News: Reports
Castletown A Wins Ladies Over 60’s League
Over 60s League: Castletown A ladies retained the ladies Over 60s league title last Thursday morning with a good 4-2 away win at Onchan A. Two winners for Onchan were Dee Lewis and Marilyn Ellison who won to 15 and 6 respectively. Marown A finished with a strong performance getting a full house at home against Port Erin B. Lynda Cadamy and Joyce Ogden both winning their games to single figures. Peel travelled to Port Erin A coming away with a 4-2 win and by 40 points. Kay Primrose-Smith (Port Erin) and Val Allwood had a tough game with Kay eventually crossing the line 21-20. Onchan B visited Castletown B winning five of the six games. Lone winner for Castletown B was Pauline Moore who won to 10 against Jane Robinson. Mooragh Park A hosted neighbours South Ramsey with South winning 4-2. Three of South’s plus one of Mooragh’s games were won to single figures with Lynn Mayers for Mooragh winning 21-13 against Moira Anderson. Finch Hill hosted Port St Mary A winning the match 4-2 and by 62 points with Lil Smith (Finch Hill) winning her game to single figures. On Friday morning Ballaugh were away to Port St Mary B. Match finished 4-2 in favour of Ballaugh and by 55 points. Two winners for PSM were Edwina Reid and Elaine Hawkins who won their games to 14 and 12. Many congratulations to Castletown A who led much of the way this season being pushed all the way by second placed Onchan A, third placed Marown and fourth placed South Ramsey. Also many congratulations to Elaine Moore (South Ramsey) and Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) who completed the season without losing a game.
Open age league: The penultimate matches in the Ladies Open Age League were played last Wednesday evening. Current leaders, Castletown A, had a good 8-1 win at home against Marown B. Lone winner for Marown was Clare Cooper winning to 11 against Anne Oates. Marown just missed out on another win when Deborah Leece lost to 20 against Rachel Palmer. Current second place South Ramsey also had a good 7-2 win away with four of the games being won to single figures. In third place Marown A had a comfortable 6-3 win at home against Castletown B. Closest game saw Castletown’s Susan Kerruish just pipping Jo Corkill 21-20. In fourth place Ballaugh suffered a heavy 7-2 defeat away to Onchan with Onchan’s Sue Gawne and Marilyn Ellison winning their games to single figures. Two winners for Ballaugh were Pat Mason and Elaine Fenton who won to 14 and 13. Mooragh Park travelled to Douglas coming away with a 5-4 win and by 39 points. Two junior lady bowlers Katie Jacobs (Douglas) and Lacey McMullan had a good battle with Katie getting the point needed to win 21-20. Peel hosted Port St Mary winning 6-3 on games and by 11 points. All games bar two went into double figures with Joyce Kelly (Peel) pipping Margie Tasker 21-19. With only one fixture remaining Castletown A are 225 points ahead so cannot be caught but second and third places are still up for grabs as Marown A are only 42 points behind South Ramsey so it is still all to play for.
British Crown Green Ladies Junior Individual Merit: On Saturday 3 September, the British Crown Green Ladies Junior individual merit was held at Heswall Bowling Club, Merseyside. Representing the IOM at this event was current IOM Junior Ladies Champion Grace Gawne (Onchan) along with sisters Madison and Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park). Competition was a round robin played in four groups of 4 with the winner from each group progressing to the semi-finals. In group A, Grace and Shannon were with Aimee Garside (Yorkshire) and Cerys Parry from Wales. Madison was in group 3 along with Paige Hall (Warwick and Worcester), Amelia Northop (Wales) and Megan Hulme (Cheshire). Although Shannon and Grace bowled well, it was Cerys Parry who progressed from group 1 to the semis, along with Holly Jenkins from group 2 and Rebecca Sheriff (Burton and District) from group 4. Madison also progressed through to the semis having played exceptionally well not losing a game in her group. In the semi-finals, Madison played Rebecca and holding her nerve won 15-12 to reach the final against Cerys who put in a good performance winning 15-6 against Holly Jenkins.
