News: Reports
Three Teams level on points at the top.
The end of the Bowling Festival which saw a break in the Over 60’s Fixtures also ended a run of good weather with so many fixtures being affected and it has taken some time to catch up on the postponed matches.
As we went into Game 21 we saw Ballaugh A travel to play North Ramsey B and it was the team from Ballaugh that played out a 6-2 win while back in Ballaugh their B Team held South Ramsey to a 4-4 draw.
North Ramsey A took an 8-0 win away at Douglas B in atrocious conditions at the Villa.
Peel Sunset B hosted Castletown B in a close encounter and although it ended in a draw both teams had a chance to get a win in some very close games.
Douglas A travelled to Crosby to play Marown and once more this was a tight match with Marown eventually running out 5-3 winners whilst in an all South contest Port St Mary A beat Port Erin 7-1.
Onchan A hosted Nobles A and took a 5-3 win while back at Nobles Park the Nobles B Team played out a 4-4 draw with Port St Mary B.
League leaders Castletown A beat Finch Hill 7-1 and finally Peel Sunset C lost 8-0 to their Club’s A Team.
Game 22 saw the League Leaders Castletown A travel to play Onchan B and come back with an 8-0 victory whilst the Onchan A Team took a 7-1 victory at Finch Hill.
Peel Sunset A had a comfortable 6-2 win against Ballaugh B but the Peel C Team were not so successful losing 7-1 away to Ballaugh A.
North Ramsey A had a 5-3 win over a strong Port St Mary A side, a result which has to be a setback for the men from the South who have been pushing for a top position this Year.
At the ‘Villa’ Douglas A put up a strong performance to beat Nobles B 8-0 on a Green that was running well despite all the recent rain.
Peel Sunset B went down 5-3 at South Ramsey despite a great effort by Jeff Wilson for Peel who eventually lost 21-20 to Roger Thomas.
Unfortunately as we came to July 4th and Game 23 we still had more rain but despite this only one game was postponed with this being Castletown A against Port Erin.
Onchan A hosted Ballaugh A at the Park and it was the home side that got a 5-3 win while Onchan B must have forgotten to say hello to the Fairies at the Fairy Bridge as they travelled South as they were beaten 8-0 by Port St Mary A.
Peel Sunset A had a successful trip through the Central Valley to beat Marown 5-3 while the Peel Sunset B Team had an equally successful trip to Port St Mary B where they won 6-2.
In the ‘Capital’ Douglas B lost 6-2 to Castletown B and Nobles B beat South Ramsey 5-3.
At the Mooragh Park North Ramsey B lost 5-3 to Finch Hill whilst a little farther South Ballaugh B lost 5-3 to Douglas A in a match that saw some close games.
Game 24 saw better weather and provided better playing conditions and at a sunny Onchan Park the strong Onchan A Team beat Douglas A 7-1 to maintain their challenge for the League Title.
Both of the Ballaugh Teams played Clubs from the South and Ballaugh B beat Castletown B 5-3 at Ballaugh while their A Team drew 4-4 at Port St Mary A.
Castletown a once again sent out the message that they were strong contenders to win the League with an 8-0 victory over Nobles A at Castletown.
Douglas B hosted Port Erin in a match that ended ‘all square’ at 4-4 and at Crosby Marown beat Port St Mary B 6-2.
North Ramsey A travelled to Nobles B where they took a 6-2 win while their B Team were beaten 6-2 at the Mooragh Park by Peel Sunset A.
Peel Sunset B were beaten 5-3 by Onchan B and the Peel Sunset C Team were also beaten 5-3 by South Ramsey.
So after Game 24 we have three Teams level on points at the top, those being Cstletown A, Peel Sunset A and Onchan A.
Port St Mary Win Jean Kelly
Jean Kelly Memorial Winners 2017
Back: Wendy Kennuagh, Chris Price, Kelly Maddrell-Reeve, Margret Tasker, Ann Maddrell, Trish Bull, Val MacFarlane, Win CollisterFront: Jayne Kneen, Katy Maddrell
Port St Mary Ladies have won the Jean Kelly Memorial Competition for a fourth time beating Nobles by 17 chalks 178-161.
For once the weather suited the occasion as the two teams, Port St Mary and Nobles, met at Onchan on Thursday 6 July for the final of the Jean Kelly Memorial competition. It was gratifying to see so many spectators there, enjoying the evening sunshine and some fine bowling.
