News: Reports
Nobles New Leaders
A double fixtures week of ladies night bowls changed the top of the table once more with the title race taking another twist.
Wednesday evening saw a number of big wins. In the match between Castletown A and Peel Sunset, Mary Moffatt prevented a whitewash winning her game 21-14. Peel lost six games to single figures recording their lowest away performance since 2011 with the final score 182-69 (8-1).
Marown is always a tough place for teams to visit and Port St Mary B was only able to record one winner with Brenda Hawkard winning her game 21-19. The home side picking up a deserved 187-128 (8-1) win.
Port St Mary A collected their first full house of the season defeating Castletown B 189-75 (9-0).
Ballaugh slipped to a 13 chalk defeat at home to South Ramsey. Elaine Moore had the best score on the night winning 21-5. Match score 149-162 (3-6).
Douglas was a player short in their home match against Port Erin with the visitors winning 128-166 (3-6). Youngster Rebekah Kelly picked up her first league victory winning 21-5.
The final game on Wednesday saw Onchan defeated by Nobles 130-176 (3-6) with Jan West recording the biggest win on the night 21-6.
Onto Friday and match of the night, league leaders Castletown A travelling to champions Port St Mary A. The match was close on games finishing 5-4 but PSM won three games to single figures building a lead which would give them an overall victory by 21 chalks 151-130. The result pulls PSM back only 6 chalks behind Castletown A.
With PSM and Castletown taking points off each other Nobles took full advantage against Peel Sunset who were, unfortunately, a player short. Paula Firth had the standout win 21-3 whilst Shirley Corrin and Mary Moffatt won for Peel. The match finished 179-103 (7-2) and took Nobles top of the league holding a slender 14 chalk advantage over Castletown A.
South Ramsey remain fourth winning 179-101 (7-2) against Port St Mary B. SR won five games to single figures with Lyn Bolton and Jenny Moore winning 21-7 and Elaine Moore, Ann Gale and Jill Quayle winning 21-8.
Castletown B took full advantage of Douglas being a player short to record a two-point and first league win of the season. The away side won five of the nine games including Shantelle Thorpe and Paula Garrett who won 21-8 and 21-6 respectively. Jo Robert, Joy Stephens and Elaine McElroy won for CT with the match ending 137-135 (4-5).
Mooragh Park faced Onchan and it was encouraging to see so many juniors on the result card with six playing in the match. The home team won comfortably 165-126 (7-2) including wins for Junior Champion Shannon McMullan and sister Madison.
In the final game from Friday Ballaugh faced Port Erin. Both sides recorded two wins to single figures but with the home team winning the majority of the games picked up a 19 chalk victory 159-140 (6-3).
Next week Port St Mary A sit out allowing their rivals to temporarily pull away. Nobles take on South Ramsey with Castletown A looking to claw points back on the new leaders. Castletown themselves travel the short distance to Breagle Glen to face Port Erin.
Shannon & Lynda win Omega Cup
Omega Cup Winners 2019
Photo: Helen MartinAn entry of 22 took part in the Omega Cup hosted by South Ramsey Bowling Club, which was played in a drawn doubles round robin format with the winners of the two groups reaching the final to decide the winner.
The winner of the first group was Lynda Cadamy (Port Erin) and Shannon McMullan (Mooragh Park) who topped their group with 34 points, whilst Sue Jones (Peel) and Helen Martin (Mooragh Park) just missed out by just two points.
In the other group it was Mary Moffatt (Peel) and Victoria Johnson (Mooragh Park) who progressed to the final after coming through a one end shootout with Gill Morgan (South Ramsey) and Joyce Kelly (Peel) with both pairs scoring 30 points in their group.
The final was played 15 up off scratch. Mary & Victoria started well winning the first four ends with three singles and a double to take a 5-0 lead, then maintained this lead after nine ends to lead 8-3, Lynda and Shannon then scored a three, only to concede two doubles to lie 6-12 behind. Lynda and Shannon stepped up a few gears scoring three singles, a four and a double to run out with a 15-12 victory to secure the title.
