IOMIBA

Saturday 2^nd February saw the culmination of three weeks qualifying and a few anxious moments as we came to the Finals Day of the Isle of Man Indoor Bowling Association Championships at the NSC Bowls Hall.

The afternoon started with the Triples Final between Wayne Roberts, Edward Carlyle and Ann Gale who were taking on father and son Tony and Ben Dugdale and Steve Cook. This game saw some great bowls from all players  but with both Tony and Ben Dugdale playing exceptional bowls when required and being ably assisted by Steve Cook it was Tony, Ben and Steve who ran out the winners.

This was followed by the Pairs which saw the Commonwealth Games pairing of Clive and Mark McGreal play Tony Epifani and Eric Stanley. The latter pair started strongly but the experience of Clive and Mark McGreal saw them come through and despite good bowls from their opposition it was the McGreals who became 2019 Pairs Champions.

We then came to the Ladies and Men’s Singles Finals which were run alongside one another and the good number of bowls followers who gathered were treated to a great display of bowling from all those competing.

 

In the Ladies Final we saw great consistency from Paula Garrett showing just how much she has improved over the last couple of years although when she got the chance her opponent Win Collister tested her at times at a longer length. It was not to be for Win however in a game that was played in a friendly and sporting manner and Paula’s consistency saw her become the 2019 Isle of Man Bowling Association Ladies Champion.

The Men’s Final saw the experienced Clive McGreal take on a relative newcomer in Dave McCabe and Clive took the first set comfortably showing all the skill and experience that he has. In the second set however we saw Dave fight back with some great bowls and he really tested Clive at times. At the end however it was Clive McGreal who took both sets and became 2019 Isle of Man Indoor Bowls Champion but Dave McCabe has to get a mention for the way that he has practiced and improved through the season.

So after a great afternoons bowling the 2019 Isle of Man Indoor Bowling Champions are;

Men’s Singles          Clive McGreal

Ladies Singles          Paula Garrett

Pairs                           Clive and Mark McGreal

Triples                       Tony and Ben Dugdale and Steve Cook.

 

With the Championships concluded we now get back to a full League programme and I have included a quick recap of the leaders in each League.

Premier Pairs                       Dragons

Morning League                 Villans

First Division Pairs              Orange Peelers

Premier Teams                   Dragons

First Division Teams          Maxums

Second Division Pairs        Odds and Bobs 2.

The finals of the Club Championships take place tomorrow, Saturday 2nd February.

The action kicks off at 12.30pm with the Triples’ final, followed by the Pairs’ final at 2.30pm. The Men’s and Ladies’ finals will both start at 4.30pm.

Timings for the pairs and singles are approximate, as it will depend on how long the previous matches take.

Triples Final

Ben and Tony Dugdale, and Steve Cook v Wayne Roberts, Edward Carlyle, and Ann Gale.

Pairs Final

Clive and Mark McGreal v Tony Epifani and Eric Stanley.

Ladies’ Singles

Win Collister v Paula Garrett.

Men’s Final

Clive McGreal v Dave McCabe.

With the Singles Championship Finalists already being known the Championships continued last week with the Pairs Competition which saw some very keenly contested games.

After the early stages we saw the Semi Finals take place on Thursday 24^th January between two Father and Son pairings with Tony and Ben Dugdale taking on Clive and Mark McGreal with the latter pair winning a place in the Final.

The other match saw Tony Epifani and Eric Stanley get the better of Mike Ashmole and Peter Greenlees to make a date with the McGreals on 2^nd February for the Final.

The Triples Competition started on Monday 28^th January and at the time of going to press the Semi Finals were still to be played, these being Phil Smith, Win and Archie Collister v Wayne Roberts, Trevor Quayle and Eddie Carlyle with the second semi being David Quirk, Mike Ashmole and Peter Greenlees v Steve Cook and Tony and Ben Dugdale.

Finals Day is this Saturday 2^nd February and starts with the Triples at 12-30pm with the winners of the two matches above playing each other.

The timings for the next two Finals may be subject to change should the Triples take longer than expected to complete but are provisionally scheduled to start as follows;

The Pairs between Clive and Mark McGreal and Tony Epifani and Eric Stanley at 2-30pm.

The Ladies and Men’s Singles which will be played at the same time are scheduled for 4-30pm with the Ladies being between Win Collister and Paula Garrett and the Men’s Final is between Clive McGreal and Dave McCabe.

It is hoped that a there will be a good turnout of bowlers to support all Finalists in what I expect to be a great afternoons bowling.

The Ladies and Men’s Championship started on Monday 14^th January at the NSC and ran through until Friday 18^th January when it was played down to the last two of both Ladies and Men  with the Final taking place on Saturday 2^nd February when they will be held alongside the  Triples and Pairs Finals.

The opening round of the Men’s saw a couple of shocks as newcomer Brian Lindsay beat the experienced Jimmy Sansom on a sudden death one end play off after being level at the end of the match. The other shock of the night was James Teare beating the experienced Tony Epifani.

The week progressed with some great bowls and Thursday night was Quarter Final night and in the Ladies we saw Paula Garrett beat newcomer Ina Scott and another newcomer to the indoor sport Dee Lewis beat the experienced Bernice McGreal. Win Collister beat Win Kewley and defending Champion Muriel Cain got through without playing as her opponent unavoidably had to withdraw from the competition.

In the Men’s Quarter Finals we saw Shaun Seal beat Phil Smith and Clive McGreal again playing great bowls beat his son Mark. Dave McCabe beat David Quirk and Peter Wilcox lost to Ben Dugdale.

The Semi Finals were played on Friday with one of our most senior players Win Collister  playing reigning Champion Muriel Cain and it was the ageless Win who played some great bowls to beat Muriel. Dee Lewis took on Paula Garrett and despite a valiant effort from Dee it was Paula who took the win.

The Men’s Semi Finals saw a close encounter between Ben Dugdale and the very experienced Clive McGreal and in the first set Clive was three down at the start of the last end but managed to score three and draw the game. Clive then went on to win the second game and qualify for the Final. The other ‘Semi’ saw an excellent match between Dave McCabe and Shaun Seal which ended with Dave winning by edging a dramatic sudden death one end playoff.

This then means that on Saturday 2^nd February that the Isle of Man Indoor Bowling Association Singles Finals will be, in the Ladies Win Collister v Paula Garrett and the Men’s Clive McGreal v Dave McCabe.

Here’s the current situation and scores in the 2019 Men’s Championship draw:

2019 Championship Draw MENS

Here’s the current situation and scores in the 2019 Ladies Championship draw:

2019 Championship Draw LADIES

The Championships start on Monday with the singles competitions.

The schedule of play can be found here:
2019-championships-singles-order-of-play/

The Men’s draw can be found here: 2019-championships-mens-draw/

And the ladies draw here:
2019-championships-ladies-draw/