There were some very close games and when the first block of five games came off, Port St Mary had a narrow lead of four points once Nobles’ handicap was taken into account. The last four games were shared with Nobles having good wins from Rebecca Teare and Debbie Leece, but wins from Tricia Bull and Chris Price, to single figures, gave the victory to Port St Mary 178-161.
The main difference was the winning team’s consistency, with each of their players scoring at least 16 points. The other winner for Nobles was Clare Cooper, while Sylvia Kennaugh reached 19 against Jayne Kneen and Paula Firth lost out 20-21 to Wendy Kennaugh.
Association vice-president, Sue Peach, thanked the two teams for giving us such a good match, and also thanked all those who had come along to support the event, before introducing Moore Kelly, who sponsors the event so generously every year.
Moore thanked his family and friends for providing the food for the buffet, which was much appreciated by players and spectators alike. He then introduced his daughter-in-law, Ruth Kelly, to present the prizes.
Runners Up – Nobles
Front: Sylvia Kennuagh, Lisa Boland, Paula Firth, Debbie Leece, Lin Ruscoe
R & A Grimshaw Pairs
R & A Grimshaw Pairs Winners 2017
Jordan Cain & Matthew QuirkOn what turned out to be a glorious Tynwald Day at Marown, the R & A Grimshaw pairs was won by young duo of Jordan Cain and Matthew Quirk from Onchan, they beat fellow Onchan player Phil Kerruish and his partner from Douglas Paul Kelly 21-14.
In the semi-final Jordan and Matthew beat Alan Moore and Nathan Cooil again 21-14, with Kevin Quirk and Peter Slinger just losing out in the other closely fought semi-final 21-18.
The losing quarter-finalists were Jodan Drewitt and Dean Kinley, John Kennish and Glynn Hargraves, Bernie McPhee and Steve Crampton and Bod & Glenn Boland
An excellent entry of 33 pairs entered the competition and the trophy was presented by the hard working greenkeeper at Marown, Arnie Withers.
C Tarleton Hodgson Ladies’ League Friday 30 June
Nobles were top scorers in the C Tarleton Hodgson sponsored ladies’ league on Friday 30 June, dropping just three points. The two winners for Onchan were Libby Andrade, coming through 21-19 against Lisa Boland, and Marilyn Ellison who was taken all the way by Joyce Ogden before taking the game 21-20.Another game to go all the way saw Clare Cooper edge out Maureen Payne. South Ramsey and Castletown also took seven games, but with Helen Martin and Janet Monk having good wins to single figures, as did four of their players, South Ramsey had to settle for a relatively moderate total score while, despite Edwina Reid having a win to single figures for Purt le Moirrey, Castletown managed to pass the 170 point mark. Port St Mary won 6-3 on games and with all of their players scoring 17 points or more dropped only ten points, the winners for Ballaugh being Jane Teare, Barbara Graham and Christine Macdonald. Peel‘s visit to Port Erin saw them come out second best , losing 4-5 on games and by a deficit of 7 points. How well-matched the two teams are is highlighted by looking at their performances this season where they have ended level on points over their two games. Marown travelled to Douglas, winning 5-4 on games, but with Philippa Taylor and Rosie Winckle winning to single figures they came through by a comfortable points margin.
Halfway Stage
After a week off for the festival which also marked the halfway stage of the seasons fixtures usual business was resumed in the Ellan Vannin Fuels sponsored Mens league.
As far as South Ramsey A were concerned it was positively usual business resumed, as they hosted Douglas A and handed out a 10-0 defeat to the visitors, the charge once again led by John Kennish with a 21-4 defeat of Mike Cain, it is hard to look beyond South Ramsey when forecasting champions at this stage of the season, but as we all know bowls can be unpredictable at times.
Marown are the closest challengers and made no mistake in keeping the points gap down to 11, as they also had a 10-0 victory at home against Ballaugh A, Colin Kelly led the way with a 21-1 demolition of Bob Unsworth the win also included single figure victories for Paul Dunn, Neil Withers, Matthew Keggen and Phil Kelly showing they are still formidable opponents and will close the gap should the leaders falter.