The presentation was made by ladies competition secretary Elaine Moore who thanked everyone who had entered, congratulated the juniors who had performed brilliantly, along with the club members for their assistance throughout the day.
Peel Bounce Back
South Ramsey A kitted out in their new team shirts provided by sponsor Callow Building Services
Photo: Steve MooreIn Ellan Vannin Fuels division one Peel A bounced back from two poor results last week to win 9-1 away to Marown B at Crosby. Andy Kennish led the way for Peel with a 21-3 win against John Kelly with Tom Kelly following up with a 21-5 win over Juan Killip. Pushed harder for the visitors were Gary Smith who won 21-17 against Peter Kelly, David Proctor who held off Steve Bridson 21-18, whilst Harry Kelly was closer still winning 21-19 against Brian Kelly. Sparing the whitewash was home captain Harry Barton with a good 21-15 win over Tommy McMeiken.
Champions elect Marown A won 3-7 away from home against Noble’s A with the Crosby men nearly dropping another point, however John Gelling just got over the line 21-20 against Reginald Temporaza. Winners for the home team were Tommy Collister who made it nine wins from 11 games with a 21-16 victory over Paul Kelly, Kevin Firth recovered from a slow start to win 21-17 against Phil Kelly, whilst Dave Pease inflicted a first league defeat of the season on merit leader Paul Dunn 21-16. Also winning for the visitors were Neil Withers, Colin Kelly, Matthew Keggen and Dean Kipling.
Onchan A made the trip south to take on Port St Mary A coming away with a 3-7 win. On another night it could have ended up as a draw (5-5) or a whitewash (0-10). Their three losses were close with captain Peter Slinger losing 17-21 to Paul Skelly, a result matched by Matthew Quirk who lost to Wayne Roberts, whilst Steve Parker pushed Rob Cooil hard before losing out 19-21. On the flip side Jordan Cain recovered from a 14-20 deficit to run out with a 21-20 win over Dan McCabe, whilst Frank Watson just got home to the same score against Dave McCabe.
South Ramsey A missed out on the opportunity to close the gap on Marown & Onchan with their fixture at home to Castletown B, having only lost one game in the Rayner Shield fixture last week they dropped three games with their 7-3 home win over the Town men. Winning for the visitors were Bob Clark who beat Chas Grills 21-9, backed up by captain Ron Williams with a 21-19 victory over James Teare, whilst Ross Moore held off Roger Thomas to win 21-14. For the home team David Bradford, Stefan Kelly and Alan Moore all won to single figures over Dave Faragher, Aaron Richardson and George Foy respectively.
North Ramsey A turned in a good home performance against visitors Douglas A to win 7-3. Captain Allan Callow had a good 21-15 win over Stuart Garrett. Geoff Porter was ruthless with his 21–1 victory over Peter Wilcox, whilst Tony Smart used home advantage well to see off Andy Cannell 21-10, whilst Steve Walmsley had his work cut out to hold off Merv Sayle to win 21-19. For the visitors Ian Moore won 21-19 against Bryan Corner, with Bob Banning performing well to beat John Cannan to the same score. Shaun Seal will have been pleased with his 21-4 win over Ray Skelly.
Castletown A kept rivals South Ramsey B at arms length with their 6-4 home win. Home team winners were Peter Oates, Sam Clague, Ian Watson and Jordan Drewett with the latter edging home 21-19 against Sid Bolton. For the visitors Austin Hart returned from his weekend with the Juniors Island Team in fine form to take a 21-8 win over Dean Kinley, whilst team mates Ben Dugdale, Steven Waters and Tony Dugdale also won. Castletown took the win thanks to winning the aggregate by nine chalks (137-128).
In division two Ballaugh A slumped to a 2-8 defeat away to Port Erin A despite the Breagle Glen outfit only fielding seven players, whilst Finch Hill A also suffered a setback losing to the same score away to Peel B. Port St Mary B capitalised on these defeats winning a tough game 3-7 away to fifth placed Onchan B to climb up to second place to sit nine points off league leaders Ballaugh. Peel C travelled to the Villa to take on Douglas B with the visitors taking a 4-6 away win thanks to edging the aggregate by a single chalk (135-136), whilst Port St Mary C will have been delighted with their 3-7 away win over North Ramsey B.
