The 2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships Opening Ceremony was held on Saturday evening at Warilla Bowls & Recreation Club, attended by the thirty-five participating nations, setting the scene for a week of world-class indoor bowls action. World Bowls and the International Indoor Bowls Council were excited to welcome competitors to the Illawarra region, as the athletes prepare to battle it out for one of three World Titles.
Over six days, the thirty-five men and thirty-one women will compete for Men’s & Women’s Singles titles, as well as a Mixed Pairs title. For those countries that were unable to field a female representive for the Mixed Pairs competition, their men have been teamed up with four Australian bowlers. The local talent includes Commonwealth Games silver para medallist Serena Bonnell and Emerging and Pathways Jackaroos Chloe Morrison, Grace Moloney and Lauren Banks.
The Championships commenced on Sunday 7th May with the Mixed Pairs event. Sectional play in the Pairs consists of two sets of five ends, with nations divided into eight sections. Knockout play will commence today, with the Quarter Finals getting underway from 8.30am. Below are the eight Qualifiers:
| SECTION | WINNER |
|---|---|
| Section 1 | Jersey |
| Section 2 | Malta |
| Section 3 | Scotland 2 |
| Section 4 | Namibia |
| Section 5 | Guernsey |
| Section 6 | Wales |
| Section 7 | Australia |
| Section 8 | England |
The draw for the Quarter Final round of the Mixed Pairs is as follows:
England v Malta
Australia v Jersey
Scotland 2 v Namibia
Guernsey v Wales
When World Bowls caught up with Carel Olivier from Namibia, he said, “I’m over the moon to be in the Quarter Finals after a special day.” When reviewing the day’s play, Julie Forrest from Scotland felt her team had good ends and not so good ends, but were pleased to be in the Knockout stage and will be trying their best tomorrow.
In Section 4, the deciding match between Canada v Namibia saw Canada get the clean sweep to take the section. While in Section 7, the round two match between Scotland 1 (Connor Milne & Lorraine Craig) and Australia was crucial to Australia qualifiying through, which they achieved on an extra tie-break end.
Pontus Palmkvist
Special shout out to Swede, Pontus Palmkvist, who celebrated his birthday yesterday. Although he didn’t get the gift of a Section win, he did end the day with a win, also on a tie-break end.
Click the buttons below for access to results in Match Center, and the full event schedule.
