# World Indoor Bowls Championships

The World Indoor Bowls Championship is an international bowls competition held annually at Potters Resorts in Hopton on Sea.
In recent history matches are streamed live on YouTube & Facebook, attracting around four million views annually. The last week of the competition is televised live on BBC where the open singles and open pairs', women's singles and mixed pairs' finals are shown.

## History

The competition was first held in 1979 in Coatbridge, Scotland as a men's singles only event. The first event was sponsored by Embassy Cigarettes.
In 1986, the men's pairs competition was added to the championship. In 1988, a rule change allowed women to compete for the first time and the women's singles competition was created. This rule change also changed expanded the men's singles and pairs competition and both become open tournaments.
In 1989, the championships moved to the Guild Hall in Preston, England and Churchill Insurance took over the sponsorship. While the competition was being held in Preston, Midland Bank and SAGA were also sponsors at various times.
In 1999, Potters Holidays took over the sponsorship and, as part of the agreement, the event moved to its current home at the company's resort in Hopton-on-Sea. The mixed pairs competition was added to the championship in 2004.

## Men's/Open singles champions

| Year | Winner |
| 1979 | David Bryant (1/3) |
| 1980 | David Bryant (2/3) |
| 1981 | David Bryant (3/3) |
| 1982 | John Watson |
| 1983 | Bob Sutherland |
| 1984 | Jim Baker |
| 1985 | Terry Sullivan |
| 1986 | Tony Allcock (1/3) |
| 1987 | Tony Allcock (2/3) |
| 1988 | Hugh Duff (1/2) |
| 1989 | Richard Corsie (1/3) |
| 1990 | John Price |
| 1991 | Richard Corsie (2/3) |
| 1992 | Ian Schuback |
| 1993 | Richard Corsie (3/3) |
| 1994 | Andy Thomson (1/3) |
| Year | Winner |
| 1995 | Andy Thomson (2/3) |
| 1996 | David Gourlay |
| 1997 | Hugh Duff (2/2) |
| 1998 | Paul Foster (1/5) |
| 1999 | Alex Marshall (1/6) |
| 2000 | Robert Weale |
| 2001 | Paul Foster (2/5) |
| 2002 | Tony Allcock (3/3) |
| 2003 | Alex Marshall (2/6) |
| 2004 | Alex Marshall (3/6) |
| 2005 | Paul Foster (3/5) |
| 2006 | Mervyn King |
| 2007 | Alex Marshall (4/6) |
| 2008 | Alex Marshall (5/6) |
| 2009 | Billy Jackson |
| 2010 | Greg Harlow |
| Year | Winner |
| 2011 | Paul Foster (4/5) |
| 2012 | Andy Thomson (3/3) |
| 2013 | Stewart Anderson (1/3) |
| 2014 | Darren Burnett |
| 2015 | Alex Marshall (6/6) |
| 2016 | Nick Brett |
| 2017 | Paul Foster (5/5) |
| 2018 | Mark Dawes (1/2) |
| 2019 | Stewart Anderson (2/3) |
| 2020 | Robert Paxton |
| 2021 | Mark Dawes (2/2) |
| 2022 | Les Gillett |
| 2023 | Jamie Walker |
| 2024 | Stewart Anderson (3/3) |
| 2025 | Jason Banks |
Wins by individual (Open Singles only)
| Name | Titles | Runners up | Winning Years |
| Alex Marshall | 6 | 2 | 1999, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2015 |
| Paul Foster | 5 | 2 | 1998, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2017 |
| Richard Corsie | 3 | 4 | 1989, 1991, 1993 |
| Andy Thomson | 3 | 2 | 1994, 1995, 2012 |
| David Bryant | 3 | 1 | 1979, 1980, 1981 |
| Stewart Anderson | 3 | 1 | 2013, 2019, 2024 |
| Tony Allcock | 3 | - | 1986, 1987, 2002 |
| Hugh Duff | 2 | 1 | 1988, 1997 |
| Mark Dawes | 2 | - | 2018, 2021 |
| John Price | 1 | 3 | 1990 |
| Mervyn King | 1 | 3 | 2006 |
| Greg Harlow | 1 | 3 | 2010 |
| Ian Schuback | 1 | 2 | 1992 |
| Robert Paxton | 1 | 2 | 2020 |
| Jim Baker | 1 | 1 | 1984 |
| David Gourlay | 1 | 1 | 1996 |
| Robert Weale | 1 | 1 | 2000 |
| Nick Brett | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Jason Banks | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| John Watson | 1 | - | 1982 |
| Bob Sutherland | 1 | - | 1983 |
| Terry Sullivan | 1 | - | 1985 |
| Billy Jackson | 1 | - | 2009 |
| Darren Burnett | 1 | - | 2014 |
| Les Gillett | 1 | - | 2022 |
| Jamie Walker | 1 | - | 2023 |
Performance by country (Open singles only)
| Country | Titles |
| Scotland | 24 |
| England | 18 |
| Wales | 3 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 |
| Total | 47 |

