News: Reports
Nobles Duo Retain Title
Nobles held their ladies doubles competition on Sunday with a field of 13 pairs competing. The games were played on Nobles Number 2 which was in good condition.
The final was contested between the home duo of Clare Cooper/Rebecca Teare and Alison Keggen/Paula Garrett. The winners were Clare and Rebecca who won 21-14 taking the title for the second year running.
In the semi-final stage Clare and Rebecca came through a close battle with Elaine Moore and Kim Hargraves winning 21-20 whilst Alison and Paula defeated Paula Firth and Lin Ruscoe 21-16.
Treasurer for Nobles Bowling Club, Wendy Leece presented the prize money and trophy to the winners and thanked everyone for their help during the competition.
Six Wins North And South
Perfect weather, with warm sunshine and a gentle breeze, contributed to some lovely friendly games at the start of the week.
In the south Port St Mary A were the hosts for a visit from Mooragh Park B The home team were in top form and with the sun on their backs and a fast running green they won all six games meanwhile in the north, South Ramsey romped home with 6 wins against Port St Mary B.
Marown also had a good win when they visited the Villa playing Douglas B and winning 5 games 75-123 (1-5)
Ballaugh were at home to Nobles but unfortunately were a player short, however on a tricky green Brenda Bowyer and Carol Holt won 2 games for the home side and finished with 86 chalks for Ballaugh against 115 for Nobles (2-4)
Mooragh Park A had a close match against visiting side Douglas A. 2 close games and 3 good wins gave the home side the edge with a final score of 101-84 (3-3).
In the other matches Port Erin A played Castletown but lost 88-108 (2-4) and Onchan A played Port Erin B and won 104-66 (4-2).
On Thursday a very close match took place between Marown at home to Onchan A. Philippa Taylor, Shirley Wheelan, and Margaret Scarffe all had good wins but the visitors also had 3 wins by Maureen Payne, Lynda Clarke and Marilyn Ellison, however the scales were tipped in favour of the home side who won by 6 chalks 99-93(3-3)
Following the shock defeat of Castletown at Ballaugh in the Night league last week it was a convincing win for Castletown’s over 60’s this week when Ballaugh paid them a visit. Unfortunately Ballaugh were a player short and Castletown, who are currently second in the league, gave a very strong performance and won 126-51 (6-0).
Nobles and Douglas A had a local derby with Sue Caley, Brenda Williams, Wendy Cowin and Moire Turner all winning their games for Douglas A but Viv Cook and Paula Firth won their games for Nobles with Lin Ruscoe and Sylvia Kennaugh playing to 19 and just losing out. Finally Douglas A came away with the win 97-116 (2-4).
In the remaining matches home teams battled against tough opposition with the “home team advantage “ being of little use against strong and very often more experienced opponents.
Mooragh Park B lost against South Ramsey 46-119(1-5). Port St Mary B lost against Port Erin A 87-111 (2-4). Douglas B lost against Mooragh Park A 63-125 (1-5) and Port Erin B lost to Peel Sunset 88-102 (2-4).
Come on the B’s . Onwards and Upwards.
Ballaugh Cause Upset For Early Favourites
Ballaugh Ladies Team 2019
Back: Jane Teare, Barbara Graham, Elaine Fenton, Voirrey Oates, Ali Millard, Pat MasonFront: Cath Harvey, Brenda Bowyer, Gill Dixon
Missing: Shirley Watling, Christine MacDonald & Michelle Cubbon
Title contenders Castletown A suffered a shock defeat away to Ballaugh losing a close game by three chalks. Ballaugh have strengthened this season with the return of some experienced bowlers and won six games including Cath Harvey’s 21-8 win over Barbara Young, Elaine Fenton beating Amanda Lawler 21-17 and Barbara Graham winning a tight game 21-18 against Kath Kinley. Gill Dixon, Pat Mason and Brenda Bowyer also won for the home side. A big 21-3 win from Kim Foy and good wins from Ann Oates and Hannah Drewett helped to close the gap on chalks but the home side took the win from the early league leaders 156-153 (6-3).
Marown took on Peel Sunset and it was Marown who comfortably picked up their first win at home to Peel since 2011. The winners for Peel were Lynda Wilson, Joyce Kelly and Pat Robertson. Joyce Ogden and Rosie Winkle picked up single figure wins for Marown followed by good wins from Pat Withers, Shirley Whelan, Mary Alderson and Philippa Taylor. The result was 169-126 (6-3).
Champions Port St Mary welcomed Mooragh Park to their well running green and It was Port St Mary who picked up a high score from the up and coming team. The one win for Mooragh came from Janet Monk who beat Mavis Franks 21-12. Shannon McMullan played well but it was the experienced and previous Merit winner Ann Maddrell who crossed the line winning 21-19. Wendy Kennaugh and Caroline Parker battled hard and their game finished 21-18 to Wendy. Single figure wins from Jayne Kneen, Trish Bull, Chris Price and Lorna Brady-Glover restricted Mooragh’s final score with the match ending 180-102 (8-1).
