Jean Kelly Knockout competition: (Handicaps in brackets) The prelim rounds of the Jean Kelly knockout competition were played last Thursday night. Marown B (+46) were at home to Mooragh Park A (+45). Mooragh put in a solid performance winning 7-2 on games, points 214-158. Janet Monk, Bailey and Madison McMullen for Mooragh, plus Grace Cooper for Marown all won to single figures. Breagle Glen B (+48) played host Marown  (+18). Marown put in a strong performance winning the match 9-0, (207-115). Six of Marown’s wins were won to single figures with the closest game being Breagle’s Jean Thackrah losing to 15 against Debbie Leece. South Ramsey (+15) travelled to Douglas (+46)  winning 7-2, (169-190) with three of South’s games being won to single figures. Best game of the match was between South’s Gill Dixon and Paula Garrett with Gill just crossing the line 21-20. Nobles (+24) were at home to Castletown B (+62) resulting in a 7-2 win for the Nobles Ladies, (205-180). Two winners for Castletown were Marie Ashurst and Barbara Young who won to 19 and 15 with Grace Gawne and Paula Firth for Noble’s also having tough games winning to 16 and 17 respectively. Castletown A (+20) put in a solid performance away to Ballaugh B (+57) winning 7-2 on games (203-166). Town’s Jenny Saunders, Tracy Moore and Hilary Kermode all won to single figures, with Ballaugh’s Julie Cannon just missing out on a win for Ballaugh when she lost to 16 against Kellie Maddrell.

Quarter finals will be played on Thursday 8th May – draw is: Ballaugh A vs Nobles; South Ramsey vs Marown A; Castletown A vs Mooragh Park and Breagle Glen A vs Peel Sunset

Over 60’s league: There were two extremely close matches in last Thursday’s Over 60’s fixtures. First of these saw Peel Sunset win their match against Mooragh A 4-2 and by one point (97-96). The two winners for Mooragh were Janet Monk and Lynn Mayers who won to 6 and 7 with Lynda Wilson (Peel) also winning her game to 9. Peel’s Mary Moffatt and Beverley Wilson had tough battles against Chris Sims and Karen McGurgan respectively with the Peel ladies both crossing the line 21-16. Second close match saw Marown visit Finch Hill coming away with a 3 all result but winning the match by two points (90-92). Four of the games were won to single figures – two to Finch and two to Marown. Closest game resulted in a 21-16 win for Finch’s Elaine Vincent against Celia Joughin. Breagle Glen A scored their best result to date when they won 4-2 at home against Ballaugh B scoring 121 to Ballaugh’s 76. Kay Primrose-Smith nearly made it 5-1 to Breagle when she lost to 20 against Brenda Bowyer. Ballaugh A were at home to Nobles winning 4-2 on games and by nine points (108-99). Paula Firth and Marilyn Ellison were the two winners for Nobles winning to 14 and 10. Closest games resulted in 21-17 wins for Ballaugh’s Christine McDonald and Michelle Cubbon. South Ramsey A played Castletown A with the northerners winning 4-2 on games and by 23 points (108-85). Helen Caley and Joyce Ogden for South both won to single figures with Elaine Moore (South) having a nip and tuck game with Hilary Kermode before eventually winning to 15. Castletown B played host to Onchan winning the match 4-2 and by six points (100-94). Caroline Heathcote nearly made the match three all when she lost to 20 against Pat Rigby. Castletown’s Elaine McElroy and Judith Moore plus Onchan’s Wendy McDowell all won to single figures. Breagle Glen B travelled north to Mooragh Park B coming away with a 4-2 win (74-106). Two winners for Mooragh were Joy Morris and Joan Henderson who won to 12 and 10 respectively, with Breagle’s Angela Bennett, Pauline Worrall and Voirrey Curphey winning to 5, 6 and 2. The following morning (Friday) South Ramsey B made their way south to Breagle Glen C. Match finished 4-2 (100-75) to Breagle with three games to Breagle and two to South being won to single figures. Closest game was between Breagle’s Joan Ryder and Liz Ten Donkelaar with Joan just crossing the line 21-17.