Onchan were lying in fourth spot before making the trip to Mooragh Park for this week’s fixture and would have been looking to secure enough points to overtake Peel A who are on their free week. Onchan came away with a 7-3 victory which was enough to move them up to third, Matthew Quirk was top performer for the visitors with a 21-8 defeat of Garry Merrill but it was a creditable performance by the home side to secure 3 points which included a 21-19 victory for Tony Smart over Kevin Quirk and Steve Walmsey losing by one chalk.
Port St Mary A were at home to Castletown A and secured a 7-3 win, Trevor Quayle once again led the way for the home team with a 21-7 victory over Dave Hollingworth to maintain his impressive run of form, Derek Lewney turned in a great performance for the town with a 21-7 defeat of Juan Hargraves.
Port Erin A were the visitors against Castletown B and both are involved in a battle for points at the foot of the table, the match ended 6-4 to the visitors, Ron Williams 21-20 victory over David McCabe provided a vital point for Town that left both teams on 32 points at the end of the evening 6 points above bottom placed Douglas B, who in turn had a creditable 6-4 victory over South Ramsey B, again the importance of these points cannot be understated as they attempt to cling onto the teams above them.
Ladies’ Championship
Ladies Manx Championship Winner 2017
Shelley KennishThe IOM Ladies’ Championship, sponsored by Ann Gale and Dave McTaggart, took place at Nobles 1 on Saturday 1 July. The two main disappointments of the afternoon were the entry of 21 players, and the weather which was not at all appropriate for July. Although scheduled to take place over two days the entry meant it could be completed in one afternoon.
What the field lacked in quantity it made up for in quality and there were some very close matches particularly in the latter stages.
Kim Hargraves had a tough match against Julie Reilly in the last 16, winning 21-20 to reach the quarter- finals where she met Paula Firth. Despite Kim getting off to a flyer and leading for most of the game, Paula’sgreater experience told as she pulled back from 17-20 down to win 21-20.
In the first quarter-final, Shelley Kennish seemed to be running away with her match against Lynda Cadamy, leading 19-8 after 18 ends, at which point Lynda moved up a gear pulling back to 19-20, but was unable to keep it going as Shelley took the next end to move into the semi-finals 21-19.
The other two quarter-finals were also evenly matched with Elaine Moore and Helen Martin being level at9-9 after13 ends, from which point Helen had the edge to win 21-15, while Gill Dixon took some time to get going against Janet Monk, at one point being 15-7 down. Although she had the advantage over the final ends she was unable to make up the deficit, going down 21-15.
Quarter-finals: Shelley Kennish 21, Lynda Cadamy 19; Helen Martin 21, Elaine Moore 17; Janet Monk 21, Gill Dixon 15; Paula Firth 21, Kim Hargraves 20.
In the semi-finals Janet And Shelley upped their game, although neither of them got off to a good start. After 13 ends Helen was leading 11-7 at which point Shelley regained possession of the jack and refused to relinquish it, while Paula had the better of the early exchanges in her match against Janet, leading13-9 after 15 ends. Janet allowed her just one more point coming through to meet Shelley in the final 21-14.
Semi-finals; Shelley Kennish 21, Helen Martin 11; Janet Monk 21, Paula Firth 14.
In the final a cagey start saw the protagonists level at 6-6 after 7 ends, from which point Shelley was in the ascendancy. Although Janet got hold of the jack a few times, such was the standard of Shelley’s play, she was unable to keep hold of it and Shelley ran out to take the match, and title “Manx Champion”, 21-13.
Association president, Rosie Winckle, thanked Nobles for the use of their green and the help of their members, both in providing refreshments and round the green, and heather for running the sheet. Special thanks went to Ann and Dave for their sponsorship of the event
Girls’ Junior Championship
Junior Girls Merit Winner 2017
Bethany KennishThe sun shone at Marown on Sunday 2 July for the Junior Girls’ Championship, the winner of which qualifies to represent the island in the Ladies’ Junior Merit at Heswall in September.
There was an entry of six, who were drawn into two groups of three each group being played as a round -robin. The two group winners then played a final to find a winner.
The six girls who took part were Shannon and Madison McMullen, Aalish Howarth, Bethany Kennish, Rebekah Kelly and Katie-Lee Kelly, and all six acquitted themselves well. It was nice to see so many spectators who must have been impressed by the standard of play, and it bodes well for the future of the ladies’ game on the island to have such a talented group of youngsters coming through.