South Ramsey continued their successful start to the season, remaining the only team undefeated, beating newcomers Castletown B. Mother and daughter Elaine and Jenny Moore remain two of the seven women with 100% records after the first four opening games. Sonya Mercer and Joy Stephens came the closest to a win for Castletown B but the Ramsey side proved to strong on the night. The match finished 79-189 (0-9).
Port St Mary B travelled the short distance to Port Erin. Port Erin’s Voirrey Curphey remains undefeated after beating Chris Holland in a close battle 21-19. There were some tight games on the night with home player Jean Thackrah beating Brenda Hawkard 21-19 and Port St Marys Wyn Collister defeating Linda Dawson 21-19. Caroline Whitehead, Lynda Cadamy and Carol Kaye won to single figures to extended Port Erin’s winning margin with the result ending 179-128 (7-2).
Nobles took on Douglas with the home side winning 8-1 on games. Wendy Cowin won for the away side beating Sonja Lees 21-11. The game of the night went to Clare Cooper and Paula Garrett who were locked in a nip and tuck battle until the last two ends with Clare taking the win 21-18. The match finished 179-83 (8-1).
This week sees the preliminary rounds of the Jean Kelly which includes club derbies between Port St Mary A vs B and Castletown A vs B. Unfortunately, Douglas have had to withdraw from the Jean Kelly giving South Ramsey a bye to the Quarter Finals.
Round five of fixtures for the night league continues on Friday and this week also sees the start of the Club Team Championship and Mixed Team Championship competitions.
All to Play For
We are now just two weeks into the 2019 season and Peel Sunset lead the way at the top of the league but following closely behind are Port St Mary A and South Ramsey and with less than 40 chalks separating the top three it is all to play for.
On Tuesday Port Erin A and Onchan A won all six games, on their home greens against Douglas A and Mooragh Park B. However Mooragh Park A enjoyed a better result at home to visiting team Ballaugh who unfortunately had to give a game away. Vicky Lloyd West, Julie Reilly, Ann Chapman and Maureen Lacey all won their games with a final score of 122-69 (5-1).
South Ramsey had another very close match this time at home against Nobles. Both teams won 3 of their games but the visitors lost out by 2 chalks. 94-92 (3-3).
In the other matches on Tuesday Port St Mary A won against Castletown 109-86 (4-2)
Peel Sunset won against Port St Mary B 122-92 (4-2) and Marown won against Port Erin B 122-90 (4-2).
Thursdays fixtures were played in lovely sunshine and produced another thrilling match when South Ramsey visited Castletown. The home side lost 91-102 (2-4).
Marown had another good win when visiting side Mooragh Park A made the short journey to Crosby. Mary Alderson, Philippa Taylor, Shirley Whelan, Celia Joughin and Margaret Scarffe all won their games with the final score 117-79 (5-1).
Port Erin B also had a good win against Douglas B with Joyce Ogden, Gwen Tuck, Steph Swift and Kay Primrose-Smith all winning their games. Unfortunately Douglas B were a player short . Final score was 124-56(5-1).
Port St Mary had a home derby with B playing A. Some very good players on both sides produced some good games. The B side secured 2 wins against 4 for the A side. 74-109.
The remaining matches were very close and each side won 3 games. Nobles against Port Erin A 102-95,and Douglas A against Ballaugh 103-87. Peel Sunset made the journey to Ramsey to play Mooragh Park B. The visitors won but Mooraghs Maureen Hamilton won her game for the home side giving a final score of 62-125 (1-5).
Elaine Moore had another good win, this time against Joy Stephen’s, and earlier in the week Elaine had more success in her game for South Ramsey in the match against Nobles when she won by 19 chalks. Both of these wins have secured her position at the top of the merit table but with just 5 matches played a lot can change as many top lady players settle into their games.
Moore Wins Pearl Kaighin Memorial Trophy
Pearl Kaighin Winner 2019
Bernard Kaighin & Jenny MooreOn Saturday the Ballaugh Bowling Club hosted the Pearl Kaighin Ladies singles and what a good day of bowls. With it being Easter the entry was down to of 24 the competition was still good
Bowing out in the quarter finals were Mary Alderson, Madison McMullin, Paula Firth and Mavis Franks. Losing semi-finalists were Lin Ruscoe and Shirley Corrin which left the final an all South Ramsey affair between Fiona Kennish and Jenny Moore. At the 13th end it was 14 across but Jenny moved ahead in singles to give the finals core 21-15.
