World Bowls 2016

On November 25th I depart Gatwick Airport and embark on a 29 hour trip to Christchurch, New Zealand to officiate for the first time at a World Bowls Championships (Outdoor).

I will be joining my English colleagues, Angie Watkins, Graham Gibbins and Vic Perry as well as 30 other International Technical Officials. It will also be the first time that I will be working with my 5 colleagues from the World Bowls Laws Committee.

I hope to be able to post some updates during the tournament and share some of the amazing experience of this four yearly World class jamboree of Bowls.

Join be at the end of November for the latest from World Bowls 2016

Glasgow 2014 - Days 9 and 10

A bit of culture in the Kelvingrove Museum 

Friday was the culmination of 9 days of hard work and good fun. There were 3 medal matches played through the day. Having already officiated in a Gold Medal match, when I did the Pairs, I was not needed for the final day. We had a nice relaxing morning and then took a leisurely walk down through the parks to the venue at Kelvingrove. Spent a little time in the Kelvingrove Art Museum and listened to an organ recital whilst enjoying a coffee and a sticky bun.

Myself, Daryl & Graham decided we would watch the two medal matches in the afternoon. We took our places in the centre of the main stand which was reserved for technical officials and other accredited people. We were right at the front and could see both the Fours Gold medal match between England and Scotland and the Bronze medal match between Australia and India.

Australia took Bronze, James Irwin Umpiring.

India had performed superbly during the games especially as a developing bowls nation and to find themselves leading Australia for a medal showed their dedication of level of improvement. Unfortunately for them they didn’t have the experience to finish the game off and Australia claimed the Bronze medal after playing an extra end.

In the Gold medal match, the machine that is Scotland dominated. The formidable force of Alex Marshall, Paul Foster, Neil Speirs and David Peacock was just too powerful for the English quartet. I managed to get some decent photos from my vantage point.

Prince Edward is a great supporter of Bowls.

About half way through the game there was some random applause from the crowd and when I looked to see what it was about, Prince Edward was entering the stands. He sat just two rows back from me. I managed to get a couple of photos and a pretty poor attempt at a selfie. At the end of the match, Graham called up to his assistants and gave them one of our umpires badges for which he was grateful and chatted to us for a short while.

The evening game was the Men’s Singles final with Scotland’s Darren Burnett playing against Ryan Bester from Canada. We were disappointed for our mate Graham for not getting the opportunity to Mark the match but he was an umpire for the game. It is the highest accolade a Lawn Bowls Umpire can get to Mark a Commonwealth or World Final and I was proud to have achieved that in Manchester in 2002. Scotland yet again dominated the match and beat Ryan quite comfortably with a 21-9 scoreline.

Team England can be proud of their achievements

England can hold their heads high with their success from these games. Every one of the 11 men and women in the squad walks away with a medal bettering their performance 4 years ago in Delhi. Overall in the Lawn Bowls competition England finished third in the medal table behind South Africa and Scotland. We finished with a Gold, 3 Silvers and 2 Bronze medals. Our total medal count was just 1 less than South Africa so we finished second in that respect but with 5 Golds’ the South African team finished top of the table.

Saturday was a spare day in case competition was delayed by rain or other factors. We have all been very surprised by the weather, indeed we have had some very warm days which have even caught the Scots off guard. So a lazy day was in order on Saturday and typically the only day we don’t have to worry about going to the venue and can please ourselves and it throws it down with rain all day.

Best buddies - the International ITO's

So as I write this final blog from the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on a wet Saturday, I look back at the great memories and the great friendships and team spirit that Team ITO have had. Naturally, groups of people bond with those they know best but overall the team, has bonded very well throughout and it has been a pleasure working and living with some fantastic people for the last 2 weeks.

Can’t wait to get home to my family now and will be travelling home Sunday morning.

Glasgow 2014 has been one of the best and another fantastic experience. I hope you have enjoyed my blogs and have found them of interest.

Goodbye from Glasgow 2014

Glasgow 2014 - Days 7 and 8

And so we reach the last couple of days of a fantastic bowls tournament. All of the usual stereotypic media coverage has been blown out of the water despite some attempts by some hacks to keep plugging away at the “old age” storylines. It is reassuring to witness some of the young talent that has been on display not only from the home countries and developed bowls nations but also the up and coming nations.

The River Kelvin

On Wednesday I was not working until the afternoon session and so I had a bit of a chance to pop back into the City and do some last minute gift purchasing for loving family who I have missed these last two weeks. I went into town with Graham and we had a leisurely stroll around and a coffee for the morning. We then took a walk back to the TO Village through the park and botanical gardens along the beautiful River Kelvin.

The afternoon session started and 3:45 and I was umpiring on the back green out of the way of the hustle and bustle. There were quite a few measures that I had to deal with which kept me busy. There was also some altercation between two players as there was an accusation of “riding bowls” – willing your opponents bowl to miss or be unsuccessful. Definitely not etiquette. I didn’t need to get involved as it was sorted out with the players and managers in the end. There is also very little I could have done in terms of the laws.

8 of us enjoyed a fantastic meal in an Italian restaurant in a back street somewhere close to the village. Mark Cowan, one of our Aussie colleagues had his daughter over travelling and spending a few days at the games and she joined us for the meal. I am not really sure what she made of us mad Poms but we did have a good laugh.

Up early again for what was to be my final session of the games on Thursday. I was allocated a marking duty in a Quarter Final of the Men’s Singles between Darren Burnett of Scotland and Martin McHugh of Northern Ireland. It promised on paper to be a fantastic tussle and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The crowd were standing 4 deep around the back of the green and the stand was packed. It was a great atmosphere. The match went to the wire with the scores level at 20 – 20 before Darren scored the final shot to earn a place in the Semi-Final. Marty was naturally extremely disappointed not to win the game. He is a true gentleman n and off the rink and it was an absolute pleasure to mark for them both.

