Norma Shaw (1937-2009), born near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, was an English international indoor and lawn bowler.

Bowls career

World Championship

Norma won twelve World Outdoor Bowls Championship medals. The success started with two

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 ...

s and a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

1981 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1981 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the Willowdale Bowling Club in Toronto, Canada, from 1 to 15 August 1981. Swaziland replaced Samoa two weeks before the competition started due to the Samoan General Strike Norma Shaw ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Four years later she won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

and another bronze at the 1985 World Outdoor Bowls Championship followed by two more silvers at the 1988 World Outdoor Bowls Championship. Norma then competed in her fourth and fifth successive championships at the

1992 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1992 Men's Woolwich World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Beach House Park, Worthing, England, from 8 to 23 August 1992. The 1992 Women's Henselite World Championship was held at the Northfield Bowling Complex in Ayr, Scotland ...

and

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 ...

securing a bronze in both. Her final appearance was at the

2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2000 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Marks Park Bowling Club, in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1 to 15 April 2000. The 2000 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Moama Bowling Club in Moama, Australia ...

Moama Moama ( or ) is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state of Vi ...

where she won a bronze in the triples and finished with a gold medal in the team event.

Commonwealth Games

Norma represented England at four

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

winning four medals from 1982 until 1998.

World Indoor Bowls Championship

Norma also won the 1997 World Indoor Bowls Championship held in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

Atlantic Championships

Norma won five medals

Atlantic Bowls Championships The Atlantic Bowls Championships was a lawn bowling competition held between national bowls organisations in the Atlantic region. The event was a qualifying event for the World Outdoor Bowls Championships until the 2021 announcement that it woul ...

including a singles gold medal at the 1993 inaugural tournament in Florida.

National

Norma won eight

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or 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 best team, indi ...

bowling for Durham. Norma was the first woman to break into the male dominated televised tournaments. She died in June 2009.

Recognition

Shaw was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1985 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to t ...

for services to bowls.United Kingdom list:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Norma English female bowls players 1937 births 2009 deaths Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Bowls players at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Bowls World Champions Indoor Bowls World Champions Members of the Order of the British Empire Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games