Open Age League: Only two teams managed to score in the 170’s in last Friday evening’s fixtures. The first was Breagle Glen A away to Nobles. Match finished 6-3 to Breagle (points 178-109). Mavis Franks, Tricia Bull and Voirrey Curphey for Breagle all won to single figures, with Dee Lewis, Marilyn Ellison and Colese Creer for Nobles winnning to 17, 18 and 17 respectively. Second highest scoring team of the night was Ballaugh A who won 7-2 on games (176-128) away to Marown B. Rose Waterworth for Ballaugh plus Marown’s Lil Smith both won to single figures. Barbara Graham for Ballaugh just missed out on a win for Ballaugh when she lost to 20 against Grace Cooper. South Ramsey A made their second visit of the week to Douglas coming away with a 6-3 win (162-132). Sue Collier and Jenny Moore for South won their games to single figures with Melanie Smith just missing out on a win for Douglas losing to 19 against Gill Morgan. Breagle Glen were at home to Castletown B  winning 5-4 on games (164-135). Breagle’s Angela Bennett and Jean Thackrah won their games to 6 and 8, whilst Town’s Sue Peach and Jo Robert both had tough games coming through to win 21-19 and 21-18. Mooragh Park travelled to neighbours Ballaugh B coming away with a 6-3 win (160-139). Mooragh’s Madison McMullan and Janet Monk plus Ballaugh’s Yvonne Ward won to 4, 7 and 6 respectively. Ballaugh’s Karen Young, Alison Millard and Sherriee Pedley just missed out on winning their games when they lost to 18, 19 and 18. Castletown A were at home to Peel winning 7-2 on games (167-122) with Alison Kearsley and Hannah Drewett for ‘Town’ plus Shirley Corrin for Peel winning to single figures. A nip and tuck game saw Anne Oates for Castletown just pip Gill Clarke 21-20.  

British Merit Qualifier: The British Merit Qualifier was played at Finch Hill on Sunday afternoon attracting an entry of 21 lady bowlers. Getting through to the semi-finals were Hannah Drewett (Castletown) who beat Lil Smith (Marown); Fiona Kennish (South Ramsey) winning to 15 against Marown’s Helen Withers;  Debbie Leece (Marown) winning to 20 in a hard fought game against Louise Tebay (Ballaugh), and Marown’s Clare Cooper who beat her daughter Grace 21-13. In the semi-finals, Hannah and Debbie were too strong for their opponents with Hannah winning to 7 against Fiona and Debbie winning to 9 against Clare. The final, as expected, was keenly contested with the score tied 12 all after 10 ends. The next three ends saw Hannah take a slight lead 13-12, but not one to give up Debbie piled on the pressure eventually running out 21-14 after 17 ends. Many congratulations to Debbie on her win and also to Hannah who between them treated the spectators to a great final of bowling. Debbie with possibly Hannah will represent the Isle of Man at the British Merit Championships being held at Littleover BC, Derbyshire, on Saturday 5th July. Thanks must go to Chris Holland and Jenny Moore (Competition committee) for the smooth running of the competition and to Finch Hill for hosting and providing refreshments throughout the afternoon.

Open age league :  Wednesday night of week four saw Castletown A ladies travel to Marown B coming away with an 8-1 win dropping only three points. Alison Kearsley for ‘Town’ won to single figures with the lone winner for Marown, Rosie Winckle, winning 21-18. Marown nearly won two more games as Grace Cooper and Sue Hammond both lost to 19. South Ramsey played host to Breagle Glen B winning 8-1. Six of South’s wins were won to single figures with Roz Cannon being the only winner for Breagle winning to 13. Nobles travelled to Peel winning 5-4 with four of Nobles ladies winning to single figures. Emilie Moss (Peel) and Tina Hampson had a nip and tuck game with Tina crossing the line 21-19. Ballaugh A were at home to Marown A with the Crosby ladies winning 5-4 with four of these games being won to single figures. Rose Waterworth (Ballaugh) and Zoe Bolton had a good game resulting in a 21-14 win for Rose. Mooragh Park were at home to Douglas with the Northerners winning 6-3. Grayse Blencoe, Olivia Johnson and Janet Monk for Mooragh plus Rebecca Jacobs for Douglas all won to single figures. Closest game saw Mooragh’s Bailey McMullan win to 18 against Paula Garrett. Breagle Glen A had a good 7-2 home win against Ballaugh B with three of Breagle’s ladies winning to 9, 8 and 7. Katy Williams (Breagle) had a good battle with Alison Millard with Katy eventually winning 21-20.