In division three runaway leaders South Ramsey C had a potentially tricky away fixture against second placed Finch Hill B, will have been pleased to come away with a 4-6 win to extend the gap to 24 points.
Castletown A top at half way
The Ladies Night Bowls League reached the halfway point last week with the top three sides only separated by 34 chalks.
Castletown A remains the in-form team and sits top of the pile at the halfway point following another strong home performance seeing off Marown 175-127 (6-3). Kath Kinley and Tracey Moore both won to single figures with teammates Kim Foy, Amanda Lawler, Anne Oates and Hilary Kermode also winning. Marown wins came from Ceila Joughin, Shirley Whelan and Helen Withers who defeated Hannah Drewett 21-18.
Mooragh Park was unable to stop Nobles from leaving Ramsey with a victory with the home team losing 117-167 (3-6). Clare Cooper, Debbie Leece, Rebecca Teare and Jan West all won to single figures. Viv Cook and Alison Keggen also won for Nobles. Mooragh picked up three wins from Janet Monk, Vicky Lloyd-West and Madison McMullan who picked up another good win defeating Jayne Smith 21-20. The result leaves Nobles second in the league 29 points behind Castletown A.
Port St Mary A collected a fine 123-182 (2-7) away win against Ballaugh. PSM had comfortable wins for Jayne Kneen, Ann Maddrell and Val Macfarlane. Mavis Franks, Linda Dawson, Trish Bull and Margaret Tasker also won with Margaret just getting the better of Cath Harvey 21-20. Gill Dixon came through a cracker 21-19 against Chris Price and Alison Millard defeated Wendy Kennaugh. The result leaves PSM third, 34 chalks behind.
Peel Sunset faced South Ramsey with the away team performing very well on what is always a tricky green. South Ramsey was put in a commanding position winning five games to single figures from Jenny Moore, Lyn Bolton, Fiona Kennish, Elaine Moore and Kim Hargraves with Sue Collier also winning 21-10. The home side dented South’s overall score following wins from Joyce Kelly, Mary Moffatt and Pat Robertson. Final score 111-157 (3-6). The result leaves South Ramsey fourth trailing third place by 87 chalks.
Port Erin against Onchan is the final match from last week with the home side losing on games but claiming the win on chalks. There were a lot of close games on the night and the away side had wins from Sue Gawne, Dee Lewis, Tina Hampson, Maureen Payne and Libby Andrade. Port Erin’s Jenny Cain, Jacqui Elliott, Lynda Cadamy along with Caroline Whitehead, who won 21-8, did enough to secure the home team a seven chalk victory `59-152 (4-5).
Individually Elaine Moore remains undefeated and top of the merit on 252 chalks. Followed closely by the two ladies who reached the final of the Manx Championship, Rebecca Teare (250) and Jenny Moore (250) with Shirley Whelan (249) and Jayne Kneen (246) making up the top five.
Next week the second half of the season gets underway with a double week of matches. In what could be a defining moment in the season the current top two sides go head to head as Port St Mary A welcome Castletown A.
For all the latest news and results go to the bowl’s website www.iombowls.com.
Bry Rad’s Mens Doubles
Bry Rad’s Men’s Doubles Winners 2019
Photo: Richard FaragherOn Sunday Ballaugh Bowling Club hosted the Bry Rad’s Mens Doubles. With the weather set fair with a gusty breeze and just one shower 22 pairs took part in the competition.
Bowing out in the quarter finals were Alan Moore & James Teare (South Ramsey), Patrick and Stephen Grant (Ballaugh), Lee Dawson and Tony Hart (South Ramsey), and Bernard Thackrah and Mike Skelly (Port St Mary/North Ramsey).
Losing out in the semi-finals were home greeners Dickie Watson and John Kneen along with Derek Cadamy & Dave McCabe (Port Erin/Port St Mary).
