John Bell (bowls)

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John Bell
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
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 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, the triples in 1976 and pairs and triples in 1991.[9] He also won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 1984.[10][11]

He bowled for the Wigton Club (outdoors) and the Cumbria Club in Carlisle (indoors).[12] 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][13]

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. ^ "Past Records". Bowls England.
  10. ^ "Previous Winners". British Isles Bowls Council.
  11. ^ Sullivan, Patrick (1986). Guinness Bowls Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-414-3.
  12. ^ Warters, Bob (1984). Fifth World Bowls Championship Official Souvenir. Key Publishing Ltd.
  13. ^ "AUSTRALIAS DARRYL CLOUT ELECTED WORLD BOWLS PRESIDENT". Bowls Australia. Retrieved 13 April 2022.