With both Cerys and Madison playing well the final was a nail biter with Madison coming back from 11-4 down to level it at 11 across. Unfortunately Madison scored one more point before her opponent scored the four points she needed to win 15-12 for a hard fought victory. All three IOM junior ladies should be commended on their performance, especially Madison for reaching the final and proving that our junior ladies are a force to be reckoned with.
South Ramsey A Edge Closer to Title
In Canada Life International Division One it was a double week for all night league teams with clubs’ floodlights being put to good use as the nights draw in. It is three weeks since league fixtures last took place, as we reach the business end of the season.
South Ramsey A started their week with a visit down south to take on Port Erin A. The visitors came away with a strong 1-9 victory, with Bernie Durcan preventing the whitewash as he put in a good performance to win 21-12 against Peter Collister who suffered only his third league defeat of the season. Winning to single figures for the visitors were David Bradford, John Kennish, Bob Clark, Stefan Kelly and Glynn Hargraves. James Teare managed to hold off Steve Durcan 21-16, while Jordan Cain recovered from a 10-16 deficit against Alan Crebbin to win 21-16.
On Friday evening South Ramsey A took on third placed Onchan A who have been in good form of late, however the Ramsey men made home advantage count as they won 8-2. Winning for the visitors were Reg Temporaza who beat Glynn Hargraves 21-17, while Matthew Quirk won 21-16 against Stefan Kelly in a good quality game. Two wins to single figures from Bob Clark and Peter Collister helped with the two points for the aggregate (159-119). John Kennish won 21-16 against Kevin Quirk after leading 15-3. Jordan Cain was always in control with his 21-13 win over Phil Kerruish, while David Bradford won 21-15 against Neil Dunwell. A big comeback from James Teare who trailed Will Penhallurick 5-15 and then 11-19 could prove crucial at the end of the season as the former won 21-20 to secure his side an extra point.
Marown A were looking to bounce back from their disastrous 6-4 defeat away to lowly Peel B. This time out they took on Peel A at Crosby with a solid 8-2 win with Neil Withers once again heavily defeating Dean Kinley 21-3, Colin Kelly beat Gary Smith 21-5, while Phil Kelly put in a great performance to win 21-7 against Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly. Marown captain Paul Dunn had a comfortable 21-10 win against Tommy McMeiken, Paul Kelly beat George Gadsby 21-9 with the game of the night being won by Harry Barton who beat Stevie Kelly 21-20, with the former recovering from a 12-19 deficit to lead 20-19, only for Kelly to break the run and go level at 20-20. On the deciding end a good bowl from Barton settled the game to pick up Marown’s fifth win of the night. Winning for the visitors were Peter Greenlees who was level with Peter Jones at 15-15 and ran out from there to win 21-15, while Tom Kelly put in a fine performance to beat Dean Kipling 21-5.
On Friday evening Marown A took on their B Team, with a number of the B Team players looking to prove they have what it takes to play for the higher ranked team next season, with four of their players in the top 32 of the individual merit as the B team continue to fly high and on course to finish in fourth place. The A team won the fixture 7-3 but will have been hoping for a better result as they looked to pile the pressure on the league leaders going in to the last game of the season. Winning for the B Team were Glenn Boland who beat Harry Barton 21-12, Jerome Surridge won 21-16 against Phil Kelly, while Matthew Keggen caused the biggest upset of the night as he took on A Team captain Paul Dunn, with the scores level at 9-9, Keggen went on a 12 point scoring streak to run out with a 21-9 victory as he presses his claim for a recall to the A Team next season. For the A Team Neil Withers was the best winner as he beat John Gelling 21-7.
South Ramsey A are now three points ahead of the Crosby men and have an away fixture against Castletown A at the Crofts, whilst Marown A travel to Breagle Glen to take on Port Erin A in the deciding fixtures. A 7-3 win for South Ramsey should be enough to ensure they retain the title, however could there be one more twist to follow in a highly unpredictable season? South Ramsey were predicted to run away with it this year, however that has not been the case.
Relegation has now been confirmed for the bottom two sides Port Erin A 31 points from safety on 48 points, while Onchan B are second from bottom with 65 points. Peel B are in 10th place as they have picked up 16 points in three fixtures to secure their top flight status. A good last result of the season for Peel B at home to Onchan B, and a heavy defeat for North Ramsey A could see the Peel men leapfrog the Mooragh Park men.
