the Isle of Man who finished runners up in the group with six points.

The Juniors all did themselves and the Island proud in the way that they performed and more importantly the way they behaved on and off the green. Thank you to everyone who came to support, the Development Committee for organising the travel & accommodation, Team Manager Tina Hampson who was assisted on the day by Steve Hampson, along with Andy Kennish for the transport.

Marown Bowling Club were the host club on Saturday as they held the Marown Magic Carpets Mixed Singles for the third time attracting a healthy entry of 58.

The competition was once again played in a big smash style format, which has proved popular in the U.K. and is played over 15 ends with ends 5, 10 and 15 played as ‘power’ ends with the points scored counting double. Players were given a handicap ranging from 0 to 3. If scores were tied after 15 ends a one bowl shootout would take place to decide the winner of the game.

Losing quarter finalists were Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) who lost 7-15 to Marown captain Paul Dunn, Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) had his run ended by Marown’s Neil Withers 6-15, home greener Glenn Boland edged home 13-10 against Kevin Quirk (Onchan). In the last quarter final David Bradford had a match on his hands with another home greener Jayne Smith with the contest tied at 15-15 after 15 ends it was one bowl shootout, which Bradford managed to win to progress.

In the semi-finals club mates Dunn and Withers clashed, with the latter having two ends to spare as he reached the final with a 12-6 win over Dunn who had won the competition for the last two years, whilst Bradford’s game with Boland went to the deciding end as the former edged home 11-9.

The final started with Withers conceding the first end with a double, to then respond by taking the next three ends. The first power end put Bradford back in the game as he took out Withers counting bowl, with Bradford narrowly missing taking out his own bowl as he scored a single to gain two points.

The South Ramsey man then went on to win four of the following five ends, including another power end to lead 11-6 after 10 ends.

Withers threatened a comeback as he took a single only for Bradford to score a single and a double over the next two ends to lead 14-7 after 13 ends. With not enough ends or points available for Withers to make a comeback the game ended as Bradford claimed his first win in this competition and his second of the season following on from his pre-season win in the Ian Kissack Shield.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by competition secretary Phil Kelly, who thanked Magic Carpets for their continued sponsorship, the Ladies for the refreshments, the players for entering, and all who came to support.

South Ramsey Bowling Club held the inaugural Chas Grills Memorial Trophy, following the loss of Chas who was a long serving club member who gave so much to the club over the course of six decades. The format of triples once again proved to be extremely popular amongst the Islands bowlers as 28 teams – 84 bowlers took part on a superb playing surface. The competition was once again sponsored by Quay Fitness Gym.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Eddie Carlyle, Les Brookes and Brian Lindsay (South Ramsey, Finch Hill and Peel) 14-21 to South Ramsey’s experienced trio of Roger Thomas, Brian Stewart and Anthony Kelly. Marown’s Clare Cooper, Rebecca Teare and Debbie Leece just lost out 19-21 to club mates Colin Kelly, Walter McCarthy and Neil Withers. Jenny Moore, James Teare and Glynn Hargraves (all South Ramsey) were beaten 18-21 by Peter Jones, Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly (all Marown) whilst another all South Ramsey team Austin Hart, Toby Hart and Alan Moore lost out 16-21 to Jordan Cain, Bob Clark (both South Ramsey) and Matthew Quirk (Onchan).

Falling at the semi-final stage after scoring their only point of the game on the first end were Thomas, Stewart and Kelly who lost 7-21 to the Marown men Kelly, McCarthy and Withers.

A close game was expected between Jones, Keggen and Kelly who were up against Cain, Clark and Quirk, however the latter team won comfortably 21-10.

In the final it was a low scoring contest with just two doubles scored after 10 ends the Marown men led 13-10. Two consecutive doubles for Cain, Clark and Quirk put the younger trio in the lead 14-10. The game flipped on its head from there as a single, a four, another single followed by a double from Kelly, McCarthy and Withers was enough to see the game out with a deserved 21-14 victory to become the first winners of the Chas Grills Memorial trophy.

At the presentation, South Ramsey Bowling Club Chairman Steve Moore thanked the sponsors and everybody at the club who helped make the competition a success, especially the catering team who kept everyone well fed over the course of the day. Chas’ sister Sue Nicholas and his son David Grills were then introduced to present the prizes, which were paid out down to the quarter finals. A grand sum of £935 was raised for charity. David announced that IOM Sport Aid would be the nominated charity, with prize winners handing back their winnings the amount increased to £1,259. Sue then went on to say that Chas loved all sports and thanked everyone for the overwhelming support.

Easter Saturday saw the second staging of the KNR Construction Trophy on a well prepared green at the Villa with those who were lucky enough to be there being treated to a display of good bowling from the 25 pairs who competed.