The final was home greeners John Keenan & John Maddrell versus the Peel combination of Harry Kelly and Andy Kennish. The two John’s picked up two three’s and a two at the beginning of the game, only for Harry and Andy to almost peg them back before the home greeners got the jack back to win 21-16 to ensure it was a win for John Keenan and John Maddrell.
The presentations were made by Competition Secretary Richard Faragher, on behalf of the sponsor Bry Radcliffe, who thanked the club members for organising such a good event thanks especially to the ladies in the kitchen. In his speech John Maddrell thanked Richard Faragher for running the competition together with the players for supporting the event and the members of Ballaugh for helping run the event.
Jenny Moore Crowned Manx Champion
Ladies Manx Championship Winner 2019
Jenny MooreThe weather was not kind to the twenty-two ladies who gathered at Onchan on Saturday 29th. June to contest the Manx Championship. Starting dull and misty the afternoon produced some short, heavy showers and a brief thunderstorm.
On the green the match of note in the preliminary round saw Norma Cowell take on Margaret Tasker, and keep with her up to 15-15, at which point Margaret took control coming through 21-15. The closest game in the last sixteen was a draw to savour as Clare Cooper took on reigning champion Janet Monk, and indeed Clare had the better start leading 14-12 after twenty ends causing Janet to dig deep and take control, allowing Clare just one more point, progressing to the quarter-finals 21-15.
In the top two quarter-finals, Rebecca Leece was in dominant form against Elaine Moore, while Lynda Cadamy had to work hard to overcome Debbie Leece, pulling out all the stops to win 21-15 in a game which had been nip and tuck up to 15-15
The third quarter-final saw seven times champion, Janet Monk, up against two times winner, Jenny Moore. The two ladies stayed together, 6-6,10-10 etc. up to 15 across. Janet, winning the next four ends, giving her a 19-15 lead before Jenny regained control of the jack and did not relinquish it again.
Lil Smith and Lyn Bolton also had a ding-dong battle with the early skirmishes seeing them level at 7-7. Lil then had the advantage to lead 14-11 before Lyn regrouped to go 17-14 up. The next three ends saw Lil get to 19 first, but, regaining the jack, Lyn ran out a 21-19 winner.
Quarter-finals: Lynda Cadamy 21, Debbie Leece 15; Rebecca Teare 21, Elaine Moore 6; Jenny Moore 21, Janet Monk 19; Lyn Bolton 21, Lil Smith 19.
In the semi-finals, Rebecca had the better start, leading 9-2 after eight ends, but Lynda moved up a gear and after fifteen ends was only one behind at 9-10. With Rebecca then racing to 18-10, Lynda tried to stage a come-back, winning another three ends, but had to bow out 21-14.
It was a similar story in the other semi, with Jenny sprinting to a 10-3 lead after ten ends. Lyn is made of stern stuff and fought her way back to 15-15, but could only score one more point as her opponent progressed to the final 21-16.
Throughout the afternoon there had been some excellent bowling and the final was no exception. Once again Jenny was quick off the blocks, leading 12-4 after eleven ends. Rebecca then scored three twos and two singles in the next six ends to get to within two points of Jenny, but could only manage one more two before Jenny took the Championship 21-14. Both finalists should be congratulated on their performances.
Heather Horsburgh thanked all those who had entered and the spectators who had come along to support the event. Thanks also went to the Onchan Club for the use of their facilities, and their members for their help during the afternoon.
She particularly thanked Ann Gale for her continued sponsorship of the event, before asking her to present the prizes.
Ann said it was a pity that more people did not enter this event, but that aside, and despite the weather, she had an enjoyable afternoon watching some bowling of a very high standard.
Town Stun Peel
After a week’s break of league action In Ellan Vannin Fuels Division one Castletown A pulled off the shock of the week to defeat Peel A 3-7 away from home. Whilst Peel were missing three regulars they would still have been favourites to win against the town men who have struggled this season. Winning for Peel were Andy Kennish, David Proctor and Tommy McMeiken. Responding for the visitors were David Quayle, Peter Oates, Juan Kermode, whilst Jordan Drewett was no doubt keen to get one over his pal Tom Kelly with a 21-12 win and captain Ian Watson holding his nerve to win 21-19 against Gary Smith.