South Ramsey B Tie Up Division Two
In Division Two South Ramsey B maintained their 17-point lead at the top and officially secured their place as Division Two Champions following a 9-1 home win over Finch Hill A on Monday with Les Brookes preventing the whitewash with a 21-20 win over Sid Bolton. This result was followed up as they overcame their C Team on Thursday night with an 8-2 win. The only real upset of the week was for Tony Dugdale who suffered a defeat at the hands of James Evans 19-21 to slip to second place in the individual merit with team mate Alan Moore going above Dugdale. Lee Dawson was the other winner for the C Team as he inflicted a second defeat of the week on Sid Bolton. The northern men look well placed to hold their own in Division One next season as most teams that get promoted do so by the skin of their teeth, however they have gone on to build a good lead as the season has gone on.
Marown C have their destiny in their own hands as they went seven points clear of third placed Ballaugh A, enjoying an excellent week with a 9-1 away win against Ballaugh B, they then took Peel C apart at Crosby 10-0, with both teams they faced this week failing to score 100 chalks. Whilst Marown wouldn’t be the first club to have three teams in the same division it does show their strength in depth, is also a great story with most of the team starting around the same time and improving together as they show a little ambition can go a long way, as they look to go into the top division of Manx bowls to test themselves against the best week in week out.
Ballaugh A whilst picking up two wins this week did drop six points to Marown’s one point in a pivotal week for both clubs. A hard fought 4-6 away win over Onchan C by 15 chalks (134-149) was followed up with an 8-2 win over their lower ranked B Team, the result could have been even worse as Philip Quayle and Gordie Moore both won 21-20 against Mike Buckeridge and Dicky Watson respectively.
Marown C go on to finish their season with an away fixture against Noble’s A, while Ballaugh A are at home to Finch Hill A who are notoriously bad travellers on the road.
Sitting joint bottom in Division Two are Port St Mary B and Ballaugh B on 62 points. Both teams need a minor miracle of pulling off big wins to give one of them the chance to get out of trouble with Port at home to Douglas B, while Ballaugh host Peel C. Onchan C are the only other team in danger of the drop, they are third from bottom on 67 points as they welcome South Ramsey C to the Park on Tuesday evening with the bottom two teams relying on a heavy defeat for Onchan to stand a chance of one of them staying up.
North Ramsey B Stay on Course for Division Three
In Division Three Jay Waters cannot be caught in the race for the individual merit despite suffering his one and only defeat of the season to Andrew Cover 17-21 as the team won 3-7 away to Peel. His week did start off a bit better as his team won 9-1 at home to Douglas C, with Waters winning 21-17 against Greg Tomlinson.
League leaders North Ramsey B will be crowned league champions barring a disaster as they are three points ahead of Noble’s B and seven points ahead of Marown D, as they take on Douglas D in their final fixture of the season. The Mooragh Park men only played one fixture this week as they won 3-7 away to Ballaugh C.
Noble’s B will have been pleased with their weeks work as they bettered Marown D this week to ensure they went four points clear of the Crosby men as they beat Castletown C 2-8 at the Crofts, then beat Finch Hill B 9-1 at home.
The deciding fixture of the season sees Marown D take on Noble’s B on Tuesday night at Crosby with only an 8-2 win for the home team being good enough to ensure they finish in second place and go ahead of Noble’s B.
