BowlsWales

15/10/2026

Safeguarding Adults Week is coming up and it’s a good moment to share what’s been happening at BowlsWales.

On 2 October we held a Safeguarding Awareness Session for club welfare officers and people from across our member organisations. We looked at what safeguarding means for both children and adults, how to recognise the signs of harm, how to respond if someone tells you something, and why lower-level concerns matter. The key message from the day: if in doubt, record it and share it.

Thank you to everyone who came and took part so openly.

If you’d like to dig further, the Wales Safeguarding Procedures are available as a free, bilingual app (search “Wales Safeguarding Procedures”) and our new Safeguarding page has our policies and a clear route to Report a Concern: https://bowlswales.com/safeguarding/

Whether you play outdoors, indoors, on crown green or short mat, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

29/09/2026

🏆 Welsh Champion of Champions! Congratulations Jane Bowler! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Huge congratulations to Jane Bowler, the WCGBA Ladies Merit winner 2026, who has won the BCGBA Champion of Champions title at Owley Wood Recreation Club! 👏

The annual event took place on 26th and 27th September, and Wales was well represented.

Saturday – Men's event
Chris Charlton, our WCGBA Senior Merit winner 2026, put up a great fight against Castle Sports Classic winner Tom Vickers, but lost 21-17.

Sunday – Ladies' event
Wales had two representatives. Amelia Northrop, BCGBA Junior Girls Merit winner 2026, bowled some of her best woods against Rachel Wilcox, despite finding the green faster than expected. She lost 21-10, but she is a champion in her own right!

Jane's journey to the title:
✅ Round 1: beat Lacey McMullan (IOM) 21-19
✅ Round 2: beat Rachel Wilcox (IOM) 21-17
✅ Quarter-final: beat Sarah Edmondson (North Lancs & Fylde) 21-18
✅ Semi-final: beat Tina Ralph (North Shropshire) 21-16
🏆 Final: beat Kirsty Darling (Warwick & Worcs) 21-17

The final was nail-biting. Jane started strongly and kept the pressure on, then held her nerve as Kirsty crept back into the game, finishing with some brilliant corner bowls.

Well done Jane, and well done to Chris and Amelia for representing Wales so proudly! 👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

26/09/2026

🔴 LIVE

It's Saturday and we're back streaming LIVE from the European Bowls Championships!

Watch the Semi-Finals, Finals and medal presentations as the new European champions are crowned in Llandrindod Wells — Wales' first time hosting this historic event.

📺 Watch on: https://www.youtube.com/live/t38aAUnhq3I?si=KEDyXSCFz0aoL_gk

Tune in for all the action right through to the medal ceremonies. Good luck to everyone competing today!

Watch the Semi-Final for the European Bowls Championships at Llandr...

22/09/2026

🔴 LIVE NOW!

The European Bowls Championships are underway and we're streaming LIVE right now!

Watch the Semi-Finals, Finals and medal presentations as the best bowlers from across Europe compete for gold in Llandrindod Wells — Wales' first time hosting this historic event.

📺 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/live/5Wj5qhtv1_w?si=oDOVjWhAuGzwnDS3

Don't miss a moment of the action. Good luck to everyone competing!

Watch Round 7 + Playoffs for the European Bowls Championships at Ll...

21/09/2026

🏆 WATCH THE EUROPEAN BOWLS CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE! 🇪🇺🎯

Want to see the best of European bowls battle it out for medals? We’ve got you covered! 👀

BowlsWales will be streaming LIVE from the European Bowls Championships on both medal days:

📅 Tuesday 22 September
🥉 Semi-Finals & Finals
🏅 Medal presentations

📅 Saturday 26 September
🥉 Semi-Finals & Finals
🏅 Medal presentations

📺 Tune in to watch all the action and stay with us for the medal presentation ceremonies as the new European champions are crowned! 🏆

Keep an eye on the BowlsWales YouTube page for the livestream.

Good luck to everyone competing! 🇪🇺👏

14/09/2026

🏆 WCGBA WELSH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 🏆

The Welsh Club Championships took place on Sunday 13th September at Esclusham Bowling Club, with three teams competing — Cunliffe, Rhos Park and Mold Rec — all three of whom had reached the final back in 2025!

