On Sunday Ballaugh Bowling Club held the Spar Mixed Doubles on a glorious day in a wonderful setting. With a field of 45 pairs it was always going to be a long day with the final finishing just before 8pm.

In the top half of the draw the two quarter finals were Chris Price and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) against Clare Cooper (Marown) and Bob Clark (Castletown). After 10 ends there was just one point in it but Cooper and Clark then scored steadily and won 21-16. The second quarter final was an all South Ramsey affair with Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves versus Jenny Moore and James Teare after 10 ends it was 17-8 to Jenny and James but Elaine and Glynn pegged it back to 19-15 before James and Jenny got two singles to win 21-15.

In the bottom half of the draw home greeners Shirley Watling and Richard Green versus Lyn Bolton (South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary). The more experienced pairing of Bolton and Quayle took the game 21-9. The final quarter final was between Helen Withers and Karl Parker (Marown) versus home greeners Michele and Paul Cubbon. After 16 ends it was 18-17 to Withers and Parker then a three gave them the win 21-17. Before going on to the semi-finals can I commend the two Ballaugh pairings with all the players being relatively new to the sport they acquitted themselves well.

In the semi-final the game between Cooper and Clark versus Moore and Teare was close up to end 14 then Cooper and Clark took four straight ends culminating in a four to win 21-14. Bolton and Quayle were ahead from the fifth end against Withers and Parker and kept ahead to win 21-15.

As so to the final Claire and Bob scored consistently to win 21-13 against Bolton and Quayle.

At the conclusion Club Captain John Maddrell thanked everyone for supporting the event, the green keeper Matt Moffatt for preparing the green, the Ladies for such wonderful catering and Jonathon Kermode of Spar for sponsoring the competition for the 10^th time. John also thanked Richard Faragher, Maurice O’Reilly and Trevor Jones for running the competition so efficiently. The prizes were presented by Jonathon Kermode on behalf of the sponsors Spar.

The Port St Mary ‘any combination threesomes’ took place on Sunday 13th July. A great entry of 36 teams battled it out to take the honours of winning this competition, which was being held on this green for the last time. With 108 bowlers taking part, the atmosphere around the green was fantastic.

After a long afternoon and many good matches played on a good running green, we finally got down to the semi-finals. In the first semi-final Paula Garrett, Stuart Garrett and Harley Garrett (Douglas) took on Ryan Hargraves, Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey), with the latter ending the good run of the Garrett’s team. It was a good match to watch and good to see younger players competing with experienced players. In the second semi-final, last year’s winners Bob Clark, Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk (Castletown/Onchan) were up against the strong team of Neil Withers, Phil Dunn and Paul Dunn (Marown). Although the score line of 21-13 might suggest a one sided match, every end was hard fought with some great bowling from all players. The consistent good bowling from last year’s champions was the difference in this match to take them through to the final.

In the final Clark, Cain and Quirk carried on their excellent bowling. Hargraves, Kelly and Hargraves were also playing well, but the defending champions just kept the pressure on and came up with the bowls when needed, winning the match 21-11.

At the presentation, club President Pete Collins presented the trophy to the winners and thanked the sponsors Jacksons Engineering and everybody at the club that helped make the competition a success. Finally, Port St Mary Bowling Club would like to thank all the competitors and spectators that came down for their support and generosity, and best wishes for the future.

It was a busy day for North Ramsey bowling club on Saturday when two events were held in the beautiful Mooragh Park. 

In the morning the inaugural Rheuben Thomas Memorial Trophy was held for with 23 juniors taking part. The under 11’s bowlers played a round robin format in two groups. The winners of each group were Katie Roberts and Bailey McMullan. They then played a final match with home greenerBailey coming out on top and Katie a very worthy runner-up. 

The over 11’s group had some great games with the semi-finals between Toby Hart (South Ramsey) losing out 15-21 to Luke Kenna (North Ramsey), whilst Alex Hampson (Noble’s) was defeated 20-21 by Grace Gawne (Onchan) with both being very exciting games. 

In the final Luke and Grace played some great bowls but Grace Gawne was the winner. 

Rheuben Thomas was a very popular member of North Ramsey and when he sadly died earlier this year his family wanted him to be remembered by promoting junior bowls. Prizes were awarded by his wife Heidi and daughter Millie.

The afternoon competition was the Lilian Slinger any combination doubles event. 36 pairs took to the green in the opening rounds. 