Over 60’s league: Castletown A ladies continued with their good form this week scoring two maximums.  On Tuesday morning they made their way north to Mooragh Park B scoring their third maximum of the season with five of the six games being won to single figures. Irene Goodall was the sole player for Mooragh to reach double figures losing 21-15. Peel were home to South Ramsey B winning the match 5-1. Closest game saw Peel’s Joyce Kelly just get the better of Anne Buck to win 21-14. Sole winner for South was Sue Collier who won to 8. Nobles ladies made their way south to Breagle Glen A coming away with a 4-2 win. All games went into double figures with Caroline Whitehead (Breagle) and Sue Gawne (Nobles) winning their games to 16. Ballaugh A put in a solid performance winning 5-1 at  home to Marown dropping only four points. Pat Mason and Christine McDonald for Ballaugh won to 7 and 6, with Marown’s lone winner, Rosie Winckle, winning to 17. South Ramsey played host to Finch Hill winning the match 5-1. It was a battle of the ‘Caleys’ as Finch’s sole winner Sue Caley won 21-12 against Helen  Caley.  Ballaugh B made their way to Castletown B with the match finishing three all. Elizabeth Faragher and Shirley Watling for Ballaugh both won to single figures with Castletown’s Elaine McElroy and Marie Ashurst both pipping their opponents 21-18. Onchan hosted Mooragh Park A with Mooragh winning 4-2. Onchan’s two winners were Maureen Payne and Pauline Cowley who won to 12 and 18 respectively.  Only player to win to single figures was Mooragh’s Janet Monk. On Wednesday morning, Breagle Glen C played their B team with the B winning 5-1 and dropping only four points. Sole winner for the C team was Joan Ryder who won to 17 with Edwina Reid just missing  out on another win for the C team when she lost to 18 against Jean Thackrah.

On Thursday morning, Castletown A recorded their fourth maximum to date at home to Finch Hill although due to unforeseen circumstances Finch were two players down. Sue Caley for Finch almost clinched a win losing to 20 against Joy Stephens. Mooragh Park A had a good 5-1 win at home against Castletown B dropping only two points. All players reached double figures with Castletown’s Judith Moore putting up a good fight against Maureen Hamilton before losing to 15. Sole winner for Castletown was Elaine McElroy who won to 19. Ballaugh A travelled to Breagle Glen B putting in a solid performance winning 5-1 dropping only three points. Ballaugh’s Kay McKiernan, Julie Reilly and Rose Waterworth all won to single figures, with Breagle’s lone winner, Jenny Cain, winning to 18. Marown played Mooragh Park B at home. Match finished 5-1 to Marown with four of Marown’s wins being won to single figures.  Mary Bruce was Mooragh’s sole winner winning to 15. Peel visited Ballaugh B coming away with a 5-1 win. Val Allwood, Mary Moffatt and Joyce Kelly for Peel, plus Shirley Watling for Ballaugh won to single figures. Closest game saw Peel’s Lynda Wilson just getting the better of Elizabeth Faragher 21-18. Nobles were at home to Breagle Glen C winning 5-1 on games and dropping five points. Stopping a full house was Gwen Tuck who won to 16 against Marilyn Ellison. Sue Gawne, Paula Garrett and Jo Smith for Nobles all won to single figures. Breagle Glen A travelled north to South Ramsey B and although the match finishing three all, Breagle won by 37 points. Closest games saw South’s Lorraine Moore and Jackie Murley winning to 16 and 19. South Ramsey’s A team travelled to Onchan winning 4-2 with all of South’s wins being won to single figures. Two winners for Onchan were Maureen Payne who won to single figures and Sue McCourt who had a good battle with Gillian Jopson coming from 7-17 down to win 21-19.

