The Just Retirement World Indoor Singles Championship is in full swing in Norfolk. Starting with play-offs last Friday, the two-week contest culminates in the Singles Final on Sunday 25 January.
Started in 1992 with the launch of the World Bowls Players Association whose aim was to develop bowls for television and thereby make the sport accessible to all. After the name was shortened to the Professional Bowls Association, the ideas and for development were instituted by the sport’s governing bodies and the World Bowls Tour was first formed.
The first WBT Tournament was the International Open at Preston, which became the first ever PBA Qualifier. Won by Les Gillett, it proved that qualifiers could hold their own amongst the world’s best bowls players.
The Professional Bowls Association, together with the World Indoor Bowls Council and commercial partners have put together plans for the future to develop the game for Television. They aim to ensure the promotion of bowls, and the ongoing support – financial and otherwise – for bowls at grass roots level.
Last year’s Singles Champion, Darren Burnett, is hoping to become only the second person to successfully defend his title. The only other person to do that is Alex Marshall who achieved it in 2003/2204 and again in 2007/2008. The quality of the competition is extremely high and it should be an exciting tournament. This year’s Championship is being streamed live via YouTube on the World Bowls Tour channel – a great excuse for not leaving the sofa during the foul weather that is lashing various parts of the country right now.
Here’s what happened during the opening session on Friday 9 January