From the start the standard of bowling was superb with competition strong across the age groups and clubs. After many close games the semi-finals were played. Wayne Roberts and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) were up against Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey). Jenny and James were quickly 11-5 up but Wayne and Trevor gained control and after six ends were 17-11 up eventually winning 21-15. The other semi-final was between Lil Smith and Rosie Winkle (Marown) against Paul Dunn and Arnie Withers (Marown) with the girls on the back foot after five ends down 5-14 but 11 ends later they won 21-14.

After a long day the final was game set and match to the boys Roberts & Quayle, who were dominant from the start, but Lil and Rosie had some great bowls and thoroughly deserved their place in the final.

The prizes were awarded by Lilian’s great granddaughter Eva and thanks were given by North Ramsey to the family for their sponsorship and trophies. Thanks were also given by the winners to North Ramsey for organising and running such a successful event.

39 pairs competed for the Port St Mary Cup mixed doubles on Bank Holiday Monday. Another day of good weather made the day very enjoyable. The green was running very fast, making it very tricky to get close to the jack.

At the quarter final stage Lyn Bolton (South Ramsey) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) beat Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) 21-14. Home greeners Chris Price and Wayne Roberts beat Fiona Kennish and Steven Waters (South Ramsey) 21-15. Rebecca Teare and Paul Dunn (Marown) beat Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey) 21-20, whilst Kim Hargraves and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) beat Lorna Brady-Glover and Ray Maddrell (Port St Mary) 21-11.

First of the semi-finals saw the reigning champions from 2019, Bolton and Quayle take on Price and Roberts, a close match all the way to the end with the latter winning 21-19. In the second semi-final Teare and Dunn took on Hargraves and Kelly, as always at this stage another tough match, but Teare and Dunn won 21-14.

In the final Teare and Dunn stepped up a gear and were always in control eventually winning 21-11.

The presentation was made by club president Pete Collins, who thanked the sponsors Isle of Man Farmers, and everyone at the club that helped make the competition a success.

A good entry of 23 junior bowlers from all over the island entered the Junior Manx Championship on Saturday, it was 16 year old Toby Hart of South Ramsey who came through the field to win. This was a fantastic entry, which could have been higher had some of the younger bowlers who attend the club sessions entered.

Once again there were more girls entered to play than boys, which was fantastic to see, with some great bowls played by all the juniors. What impressed me the most was how well the Juniors conducted themselves on and off the green all afternoon. The experience gained from playing in these competitions will help the younger bowlers, however it was the older Juniors who progressed to the latter stages.

Losing out at the quarter final stage were Sam Colquitt (Marown), who lost 6-21 to Toby Hart, Grace Gawne (Onchan) who was defeated 9-21 by Madison McMullan (Mooragh Park), whilst Aalish Howarth agonisingly lost out 20-21 to Mooragh Park teammate Victoria Johnson, whilst Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park) had to sit out the quarter final as her opponent went home due to feeling unwell

In the semi-finals Toby Hart was up against Madision McMullan, with Toby playing well to take an assured 21-10 win and in doing so reversing the result against the same opponent as last year at the same stage of the competition. In the other semi-final the sit out from the previous round for Shannon McMullan did not have a detrimental effect, with Shannon taking a 21-15 victory over teammate Victoria Johnson.

In the final on the balance of play over the day Hart started as favourite against McMullan, with the latter having the experience of winning the title in 2019. Hart started off well to take a 4-2 lead, McMullan played brilliantly to build up a 13-6 advantage with some great lead bowls to put Hart under pressure. Hart kept his composure really well digging in to go on to take eight of the following nine ends to jump into a 17-14 only for McMullan to hit back with two great bowls to trail by one chalk at 16-17. The match looked finely poised, with the potential of going to the wire, however Hart finished strongly scoring two doubles to win 21-16 and claiming his first Junior Manx Championship win.

The presentation was made by Association Press Officer Glynn Hargraves, who thanked all the juniors for taking part, Steve Moore for running the competition, Douglas Bowling Club for providing the refreshments and measurers and the team who had prepared the green.

The 2021 Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs Competition was blessed with a good entry, good weather and a Green that was in good condition and running well. It was hosted by Douglas Bowling Club on their Green at the Villa Marina and those who were lucky enough to be there were treated to a great days bowling.

At the Quarter Final Stage we saw Jenny Moore and James Teare (South Ramsey) beat Chris Price and Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) 21-14 while the on form pairing of Rebecca Teare (Marown) and Bob Clark (Castletown) beat Elaine Moore and Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) also 21-14. The two remaining Quarter Finals were epic battles with Paula Garrett and Jimmy Sansom (Douglas) having to ‘dig deep’ to beat Debbie Leece and Neil Withers (Marown) 21-19 and in the remaining game we had the same score with Alison Kearsley and Nathan Cooil (Castletown) getting the better of Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park) and Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary).