Over 60’s League Tuesday

Tuesday morning saw three maximums being scored. First of these saw the Nobles ladies travelling to Castletown B with Paula Garrett (Nobles) winning to single figures. Second and third maximums were scored by South Ramsey A who were at home to Mooragh Park B and Castletown A who were away to Breagle Glen C with eight games between the two matches being won to single figures. Peel hosted Breagle Glen B winning 5-1 on games. Lone winner for Breagle was Kay Primrose-Smith who won to 6. Finch Hill ladies travelled to Ballaugh A with the match finishing 4-2 to Ballaugh. Pat Mason and Julie Reilly (Ballaugh) both won to single figures with Lil Smith and Wendy Cowin for Finch winning to 10 and 12. Breagle Glen A drew three all at home against Marown but won by 10 points. Rita Callister and Caroline Whitehead for Breagle, plus Lynda Cadamy for Marown all won to single figures. Mooragh Park were at home to Ballaugh B winning 5-1 and dropping only 3 points. Stopping the full house was Carol Holt who won to 18. South Ramsey B visited Onchan.  Unfortunately despite a good effort, South lost 4-2 and by 14 points. Anne Bannan for Onchan won to single figures as did Sue Collier for South.

Thursday morning fixtures

There was only one maximum scored on Thursday by Finch Hill at home to Mooragh Park B. Closest game saw Joan Henderson (Mooragh) losing to 18 against Pat Heesom with Lil Smith, Anne Hon and Wendy Cowin for Finch winning to 7, 9, 4 and 6.  Marown hosted Breagle Glen C winning 5-1, only dropping five points. Stopping a full house for Marown was Kay Primrose-Smith who won to 16. Local derby between Mooragh Park A at home to South Ramsey A ended with a 4-2 win for Mooragh in a low scoring match. Janet Monk, Maureen Hamilton and Gill Malpass for Mooragh all won to single figures as did Joyce Ogden and Elaine Moore for South. Ballaugh A made their way to Castletown A. Town won 4-2 with four of their players winning to single figures. Christine McDonald and Julie Reilly were the two winners for Ballaugh winning to 14 and 13. Nobles won 4-2 at home against Peel dropping only four points. Libby Andrade and Dee Lewis (Onchan) won to single figures with Joyce Kelly and Val Allwood (Peel) winning to 20 and 18. Home derby between Breagle Glen B and A resulted in a 4-2 win for the B team.  Trish Bull (A team) just missed out making it a three all draw losing to 20 against Pauline Worrall. Onchan travelled to Ballaugh B coming away with a three all draw but winning the match by two points. Closest game saw Ballaugh’s Brenda Clayton winning to 18 against Norma Cowell. South Ramsey B were at home to Castletown B and although match finished three all, Castletown took the honours by 10 points. Sue Collier for South, plus Castletown’s Pat Rigby, Marie Ashurst and Elaine McElroy all won to single figures.

Open Age League

Wednesday night saw the second set of fixtures played. Ballaugh A recorded a maximum at home to Castletown B with four of Ballaugh’s games being won to single figures. Closest game saw Joy Stephens (Castletown B) narrowly losing to 19 against Julie Reilly. Castletown A won 7-2 at home against Nobles with Aalish Moore, Hilary Kermode and Hannah Drewett all winning to single figures, as did Paula Firth for Nobles.  Douglas travelled to Peel coming away with a 5-4 win. Winning their games to single figures were Harley Garrett for Douglas and Jo Corkill for Peel. Closest games saw Louise Horsfall and Beverly Wilson (Peel) winning to 19 and 18 against Katie Jacobs and Emma Sayle. Home derby between Breagle A and B resulted in a 7-2 win for the A team.  Margie Tasker (A) had a good battle with Hannah Leece with Margie just pipping Hannah 21-20. Two winners for the B team were Roz Cannon and Alison Stockham who won to 7 and 16. Marown B were at home to Ballaugh B winning 6-3 with Crosby ladies Lil Smith and Sue Hammond winning to single figures. Elaine Fenton narrowly missed out winning another game for Ballaugh when she lost to 19 to Grace Cooper. South Ramsey played host to Marown A winning 6-3 on games with Jenny Moore and Kim Hargraves (South) winning to single figures. Closest games saw Rebekah Kelly for Marown and Gillian Jopson for South winning their games to 20 and 19 respectively.  Mention must be made about the game between Lauren Groen and Clare Cooper – it was such a good game that both sides of the scorecard were used with Lauren eventually winning to 18. As Clare said ‘it was  lovely night for a game of bowls and we were trying for a record number of ends’ – not sure if they did enough!