## Women's singles champions

| Year | Winner |
| 1988 | Margaret Johnston |
| 1990 | Fleur Bougourd |
| 1991 | Mary Price |
| 1992 | Sarah Gourlay |
| 1993 | Kate Adams |
| 1994 | Jan Woodley |
| 1995 | Joyce Lindores |
| 1996 | Sandy Hazell |
| 1997 | Norma Shaw |
| 1998 | Caroline McAllister (1/2) |
| 1999 | Caroline McAllister (2/2) |
| 2000 | Marlene Castle |
| 2001 | Betty Brown |
| Year | Winner |
| 2002 | Carol Ashby (1/3) |
| 2003 | Carol Ashby (2/3) |
| 2004 | Carol Ashby (3/3) |
| 2005 | Ellen Falkner (1/3) |
| 2006 | Ellen Falkner (2/3) |
| 2007 | Caroline Brown |
| 2008 | Ceri Ann Davies |
| 2009 | Debbie Stavrou (1/2) |
| 2010 | Debbie Stavrou (2/2) |
| 2011 | Alison Merrien |
| 2012 | Karen Murphy |
| 2013 | Rebecca Field |
| 2014 | Katherine Rednall (1/6) |
| Year | Winner |
| 2015 | Laura Daniels (1/2) |
| 2016 | Ellen Falkner (3/3) |
| 2017 | Katherine Rednall (2/6) |
| 2018 | Katherine Rednall (3/6) |
| 2019 | Julie Forrest (1/3) |
| 2020 | Julie Forrest (2/3) |
| 2021 | Laura Daniels (2/2) |
| 2022 | Katherine Rednall (4/6) |
| 2023 | Katherine Rednall (5/6) |
| 2024 | Katherine Rednall (6/6) |
| 2025 | Julie Forrest (3/3) |

## Open pairs champions

The Open Pairs (formerly the Men's Open pairs) allows anyone to compete, this is not to be confused with the Mixed Pairs. It was a men's only competition until 2012.
| Year | Winner |
| 1986 | Tony Allcock (1/8) & David Bryant (1/6) |
| 1987 | Tony Allcock (2/8) & David Bryant (2/6) |
| 1988 | Ian Schuback (1/3) & Jim Yates |
| 1989 | Tony Allcock (3/8) & David Bryant (3/6) |
| 1990 | Tony Allcock (4/8) & David Bryant (4/6) |
| 1991 | Tony Allcock (5/8) & David Bryant (5/6) |
| 1992 | Tony Allcock (6/8) & David Bryant (6/6) |
| 1993 | Gary Smith & Andy Thomson (1/3) |
| 1994 | Ian Schuback (2/3) & Cameron Curtis |
| 1995 | Richard Corsie & Alex Marshall (1/6) |
| 1996 | Ian Schuback (3/3) & Kelvin Kerkow (1/3) |
| 1997 | Tony Allcock (7/8) & Mervyn King (1/3) |
| 1998 | Richard Corsie & Graham Robertson |
| 1999 | John Price & Stephen Rees |
| 2000 | David Gourlay & Alex Marshall (2/6) |
| 2001 | Les Gillett (1/2) & Mark McMahon |
| 2002 | Hugh Duff & Paul Foster (1/5) |
| 2003 | Tony Allcock (8/8) & David Holt |
| 2004 | Ian McClure & Jeremy Henry |
| 2005 | Kelvin Kerkow (2/3) & Mervyn King (2/3) |
| Year | Winner |
| 2006 | Billy Jackson (1/2) & David Gourlay (1/2) |
| 2007 | Billy Jackson (2/2) & David Gourlay (2/2) |
| 2008 | Andy Thomson (2/3) & Ian Bond (1/2) |
| 2009 | Kelvin Kerkow (3/3) & Mervyn King (3/3) |
| 2010 | Andy Thomson (3/3) & Ian Bond (2/2) |
| 2011 | Paul Foster (2/5) & Alex Marshall (3/6) |
| 2012 | Paul Foster (3/5) & Alex Marshall (4/6) |
| 2013 | Paul Foster (4/5) & Alex Marshall (5/6) |
| 2014 | Greg Harlow (1/3) & Nick Brett (1/3) |
| 2015 | Robert Paxton & Simon Skelton |
| 2016 | Stewart Anderson (1/3) & Darren Burnett (1/3) |
| 2017 | Les Gillett (2/2) & Jason Greenslade |
| 2018 | Mark Dawes (1/2) & Jamie Chestney (1/2) |
| 2019 | Paul Foster (5/5) & Alex Marshall (6/6) |
| 2020 | Greg Harlow (2/3) & Nick Brett (2/3) |
| 2021 | Mark Dawes (2/2) & Jamie Chestney (2/2) |
| 2022 | Stewart Anderson (2/3) & Darren Burnett (2/3) |
| 2023 | Greg Harlow (3/3) & Nick Brett (3/3) |
| 2024 | Stewart Anderson (3/3) & Darren Burnett (3/3) |
| 2025 | Jason Banks (1/1) & Michael Stepney (1/1) |