Close Games In the Ladies Open Age League
In last Friday night’s open age league ladies crown green bowls, all matches were relatively close as no team scored over 160 points. Closest match of the night saw Mooragh Park travel to Port st Mary coming away with a 5-4 win but losing the match by only one point. Dot Mylchreest and junior bowler Grayse Blencoe had a tussle with Grayse eventually winning to 19 whilst Nicola Cain (PSM) and Janet Monk (Mooragh) both won to single figures. Another close match was Marown B at home to Ballaugh with Ballaugh winning 5-4 and by 7 points. Game of the match saw Christine McDonald winning to 20 against home bowler Deborah Leece. Douglas hosted Port Erin winning 5-4 on games and by 9 points with six of the nine games being won to single figures. The three games that went into double figures were Sue Caley and Emma Sayle (Douglas) plus Jenny Cain for PE winning to 18,10 and 11 respectively. Peel visited Castletown B coming away with a 6-3 win and by 24 points. Mary Moffatt (Peel) had a good battle with Joy Stephens with Mary crossing the line to win 21-19. South Ramsey hosted Castletown A winning the match 6-3 on games and by 7 points. Two games of the match saw Gillian Dixon and Kim Hargraves for South pipping Hannah Drewett and Barbara Young 21-20. Marown A visited Onchan winning the match 5-4 and by 21 points with four games being won to single figures. Marown Captain Lil Smith just got the better of Sylvia Kennaugh to win 21-19. With two fixtures remaining, Castletown are currently on top 218 points clear of second place South Ramsey, therefore given this I don’t think they can be caught, but as we all know anything can happen in bowls!
In the Over 60’s league on Tuesday morning, both South Ramsey and Marown scored maximums. South were at home to Castletown B with four of South’s wins being won to single figures. Marown were away to Mooragh Park B, unfortunately no individual scores are on website at time of report. Elsewhere, Finch Hill had a good 5-1 win away to Onchan B with Libbi Andrade being the lone winner for Onchan winning to 10. Peel won 5-1 at home to Mooragh Park A with the closest game being between Shirley Corrin (Peel) and Maureen Hamilton with Shirley crossing the line 21-18. Onchan A travelled to Ballaugh coming away with a solid 5-1 win. Lone winner for Ballaugh was Rose Waterworth who won to 10. Derby between Port Erin A and B resulted in a 4-2 win for the A team and by 15 points. Alison Stockham (B) and Caroline Whitehead (A) both won to single figures with Voirrey Curphey (A) just getting the better of Kay Primrose-Smith to win 21-18.
Battle On for Second and Third Place in Ladies Open Age League
In the ladies Open Age crown green bowling league last Wednesday evening, rearranged matches took place between South Ramsey who were at home to Onchan and Marown B home to Douglas. South Ramsey won 7-2 on games, although Onchan nearly took another game when Lily Gawne lost to 20 against South’s Lauren Groen. In the Marown B versus Douglas match, the Crosby ladies won 5-4 on games and by three points. Again, scoreline could have been reversed as Douglas’s Emma Sayle lost to 20 against Lisa Pugh.
On Friday evening, current third placed Marown A scored a maximum away at Peel closing the gap to only 18 points on second placed South Ramsey who lost to Ballaugh. Three of Marown’s wins were to single figures with the two closest games being Elaine Dewhirst and Rosemary Winckle both winning to 16. South Ramsey lost 4-5 on games and by eight points away to an improving Ballaugh team. Like Marown, three games were won to single figures with Elaine Moore (South) and Christine McDonald having a real tussle with Elaine eventually winning to 18. Current leaders, Castletown A, had a comfortable 7-2 win at home against Douglas. Two winners for Douglas were Sue McCourt and Harley Garrett who won to 15 and 19 against Sue Peach and Stella Watterson respectively. Mooragh Park hosted Castletown B winning 5-4 on games and by 17 points. Shirley Corteen (Mooragh) and Aalish Moore had a nip and tuck game before Aalish ran out 21-18. Match between Port Erin and Port St Mary was played on Monday evening. Port St Mary won 5-4 on games and by 22 points with Trish Bull and Lorna Brady (PSM) plus Jean Thackrah (PE) all winning to single figures. The match between Marown B and Onchan has been postponed to Friday 23 September due to players being off-Island representing the IOM in England.
Ogden Wins Maiden Open
September Pre-Festival Open Winner 2022 - Joyce Ogden
Photo: Caroline WhiteheadAn entry of 35 ladies competed in the September Open at a perfectly prepared Castletown green on Sunday and no-one was more surprised to win the competition than local bowler Joyce Ogden (Marown) herself, who was a late entry and who had to play with spare woods from the home club’s cupboard!
She deserved her maiden singles Open victory as she played well all afternoon, none more so than in the final when she beat Shropshire’s Helen Clee (Wrockwardine Wood) 21-17 having previously seen off the challenge of another visiting bowler Pat Edwards (Garswood Hall) in the semi-final.