In the afternoon we three English Umpires played against our three Australian colleagues in what has not become a regular fixture when we meet called the “trashers match”. It was a great opportunity for us to relax, unwind and try out the commonwealth greens, albeit the practice green. It was a great laugh and to be honest the standard of bowling was shocking but we had fun. We were even blessed with a very special spectator for some of the match – Prince Edward stood and watched a few bowls being delivered but clearly was not impressed and so left with a wave. We thrashed the Aussies by the way!

Aussie and English Umpires

Action in the Trashers Match

There were some important deciding matches played in the afternoon session. The English Men’s four qualified for the Fours Final beating India in the semi-final, they will play Scotland in the final on Friday. Natalie Melmore and Jamie Lee Winch qualified for the final of the Ladies pairs and will play South Africa on Friday. But the best new from today was the English Ladies Triple of Sian Honnor, Ellen Faulkner and Sophie Tolchard winning the Gold Medal by thumping the Australian girls 22 shots to 4. An amazing result for England who had very little funding to support the elite squad in the build up to these games.

Our proud Gold Medalists from L to R: Sophie Tolchard, Sian Honnor & Ellen  Faulkner

The big game on Friday is the Gold Medal final of the Men’s Singles and will be contested by Ryan Bester of Canada and Scotland’s Darren Burnett. The stands will be packed and it will be noisy – a great showcase for our sport. Let’s just hope that it gets some airtime on the main TV channels.

As for me, my games is now over. I can relax and enjoy Friday and the men’s final. It has been a very enjoyable games for me. I managed to get through all the sessions without any major mistakes which is always a bonus. My final report of the games will come on Sunday whilst on my way home.

Please tune in Friday afternoon and support this fabulous sport – one of only a few core Commonwealth Games sports.

Glasgow 2014 - Days 5 and 6

Scotland win the Pairs with England taking the Bronze

We are in to the final week of the games now and on Monday my only session of the day was the afternoon Men’s Pairs Gold Medal match. I was one of the two umpires for this match between Scottish legends, Paul Foster and Alex Marshall and Malaysia.

The atmosphere at the venue was incredible with the main stand and the rink side stand being completely full I had to pick my spot to stand carefully to avoid abuse for blocking anybody’s view of the game. I think it was predictable that Scotland would dominate this match but I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how much they did dominate. It was not until the 12^th end of 18 that the Malaysians were able to add a score to the board making it 19 – 2

I had a couple of measures to do during the game one of which needed assistance from my colleague and a long string. One of the leaning bowls was wedged by the Malaysian lead using a cloth which must have looked really good on TV!

The Malaysians waved the white flag at 15 ends with a final score of 20 shots to 3 at Alex and Paul added yet another medal to their impressive haul.

Andrew and Sam claim the Bronze medal

England's pairing of Andrew Knapper and Sam Tolchard came away with the Bronze medal with is a fabulous achievement.

We decided to walk home from the venue again and were joined by local Alastair Douglas who is acting as deputy head ITO at the games. He took us through the University which overlook the greens at Kelvingrove. What an impressive building, stunning architecture and so much history.

On Tuesday it was another early start with breakfast at 6:30am ready for the first bus to the venue at 6:55am. It was grey and overcast and slightly drizzly so we didn’t hang about setting the greens and timing them before a nice warm coffee. My first session was umpiring 2 rinks of Para-sport Open Triples. Officiating for players with disabilities is an incredibly humbling experience and you have to admire the players abilities. The Para-sport Open Triples is open to mixed or single sex teams of 3 players with category B6, B7 and B8 disabilities. Some players are wheelchair bound and some have prosthetic limbs or limbs missing. They play with two bowls each over 15 ends and can have assistance on the green for wheelchair movement and placing the mat.  

Bob Love from England

On one rink 3 wheelchair bound Welsh athletes took on Scotland and on the other 3 English players took on Malaysia. Probably the most impressive display came from the English lead Bob Love. Bob has no arms and bowls barefoot by placing the bowl on a specially constructed overshoe on his right foot. It is incredible to watch the accuracy and skill that he displays. There were quite a few measures during the session as the players very much depend on umpires to carry out all the measures for them. England beat Malaysia 19 shots to 9 and Scotland beat Wales 16 shots to 8. It was a great morning and a brilliant experience.

Off to Specsavers today!!

My next session was in the afternoon and I was honoured to mark for Darren Burnett, Scotlands Singles representative against Matt Le Ber from Guernsey on the TV rink. I know both players and have marked for Darren many times on the World Bowls Tour events. It was a brilliant game to mark and the standard of bowling was excellent considering the rink was particularly tricky. It does seem a bit strange that rinks with tricky lines are used for TV games as it does not so the best standard of bowls. I was reasonably happy with the way the game went from my point of view but I was off to a shaky start by calling only one shot to Darren which turned out on a measure to be easily Matt’s. I was just getting my eyes warmed up and in the following end I apologised to Darren and promised that I would be straight down to Specsavers. Darren came out the winner with a 21 – 12 score line The crowd were noisy and the atmosphere electric and it was a great game to mark.


We are entering the final stages of competition now with the Men’s Singles sectional play well underway leading to the Gold medal match on Friday. Our sessions are very much decided on the day and mostly we are only getting one session per day now. A chance to try and battle our way through the crowds in the city centre and get the last minute gifts

Glasgow 2014 Gallery

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