## Mixed pairs champions

| Year | Winner |
| 2004 | Alex Marshall (1/2) & Amy Monkhouse |
| 2005 | John Price (1/2) & Carol Ashby (1/3) |
| 2006 | John Price (2/2) & Carol Ashby (2/3) |
| 2007 | Greg Harlow & Jo Morris |
| 2008 | David Gourlay (1/3) & Ceri Ann Davies (1/3) |
| 2009 | David Gourlay (2/3) & Ceri Ann Davies (2/3) |
| 2010 | Alex Marshall (2/2) & Carol Ashby (3/3) |
| 2011 | Simon Skelton & Alison Merrien (1/2) |
| 2012 | David Gourlay (3/3) & Debbie Stavrou |
| 2013 | Paul Foster (1/3) & Laura Thomas (1/2) |
| 2014 | Paul Foster (2/3) & Laura Thomas (2/2) |
| Year | Winner |
| 2015 | Robert Paxton (1/2) & Marion Purcell (1/2) |
| 2016 | Darren Burnett & Katherine Rednall |
| 2017 | Nick Brett (1/3) & Claire Johnston |
| 2018 | Jamie Chestney & Lesley Doig |
| 2019 | Robert Paxton (2/2) & Ellen Falkner |
| 2020 | Nick Brett (2/3) & Marion Purcell (2/2) |
| 2021 | Stewart Anderson (1/2) & Julie Forrest (1/2) |
| 2022 | Paul Foster (3/3) & Alison Merrien (2/2) |
| 2023 | Stewart Anderson (2/2) & Ceri Ann Glen (3/3) |
| 2024 | Nick Brett (3/3) & Julie Forrest (2/2) |
| 2025 | Jason Banks (1/1) & Beth Riva (1/1) |

## Open under–25 champions

| Year | Winner |
| 2016 | Joseph Mower |
| 2017 | Ellen Ryan |
| 2018 | Chloe Watson |
| Year | Winner |
| 2019 | John Orr |
| 2020 | William Moulton |
| 2022 | Daniel Pool (1/2) |
| Year | Winner |
| 2023 | Daniel Pool (2/2) |
| 2024 | Darren Weir |
| 2025 | not held |

## Players with five or more titles

| Name | Open singles | Women's singles | Open Pairs | Mixed Pairs | Total |
| Alex Marshall | 6 | N/A | 6 | 2 | 14 |
| Paul Foster | 5 | N/A | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| Tony Allcock | 3 | N/A | 8 | - | 11 |
| David Bryant | 3 | N/A | 6 | - | 9 |
| Stewart Anderson | 3 | N/A | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Nick Brett | 1 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| / David Gourlay | 1 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Katherine Rednall | - | 6 | - | 1 | 7 |
| Carol Ashby | - | 3 | - | 3 | 6 |
| Andy Thomson | 3 | N/A | 3 | - | 6 |
| Darren Burnett | 1 | N/A | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Richard Corsie | 3 | N/A | 2 | - | 5 |
| Greg Harlow | 1 | N/A | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Julie Forrest | - | 3 | - | 2 | 5 |