Onchan A hosted South Ramsey A at the Park on a superb playing surface. The home team took a deserved 7-3 win with wins from Peter Slinger, Phil Kerruish, Matthew Quirk, Frank Watson with Jordan Cain working hard get over the line 21-19 against visiting captain Glynn Hargraves after recovering from a 9-15 deficit to go 19-15 ahead thanks to winning five ends with doubles with Hargraves killing two ends in between. Hargraves got back in to level up at 19-19 only for Cain to get back in and play two good bowls on the last end which weren’t beaten. Winning for the visitors were Alan Moore, James Teare whilst David Bradford had a tough game against Kevin Quirk with Bradford winning 21-18. The result lifts Onchan up to second place just one point ahead of their opponents on the night.
Marown A continued their march towards their first league title since 2013 with a 9-1 home win over Douglas A, however the visitors put up a good fight with Keith Rise beating Matthew Keggen 21-9, whilst Mervin Sayle lost out 17-21. Stuart Garrett & Ian Moore just lost out 19-21 to Neil Withers and Paul Kelly respectively. The Crosby men have a bit of breathing space with a 10 point lead, will be keen to keep their rivals at arm’s length.
South Ramsey B hosted Port St Mary A on a vastly improved green and came away happy with a 6-4 home win thanks to taking the two points aggregate for the chalks (132-130). Winning for the home team were captain Ben Dugdale who won 21-6 against Tim Williams with Dugdale getting back into form following time out with a back injury this season. Tony Dugdale, George Brew and Austin Hart also won, whilst Edward Carlyle just missed out 20-21 against Rob Cooil. Also winning for the visitors were Wayne Roberts, Trevor Quayle and Dave McCabe.
Noble’s A also took a 6-4 home win over Marown B with all but one game finishing 21-14 or above. Glenn Boland won 21-7 against James Kelly for the home team which helped secure the aggregate (147-143). Also winning for Noble’s were Reginald Temporaza & David Quayle who both won 21-19 against Brian Kelly and John Kelly respectively, with David Pease also winning. Responding for the visitors were the young duo of Harry Barton and Luke Hyland, backed up by the experienced Peter Kelly and Juan Killip.
North Ramsey A hosted Castletown B at Mooragh Park with the home team taking the spoils 8-2, however it could been a whitewash with Bob Clark just winning 21-19 against Bryan Corner, whilst Aaron Richardson held off Steve Walmsley 21-18.
In division two top of the table Ballaugh A continued their charge towards gaining promotion following their 8-2 win over near rivals Onchan B to extend their lead to 12 points.
Finch Hill A remain in second place on 64 points following their 7-3 home win over Peel C, with Onchan B just two points behind.
Peel B are six points behind Finch Hill and their cause wasn’t helped this week after sacrificing three players to their A team as they slipped to a 3-7 win over Marown C who are on course to stay in division two.
Port St Mary B disposed of Ballaugh B 9-1 with the Ballaugh men looking odds on for an immediate return to division three sitting 12 points adrift of the nearest team above them.
Port Erin A had a worthwhile trip to Mooragh Park taking a 3-7 win against North Ramsey B, whilst Douglas B secured a 7-3 home win over Port St Mary C.
In division three, South Ramsey C showed no mercy to their opponents with a 10-0 win over Douglas C to extend their lead to what looks an unassailable 21 points.
Noble’s B sit in second place following their 9-1 home win over Castletown C, whilst Finch Hill B are just one point behind Noble’s in third with a game in hand following their 3-7 away win to Onchan C.
Ballaugh C won convincingly 8-2 at home to South Ramsey D, with Peel D just losing out in the closest match in division three 4-6 against Noble’s C by just five chalks (141-146). Ryan Tate continues to impress with a superb 21-17 win over the experienced Roy Murphy.
