| World Bowls Tour | |
| Abbreviation: | WBT |
The World Bowls Tour is an organisation which promotes indoor bowls and organises competitions (primarily in the United Kingdom), including the World Indoor Bowls Championships.[1]
In 1990 the sport was under a period of fragmentation following the loss of the television coverage connected with the World Indoor Bowls Championships. John Hall the President of the English Bowls Association unsuccessfully called for closer co-operation between the indoor and outdoor game.[2] In 1992, a player led organisation formed the Professional Bowls Association, during the 1992 World Indoor Bowls Championship, which were held in the Preston Guildhall to promote indoor Bowls worldwide and on television.
On 1 January 1997, under the then chairman Richard Corsie, the PBA created the World Bowls Tour and after the 1997 championship replaced the World Indoor Bowls Council as the leading indoor organisation.[3] The purpose of the World Bowls Tour was to set up and create championships and competitions to further the aims of the PBA.[4]
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | David Bolt | |
| Tournament Director | Tom Weir | |
| Assistant Tournament Director & Finance Director | Martin Gale | |
| Corporate Director | Jason Parkinson |
Current and former indoor bowls competitions organised by the World Bowls Tour.[5]
See main article: World Indoor Bowls Championships.
See main article: Scottish International Open.
| Year | width=250 | Winner | width=250 | Runner-Up | width=300 | Score | width=20 | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | David Bryant (1/2) | Bob Sutherland | 7–4 7–3 7–1 | [6] | ||||
| 1984 | Terry Sullivan | 5–4 (sets) | ||||||
| 1985 | Jim Baker | John Watson | 5–7 4–7 7–0 7–3 7–3 7–6 7–4 | |||||
| 1986 | Stephen Rees | 7–3 7–2 7–0 7–1 2–7 3–7 4–7 4–7 7–0 | [7] | |||||
| 1987 | Tony Allcock | 7–6 1–7 2–7 7–3 7–0 4–7 7–4 5–7 7–5 | [8] | |||||
| 1988 | Gary Smith | Richard Corsie | 6–7 7–5 7–5 7–6 7–6 3–7 6–7 7–0 | [9] | ||||
| 1989 | David Bryant (2/2) | David Corkill | 1–5 5–7 7–6 7–5 7–3 | [10] | ||||
| 1991 | Andy Thomson (1/3) | Tony Allcock | 6–7 4–7 7–5 7–2 7–1 | [11] | ||||
| 1992 | Andy Thomson (2/3) | John Price | 7–3 3–7 7–5 7–5 | [12] | ||||
| 1994 |  Mark McMahon | Andy Thomson | 4–7 7–5 7–3 7–0 | [13] | ||||
| 1995 | Hugh Duff |  Ian Schuback | 2–7 7–3 7–4 7–1 | [14] | ||||
| 1997 | Les Gillett | David Gourlay | 7–5 7–0 6–7 7–4 | [15] | ||||
| 1998 | David Gourlay (1/5) | John Price | 7–0 0–7 7–6 3–7 7–2 | [16] | ||||
| 1999 | Ian Schuback | David Gourlay | 5–7 6–7 7–5 7–3 7–2 | [17] | ||||
| 2000 | David Gourlay (2/5) | John Price | 7–2 7–2 0–7 5–7 7–3 | [18] | ||||
| 2001 | Ian Bond | Greg Harlow | 7–4 6–8 2–1 | [19] | ||||
| 2002 | David Gourlay (3/5) | Jason Greenslade | 9–7 6–7 2–1 | [20] | ||||
| 2003 | Andy Thomson (3/3) | Les Gillett | 9–10 13–4 2–1 | [21] | ||||
| 2004 | Greg Harlow (1/3) | David Gourlay | 10–4 4–8 2–0 | [22] | ||||
| 2005 | Greg Harlow (2/3) | Robert Weale | 8–12 10–5 2–0 | [23] | ||||
| 2006 | Greg Harlow (3/3) | David Gourlay | 12–7 10–8 | [24] | ||||
| 2007 | Paul Foster (1/2) | Jason Greenslade | 15–5 5–6 2–1 | [25] | ||||
| 2008 | Brett Wilkie | 13–4 10–9 | [26] | |||||
| 2009–2012 not held | ||||||||
| 2013 | Alex Marshall | Robert Paxton | 10–2 10–1 | [27] | ||||
| 2014 | Paul Foster (2/2) | 9–8 15–3 | [28] | |||||
| 2015 | Nick Brett | Alex Marshall | 12–4 9–8 | [29] | ||||
| 2016 | David Gourlay (4/5) | Jamie Chestney | 11–9 10–6 | [30] | ||||
| 2017 | Jamie Chestney | Stewart Anderson | 9–4 8–6 | [31] | ||||
| 2018 | David Gourlay (5/5) | Greg Harlow | 11–9 5–9 2–1 | [32] | ||||
| not held since 2018 | ||||||||
| Year | width=300 | Winner | width=300 | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Les Gillett | Robert Weale | ||
| 2003 | Tony Allcock | David Gourlay | ||
| 2004 | Kelvin Kerkow (1/2) | Andy Thomson | ||
| 2005 | Kelvin Kerkow (2/2) | Robert Weale | ||
| 2006 | Jason Greenslade | David Gourlay | ||
| 2007 | Robert Weale | |||
| 2008 | Mark Royal (1/2) | Greg Harlow | ||
| 2009 | Robert Chisholm | Simon Skelton | ||
| 2010 | Darren Burnett | Simon Skelton | ||
| 2011 | Mark Royal (2/2) | |||
| 2012 | David Gourlay | Greg Harlow | ||
| not held since 2013 | ||||
| Year | width=300 | Winner | width=300 | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Greg Harlow | Mervyn King | ||
| 2008 | Andy Thomson | Alex Marshall | ||
| 2009 | David Gourlay | |||
| 2010 | Ian Bond | Jason Greenslade | ||
| not held since 2010 | ||||
| Bowler | World Indoor Bowls Championships | The International Open | Scottish International Open | Welsh International Open | World Match Play | Total wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 11 | |
| 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | 9 | |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | 8 | |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 8 | |
| 6 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 6 | |
| 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 5 | |
| 1 | 4 | - | - | - | 5 | |
| Stewart Anderson | 2 | - | 3 | - | - | 5 |
| 3 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 4 | |
Desmond Lai, at age of 15 (January 2024) from Hong Kong China, in World Bowls Indoor Championships 2024 [33]