John Bell (bowls)

John Bell
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1947-01-14) 14 January 1947 (age 77)
Sport
SportLawn bowls
ClubWigton BC (outdoors)
Cumbria BC (indoors)
Medal record
Representing  England
World Outdoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 1980 Melbourne Men's team
Gold medal – first place 1984 Aberdeen Men's fours
Gold medal – first place 1988 Auckland Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Auckland Men's triples
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Auckland Men's fours
Gold medal – first place 1996 Adelaide Men's fours
British Isles Championships
Gold medal – first place 1984 singles
Gold medal – first place 1992 pairs
Gold medal – first place 1992 triples

John Nicholson Bell (born 14 January 1947) is a former English lawn and indoor bowler, commentator and World Bowls President.[1][2][3]

Bowls career

[edit]

World Championships

[edit]

Bell won his first gold medal as part of the England team that won the team event (Leonard Cup) at the 1980 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Melbourne.[4] Four years later he won another gold at the 1984 World Outdoor Bowls Championships.[5] Following a team gold and double bronze in the triples and fours at the 1988 Auckland Bell won a fourth gold medal in the fours with Andy Thomson, Brett Morley and David Cutler at the 1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship.[6]

Commonwealth Games

[edit]

Bell represented England at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in the fours at the 1994 Commonwealth Games[7] and the fours at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.[8]

National

[edit]

Bell made his first appearance in the National Championships at Mortlake in 1966 when he was just 18. He won National Championship titles in the singles in 1983,[9] the triples in 1976[10] and pairs[11] and triples in 1991.[12] He also won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 1984.[13][14] In 2016, he won the senior pairs title.

He bowled for the Wigton Club (outdoors) and the Cumbria Club in Carlisle (indoors).[15] In the mid-1980s he joined the BBC bowls commentary team.[4]

Business career

[edit]

Bell was the Head of Tourism for Carlisle City Council.[3] He was appointed as the President of World Bowls on 6 December 2012, a position he held until 2021.[2][3][16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Profile". Bowls Tawa.
  2. ^ a b "Board Structure". World Bowls. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Inside Bowls August 2021". Inside Bowls. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b Newby, Donald (1987). Daily Telegraph Bowls Yearbook 88. Telegraph Publications. ISBN 0-86367-220-5.
  5. ^ "Gordon Allan. "Bowls." Times [London, England] 28 July 1984". The Times.
  6. ^ "David Rhys Jones. "Successful defence puts Allcock on top of the world." Times [London, England] 1 Apr. 1996". The Times.
  7. ^ "Athletes and Results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  8. ^ "1998 Athletes". Team England.
  9. ^ "Bell's On". Daily Mirror. 20 August 1983. Retrieved 19 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Sheene admits it's gloomy". The People. 15 August 1976. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Bowls". Kent Evening Post. 22 August 1991. Retrieved 22 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Past Records". Bowls England.
  13. ^ "Previous Winners". British Isles Bowls Council.
  14. ^ Sullivan, Patrick (1986). Guinness Bowls Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-414-3.
  15. ^ Warters, Bob (1984). Fifth World Bowls Championship Official Souvenir. Key Publishing Ltd.
  16. ^ "AUSTRALIA'S DARRYL CLOUT ELECTED WORLD BOWLS PRESIDENT". Bowls Australia. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Bell_(bowls)&oldid=1251779043"