As we reach the Rayner Shield quarter finals the top teams have not yet come up against each other, with Marown A winning 8-0 at home to Finch Hill A, Onchan A winning 5-3 away to Ballaugh A with young Patrick Grant impressing against Jordan Cain only to eventually lose out 15-21.
South Ramsey A won 7-1 at home to Castletown B with the lone winner Bob Clark playing his part in what was a superb game to watch for the spectators. Clark took a 14-3 lead against David Bradford with both players playing good length bowls and hitting strikes throughout the game. Bradford managed to get ahead at 18-17 with some excellent bowls in the corners only for Clark to get back in to level at 18-18. Bradford scored a single with Clark replying with a double to go 20-19 ahead. On the next end Bradford counted one to once again level the game at 20-20. On the last end the counting bowl changed four times with Bradford playing a good lead, Clark put his first bowl even closer. After considering his options Bradford played through with weight to take out Clark’s bowl cleanly to once again count one for game. Clark then played a perfect bowl to secure a 21-20 win in a game of the highest standard.
The shock of the Rayner Shield came on Thursday evening with South Ramsey B hosting Peel A with the visitors fancied to take a place in the semis. The match ended in a 4-4 draw on games meaning the result was decided on chalks with the home team taking this by just four chalks (144-140). The winners for the home team were Edward Carlyle, Christian Caley, Tony Dugdale & Ben Dugdale, whilst the players who lost all scored vital points to help secure the win. Winning for Peel were Stevie Kelly, Tommy McMeiken, Gary Smith & Tom Kelly.
In the Rayner Plate quarter finals Port St Mary A progressed to the semis with a 36 point win over Onchan B (170-134), Port Erin B scraped home by seven chalks against Finch Hill B (191-184), Onchan C were well beaten at home by Marown C (173-214) whilst Peel D had a comfortable win by 28 points over Ballaugh C (222-194).
Castletown A Take Control
Following the break for Festival week, Ladies Night League bowling resumed. South Ramsey had to sit out from this round of matches allowing the rest of their title rivals to catch up. Castletown A and Nobles are two of those rivals and faced each other, whilst Port St Mary A hosted their B team.
Castletown A has been dominant in recent weeks winning their last six matches to an average of 172, Nobles also have been in fine form averaging 173 over the same period. The match was tight on games ending 5-4 however, Castletown players Kath Kinley and Tracy Moore both won to single figures helping them to an overall 20 chalk victory 160-140 and a seventh win on the trot. The result also propelled Castletown A to the top of the league ahead of Nobles who sit 21 points behind.
Port St Mary A sits third, 41 points behind Castletown, following their win over their B team. Mavis Franks, Jayne Kneem, Margaret Tasker and Chris Price all won to single figures helping PSM to a strong 73 chalk victory with the match ending 181-108 (6-3).
Marown took on Port Erin with the home side performing well winning six games to come out on top 169-136 (6-3). Philippa Taylor top scored winning her game 21-3.
Peel Sunset was visited by Douglas who, unfortunately, were a player short on the night. Peel won six games including two games 21-20 and with the walkover built up a comfortable lead over their opponents. The match ended 179-140 (6-3).
The final match from Friday was between Onchan and Ballaugh. The home side had the upper hand in games winning five of the nine but ended up on the wrong side of the result losing 139-152 (5-4).
Next week is the final matches of the first half of the season and Castletown A will hope for another strong home performance against Marown to keep them at the summit of the league.
Dorothy Piearce Ladies’ Pairs Qualifier
There was an entry of nine pairs for the Dorothy Piearce Ladies’ Doubles Qualifier played at Finch Hill on Sunday 23rd. June. The fine weather of the previous days had departed, but the rain stayed away until the event was concluded.
There was one preliminary round game, and Finch Hill players Sue Collier and Norma Cowell found themselves facing the formidable pairing of Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish. The South Ramsey pair raced to 20-2 but their opponents did not give in scoring a 3, followed by a 2, in the next two ends to finish with a score of 7.
