Dame Mary Peters behind bid to get bowls included in 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games
After the success of Team NI’s bowlers at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - when for the first time everyone came home with a medal - there is a push to have the sport included in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games and Dame Mary Peters is endorsing the bid.
Ballymoney native Gary Kelly, who is based in Australia, won a bronze in the singles in Glasgow before striking gold with partner Adam McKeown in the Men’s Pairs.
McKeown is following in Kelly's footsteps as he is also leaving these shores to set up base down under.
Chloe Wilson and Shauna O’Neill were inches away from contesting the gold medal match in the Women Pairs, but regrouped and beat Wales to claim a bronze medal.
The 'Bowls for Brisbane 2032' campaign, a joint initiative by World Bowls and Bowls Australia, is driving a concerted push for the sport’s inclusion, aiming to unite clubs, players, and fans in a movement that celebrates both tradition and global ambition.
A pivotal moment in the campaign was a showcase match, where the Australian Jackaroos faced off against a Rest of the World team, which was staged at Club Pine Rivers.
This event highlighted the global appeal and competitive spirit of bowls, showcasing its potential as an Olympic sport.
Furthermore, the match gave a glimpse of bowls as an Olympic-ready sport for both open and para athletes.
Dame Mary Peters, an Olympic gold medallist at the Munich Games in 1972, would be a huge advocate of bowls being included in the 2032 Brisbane sports programme.
She said: “I'd absolutely be in favour of that.
"I played bowls for a year and ultimately got to play with Jim Baker when he was world champion, and I loved it.
“The social life was good, the healthy aspect of it and the competition, I really enjoyed it and I played in all sorts of venues all over Northern Ireland.
“I met the chairman of the World Bowls in Glasgow, and we talked about it and I said I would definitely endorse consideration of bringing the bowls to the Olympics.
“It's a great spectator sport. It was one of the sports I enjoyed most at the Commonwealth Games because you can sit and relax and watch them going through the tension of trying to get that bowl near the jack, I'm definitely for it."
The raw emotion of sport was captured as best friends Wilson and O’Neill won their medal in Glasgow, with the former in floods of tears.
It was followed up with Kelly finally topping the podium after a 16-year journey that started at the Delhi games in 2010. He collected a silver and two bronze before playing the winning shot to win the gold medal against England in the sudden death tie break in Glasgow.
Dame Mary Peters added: “They deserve the medals that they won.
"The chairman of the World Games said that Gary Kelly is the best bowler in the world, and I was privileged to see him playing.
“Bowls absolutely deserves its place in the Olympics, it used to be old people played bowls, now we've got vibrant young people who are very talented who will go on to win more medals in the future and I was so proud to watch them and see them growing in stature as the week went on.”
As well as his four Commonwealth Games medals, Kelly has a world championship and a world cup gold medal in his collection - but he would relish playing on the Olympic stage.
He stated: “I believe bowls should be in the Olympics because of the skill set required within the sport to play at the highest level.
“The tactics and strategic play involved, the inclusiveness and longevity with the sport, the community in bowls is amazing and the participation numbers worldwide and number of nations meet the criteria to be involved.”