On Friday night Marown A were at home to Castletown B. Marown won 7-2 with Rebecca Teare and Helen Withers, plus Barbara Young for Castletown all winning to single figures. Closest game of the match saw Marown’s Jayne Smith just edging out Anne Oates 21-19. Castletown A hosted Ballaugh A winning 7-2 on games. Two winners for Ballaugh were Louise Tebay and Caroline Parker winning to 7 and 16. Closest game saw Stella Watterson just pip Ballaugh’s Christie McDonald 21-20. Marown B travelled to Nobles coming away with a 5-4 win. Celia Joughin and Jo Kelly for Marown plus Jo Smith and Colese Creer for Nobles all won to single figures. Marown’s Pippa Clague and Charlotte Clarke plus Nobles Kerri Hampson for Nobles all won their games to 18. Breagle Glen A visited Douglas winning the match 6-3. Two games for Breagle were won to 18, with two games for Douglas being won to 17. Margie Tasker (Breagle) was the only player to win to single figures. Ballaugh B were at home to Peel with the Peel ladies winning the match 6-3. Four of Peel’s wins and one of Ballaugh’s were won to single figures. Closest game saw Gill Clarke for Peel winning to 20 against Brenda Clayton. Mooragh Park travelled to Breagle Glen B coming away with a 7-2 win. Janet Monk, Katie Johnson and Madison McMullan all won to single figures for Mooragh with the two winners for Breagle, Angela Bennett and Roz Cannon, winning to 17 and 11 respectively.

Ladies Association Triples Competition

The Ladies Association triples competition was held on Sunday at Breagle Glen attracting an entry of 11 triples.  Getting through to the first of the semi-finals were Tracy Moore, Joyce Ogden and Caroline Whitehead who played Debbie Leece, Helen Withers and Clare Cooper. This was a close game with Debbie, Helen and Clare eventually winning to 16. Second semi-final saw Sue Gawne, Paula Firth and Lynda Cadamy put in a solid performance to beat Voirrey Curphey, Jacqui Elliott and Jean Thackrah 21-9.

In the final, Debbie, Helen and Clare took control of the game and never looking back won 21-8 against Sue, Paula and Lynda. Congratulations to Debbie, Helen and Clare, and to all the lady bowlers who took part. Also thanks to Breagle for hosting the competition and to the Competition committee for the smooth running of the competition.

The 2025 ladies crown green bowling got underway this week.  With  the amalgamation of Port Erin and Port St Mary becoming Breagle Glen, few player transfers, and a newly formed South Ramsey B Over 60’s team, it’s promising to be an interesting season!

2024 Jean Kelly Plate Final 

Kicking off the season was the postponed Jean Kelly Plate final from last season between Nobles and Castletown B held at Finch Hill on Monday evening. Nobles started with a handicap of +30 and Castletown B +50. Match finished 7-2 on games to Nobles, points 209-173 including the handicaps.  Closest game of the match was between Libby Andrade (Nobles) and Linda Dawson (Castletown) with Libby just pipping Linda to the post 21-19. Two other close games saw Noble’s Marilyn Ellison winning to 18 as did Sue Peach for Castletown B, with Jo Smith, Sue Gawne and Paula Firth (Nobles) all winning to single figures. Well done to the Nobles ladies and thanks to Finch Hill for holding the competition.     