The first quarter-final was a closer affair than the score might suggest with seventeen of its twenty-two ends being won by a single. However, on this occasion, Jenny and Fiona proved too strong for the Noble’s pairing of Clare Cooper and Rebecca Teare, moving through to the semi-finals 21-7. Lynda Cadamy and Mary Alderson struggled to come to terms with either the green or their opponents. A powerful performance by Chris Price and Kellie Maddrell saw them progress 21-3.
Shannon McMullan, who had reached the final of the junior girls event the day before, was joined by her sister, Madison, to take on Iris Kermode and Pauline Cowley. Youth won out by a score of 21-7.
In contrast, the other quarter-final, which pitted Philippa Taylor and Joyce Ogden against Kim Hargraves and Elaine Moore, was the match of the afternoon. Kim and Elaine sprinted to a 10-0 lead after just four ends, scoring a 4 and a 3. From that point on Philippa and Joyce had the better of it scoring 18 points to their opponents 11, but unfortunately they had left themselves too high a mountain to climb and had to bow out 21-18.
In the first semi-final Jenny and Fiona played Chris and Kellie. The pairs won ten ends each, but with Jenny and Fiona having a four and a three, with only two singles they scored 21 to their opponents 13. Kim and Elaine faced Shannon and Madison, and were faced with quite a struggle in the first half, the younger pair being 9-8 up after nine ends. However experience told and Elaine and Kim did not relinquish the jack again, progressing to the final 21-9.
In the final, an all South Ramsey affair, Kim and Elaine shot out of the starting blocks to lead 14-5 after eleven ends. The pairs were evenly matched over the rest of the game, but Jenny and Fiona were unable to make any inroads into the lead.
Elaine and Kim took the match 21-12 and will be representing the island in the Dorothy Piearce Memorial Pairs competition at Ashton in Makerfield on Saturday 10th. August.
Thanks go to Finch Hill for the use of their green and facilities, and also the help given by their members during the afternoon.
Junior Girls Merit Qualifier
There was a magnificent entry of fifteen for the Junior Girls Merit Qualifier held at Marown on Saturday 22 June. The weather was beautiful and the standard of play during the morning confirmed that the future of ladies’ bowls on the island is in safe hands.
Several of the girls were competing for the first time and it is to be hoped they enjoyed themselves. Spectators were impressed by all the girls, and it was commented by one that they were a splendid advertisement for the game.
In the first round, Grace Quayle and Emily Cooper had a ding-dong battle, keeping level to 17-17, when Grace won three ends on the trot to win 21-17. Another close game saw Grace Gawne get off to a flyer, leading 15-6 before Bailey McMullan pulled back to 12-16. Even at 20-14 Bailey persevered, before Grace eventually came through 21-16.
Grace Cooper, Melody Marsh and Lily Gawne did well to reach double figures against more experienced players, while, although falling just short with scores of 9, Aalish Moore and Megan Hargraves can feel pleased with their performances – the score doesn’t always tell the full story !
The star quarter-final match pitted Rebekah Kelly against Aalish Howarth. Rebekah had the better start, taking a 14-11 lead before Aalish pulled back to 15-15, then 17-17. Rebekah reached 20 first but we all know how elusive that last point can be, Aalish progressing to the semi-finals 21-20.
Grace Quayle faced Bethany Kennish, and put up a terrific performance against her more experienced opponent before losing out 21-15, While Shannon McMullan eased through 21-11 against Grace Gawne.
In the last quarter-final Victoria Johnson had a tussle with her younger team – mate, Lacey McMullan, before coming through 21-16.
The semi-finals saw the experience of Shannon and Bethany prevail as they each came through 21-7 to meet in the final.
Semi-finals: Bethany Kennish 21, Aalish Haworth 7; Shannon McMullan 21, Victoria Johnson 7
Bethany got off to the better start in the final, racing to an 18-9 lead, at which point Shannon started a come -back but had left herself too much to do, Bethany winning 21-15.
Bethany won the Wilson Trophy, and will be representing the island at Heswall. on the Wirral, on Saturday 7th. September.
Thanks go to the parents and spectators for their support, and their help.
Thanks also go to the Marown Club for the use of their green and facilities.