All eyes are Ocean Grove Bowling Club, Victoria, Australia, as some of the biggest names in the sport compete in the World Bowls Indoor Championship.

No fewer than six former champions are among the 64-player field representing 33 member nations of World Bowls at the 24^th edition of the indoor showcase.

Add to that five former World Bowls Junior Indoor Championship gold medal winners, plus three reigning World Cup medallists and it is indeed an impressive line-up for the 2026 edition and that’s not to mention Commonwealth Games and World Championships medal winners and players too.

What’s more, there are at least eight athletes in the line-up who have been selected for their respective countries for the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games – it is a stellar field.

New countries competing for the first time in the event are China, Croatia, Fiji, India, Niue and Sri Lanka. Singapore played in 2024, missed 2025 but are back in for 2026.

Staged by World Bowls and the International Indoor Bowls Council (IIBC), all six corners of the globe are represented in the six-day event which pits the European and Oceania powerhouses against those from West Asia, America’s, Asia and African regions.

It’s the second time the tournament, first held in 2000 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been played in Australia – the first time being three years ago in Warilla, New South Wales.

Three of the most sought-after titles in indoor bowls are up for grabs – the men’s and women’s singles and mixed pairs.

Defending men’s and women’s singles champions Australia’s Jack McShane and Scotland’s Sophie McGrouther will be bidding to defend their titles, but they will face tough opposition from a strong field of competitors. McShane, a former No 1 in the WBS rankings, is currently No 7 and will be vying to be the first player since Scotland’s Stewart Anderson in 2019 to retain the title, while McGrouther, who is 14^th in the rankings, will be looking to equal Julie Forrest’s consecutive victories in 2023 – Forrest being in the competition this year.

The men’s event features World Cup men’s singles bronze medallist Corey Wedlock – the highest ranked player in the World Bowls Series’ ranking list at No 2, 2018 World Bowls champion of champions gold medallist, New Zealand’s Shannon McIlroy, a bronze medallist in the singles, two years ago in Guernsey, Channel Islands, 2011 mixed pairs winner of this event, Carl Wood from Wales, and Iain McLean who lifted the same title in 2014.

The women’s competition meanwhile includes Australia’s highly-decorated Kelsey Cottrell, who was the inaugural No 1 ranked female when the World Bowls Series ranking list was launched in June 2024 (current No 11) and won the mixed pairs in this championship in 2023, New Zealand’s 2023 World Bowls Championships women’s singles champion Tayla Bruce, who will be hoping to better her bronze medal 12 months ago, plus, the prolific former title winners Scotland’s Julie Forrest and Alison Merrien MBE who between them have won this event 11 times.

Forrest a record-breaking six times in 2004, 2010 and back-to-back in 2013 and 2014 and 2022 and 2023 and Merrien, 2024 president of the IIBC, who recorded her successes in 2009, 2015, 2018 and 2019. Both have also won the mixed pairs once. Merrien will be partnered by husband Ian this time around and they will be looking to better their bronze medal finish from 2025.

Recently crowned British Isles Indoor Bowls Council women’s singles winner, England’s Sian Honnor makes her debut in the event, while former World Bowls Junior Indoor Championship winners – Wales’ Amy Williams who was victorious in the 2015 and 2017 women’s singles, Ireland’s Shauna O’Neill who triumphed in the women’s singles and mixed pairs victor in 2023 and 2024 women’s singles champion Rebecca Rixon from Malta will also be on the hunt for more World Bowls glory.

It is also worth noting that Northern Hemisphere players – McLean, Wood and O’Neill, plus Canada’s Pat Bird and Joanna Cooper are members of an elite gang – they have each won their national singles in both indoor and outdoor codes in the same season – quite a rare feat. McLean and O’Neill were bronze medal winners at the 2025 World Bowls champion of champions and will be looking to add to their medal haul at Ocean Grove, while this will be the Canadian duo’s first of two visits to Australia this year as they will be competing in the champion of champions in cluBarham in October. McLean and O’Neill enjoyed back-to-back successes in their outdoor singles and will be there again too.

Scotland have dominated both singles events and hold the bragging rights for the men’s event as nine times winners from seven champions, while for the women, they have taken the honours 11 times with five champions.

England are the defending nation in the mixed pairs thanks to Emily Kernick and Dominic McVittie’s success in Aberdeen 12 months ago.

The World Bowls Indoor Championship is a platinum event on the World Bowls Series (WBS) calendar.

The 2026 World Bowls Indoor Championship is supported by the Victorian Government through Visit Victoria.

Since 2022, the event has been jointly sanctioned by World Bowls and the IIBC. Previously, it was run by the World Indoor Bowls Council/IIBC. WBS Rankings and Commonwealth Games selected players were correct at the time of submission to print.