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| Nationality | Australian & British (Welsh) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 December 1978 Sandfields, Port Talbot, Wales [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Bowls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ceri Ann Davies (born 15 December 1978), married name Ceri Ann Glen is an international lawn bowls player and four-time indoors World Champion.
Davies made her debut for Wales aged just eleven. [2] Davies competed for Wales from 1991 to 2004.
She moved to Australia where she was courted by their Talent Identification Programme.[ citation needed ] After switching allegiance to Australia she won a silver medal in the triples at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. [3] Davies received her Australian Citizenship two days before the Games, after being awarded a 'distinguished talents' visa and awarded the 69th Ladies Cap for Australia. [4] [5] In addition to the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Davies competed for Australia in the Trans Tasman Championships against New Zealand, the Tri Series against New Zealand and Malaysia, Multi- Nations against South Africa & Scotland and the Asia Pacific Championships. She won a bronze medal at the 2007 Asia Pacific Bowls Championships in Christchurch. [6] She won numerous state titles in Queensland, and skipped Queensland to the Australia Sides Championships in 2006 & 2007. [7] Davies became the first female to compete in the inaugural Premier League, where she played third to Shane Globits to win the Premier League title for Paradise Point Bowls Club. She was a member of Helensvale Bowls Club and also had a professional contract with Mount Gravatt Bowls Club, all in Queensland.[ citation needed ]
In 2008, Davies qualified for the World Indoor Singles Championship, and in doing so became one of the few women to qualify for the Open Singles Event. Davies defeated Glenn Skipp of England and then Jamie Hill of New Zealandn to reach the last 16 of the tournament before losing to four-time world champion, Alex Marshall on a tie break. [8] [9] [10] [11] Despite this defeat, Davies went on to win the women's singles, defeating Debbie Stavrou in the final, and the mixed pairs with David Gourlay.
One year later, at the 2009 World Indoor Bowls Championship with David Gourlay, [12] they retained their mixed pairs title, with Davies 6-month pregnant with her first child.[ citation needed ] The following year, going for the treble, the pair were defeated in the final on a tie break.
In 2023, after a 13-year break, and just five month after returning to the sport, Davies qualified once again for the World Indoor Championships. Representing Wales, she won the 2023 World Indoor Bowls Championship mixed pairs final, with Stewart Anderson. [13] [14] She also reached the final of Ladies Matchplay Singles.
Ceri Ann Davies has worked as the Team GB programme manager for Olympic and Paralympic Archery for Great Britain. [15]
Davies has supported a number of athletes with their wellbeing and performance, including Liam Pitchford, Great Britain's former number-1 table tennis player. [16]
Davies also coached Pitchford's teammate, Paul Drinkhall. Together, their partnership also made history when Drinkhall became the first British player to win two World Tour titles, and Davies is believed to be the first female coach to coach a male table tennis player to a World Tour Title. [17]
Davies now works in Risk & Performance in finance as an Executive Director of a High Performance Consultancy firm and is also an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Bowls Wales. [1] After losing her brother Gareth Davies to suicide she became a programme director for the Scottish Association for Mental Health. [1]
She has cited her pride of being from a working class community and learning her sport alongside her family. [18] She lives in Scotland with her husband and two children. [1]
Paul Andrew Drinkhall is a British table tennis player. He won the English Championship in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.
Kelly Sibley is a former professional table tennis player and current coach from England. Sibley won the singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles at the UK Junior Championships and has represented England at senior level at the Commonwealth Games, European Championships and World Championships.
Ellen Marie Falkner is an English international lawn and indoor bowler from Cambridge, England. Falkner was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to lawn bowls.
Paul James Foster is a multiple world bowls champion who lives in Troon, Scotland. He plays at Troon Portland (Outdoor) & Ambassador Prestwick (Indoor) bowling clubs.
Liam Benjamin Pitchford is a British table tennis player. He is sponsored by Victas.
Alex "Tattie" Marshall is record breaking Scottish bowls player.
Joanna Drinkhall is a British table tennis player.
Alison Jayne Merrien is an indoor bowls player from Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.
Stewart Anderson is a Scottish international bowls player and a world champion indoors.
Tin-Tin Ho is an English table tennis player, born and raised in London. She has won multiple national titles, as well as two Commonwealth silver medals, and appeared at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Samuel Jake Walker is a British table tennis player. He competed for England in the men's team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where he won a silver medal.
The 2008 World Indoor Bowls Championships was held at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton on Sea, Great Yarmouth, England, from 08-27 January 2008. The event was sponsored by Potters Holidays.
Alex Marshall won the men's singles defeating Ian Bond in the final achieving a record fifth title. Despite the fact that a women's singles tournament was held Ceri Ann Davies also competed in the men's singles competition, and became the first woman to win matches in the final stages of the event with victories over Glenn Skipp in the preliminary round, and Jamie Hill in the first round.
David Gourlay is a Scottish international lawn & indoor bowler from the Prestwick Bowling Club and Crookston Bowling Club. He is also a Commonwealth Games medal winning coach.
David Gourlay Senior is a former Scottish international lawn and indoor bowler born on 24 May 1937.
Katherine Rednall is an English lawn and indoor bowler from Stowmarket. She is record six times women's world indoor singles champion.
Laura Daniels is a Welsh lawn and indoor bowler.
Sarah Gourlay is a Scottish international lawn and indoor bowler born on 28 September 1937.
Thong Auan 'Noi' Tucker is a former Australian international lawn and indoor bowler.
Daniel Salmon is a Welsh international lawn and Indoor bowler.
Kelly Packwood is a Welsh international lawn & indoor bowler.