The two group winners were Rebekah Kelly and Bethany Kennish who the played a final match to 15.
The two girls were evenly matched and after 12 ends the score was 7-7, at which point Bethany was in the middle of a string of six ends which took her to 10-7. The ends were then shared with Rebekah unable to make up the deficit, Bethany coming through to retain her title 15-11.
Heather Horsburgh thanked Marown for the use of their green and their help with the event before introducing Association president, Rosie Winckle, to make the presentation.
Ladies’ over 60’s 27 and 29 June
Tuesday 27 June
The weather played its part in the Trend sponsored ladies’ over 60’s league with only one game taking place on Tuesday and three on Thursday.
Mooragh Park made the long journey down to Breagle on Tuesday, and must have wondered was it worth it as conditions can not have been easy, and both teams are to be applauded for going ahead with the game. The visitors had one winner in Moira Anderson who scuppered the home side‘s hopes of a full house..
Thursday 29 June
The weather again took its toll on Thursday with only three matches taking place. It was also a morning where the home side did not come out on top in any of the games. Top scorers were Marown on their visit to Ballaugh, with five winnere the lone winner for the home side being Jane Teare. Mary Simmonds almost added a second game, reaching 19 against Mary Alderson. Onchan and Castletown had a good tussle with a win to single figures for each side, courtesy of Lynda Clarke and Joy Stephens. The away side won 4-2 on games although several of the games could have gone either way. Breagle completed a good week with a 4-2 win at Douglas, Gwen Tuck winning to single figures as did Moire Turner for the home side.
Cain Cup
Cain Cup Winner 2017
On the day his daughter, Shelley, won the Ladies Championship the virtually unstoppable John Kennish added Castletown’s Cain Cup to his tally of six open victories already this summer, a tally that also includes the Manx Championship.
Playing a mixture of short and long lengths throughout the day the South Ramsey stalwart triumphed 21-9 over Marown’s Phil Kelly in the final having previously seen off teammate David Bradford in the semis while ‘Rambo’ Kelly had seen off Tom Kelly (Peel) in the other last four game.
From an impressive field of 37 entrants, with all games 21-up off scratch, the losers in the last eight were Peter Collins (Port St Mary), Glynn Hargraves (South Ramsey), Bernie Durcan from Port Erin and also Ian Watson from the home club.
The Castletown club also decided to hold some spot-prize competitions and the winners here were Dylan Marsh and Glenn Boland who shared the best Junior prize, John Ruscoe whose name was drawn out from all those players who lost in their first game while Durcan doubled up by taking the best over-60 prize. Kennish was also a double winner as he, not surprisingly, also won the best break prize – quite apt really for a man who is also the Island’s snooker champion.
At the end of the day the home chairman Hilary Kermode combined with club treasurer Linda Richman, who did a sterling job throughout in running the event, and between them they presented all the prizes.
Ladies in the June Festival
Another Festival week has come and gone with Manx ladies putting up good performances throughout the week, having representatives in the latter stages of most events.
The Ladies’ Tourism competition finished on Thursday morning, starting with the quarter-finals with Lil Smith, Janet Monk and Jenny Moore still in contention. Unfortunately Lil and Jenny were playing each other, while Janet faced Diane Harrison. Jenny and Janet faced each other in the semi-final with Jenny going through to meet Alexis Lunn-Gadd in the final. Despite winning the first three ends Alexis struggled to match Jenny who came through to win 21-11.
In the main event Helen Martin and Philippa Taylor both made it to finals day. It is fair to say that Helen was not at her best against Karen Galvin (the eventual winner) in the quarter-finals, while Philippa met Karen in the semi-final where she went out after a strong performance, reaching 17 against Karen and taking the trophy for the best performance by a Manx player.
Lyn Bolton lost in the semi-finals of the ladies consolation to eventual winner Veronica Lyon, while our ladies were well represented in the doubles events. In the semi-finals of the ladies’ doubles Chris Price and Julie Johnson (Stavely) put out Tricia Bull and Gill Simm (Kings Arms Hale) while Elaine Moore and Alexis Lunn-Gadd (OFH) came through against Paula Gamon and Charlotte Buckley. In the final it was Elaine and Alexis who came through to win 11-6. In the Mixed doubles the winning pair contained another Manx player as Janet Monk won with her partner, Kevin Shaw (Westhoughton).