The presentations were made by Bernie Kaighin who thanked the Club members for organising such a wonderful event thanks especially to the ladies in the kitchen and to Richard Faragher for running the competition together with the measurers and markers. In her speech Jenny thanked everyone involved with running the event.
Moore & Hargraves win Avant Amenity Mixed Doubles
Avant Amenity Mixed Doubles Winners 2019
South Ramsey pairing Glynn Hargraves & Elaine Moore pictured with sponsor Mike Atherton of Avant Amenity Photo: Norman KneenSaturday 13th April saw the staging of the Avant Amenity Mixed Doubles played on what many described as a superb playing surface on Douglas Bowling Club Green at the Villa Marina.
The conditions however could be described as challenging with a very strong and cold wind coming off the sea and the green running quickly for so early in the season.
With an entry of 31 pairs we saw some good early games and at the quarter final stage we saw Voirrey Curphey and Lee Dawson beat Derek Allen and Margaret Tasker 21-20, Stefan Kelly and Kim Hargraves beat Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly and Chris Price 21-20, Glynn Hargraves and Elaine Moore beat Lyn Bolton and Trevor Quayle 21-15 and Matthew and Alison Keggen took a 21-17 victory from Stuart and Paula Garrett.
The semi-finals then saw the Hargraves/Moore pairing win a very tough battle against Matthew and Alison Keggen to take the honours 21-20, whilst Stefan Kelly and Kim Hargraves defeated Voirrey Curphey and Lee Dawson 21-10.
The final was played in bitterly cold conditions, but with the green still running well it was Glynn Hargraves and Elaine Moore who put on a show of great bowls to take the win 21-9 from Kim Hargraves and Stefan Kelly.
At the presentation which was performed by Mike Atherton of Avant Amenity, Glynn thanked the sponsor and Douglas Bowling Club for staging the competition and remarked on the great condition of the green.
Castletown A Topple Champions
Following the first double week of fixtures, Castletown A lead the way at the top of the Ladies Night league following their wins over Champions Port St Mary A and Port Erin.
Castletown are always tough on their own green but despite winning six of the nine games they only managed to win the tie by six chalks underlining how close the sides are. Anne Oates, Kim Foy and Tracy Moore all came through close games to win 21-19, 21-18 and 21-17 respectively. Kath Kinley, Sue Peach and Hannah Drewett also won for the home side. Port St Mary’s three winners were Val Macfarlane, Margaret Tasker and Jayne Kneen who was the only player to win to single figures on the night. The final score was 163-157 (6-3).
Port St Mary B were visited by South Ramsey with the home side performing well winning four games to restrict the title challengers final score. Linda Dawson, Rita Callister, Wyn Collister and Lesley Coker won for the home side. Away wins for Sue Collier plus single figure wins for Elaine Moore, Jill Quayle, Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish gave South Ramsey the advantage winning 120-151 (4-5).
Onchan managed to win six games but ended up narrowly winning the match by a single chalk against Mooragh Park. Janet Monk and Helen Martin both won to single figures for Mooragh and with their other players pushing Onchan all the way just fell short losing 157-156 (6-3).
In the remaining matches on Wednesday Nobles won comfortably by 40 chalks away to Peel Sunset 137-177 (2-7), Port Erin defeated Ballaugh at Breagle Glen 151-132 (6-3) and Douglas won 164-125 (6-3) against Castletown B.
On Friday South Ramsey faced Nobles with these teams occupying 3rd and 4th places in the league last season. Elaine Moore, Lyn Bolton and Sue Collier won to single figures backed up with wins from Ann Gale, Kim Hargraves and Jenny Moore. Nobles managed three wins from Paula Firth, Clare Cooper and Sylvia Kennuagh. South Ramsey won the tie by 24 chalks 158-134 (6-3).
Marown, who sat out from the matches earlier in the week, travelled to face Douglas. Shirley Whelan, Rosemary Winckle, Pat Withers and Mary Alderson all won to single figures with Helen Withers and Joyce Ogden the other winners for the away side. Paula Garrett, Muriel Cain and Maureen Wilcox won for the home side but the final score was 124-157 (3-6) in favour of Marown.
Castletown A continued their dominant start to the season picking up a strong 186-123 (8-1) victory against Port Erin. Castletown were denied a full house by Voirrey Curphey who won 21-18 for the away side.
Peel Sunset bounced back from their defeat earlier in the week defeating Onchan 178-133 (7-2). Gill Clark, Shirley Corrin and Mary Moffatt performed well winning 21-5, 21-8 and 21-8 respectively. Dee Lewis and Joanne Kelly were the only winners for Onchan with Marylin Ellison just losing 21-20.
In the final matches from Wednesday Port St Mary B and Ballaugh collected their first wins of the season. Port St Mary B beat Castletown B 166-106 (7-2) and Ballaugh won 166-139 (6-3) against Mooragh Park.