Port Erin’s Caroline Whitehead was the other faller in the last four, just losing to 20 to Helen Clee after being 10-20 down.
Going out at the quarters were Marown’s Rebecca Teare, Shropshire’s Louise Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood) as well as Kim Foy and Hilary Kermode from the home club.
Club Team Championship
The Club Team Championship quarter finals took place this week with the ties played home and away. The format continues with four drawn doubles games and six singles.
The most keenly contested tie of the week was between Port St Mary and Ballaugh with the latter falling short by 48 chalks (373-325). Port St Mary won the home leg by 51 chalks, while Ballaugh managed to turn this round to win the home leg by just three chalks as they picked up eight wins out of a possible 20 from the two legs.
The next closest match was between Finch Hill and Onchan with the latter winning by 116 chalks (283-399). Finch Hill did manage to pick up six wins over both legs, as they lost by 30 chalks at home (160-190), while they suffered an 86 chalk defeat in the away leg earlier in the week.
Marown took on North Ramsey and won overall by 128 chalks (406-278) and rather strangely the score in both the home and away leg was exactly the same 203-139, however North Ramsey won two games in the first leg and just one in the second leg at Crosby.
South Ramsey won by 163 chalks overall against Douglas (410-247), as they won by 82 chalks at home (206-124), while in the second leg Douglas fielded a number of newer bowlers to give them an opportunity to gain some experience. At the Villa the team performed just as well as the team lost by 81 chalks (123-204).
The semi-finals are due to be held on neutral greens – venues to be confirmed on Monday 26th September as Port St Mary take on Marown, while South Ramsey face Onchan, with the final to be held two days later on Wednesday 28th September for the successful teams.
Marown Retain JMS Title
JMS Shield Winners 2022 - Marown
Photo: Gill MorganOn Thursday morning, the final of the Over 60’s JMS knockout competition was played at Port Erin between Marown and South Ramsey. With the individual handicaps in place, Marown started with 12 points and South 20.
First three jacks on the green saw Joyce Ogden playing Gillian Jopson, Lynda Cadamy playing Elaine Moore and Celia Joughin playing South Ramsey captain Sue Collier. Joyce was in fine form winning her game to 4; Lynda and Elaine had a tough battle with Elaine eventually winning to 17, whilst Celia Joughin came back from being behind to run out 21-18.
At the halfway stage, including the handicaps, Marown led 71-63. The next game saw Marown’s Philippa Taylor give her team an excellent boost by winning to three against Ann Gale; this was followed by Rosie Winckle having a solid win to 14 against against Judy Kelly. The last game pitted Shirley Whelan (Marown) against Moira Anderson. This was the game of the morning as it was nip and tuck throughout with Moira eventually winning 21-20. Final score – Marown 133, South Ramsey 101, four games to two.
Janet Latham, Ladies Association Treasurer and sponsor of the competition, thanked all those for taking part, supporters and spectators and Port Erin ladies/gentleman for providing excellent refreshments before introducing and asking her grandson, Jack Shilling, to present the trophy and prizes. Many congratulations to Marown on their win and for retaining the JMS title.
JANET WINS OVER 60’s CHAMPIONSHIP
Over 60’s Ladies Manx Champion 2022 - Janet Monk
Photo: Gill MorganOn Tuesday the Ladies Association Over 60s Manx Championship was held at Ballaugh Bowling Club attracting an entry of 26 ladies.
Getting through to the semi-finals were Joyce Kelly (Peel) against Lynda Cadamy (Marown) and Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) against Paula Firth (Onchan). In the first semi, Joyce started off the stronger leading 10-2. Lynda got into her stride winning seven of the next 10 ends to claw the score back to 15-10 to Joyce. The following 11 ends were to and fro but with the lead advantage Joyce had earlier in the game, Joyce won 21-16.
The second semi-final was a similar scenio whereby Janet lead 17-5 on the 17th end, but Paula dug deep managing to score another seven before Janet ran out 21-12.
The final between Janet and Joyce could have gone either way as both ladies played excellent bowls and was evenly balanced throughout. On the 22nd end, the score was 15 across. Janet then, with a final flourish, took four of the next five ends to win 21-16. A well deserved win for Janet being pushed all the way by Joyce.