WCGBA Officials were on hand throughout, with Simon Walker and Gareth Hughes running the competition and President Peter Higham making the presentations. Thanks also to referees DT Evans, Arthur Peake and Allan Davies, ably assisted by Derek Unwin.

⚡ Semi-Final: Mold Rec. v Cunliffe
A change to the usual format saw Mold Rec. and Cunliffe open the day with a Semi-Final. Cunliffe made a strong start, with Captain Martin Jones (21-18), Robin Bennett (21-7 after an unlucky late "kiss" for Simon Hughes), Ian Jones and Jack Hewitt all leading the way. Mold Rec. fought hard, with best performances from Martyn Evans (21-9), Bob Jones (21-13) and Luke Grocott (21-13).
📊 Final score: Cunliffe 143 - 122 Mold Rec.

🏅 Final: Cunliffe v Rhos Park
After a 20-minute practice session, Rhos Park took on Cunliffe in the Final. Robin Bennett again impressed with a 21-8 win, while Graham Bennett went one better, beating Roger Wilson 21-7. Jack Hewitt, Arwel Davies and Ian Jones all secured solid wins for Cunliffe, while Haidan Williams claimed a 21-14 win over Aileen Coleman for Rhos Park.

The standout games of the Final came from Martin Jones v Mike Chamberlain, where Martin fought back from 10-4 down to win 21-19, and Ivor Jones v Colin Jones Jr, a tense affair that Ivor edged 21-18.
📊 Final score: Cunliffe 158 - 114 Rhos Park

🎉 Congratulations to Cunliffe and Rhos Park, who both qualify for the British Clubs event early next season!

18/08/2026

We're proud to share that the new BowlsWales strategy is now live on our website.

Developed together with the four codes, the Coaching Association and the Umpires Association, it sets out our shared vision for the future of bowls in Wales — from growing participation at grassroots level to supporting players on their journey to elite competition.

Thank you to everyone who contributed along the way. This strategy is a true reflection of where together we want the sport to go.

Read it here --> https://bowlswales.com/bowling-in-wales-strategy-2026-2030-now-live/

12/08/2026

🏆 We're Recruiting: Non-Executive Directors 🏆

BowlsWales has launched a recruitment drive for new Non-Executive Directors as we move into an exciting new chapter for the organisation!

We're particularly keen to hear from candidates with experience in:
🔹 Safeguarding (children and adults)
🔹 Finance / Audit

This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of bowls in Wales — contributing your skills and experience to strong governance at a pivotal time, as we begin to deliver our new Strategy.

📋 The role:
✅ Voluntary, with reasonable expenses paid
✅ 3-year term (max two terms)
✅ 6 Board meetings a year, plus events/papers — around 2 days a month total

📅 How to apply:
Deadline: Sunday 16th August
Interviews: w/c 24th August

Send a short covering letter and CV to [email protected] by the closing date. Want an informal chat first? Joanna would be happy to help — same email address!

📖 Full details, including the role description and person specification, are in our Non-Executive Director Candidate Information Pack:https://bowlswales.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Non-Executive-Directors-Candidate-Information-Pack.pdf

28/07/2026

🥉 BRONZE FOR WALES AT GLASGOW 2026!

What a way to close out the sectional and knockout stages for our bowls and para bowls athletes!

Julie Thomas & Steffan James clinched a stunning bronze medal in the Mixed Para Pairs B2-B3, coming from behind to beat New Zealand in a sudden-death tie-break.

Amy Williams & Lauren Gowen can also hold their heads high after an unbeaten run through the group stage in the Women's Pairs, narrowly missing out on a medal of their own with defeats in the semi-final and bronze match.

And Ross Owen competed brilliantly in a stacked Men's Singles field.

Congratulations to all three combinations, and to directors John Wilson and Jamie Jones, on a memorable Games.

That's part one done — next up, Daniel Salmon and Ross Owen team up in the Men's Pairs, and Amy Williams flies the flag in the Women's Singles. More to come!

Full round-up 👇
https://bowlswales.com/wales-at-glasgow-2026-bronze-for-thomas-james/