It’s 50 days to go until the next World Bowls event.

The 2025 World Bowls Indoor Championship is being staged in Scotland at Aberdeen IBC, April 20-25.

World Bowls and the International Indoor Bowls Council (IIBC) are very pleased to announce that 32 countries have entered to play in this year’s event.

All five corners of the globe will be represented in the six-day event which pits the European and Oceania powerhouses against those from the America’s, Asia and African regions.

Three of the most sought-after titles are up for grabs in the women’s and men’s singles and mixed pairs competitions which sees a some of the best names in the sport competing.

Defending women’s singles champion Malaysia’s Nor Farrah Ain Abdullah, the current World Bowls Series’ No 1 ranked female player, will be back to defend the title she won last year in Guernsey, but she will face tough opposition from a strong field of competitors including Australia’s highly-decorated Kelsey Cottrell, who was the inaugural No 1 ranked female when the ranking list was launched in June 2024 and won the mixed pairs in this championship in 2023 and current No 3, New Zealand’s 2023 World Bowls Championships women’s singles champion Tayla Bruce, Connie Rixon from Malta, who was a silver medallist in this event 12 months ago, WBS No 8, Esme Kruger from South Africa, and Norfolk Island 2022 Commonwealth Games representative Shae Wilson, who is just 26 years of age. Former back-to-back singles winner Alison Merrien MBE, immediate past president of the IIBC, will also be in the hunt for glory.

The men’s field features WBS’ No 3, Australia’s Jack McShane, Scotland’s Stewart Anderson, a three times World Indoor Bowls Championship open singles champion and multiple former winner of this singles and mixed pairs, WBS’ No 12, Wales’ World Bowls champion of champions bronze medallist Ross Owen and Andrew Kyle from Ireland, a previous singles champion at this tournament in 2016.

Pakistan make their first appearance in the event with Mohammad Ayub Ureshi competing in the men’s singles. Other countries include Botswana, England, Falkland Islands, France, Hong Kong China, Isle of Man, Spain, Netherland and Japan.

World Bowls CEO, Neil Dalrymple, said: “World Bowls, International Indoor Bowls Council and Aberdeen Indoor Bowls Club have worked very well in partnership to deliver the 2025 event and we are looking forward to what will be a very competitive competition featuring many world class bowlers together with some players who are new to the world stage.”

IIBC president Gordon Woods added: “The World Bowls Indoor Championships continues to grow in stature each year and this year we are looking forward to welcoming 32 countries to the North East of Scotland in April.

“Aberdeen is one of the great indoor bowling clubs in the world and I have no doubt that all of the competitors at the event will have a great experience there.

“With competitors from every continent on display and a star-studded entry field, I would encourage anyone who can attend this event to make the effort to visit Aberdeen for what will be a showcase event for the sport.”

The event takes place April 20-25.

The World Bowls Indoor Championship is a Platinum event on the World Bowls Series (WBS) calendar. The WBS was launched in 2024, is the official year-long calendar of sanctioned events connecting to the official world rankings. It is a joint venture between World Bowls and Tier 5 Ventures. The sanctioned events occur across the globe and will feature a mixture of existing and new events.

The 2025 calendar has just been launched and sees 30 sanctioned events. Each WBS event will belong to a different tier having different ranking points based on the size, location, and stature it presents for the sport.

The purpose of WBS is to build the profile and brand of bowls, showcase the best players in the game and increase their earnings potential, accelerate the legitimacy of the sport on the global stage and launch world rankings that will help create clarity and interest in the sport of bowls.

Since 2022, the event has been jointly sanctioned by World Bowls and the IIBC. Previously, it was run by the World Indoor Bowls Council/IIBC.

Player List: Here

World Bowls Series website: Here

Any further enquiries can made to:

General – World Bowls CEO, Neil Dalrymple at [email protected]

Media – Ceris Hewlings at [email protected]

Caption: The 2024 World Bowls Indoor Championships trophy winners flanked by Alison Merrien MBE, IIBC president, and Hazel Wilson, World Bowls director.

Photo Credit: Sporting Highlights