World Bowls grew out of the Empire Games (now called the Commonwealth Games) 70 years ago when the event was first held in Canada at Hamilton, Ontario. While it was intended that only athletics should form part of the Games, the Canadian bowlers lobbied successfully to have bowls included and so it has been ever since.

It was not until 1966 that World Bowls Championships was held for the first time in Kymeemagh, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia. Sixteen countries took part - Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jersey, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Wales. In 2004 the number of Countries participating are 24, the first 16 qualifying by virtue of their placings in the 2000 games in Johannesburg and the remainder after qualifying tournaments to be held in 2003 in different parts of the World.

At the first World Bowls the home country, Australia, won the overall team trophy with wins in the pairs and triples while the legend of bowls, David Bryant, won the first of his three world singles championships. Scotland (J Hershaw) won silver in the singles and New Zealand became the first winners of the fours title edging out Australia. Scotland won bronze in the fours and came second in the team Trophy.

In 1972 the second event, after a break of some six years to accommodate the Commonwealth Games, was played at Worthing in England. The home ground advantage did not work all that well for England as they won only the fours title while Scotland won the overall Leonard Trophy (donated at the first World Bowls by William Leonard the then managing director of the first sponsors of the event Ampol. Mal Evans of Wales was the singles winner and a Hong Kong side skipped by a famous Scottish name Eric Liddell won the pairs title.

Johannesburg was the venue in 1976 and was a huge success for the local South African team. No other country got a look in at the gold medals that year as the home Country won all the gold medals and along with them the Leonard Trophy - .a performance that is unlikely ever to be repeated. The then policy of the South African Government brought about the expulsion of the country from world sport and South Africa as were forced out of playing in the next three World Bowls events, but that did not stop the rest of the world of bowls. Scotland failed to gain a place in the team championship in 1976, the first and only time they have failed to do so.

A total of 24 Countries gathered at the City of Frankston club in Melbourne, Australia for the 1980 competition and David Bryant claimed the second of his three singles titles after battling against 19 opponents with three games each day, to hold off John Snell of Australia and Scotsman David Gill. In the pairs Australia's A Sandercock and Peter Rheuben took gold while Bryant got gold again as he skipped James Hobday and a 24-year-old Tony Allcock to the triples title. Hong Kong were again winners of the fours while the Leonard Trophy went to England with Australia second and Scotland third.

In 1984 World Bowls returned to the United Kingdom, this time to Aberdeen in Scotland. Scotland's Willie Wood was beaten for the singles gold medal by an umpire's measure and as a result Peter Belliss of New Zealand won the gold medal with David Bryant the bronze. Bob Middleton of Australia who had won the silver medal behind Watson in 1976, got his third world championship medal. Scotland's George Adrain won a gold medal in the pairs playing for America as a substitute.
Scotland again won the Leonard Trophy ahead of New Zealand and England.

In Auckland, New Zealand, four years later Willie Wood successfully defended his silver medal, this time beaten by David Bryant in the singles. Tony Allcock and David Bryant again picked up second place in the pairs with Peter Belliss and Rowan Brassey from New Zealand winning the pairs in their home soil. England won the Leonard Trophy ahead of the home side with Scotland this time third.

World Bowls went back to Worthing after a 20 year absence in 1992 and the surprise team was Israel, recently emerged into the international arena. Leon Burn, Lawrence Mendelsohn and Cecil Bransky, formerly of South Africa, beating the South Africans for gold in the triples. Jeff Rabkin, an expatriate South African, took bronze in the singles behind Tony Allcock, the winner, and Richard Corsie, now such a great name on the indoor circuit, taking silver. Richard Corsie and Alex Marshall combined to give Scotland a pairs win, a title they were not able to retain in 1996 in Adelaide where they lost 21-19 to Ireland in the final. The Scottish four of Graham Robertson, Marshall, Woods and Angus Blair also won the fours title to make sure Scotland won the Leonard Trophy for a third time ahead of England and Israel.

Scotland continued their dominance of the Leonard Trophy overall prize by winning it again in Adelaide in 1996 although they only took gold in one event, the triples when they beat New Zealand 26-5 in the final. The team that day was Raymond Logan, Willie Wood and skip George Adrain. For the first time play was in sections with a final taking place on the last day and two bronze medals were awarded in all the competitions - Scotland's Richard Corsie winning one in the singles along with Kevin Kerkow of Australia. Tony Allcock won the singles title for the second successive time by beating Jeff Rabkin 25-15 in the singles. England won the fours when they beat Wales 20-9 with New Zealand and Australia the bronze winners. England, in spite of their two golds could only claim second place in the Leonard Trophy with Australia third.

The games in 2000 took place in Marks Park, Johannesburg. Scotland's team was Alex Marshall in the singles, Alex and George Sneddon in the pairs, Robert Marshall, Jim McIntyre and Willie Wood in the triples and Robert, George, Jim and Willie Wood in the fours. Gold went to the pairs with Alex Marshall also wining the "player of the tournament" award for an outstanding performance of bowling throughout the pairs tournament. Bronze medals went to both the fours and the triples and but for a technicality Scotland would have won the Leonard Trophy which was eventually awarded to the Australian team after the Jury of Appeal considered a protest by the Australian camp, which they subsequently upheld.

The games in 2004 will take place in the Northfield Bowling Complex, Ayr, Scotland and promises to be a great event. See you there.

Roger Black