Presentation of trophy and prizes was made by Gill Morgan, Competition Secretary, who thanked Ballaugh for hosting and providing refreshments throughout the day, to all the competitors, spectators and supporters and to Elaine Moore for sponsoring the competition.
All to Play For In Over 60’s Ladies League
Marown A and Onchan both scored maximums at home to Mooragh Park and Peel in the ladies Open Age league last Wednesday night. Three of Marown’s games were won to single figures, whilst Onchan had two single figure wins. The two closest games of the Marown/Mooragh match were Lynda Cadamy and Jayne Smith both winning to 16 against Bailey McMullan and Janet Monk. In the Onchan/Peel match, both Terri Berry and Mary Moffatt nearly made the scoreline 7-2 when they both lost to 20 against Jo Smith and Libbi Andrade. Castletown A won 5-4 away to Port St Mary with Hannah Drewett and Anne Oates for Castletown winning to single figures. Mavis Franks, Lorna Brady-Glover and Margaret Tasker for PSM, plus Tracy Moore for Castletown all won to 17 against Hilary Kermode, Kim Foy, Sue Peach and Trish Bull respectively. Port Erin visited Castletown B coming away with a 5-4 win and by 28 points. The game of the match saw Susan Inch (Port Erin) just crossing the line 21-20 against Pat Rigby, with Linda Dawson and Ann Hollingworth (Castletown) winning their games to single figures. South Ramsey had a close match at home against Marown B winning 5-4 and by 31 points with three of South’s games being won to single figures. Fiona Kennish (South) and Clare Cooper had a nip and tuck game with Clare eventually winning to 19. Ballaugh had a solid 6-3 away win at Douglas with Pat Mason, Rose Waterworth and Maria Dimsdale for Ballaugh plus Paula Garrett for Douglas all winning to single figures. Jan West (Douglas) and Cath Harvey had the closest game of the night when Jan won to 18. Two rearranged matches between Marown B/Douglas and South Ramsey/Onchan are scheduled for 31 August.
Missing result from last Wednesday morning’s match between Port St Mary A and Onchan B in the ladies Over 60’s league, resulted in a 5-1 win to Port St Mary A with as they dropped only one chalk. Stopping the maximum was Lesley Nicholl who just pipped Chris Holland 21-20. LAs the Over 60’s league is nearing a conclusion Castletown A are currently top with 3117 points, Onchan A second with 2984, Marown third with 2888, South Ramsey fourth with 2884 and Peel fifth with 2831. With Castletown only having one match to play whilst the following group have two it is going to be very close and I am sure results from the remaining fixtures will be eagerly awaited. Game on ladies!
UK Merit Qualifier – Crown Green Masters
Crown Green Masters 2022 Qualifiers - Paul Dunn & Clare Cooper
Photos: Norman Kneen & Gary WeightmanThe Isle of Man Crown Green Bowling Association put two entries forward for a Crown Green Masters Competition to be held at Euston Green in Fleetwood. It was decided to hold a 21 up off scractch qualifier for the two entries, with 27 entering for their chance to qualify.
Going out the last 16 stage in well contested matches were Neil Withers 19-21 to Marown club mate Karl Parker, Peter Greenlees (Peel) lost out 17-21 to Clare Cooper (Marown), Glenn Boland who battled hard before losing out to fellow Marown man Paul Dunn 19-21, while Gary Conwell (Douglas) was beaten 18-21 by Debbie Leece (Marown).
At the quarter final stage Alan Moore performed well to beat South Ramsey club mate Glynn Hargraves 21-17, Clare cooper edged home 21-20 against Karl Parker, Paul Dunn performed well to see off Tommy McMeiken (Peel) 21-10, a result matched by Debbie Leece who beat Dave Naughton (Noble’s).
In the qualifying game Cooper was up against Moore, with the latter racing into a 13-8, only for Cooper to go on a good run to win 21-14 to qualify.
In the other half of the draw Dunn was always in control against Leece, won 21-9 to also qualify for the finals day.
Both Cooper and Dunn will now go on to play in the finals to be played on Friday 23rd September with a prize pot of £3,600 up for grabs. Good luck to both players.