Husband and wife flat green bowls team Tom and Lesley Keenan and Clive and Bernice McGreal made sure the Isle of Man flag was flying when they took part in the 2011 European Team Bowls Championships in Portugal. Sponsored by Manx Gas, the team faced a hectic playing schedule with three matches on most days in one of the most prestigious international events in the bowling calendar. In the group section they were playing against teams from Cyprus, Ireland, Israel, Guernsey, Portugal, Netherlands, Wales, Spain, Scotland, England, Turkey and Germany. In preparation for the tournament they competed in the warm up event, the European Open Amateur Week, and were successful in taking the Bronze Medal position, competing against members of the Portuguese national team on their home green. In the championships the star performers were the Ladies pairing of Lesley Keenan and Bernice McGreal who played seven matches and lost only two. The highlight for the Ladies was a well deserved draw against defending champions Scotland. “In a fiercely competitive match the Island team won the first set, but Scotland managed to take the second for a share of the points,” said Clive. “The standard was extremely high, with most of the opposition fielding members of their 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games squads. The Manx Gas sponsorship gave the team, who are all members of the Isle of Man Flat Green Bowling Association, the opportunity to compete at the very highest level and gain valuable experience for future international events.” The overall event was won by a very strong Wales team against which the Island men’s pairing of Clive and Tom put in a tremendous performance only to lose the second set with the last bowl of the end. The event was hosted by the Vilamoura Bowls Club and officially opened by the Mayor of Quarteria who was presented with a gift from the Island representatives, inscribed with a personal message from Chief Minister, Allan Bell MHK. “The players can reflect on some solid performances where the margins between winning and defeat were on occasion literally a hair’s breadth,” said Clive. “Overall, the results went in favour of the larger, stronger nations whose playing memberships run into thousands of bowlers and whose domestic competitions are more keenly and intensely contested at district level with more frequent international test matches.” Further recognition of the Island’s standing within the international bowling community was the election of Tom Keenan as Junior Vice President of the European Bowls Union at the AGM held during the tournament. Manx Gas sales and marketing manager Gary Cregeen said: “We were delighted to have been able to support the team in what was a major international event. They have every reason to feel proud of their achievements when competing against internationally recognised.” ENDS