John Nicholson Bell (born 14 January 1947) is a former English lawn and indoor bowler, commentator and World Bowls President.

Bowls career

World Championships

Bell won his first

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 ...

as part of the England team that won the team event (Leonard Cup) at the

1980 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1980 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the City of Frankston Bowling Club in Frankston, Melbourne, Australia, from 17 January to 2 February 1980. The Australian government would not allow the South African team to compete ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Four years later he won another gold at the 1984 World Outdoor Bowls Championships. Following a team gold and double

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

in the triples and fours at the 1988 Auckland Bell won a fourth gold medal in the fours with Andy Thomson, Brett Morley and

David Cutler David Matthew Cutler (born June 22, 1965) is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University. He was given a five-year term appointment of Harvard College Professor, which recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching. He ...

at the

1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1996 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the Lockleys Bowls Club in Adelaide, Australia, from 18 to 31 March 1996. The 1996 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Victoria Park, Leamington Spa, England ...

Commonwealth Games

Bell represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the fours at the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

and the fours at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

National

Bell made his first appearance in the National Championships at Mortlake in 1966 when he was just 18. He won

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

titles in the singles in 1983, the triples in 1976 and pairs and triples in 1991. He also won the singles at the

British Isles Bowls Championships The British Isles Bowls Championships is a tournament held between the champions of their respective nations, England Scotland, Wales, combined Ireland and more recently Guernsey and Jersey. It was first held in 1960 although the triples event did ...

in 1984. He bowled for the Wigton Club (outdoors) and the Cumbria Club in Carlisle (indoors). In the mid-1980s he joined the BBC bowls commentary team.

Business career

Bell was the Head of Tourism for Carlisle City Council. He was appointed as the President of World Bowls on 6 December 2012, a position he held until 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, John English male bowls players 1947 births Living people Bowls World Champions Bowls players at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England Bowls European Champions