Over 60’s League 

In the Over 60s on Thursday morning, Ballaugh A started the season in fine form with a maximum win away at Mooragh Park B with three of the games being won to single figures. Gill Hammond (Mooragh) and Kay McKiernan had  a good tussle with Kay just edging it 21-19. Reigning champions Nobles hosted Onchan at home winning 5-1 on games with Paula Firth and Sue Gawne (Nobles) both winning to single figures. Lone winner for Onchan was Pauline Cowley who won to 13. Marown took on Peel at home also winning 5-1 on games with Lyn Bolton (Marown) and Shirley Corrin (Peel) both winning to singles figures. Castletown A took on Breagle Glen A at home and although match finished 3 all, Castletown won on points with Linda Dawson (Breagle) crossing the finishing line 21-20 against Anne Oates. South Ramsey A travelled the short distance to Ballaugh B coming away with a 3 all draw and just losing the match by 9 points. Closest game saw Carol Holt (Ballaugh) pipping Judy Kelly to 17. Breagle Glen B played Castletown B at home winning 4-2 on games with Voirrey Curphey (Breagle) winning to single figures. Two winners for Castletown B were Marie Ashurst and Pat Rigby winning to 13 and 14 respectively. Finch Hill were at home against Breagle Glen C with the match finishing 3 all and Finch winning by 15 points. Lil smith and Wendy Cowin (Finch) plus Steph Swift (Breagle) all won their games to single figures. The new team of South Ramsey B played host to Mooragh Park A with the Mooragh Team coming away with a 7-1 win. Anne Buck and Jackie Murley (South) both lost to 14 against Joy Morris and Chris Sims respectively with the lone winner for South, Sue Collier, winning to 7.

Open Age League  

Marown started off the season with a solid 8-1 win at home against Mooragh Park. Stopping a full house for Marown was Mooragh’s Janet Monk who won to 19. Lynda Cadamy, Rebecca Teare and Debbie Leece (Marown) all won to single figures. Reigning Champions Castletown A also put in a solid performance when they travelled to Ballaugh B coming away with a 7-2 win. Five of Castletown’s wins were won to single figures, with the two winners for Ballaugh (Elaine Fenton and Gail Curphey) winning to 19 and 14 respectively. Castletown B took on South Ramsey at home with South just narrowly winning 5-4 games. Two closest games of the night saw Castletown’s Sue Peach and Jo Roberts both winning to 18. South’s Jenny Moore, Fiona Kennish and Gill Dixon all won their games to single figures. Ballaugh A made their way to Nobles and although Ballaugh won on games they lost on points with Tina Hampson, Jo Smith and Libby Andrade winning to single figures. Sue Gawne (Nobles) had a good battle against Louise Tebay with Louise just pipping it 21-20. Breagle Glen B played Peel Sunset at home. Match finished 5-4 to Peel with Jo Corkill (Peel) just crossing the line 21-20 against Hannah Leece. Breagle’s Alison Stockham and Jenny Cain won to single figures as did Louise Horsfall and Helen Cowley for Peel. Douglas hosted Marown B with the Crosby ladies coming away with a 5-4 win. Paula Garrett and Erin Quayle (Douglas) plus Rosie Winkle and Lisa Pugh (Marown) all won to single figures with Marown’s Jo Kelly crossing the line 21-20 against Mel Molesworth.

The open-age ladies league champions, Castletown, travelled to Cleckheaton at the weekend to represent the Island in the 2024 Club Championships. 

In a round robin group that was reduced to four teams when the Staffordshire team pulled out, Castle Sports (Cheshire) got off to a flying start winning their first four games against Castletown. The Town rallied to win the last four games through Hilary Kermode (15-6), Kim Foy (to 14), Stella Watterson (6) and Hannah Drewett (8) but agonisingly fell short by eight chalks.

The second game against group favourites Dearne Sports from South Yorkshire was always going to be difficult and though Kath Kinley won the opening game 15-8 that was the only comfort as the Manx girls lost 67-113.

Far from being disheartened Castletown came roaring back in their final group game against Winnington Park (Mid-Cheshire) and won 6-2 on games and 95-80 on chalks. The winners were Kath Kinley (to 8), Chris Price (5), Tracy Moore (12), Hilary Kermode (7), Kim Foy (12) and Hannah Drewett (6).   

The tournament winners included regular Festival players from Wrockwardine Wood who beat Dearne Sports in the final.