In the Semi Finals Jenny Moore and James Teare give it their best shot but found Rebecca Teare and Bob Clark just too good on the day and the latter pair ran out 21-12 winners. In the second Semi Final it was the ‘home green’ pairing of Paula Garrett and Jimmy Sansom who used their knowledge of the green to beat the tough opposition of Alison Kearsley and Nathan Cooil 21-16.

The Final started as a close encounter up to the halfway stage and then Rebecca and Bob built up  a 20-13 lead and looked unbeatable but Paula and Jimmy refused to give up and brought the score back to 21-16. The next end saw Paula and Jimmy lying two up but then Bob with his last bowl played an amazing shot to take the much needed final point to win the competition.

This meant that the winners of the 2021 Haldane Fisher Mixed Pairs was Rebecca Teare and Bob Clark and at the presentation Douglas Bowling Club Chairman Norman Kneen thanked Sponsors Haldane Fisher, Ian Moore and Jimmy Sansom for a superbly prepared green and everyone else who had helped to make the event a great success. He then congratulated the winners and Club Vice President Kay McKiernan presented the trophy to the winners.

Marown Bowling Club celebrate their 50^th anniversary this year, on Saturday they held the Marown Magic Carpets Bowl attracting 68 players. The competition was 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 Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) who lost 10-14 to last years Rayner Shield hero Peter Greenlees (Peel) who continues to impress, home greener Jamie Joughin who was defeated 7-15 by Bob Clark (Castletown) after a good run, Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) had his challenge ended by Andy Kennish (Peel) 11-15 along with another home greener Walter McCarthy who lost 10-15 to fellow club mate and the current Manx Champion Paul Dunn.

In the semi-finals Greenlees got off to a flying start to gain what looked like an unassailable 12-2 lead after nine ends. Clark fought back to win the next six ends to tie 12-12 after 15 ends played, which resulted in a one bowl shootout, with Greenlees winning the toss and sending the jack. Unfortunately his lead was just over a yard through, which allowed Clark to bowl in to claim the victory 13-12 and progress to the final. In the other semi-final Dunn had it all his own way to win 18-5 with 11 ends played there weren’t enough ends left for Kennish to come back the game ended there.

The final started with Dunn who was having his first competitive run out this season having ‘enjoyed’ 84 days in isolation since December due to family commitments and 40 days in lockdown claiming the first two ends, with Clark responding by taking the next three ends including the all important power end to lead 7-2. From there Dunn turned on the style to win the next eight ends to lead 14-7 which was impossible for Clark to recover from to with only two ends and a maximum six chalks available. Dunn became the first winner of this competition and also claimed the winners prize of £200 for his efforts. Clark could console himself with £100 for a good days work .

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked Kevin & Sarah Bettridge from Magic Carpets for their support with the clubhouse and for sponsoring the competition, the Ladies for the refreshments with free tea & coffee being provided all day, the players for entering, and all who came to support. £500 in prize money was paid out and the format proved popular amongst bowlers.

South Ramsey hosted the first open competition of the 2021 season with the Jim Senior any combination doubles on Sunday attracting 74 players to compete for the trophy. The green was in superb condition, with the weather once again being kind.

The quarter finals had the father & son pairing of Colin Kelly (Marown) & Tom Kelly (Peel) seeing off club mates Walter McCarthy & Darren Kerruish (Marown) with a 21-7 win. Castletown pair Sam Clague & Bob Clark ended the excellent run of Alex Hampson (Noble’s) & Ryan Hargraves (South Ramsey), two juniors, both just 12 years old with a 21-10 win. The two youngsters gave a good account of themselves and will be a pairing to watch out for in the future. Losing out 6-21 were Alison Kearsley (Marown) and Nathan Cooil (Castletown) to home greeners David Bradford & Glynn Hargraves, whilst Derek & Lynda Cadamy lost out 10-21 to Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) & Jordan Cain (Onchan).

In the first semi-final Sam Clague & Bob Clark battled well before losing out 19-21 to the father & son pairing of Colin Kelly & Tom Kelly. In the other semi-final Stefan Kelly & Jordan Cain never really got going, losing out 13-21 to Bradford & Hargraves.

