The World Bowls Champs in a nutshell
With the World Bowls Championships set to commence in New Zealand tomorrow, we take a look at the history of the coveted event and preview what lies ahead for the Australian Jackaroos. The Australian Jackaroos will commence their 2016 World Bowls Championships campaign tomorrow against representatives from 33 other nations, so on the eve of the coveted event, Bowls Australia previews the field of competitors and takes a look at the history of the sport’s most prestigious tournament.
History in the making:
The World Bowls Championships has a rich history dating back 50 years, when the inaugural men’s event was staged in Sydney in 1966, while the women’s competition was held three years later, in 1969, in the same city.
It wasn’t until 2008, in Christchurch, New Zealand, the same host city as this year’s event, that both the men’s and women’s competitions were staged concurrently at the same venue.
Australia’s success on the world stage:
The Australian women are the equal most prolific winners of the Taylor trophy; awarded to the overall female winners, level with England on four.
The Australian men have secured the Leonard trophy, awarded to the overall male winners, three times, behind Scotland’s five.
The Australian Jackaroos have won the most amount of gold medals of any nation, with the women having claimed 12, while the men have won six, for a total of 18; two clear of New Zealand and five more than Scotland.
Australia’s most capped representative, Karen Murphy, will attempt to become the nation’s outright most successful competitor at the event this fortnight, having won the fours in 2008 and singles and triples in 2012, which sees her on equal pegging with Dorothy Roche OAM.
The golden haul in 2012:
The Jackaroos, led by National Coach Steve Glasson, will attempt to emulate their scintillating performance at the most recent staging of the event, which occurred in 2012 on their home deck of Adelaide, where they secured a record-breaking five gold and two silver medals from eight disciplines.
Every member of that ten-strong Jackaroos team concluded the event in 2012 with a coveted golden medallion around their neck and a world title to their name.
Australia’s performance was so dominant in 2012 that it had secured both the Taylor and Leonard trophies prior to the men’s and women’s singles finals – which the Jackaroos went on to win.
Australia’s new blood:
Seven of the 10-player contingent selected to don the green and gold uniform at this year’s event were a part of the 2012 campaign, with three Victorians chosen to bolster the remaining positions.
Clayton’s Aaron Wilson, 25, who was the 2013 Australian Open men’s singles winner, Sunbury’s Carla Krizanic (nee Odgers), 26, the 2016 Australian Singles Champion of Champion, and Mulgrave Country Club’s Barrie Lester, 34, a 2006 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, have all been granted berths in a maiden World Bowls Championships.
Australia’s line-up:
Women:
Singles – Karen Murphy (41, Cabramatta, NSW)
Pairs – Kelsey Cottrell (26, St Johns Park, NSW) & Karen Murphy
Triples – Carla Krizanic (26, Sunbury, VIC), Natasha Scott (25, Raymond Terrace, NSW) & Rebecca Van Asch (28, Invermay, TAS)
Fours – Carla Krizanic, Rebecca Van Asch, Natasha Scott & Kelsey Cottrell
Men:
Singles – Aron Sherriff (30, Ettalong Memorial, NSW)
Pairs – Brett Wilkie (42, Club Helensvale, QLD) & Aaron Wilson (25, Clayton, VIC)
Triples – Barrie Lester (34, Mulgrave Country Club, VIC), Mark Casey (34, Club Helensvale, QLD) & Aron Sherriff
Fours – Barrie Lester, Brett Wilkie, Aaron Wilson & Mark Casey
Defending titleholders:
While all seven incumbents earned gold medals at the last staging, only five have been selected in disciplines that will allow them to defend their own world titles this year, while Aron Sherriff and Rebecca Van Asch will look to retain crowns won by other Australians (in the men’s singles and women’s triples).
Karen Murphy – women’s singles
Kelsey Cottrell – women’s pairs
Natasha Scott – women’s triples
Mark Casey – men’s fours
Brett Wilkie – men’s fours
The task ahead:
New Zealand’s conditions and surfaces can be considerably different to that of other nations, with lightning-quick greens that will be running at 17 seconds or more, often with additional strong winds.
Having said that, Australia isn’t the most effected, with our greens often running almost as quick, but can vary depending on state and climate, while the Northern Hemisphere countries will have to make the biggest adjustment to their game, given their generally slow greens that often run around 10 seconds.
A faster green means that the bowl takes longer to reach the jack – somewhere between 14 to 19 seconds, and requires a wider delivery that takes more grass, while conversely, bowls on slower greens take less time to reach the jack, around 10 to 14 seconds, and are delivered with a narrower line.
Perhaps the best benchmark for success at this event will come from looking at the 2008 World Bowls Championships, the most recent time the event was held in Christchurch, where Australia claimed one gold, three silver and three bronze medals.
Another reference point for what the future might hold in store was last year’s Asia Pacific Championships, which is a lead-in and qualifier event to the World Bowls Champs comprising of 19-nations from the Southern Hemisphere, where the Jackaroos finished with four gold, two silver and two bronze medals – a better outcome than the two gold, five silver and one bronze produced at their previous effort in 2011.
An eye on the opposition:
The field is littered with world champions, Commonwealth Games medallists, international veterans and home-town heroes, so competition for titles is going to be fierce.
You need look no further than the host nation to find the pre-tournament favourite, with outgoing Blackjacks Coach Dave Edwards targeting Australia’s record of five gold medals for his contingent from this year’s competition – before he and wife Jo Edwards move across the Tasman to take up permanent residence at Queensland’s Club Pine Rivers.
The Blackjacks took home five medals in 2012, although none of the coveted golden variety, and will be eager to rectify the situation on home soil.
Perennial powerhouse Scotland improved upon their one gold, one silver performance in 2008 with three gold and three bronze medals in 2012, and will look to defend their men’s pairs, men’s triples and women’s fours titles.
England, who sit fourth on the all-time gold medal tally, have only claimed one gold medal from the past four stagings of the event, which occurred on their home soil in 1994, and will be desperate for a long overdue taste of success.
South Africa shouldn’t be underestimated either, after a staggering five gold and two bronze medal performance at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games saw them finish as far-and-away the best performing nation.
Malaysia, despite having only claimed one gold medal in its history, which came in the blue-ribbon men’s singles discipline when the event was last held in New Zealand in 2008, is always a strong threat.
Canada’s Ryan Bester, who calls the Gold Coast’s Broadbeach home, is also one to watch in the singles and pairs, having won his nation’s only gold medal at the event in the pairs discipline in 2004.
What the future holds:
The 2016 World Bowls Championships will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand from Tuesday, November 26 to Sunday, December 11, across four host clubs; Burnside, Fendalton, Papanui and Canterbury, with eight disciplines contested – singles, pairs, triples and fours for men and women.
The women commence play in the singles and fours, while the men start proceedings in the pairs and triples – with nine rounds of sectional rubbers over three days, followed by a day of post-sectional and semi-finals, and then the first four finals this Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4.
All teams enjoy a day of respite on Monday, December 5, before the action continues with the remaining disciplines on Tuesday, December 6, which again culminates with four finals across the weekend, on Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11.
All eight finals will be shown live on Fox Sports, with matches commencing at 7.00am and 11.00am AEDT on December 3, 4, 10 and 11.
Click here to view the Australian Jackaroos full schedule of play at the 2016 World Bowls Championships.
