𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝟐𝟎 – 𝟐𝟓 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢l 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛, 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

The competitors with officials. Credit: Trevor Robinson

 

Aberdeen Indoor Bowls Club is hosting some of the biggest names in the sport of indoor bowls for the 2025 World Bowls Indoor Championship.

At the opening ceremony of the event tonight (Saturday), 64 players from around the world were welcomed to the Scottish city, alongside the World Bowls Series’ men’s and women’s No 1 ranked players – Scotland’s Jason Banks and Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah.

President of Aberdeen IBC, Michael J Reid, handed the green over to World Bowls, with World Bowls president Brett O’Riley, who is making his first visit to the Northern Hemisphere since taking office, praising the club for its ‘amazing facilities’.

“We will be witnessing great bowling,” he said.

“We have some of the finest players from around the globe which shows how diverse our sport is.”

Action in the sectional rounds starts tomorrow (Sunday) with the mixed pairs first up, followed by men’s and women’s singles.

Results can be followed at the World Bowls match centre: https://bit.ly/4lkdXXp

Live streaming will be available on Thursday and Friday.

Banks, who heads the WBS men’s ranking list for the first time following his phenomenal achievement in winning four of the World Bowls Tour’s events – Scottish International Open and Ambassador Cruise Line World Indoor Bowls Championships open singles, open pairs and mixed pairs at Potters Resort in Hopton-on-Sea, will be one of the guest commentators.

The 28-year-old, who rocketed from 24th place to the leader’s spot with 935 points is a commanding 151 points clear of his nearest rival the inaugural No 1 Aron Sherriff, of Australia, who is second on 781.

Abdullah, 23, meanwhile, defending champion of this event’s women’s singles, claimed the No 1 female ranking position for the first time following her performances at the Lion City Cup and Hong Kong International Bowls Classic. She is 40 points in front of Scotland’s Julie Forrest. Inaugural No 1, Australia’s Kelsey Cottrell, who was a member of the Gold Coast Hawks who won Bowls Australia’s BPL21, is just eight points adrift in third place.

Abdullah’s bidding for glory again in the event which runs until Friday, but she faces strong opposition with Cottrell also in the field and in the hunt for another world title to add to her stellar CV – and of course those sought-after ranking points.

Other top ranked players to look out for this week are South Africa Masters gold medallist, WBS No 8, Esme Kruger, New Zealand’s 2023 World Bowls Championships women’s singles champion Tayla Bruce (No 18), former back-to-back singles winner Alison Merrien MBE (No 23), who is immediate past president of the IIBC – which co-sanctions this tournament – and Connie Rixon from Malta, a silver medallist 12 months ago (No 53).

The men’s field features WBS’ No 3, Australia’s Jack McShane – who just happens to be the youngest competitor in the field at 19, Scotland’s Stewart Anderson, No 15, a three times World Indoor Bowls Championship open singles champion and multiple former winner of this tournament’s men’s singles and mixed pairs, and No 22, Wales’ World Bowls champion of champions bronze medallist Ross Owen.

Players will be keenly following the rankings this season with the World Bowls Series finals, to be held in December – venue to be announced shortly – for the 12 top ranked women and men respectively. Several other initiatives are planned to facilitate financial return opportunities for WBS participants are also in the pipeline.

The World Bowls Indoor Championship is a platinum event on the WBS calendar which was launched in 2024 and an official year-long calendar of sanctioned events connecting to the official world rankings. It is a joint venture between World Bowls and Tier 5 Ventures, with the 30 sanctioned events occurring featuring a mixture of existing and new events.

The purpose is to build the profile and brand of bowls, showcase the best players in the game and increase their earnings potential, accelerate the legitimacy of the sport on the global stage and have world rankings that will help create clarity and interest in the sport of bowls.

 

A minute’s silence was held at the players’ briefing to remember Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association’s president Vincent Cheung, who holds the record of the longest serving president in any bowls organisation around the world, who passed away on April 12.

 

EVENT INFORMATION

Programme Book –  https://bit.ly/3YlyvoA

Report compiled by media officer – Ceris Hewlings ceris.hewlings@keypublishing.com