Ceri Ann Davies

Ceri Ann Davies
Personal information
NationalityAustralian & British (Welsh)
Born (1978-12-15) 15 December 1978 (age 46)
Sandfields, Port Talbot, Wales[1]
Sport
SportBowls
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking40 (June 2024)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Women's triples
Asia Pacific Bowls Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Christchurch fours
Representing  Wales
World Indoor Bowls Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 women's singles
Gold medal – first place 2008 mixed pairs
Gold medal – first place 2009 mixed pairs
Gold medal – first place 2023 mixed pairs

Ceri Ann Davies (born 15 December 1978), married name Ceri Ann Glen is an international lawn bowls player and four-time indoors World Champion.

Bowls career

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 Zealand 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][circular reference] 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.

Professional career

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]

Personal life

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]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "BowlsWales Board Members". Bowls Wales. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Ceri Ann Davies plans to strike gold for Scotland on the bowling greens at the Commonwealth Games". Herald Scotland. 7 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Ceri Ann Davies beats Skipp to make history". The Telegraph. 13 January 2008.
  4. ^ https://www.bowls.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Former-and-current-Australian-womens-representative-caps.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ "Melbourne06: Welsh girl bowls 'em over in Oz colours". 26 March 2006.
  6. ^ "Asia Pacific Championships Past Winners" (PDF). World Bowls. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  7. ^ https://www.bowls.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Former-and-current-Australian-womens-representative-caps.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  8. ^ "Ceri Ann's bowling them over". 17 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Bowls: Ceri makes bowls history". 13 January 2008.
  10. ^ "Ceri Ann Davies beats Skipp to make history". 13 January 2008.
  11. ^ "2008 World Indoor Bowls Championship".
  12. ^ "Davies and Gourlay's pairs joy". BBC Sport. 18 January 2009.
  13. ^ "Mixed Pairs draw". World Bowls Tour. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Kirkliston's Ceri Ann Glen bags another world title with Mixed Pairs success". Edinburgh Live. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  15. ^ "GB Archers get a taste of Olympics atmosphere at Lilleshall". BBC News. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Liam's a good Samaritan". Table Tennis England. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Paul Drinkhall wins Serbia Open title". The Northern Echo. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Ceri Ann Glen On Her Bowls Comeback". Bowls International. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.