The final started with daylight slipping away, with the father & son duo winning the first four ends to take a 13-4 lead, scoring big with a four and a three to get off to a flier with Colin leading well at the front. Bradford & Hargraves responded winning the next four ends to pull the score back to 9-13 and were lying three only for Tom to play a great length bowl on a long mark to maintain a strong lead and go 14-9 ahead, from there Colin & Tom stretched their lead out to 19-12 after picking up a crucial three on the 13^th end with Tom doing the damage at the back with Bradford lying one on, Tom played the counting bowl out to lie two and compounded the damage by playing a good second bowl to count for three, this was followed up on the next end with a single. Bradford & Hargraves weren’t done there, scoring two doubles, and a single over the next three ends to get the score back to 17-19. Colin then played a good second bowl, which wasn’t beaten. The win was secured for Colin & Tom on the next end with Tom once again doing the damage to secure the win and the £200 first prize to the winners.

At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by competition secretary Kim Hargraves, who thanked IPS Admin for sponsoring the competition, the club members who helped with the running of the competition and the Ladies for the refreshments provided throughout the day. James Teare from IPS Admin presented the prizes with over £500 paid out. In his speech Tom Kelly thanked South Ramsey for holding the competition and stated the green was superb.

South Ramsey Bowling Club will be holding the first open competition of 2021 with the Jim Senior Trophy being played as an any combination doubles on Sunday 25th April. The competition is once again kindly sponsored by IPS Admin.

Play commences at 12pm – Early start times will be notified. Entries are £6 per team, with handicapping in place. Superb refreshments and a brilliant surface guaranteed.

£500 in prize money to be paid out – based on a minimum entry of 32 pairs.

Winners £200 – Runners Up £100 – SF 2 at £50 (£100) – QF 4 at £25 (£100.00)

To enter please call/message 434201 or email: [email protected]

Entries close on Saturday evening at 6pm. If there is anyone that wants to play but hasn’t got a partner, please get in touch and we will do our best to sort you out.

Marown Bowling Club hosted the Juan Kelly Cup with the competition now in its fourth year it proved more popular than ever with 62 pairs taking part. There were some interesting pairings making use of the handicap system played over the three qualifying nights, with 2 pairs qualifying on Sunday evening, and three pairs qualifying on Monday & Tuesday night to reach the quarter finals.

The format was any combination doubles, played over 15 ends with ends 5, 10 and 15 played as ‘power’ ends with the points scored counting double. The pairs were given a handicap based on their rankings in the Men’s and Ladies game. If scores were tied after 15 ends a one bowl shootout would take place to decide the winner.

On Sunday evening 16 pairs played their qualifying night, whilst Monday and Tuesday had 23 pairs taking part on both evenings. The finals night was held on Wednesday evening, with a re-draw taking place to determine who the pairings would play on the night. The floodlights came into good use for the entire duration of the competition.

Losing quarter finalists were home greeners Colin Kelly & Juan Killip, who were comfortably beaten 15-24 by clubmates Walter McCarthy & Darren Kerruish, Kim Hargraves & Austin Hart (South Ramsey) were heavily defeated 11-29 by Sue Gawne (Onchan) & Brian Kelly (Marown). In the other half of the draw Ryan Hargraves & Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey) cruelly lost out on the last end 17-18 to Phil Kerruish (Onchan) and Andy Foster (Douglas), whilst Philippa Taylor (Marown) & Alec Taylor (Peel) lost 16-18 to Derek Allen (Port Erin) & Bernie McPhee (Onchan).

The semi-finals were comfortable for both pairings that reached the final with Sue Gawne & Brian Kelly winning 25-7 over Walter McCarthy & Darren Kerruish, whilst Phil Kerruish & Andy Foster claimed a 20-13 victory over Derek Allen & Bernie McPhee.

The final was well contested with both pairings off the same handicap of four, there was little to choose between the teams. Kerruish and Foster worked hard to build up a four point lead (18-14) with 14 ends played, with Gawne & Kelly lying one on the last end only another counting bowl would do to tie the match. Kelly played a wonder bowl to count for two which doubled up to four points with the last end being a ‘power’ end. This tied the match at 18-18 with the final going to its first ever one bowl shootout. With Kelly & Gawne winning the toss Kelly sent his jack into the corner his bowl just over a yard away, which Kerruish fell short of beating in a thrilling finish to the final resulting in Sue & Brian claiming their first open competition success as a pairing.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Phil Kelly, who thanked Juan Kelly for once again sponsoring the competition, the Ladies for the refreshments over all four nights, the players for entering, and all those who came to support.