Joanna Edwards (born 5 February 1970) is a New Zealand international

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

competitor. She has won two world titles and three Commonwealth Games gold medals.

Bowls career

Outdoors

At the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

she won a gold medal along with Sharon Sims in the women's pairs event. She has twice won the gold medal at the World Outdoor Bowls Championships in the pairs events: in 2004 with Sharon Sims; and in 2008 with

Val Smith Valerie Christine Smith (born 29 July 1965) is an international bowls, lawn bowler from New Zealand. Bowls career World Championships Smith won a bronze medal at the 2004 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Leamington Spa before winning three ...

. In 2014 she won a second Commonwealth Games gold medal after winning the women's singles in Glasgow. In 2016, she won a bronze medal at the

2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the Burnside Bowling Club in Avonhead, Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Ch ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

in the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and a silver medal with Angela Boyd in the

pairs Concentration, also known as Memory, Shinkei-suijaku (Japanese meaning "nervous breakdown"), Matching Pairs, Match Match, Match Up, Pelmanism, Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and tw ...

. She was selected as part of the New Zealand team for the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where she claimed a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the

Singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. In 2020 she was selected for the

2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship was to be the 14th edition of the World Championships to be held at the Broadbeach Bowls Club, Musgrave Hill Bowls Club and Club Helensvale on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. There were to be ei ...

in Australia. In addition to World Bowls and Commonwealth Games success she has won five gold medals and (nine medals in total) at the

Asia Pacific Bowls Championships The Asia Pacific Bowls Championships formerly the Pacific Rim Championships was a bowls, lawn bowling competition held between national bowls organisations in the Asia Pacific region. The event was inaugurated in 1985, and it was initially held ...

and excelled at the 2015 APL (Australian Premier League), she was the only woman competing in the eight-team tournament featuring 24 of the world's top players and played alongside her countrymen

Ali Forsyth Ali Forsyth (born 11 December 1979) is a New Zealand international lawn and indoor bowler. Bowls career Forsyth from Nelson, in New Zealand, first came to prominence when winning the New Zealand national title which qualified him to compete in ...

and

Shannon McIlroy Shannon McIlroy (born 5 January 1987) is a New Zealand international lawn bowler. Bowls career World Outdoor Championships McIlroy won a bronze medal in the Men's singles at the 2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Adelaide. In 2016, h ...

to win the title at Club Pine Rivers.

Indoors

Edwards has won six

World Cup Singles World Cup Singles The World Cup Singles was an event inaugurated in 2005 by the organisation known as World Bowls and was held until 2019. It was contested annually between bowlers from national bowls organisations. The competition was seen as the ...

titles (a women's record) with the latest success being in 2019. Previous wins were in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2017.

Honours

In the

2014 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

, Edwards was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to lawn bowls.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jo Living people 1970 births New Zealand female bowls players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Bowls players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Bowls World Champions Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games