Paul Foster (bowls)

Paul Foster
Paul Foster at the medal award ceremony for the men's doubles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
Personal information
Nationality Scottish
Born (1973-03-13) 13 March 1973[1]
Irvine, Scotland[1]
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1]
Weight 95 kg (209 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport Bowls
Medal record
Representing  Scotland
Lawn Bowls
World Outdoor Championships
2012 Adelaide Men's Pairs
2012 Adelaide Men's Team
2016 Christchurch Men's Pairs
2016 Christchurch Men's Fours
Commonwealth Games
2006 Melbourne Men's Pairs
2014 Glasgow Men's Pairs
2014 Glasgow Men's Fours
2018 Gold CoastMen's Fours
2018 Gold CoastMen's Pairs
Indoor Bowls
World Indoor Championships
1998 Preston Men's Singles
2001 Great Yarmouth Men's Singles
2002 Great Yarmouth Open Pairs
2005 Great Yarmouth Men's Singles
2011 Great Yarmouth Men's Singles
2011 Great Yarmouth Open Pairs
2012 Great Yarmouth Open Pairs
2013 Great Yarmouth Open Pairs
2013 Great Yarmouth Mxed Pairs
2014 Great Yarmouth Mxed Pairs
2017 Great Yarmouth Open Singles
2001 Great Yarmouth Men's Pairs
2012 Great Yarmouth Mixed Pairs
2013 Great Yarmouth Men's Singles
2014 Great Yarmouth Open Pairs
2015 Great Yarmouth Open Pairs
2015 Great Yarmouth Mxed Pairs
Atlantic Championships
2015 Paphos[2] Men's Team
2015 Paphos[3] Men's Pairs
2015 Paphos[2] Men's Fours

Paul James Foster MBE (born 13 March 1973) is a bowls player who lives in Troon, Scotland. Foster is also a taxi proprietor. He plays at Troon Portland (Outdoor) & Ambassador Prestwick (Indoor) bowling clubs.[4]

Bowling career

Foster is the second most prolific winner of the World Indoor Championship singles title, behind six-times winner, pairs partner and close friend Alex Marshall. He has five wins from six final appearances (in 1998, 2001, 2005, 2011 and 2017), with his only defeat coming in the 2013 final to Stewart Anderson.

He has a record nine major WBT titles to his credit plus four Commonwealth Games Gold medals, two in pairs competition with his partner, Alex Marshall (in 2006 and 2014), and two in the fours event (in 2014 and 2018 both with Marshall too).[5] The pairing went on to win the World Indoor Pairs title in 2011, 2012, and 2013. In 2012, they added the World Outdoor Pairs title, becoming the first players to win the indoor and outdoor pairs titles in the same year.[6]

In addition, Foster won the World Indoor Mixed Pairs title with Laura Thomas in 2013 and 2014 and the World Indoor Pairs title with Hugh Duff in 2002. In 2007, Foster was the first bowler to win back-to-back major WBT titles.[7] In 2009, Foster became the first bowler to win a sixth major WBT title in his career,[8] also becoming WBT world number one for the first time.[8]

In 2016, two more bronze medals were added when he competed in the 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Christchurch.[9]

In 2017 he won his fifth world indoor singles title[10] and won a pairs silver as part of the Scottish team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Alex Marshall.[11] He then won a fourth career Commonwealth Games gold in the Fours with Marshall, Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver.[12] [13]


Awards

He was inducted into the World Bowls Tour (WBT) Hall of Fame in 2008, as well as winning Players' Player of the Year and Performance of the Year at the inaugural World Bowls Tour Awards in 2008.[14] In 2010, Foster won WBT Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year.[15] In 2012, he was again voted WBT Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year, also winning Shot of the Year[16] He won another three awards in 2013, which were for Fans' Player of the Year, Performance of the Year, and Shot of the Year.[17]

Foster was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to bowls.[18]

Honours (wins and gold only)

Year Achievement
2018 2018 Commonwealth Games – Fours Gold
2017 2017 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Open singles champion
2014[19] WBT International Open winner
2014[20] 2014 Commonwealth Games – Fours Gold
2014[20] 2014 Commonwealth Games – Pairs Gold
2014 2014 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Mixed Pairs champion
2013 2013 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Pairs champion
2013 2013 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Mixed Pairs champion
2012 2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship – Pairs champion
2012 2012 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Pairs champion
2012[21] WBT Scottish International Open winner
2011 2011 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Pairs champion
2011 2011 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Singles champion
2011[22] Premier League Bowls winner
2009[8] WBT Scottish International Open winner
2009[22] Premier League Bowls winner
2008[22] Premier League Bowls winner
2007[23] WBT Welsh International Open winner
2007[24] WBT International Open winner
2007 Bowls Scotland Scottish Outdoor Pairs winner
2006 2006 Commonwealth Games – Pairs Gold
2005 2005 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Singles champion
2004 Bowls Scotland Scottish Outdoor Singles winner
2002 2002 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Pairs champion
2001 2001 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Singles champion
1999[25] BIIBC British Isles Indoor Singles winner
1998 1998 World Indoor Bowls Championship – Singles champion
1998[26] WIBC Indoor Singles champion
1998[27] SIBA Scottish Indoor Singles winner
1997[27] SIBA Scottish Indoor Junior Singles winner

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Paul Foster profile". Glasgow 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 "ATLANTIC BOWLS CHAMPIONSHIPS – Day 14 results". Bowls Scotland. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Scotland wins medals of every colour on week one of Atlantic Championships". Bowls Scotland. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Paul Foster Profile". World Bowls Tour.
  5. ↑ "Foster & Marshall guarantee record haul". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. ↑ "Foster and Marshall World Pairs Champions". Bowls Scotland. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Paul Foster lands fifth bowls title". The Daily Telegraph. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "PAUL FOSTER SET TO DEFEND SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL OPEN TITLE at PERTH". Taylor Bowls. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "2016 World Bowls Championship Finals". Burnside Bowling Club.
  10. ↑ "World Indoor Bowls: Paul Foster beats Greg Harlow to win fifth world indoor title". BBC Sport.
  11. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Wales win bowls men's pairs to deny Scotland's Alex Marshall". BBC Sport.
  12. ↑ "Fours results". CG2018.
  13. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Scotland's Alex Marshall wins record fifth gold as women take bronze in bowls". BBC Sport.
  14. ↑ "Paul Foster Biography". Glasgow 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "FOSTER FETED AT WORLD BOWLS TOUR AWARDS AT POTTER". Henselite. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "FOSTER COLLECTS THREE AWARDS". Henselite. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "Plaudits at the World Bowls Tour 'Oscars'". Nationwide Bowler. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "No. 60728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 18.
  19. ↑ It was Battle of the MBE's WBT. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Will Olympics be convinced to take on lawn bowls?". The Scotsman. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  21. ↑ Foster Wins in Scotland WBT. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 Foster wins Premier League for third time Premier League Bowls. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  23. ↑ Welsh International Open 2007 WBT. Retrieved 28 June 2015
  24. ↑ 2007 WBT International Open WBT. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  25. ↑ BIIBC Previous Winners BIIBC. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  26. ↑ WIBC PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS AND FINALISTS WIBC. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  27. 1 2 SIBA Previous winners SIBA. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
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