At the quarter final stage we saw Lynda and Derek Cadamy (Marown/Port Erin) lose 13-21 to Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn (Marown) and it was great to see Helen Martin (Castletown) back on the green partnering Matthew Keggen (Marown) as they beat Margaret Tasker (Port St Mary) and Les Brookes (Finch Hill) 21-20. In the remaining two quarter final matches Lyn Bolton (Marown) and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) beat Onchan’s Sandra May and Mark Kelly 21-12 and Kim Hargraves and Peter Collister (both South Ramsey) lost 13-21 to Sue Gawne and Andy Kennish (both Onchan).

As we came to the semi-finals we saw Helen & Matthew face Rebecca and Paul but sadly Helen who had battled gallantly against a lack of match fitness during the afternoon found playing four consecutive games just too much and had to withdraw despite leading 12-9 with the Teare and Dunn pairing going through to the final. The remaining game was a close affair with the Bolton and Roberts duo losing 19-21 to Gawne and Kennish.

In the final Teare and Dunn started well and built up a 15-9 lead after eight ends but by 12 ends the game was level at 16-16 with Gawne and Kennish playing some good bowls to put pressure on their opponents. Teare and Dunn then built up a 20-16 lead but on the 16th end Gawne and Kennish scored a three to make it 20-19 only to lose the next end to give Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn the win.

The trophies were presented by Neil Clarke of KNR Construction and Paul Dunn thanked the sponsors, Douglas Bowling Club for hosting the event and the Greenkeeper for a great playing surface and the Club Members who had helped on the day.

South Ramsey competed in the World Club Championship on Sunday at Spen Victoria Bowling Club, as they were defeated by 36 chalks (125-161) against local Yorkshire side Crossland Moor.

There was some individual success as James Teare won 21-16, Jordan Cain edged home 21-19,  whilst Elaine Moore battled well only to lose 17-21, with Peter Collister also just losing 19-21.

Marown held the opening tournament of the 2023 season, with the Ian Kissack floodlight competition sponsored by Ardern & Druggan Limited attracting a healthy entry of 76. The competition was played over four days, with handicaps ranging from two to eight with two qualifiers from the four qualifying sessions.

The competition commenced on Sunday afternoon with two visiting bowlers qualifying, as Trevor Quayle managed to see off Port St Mary teammate Wayne Roberts, while new Peel captain Stevie Kelly got the better of his Dad Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly to take his place in the quarter finals.

Sunday evening resulted in two home green players qualifying with Paul Kelly seeing off his teammate Phil Kelly, while Paul Dunn progressed as he beat Marown B Team captain Daren Kerruish in their respective qualifying games.

Monday evening had South Ramsey’s David Bradford navigating his way through his three qualifying games, with Bradford being pushed hard by Andy Kennish (Onchan) in his first game before prevailing 21-19. In the other half of the session Marown’s Colin Kelly had a tough night, but managed to progress thanks to a 21-20 win in his second game, then went on to recover from a huge deficit against club mate Lil Smith to qualify for finals night.

The last qualifying session took place on Tuesday evening, as a further two home greeners navigated their way through to Wednesday evening. Brian Kelly ended the challenge of Stevie Cain (Noble’s), whilst Karl Parker took the bragging rights as he beat fellow Marown player Glenn Boland to take the last two spots in finals night.

The competition was redrawn at the quarter final stage with Paul Dunn taking on teammate Colin Kelly, with the latter winning 21-14. Trevor Quayle progressed thanks to a 21-17 win over Paul Kelly.

In the other half of the draw Karl Parker had a resounding 21-12 win over Stevie Kelly, whilst David Bradford finished strongly to beat Brian Kelly 21-13.

Both semi-finals were well contested, with Trevor Quayle shooting into a 17-8 lead against Colin Kelly, only for the latter to fight back in style and run out with a 21-18 victory as he booked his place in the final. In the other semi-final Bradford ended the hopes of Parker with a 21-15 victory.

The final between the top two bowlers on the Isle of Man – Kelly & Bradford was eagerly anticipated, with both players off a +2 handicap. With neither player taking the initiative in the early ends, it was Bradford who made the first move to build up a 12-7 lead on end 12, as he scored his only double of the game. The Marown man fought back to 12-15, only for Bradford to score three consecutive singles to lead 18-12. The next six ends were shared equally, as Bradford got the three points needed to retain the trophy with a 21-15 victory.

The presentation was made by Marown President Peter Kelly, with Kevin Druggan introduced from the sponsor Ardern & Druggan. Thanks were given to the Marown ladies for the excellent refreshments provided over the four days. In his speech Bradford thanked Marown for running the competition, Ardern & Druggan for the continued sponsorship and congratulated the green keepers on how well the green was running.