Port St Mary A sat out from Fridays matches so drop from the top places in the league which are currently held by Castletown A, South Ramsey and Nobles.
Ladies’ British Merit Qualifier
Eight hardy souls turned up on a bitterly cold afternoon on Sunday 14 April at Finch Hill. They were battling for the right to represent the Island at the British Merit finals which will be taking place at St Helens on Saturday 13 July.
A pleasing number of spectators and supporters turned up to cheer their favourites on, and were treated to some fine bowling and competitive games.
Coming through the first round we had Clare Cooper knocking out team-mate Debbie Leece 21-10, Janet Monk getting the better of Alison Keggen 21-8, Kim Hargraves getting into double figures against Caroline Whitehead before losing out 21-12. The closest game of the round saw Fiona Kennish eventually see off last year’s winner, Lynda Cadamy 21-17.
In the semi-finals, Clare was in control, despite Fiona’ best efforts, moving into the final 21-12. Perhaps the most nail-biting match of the afternoon was between Janet Monk and Caroline Whitehead. After a cagey start which saw the players level at 7-7 after ten ends, Janet had a good run to lie 15-9 after fifteen ends. Caroline got back to 18-18, a 2 then giving Janet a 20-18 lead, but her opponent would not lie down and came through to win 21-20.
Caroline had another tough battle in the final, although she got off to a flyer, leading 19-10 after eighteen ends, then on to 20-13, at which point Clare started to find her length and begin to creep up on Caroline, getting back to 18-20, before the Port Erin player took the next end to win 21-18 and earn the right to represent the Island at St Helens in July.
Thanks go to Finch Hill for their help and the use of their facilities, and also the spectators who turned up to add to the atmosphere of the event.
A Thriller at the Villa
On Thursday Douglas A played a very close match against visiting team South Ramsey.
Jan Osbourne, Elaine Vincent and Brenda Williams all won their games for Douglas A but this wasn’t enough to clinch victory as South Ramsey also had three wins by Elaine Moore, Moira Anderson and Ann Gale. The final score was a one point victory for South Ramsey 105-106 (3-3). It really doesn’t get much closer than that.
In the other results on Thursday Mooragh Park A travelled south to play Port Erin B and secured a good win 75-125 (1-5); Port St Mary B lost to Onchan A 100-114 (2-4) and Castletown won against Peel Sunset 110-90 (4-2).
Mooragh Park B were at home to Douglas B . Chris Sims and Maureen Hamilton both won their games but unfortunately Mooragh were unable to field a full team and lost 94-110 (2-4).
Nobles were at home to Port St Mary A and secured a good win against a strong side 118-100 (4-2) and Ballaugh were at home to Port Erin A, Brenda Bowyer and Barbara Graham for the home side won their games but the visitors secured 4 wins and won the match 94-116 (2-4).
Meanwhile earlier in the week Port St Mary A and Marown both had clean sweeps against visiting sides Douglas A and Mooragh B with some close games and nail biting finishes on both greens.
Castletown were away to Onchan A and just piped Onchan to the podium by 2 chalks. Clear wins by Sue Peach and Barbara Young put the visitors ahead even though Onchan’s Maureen Payne, Wendy McDowell, Dee Lewis and Jean Quine all won their games. After a very close game the final score was Onchan A 95 Castletown 97 (4-2).
Peel Sunset were at home to Nobles with the home side winning 107-82 (4-2). Port St Mary B travelled to Douglas B. The visitors winning 4 games with the final score 90-100 (2-4).
Port Erin A travelled to Ramsey and had a convincing win against Mooragh Park A 77-109 (2-4).
Ballaugh visited South Ramsey who were prevented from a clean sweep by Elizabeth Morrison of Ballaugh who won her game. The final score was a good win for South Ramsey.
With only 3 matches played so far and some very close games it’s too early to make any predictions but one thing for sure is that there will be some great bowls played this season.
Hands Trophy
The Hands Trophy for the 2018 non-winners, which had to be held over from last year, took place on Saturday 6th April at South Ramsey. Perhaps due to it being so early in the season combined with the inclement recent weather there was a small, but select , entry of thirteen.
The day was sunny and players and spectators were surprised by the pleasant conditions which contributed to some fine bowling on show.
In the first semi-final Joyce Ogden and Lyn Bolton were neck and neck all the way with Joyce actually getting to 20 first before Lyn came through 21-20. In the other semi final, Margaret Tasker produced some good woods but Lynda Cadamy had an easier passage coming through 21-11.
In the final Lyn got off to a flyer reaching 13-6 before Lynda had a chance to blink. Lynda scored a 2 on the next end but was unable to stop Lyn winning with a final score 21-12.
Association Vice-president Heather Horsburgh thanked all those who had entered and also thanked the South Ramsey Club for the use of their facilities and also for providing the refreshments.