One of the biggest events on the bowls calendar, the Isle of Man June Bowls Festival, took place last week, with the event attracting more than 500 entries in both the men’s and women’s events.

As entries continue to improve, the weather from Wednesday to Friday produced perfect conditions for the visiting bowlers to bask in the sun and the spectators were treated to an entertaining finals day to cap off a superb week.

In the men’s event it was Callum Wraight (Llanrwst BC) who picked up his first June Isle of Man Festival win: despite having won the September Festival in 2021, the June title was the one he really wanted. Wraight now has all the top UK titles on his bowling CV.

Wraight took home the winner’s cheque for £3,200 and lifted the famous trophy as he beat local man Matthew Quirk (Onchan) 21-13.

The latter made a positive start by scoring on the first end in the final, then on the second end he was counting for two only for Wraight to kill the end with one of his renowned strikes.

A further single was scored by the Onchan man to lead 7-5 before Wraight got in on the following end with a perfect bowl to score his first point of the game.

Wraight got into his stride playing his customary short marks to take the lead 14-9, with the local man never far away. Quirk started to find his way back into the game, closing the deficit to three chalks at 11-14 after 12 ends.

The 13th end was decided by a measure with Wraight picking up the point, while the following end saw all four bowls finish on the same line with Quirk scoring to trail 12-15. A poor end followed to gift wrap a cheap double for Wraight, with Quirk missing the opportunity to double up himself on the following end. A single from Wraight saw him lead out at 18-13, with Quirk playing a great bowl.

What happened next will be remembered for a long time.

A full-blown strike and direct hit from Wraight saw the side of Quirk’s bowl smash and fly up in the air, in what must be a first in a major final. Almost unnoticed, the jack eventually rolled off the green to kill the end.

The rules allow for bowls to be changed during a game if a bowl is damaged. While a replacement pair of the same make of bowls and weight were sourced, it led to a short break in the game.

When play got back underway, Wraight scored a single from the corner then played an even shorter length on the following end as the Shropshire man secured the two points needed to lift the June title for the first time and with it the cheque for £3,200.

Wraight reached the final with a comfortable 21-11 win over previous festival winner Phil Lee (St Mary’s), taking 16 ends to claim the win, while Quirk progressed with a 21-16 victory over Dean Missere (Sheffield), with the former scoring more consistently over the course of the game.

The quarter-finals saw Wraight get his day off to a dream start with a 21-6 win over James Fitzpatrick (West Kirby Vics), as the Merseyside man only managed to score one chalk with a running bowl on the second end of the game.

Despite both players preferring a shorter length, the Shropshire man dominated the game.

Lee reached the next round with a 21-14 win over Martin Gaut (Wrockwardine Wood), while in the other half of the draw Quirk eased to a 21-8 victory over Gareth Lally (Crossgates) with a great display.

Missere also made safe passage to the semi-finals with a 21-12 win over Peter Jones Llanrwst BC).

Quirk picked up the George Craine Trophy as the only local bowler to reach finals day, while he also took home a cheque for £1,250 for his efforts throughout the week.

At the presentation, Wraight thanked the Department of Economic Development for their continued support of the event and expressed his pleasure at finally achieving the holy grail in crown green bowls, having now secured all the top titles to be won in the game.

The Men’s Tourism was played down to the winner on Thursday morning on the number one green at Noble’s.

It was Chris Kelly (Thongsbridge) who picked up the Tourism title to see off Kevan Shaw (Red Lion). With Kelly taking a five-chalk lead at 14-9, Shaw fought back to close the deficit to one chalk at 14-15.

But the Thongsbridge man shortly put paid to any hopes of a win for Shaw as he picked up the Tourism title with a 21-16 victory.

In the semi-finals Kelly took on Wraight (Llanrwst BC), the man who would go on to lift the main event the following day, but Kelly made light work of him.

Despite losing the first two ends, 11 consecutive scoring ends from Kelly with five doubles and six singles saw the Thongsbridge man romp home 21-8, while Shaw beat Conor Chamberlain (Stretton- Anglesey) 21-14.

In the quarter-finals Kelly started his morning with a battle against Joshua Mordue (Pudsey BC), taking the win 21-17. Wraight beat Jon Edmondson (Heckmondwike BC).

In the bottom half of the draw Shaw had the closest game of the round with a 21-18 victory over James Davison (Thongsbridge), while Chamberlain made light work of Ryan Marks (Wirral) with a 21-7 win to progress to the next round.

GLYNN HARGRAVES