The first members of Team England who will be heading to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games have been confirmed after 14 bowls and para bowls players were selected for the event.
The team, comprised of six athletes playing in the bowls competition and eight in the para bowls, is a mix of experience and debutants, with six players making their Commonwealth Games debut.
Trio of Birmingham 2022 Medallists Return for the Men’s Team
Returning after medal-winning performances at Birmingham 2022 are Sam Tolchard, Jamie Walker and Nick Brett.
Tolchard is due to bowl in the fifth Games of his career and will compete in the Men’s Singles.
Playing together in the Men’s Pairs will be Brett and Walker who secured a Men’s Triples Gold and Men’s Pairs Silver in 2022 respectively.
Walker, who secured the World Indoor Mixed Pairs title earlier this week, described his pride at competing for his country on the international stage:
“It means everything to represent your country, especially in a huge sporting event like the Commonwealth Games.
“It’s great for bowls especially that we get to be on the top stage with other sporting athletes.”
With the Commonwealth Games format moving indoors in Glasgow, each player brings a wealth of successes.
Brett boasts an impressive indoor record that includes seven World Indoor gold medals, Walker won the World Indoor Men’s Singles in 2023 and Tolchard recently took gold in the Men’s Singles at the World Bowls World Cup, a tournament designed as a prelude to Glasgow 2026.
Women’s Team Brings Experience and Medal Winning Acumen
The women’s bowls team also brings Commonwealth Games experience, with seven-time World Indoor Singles Champion Katherine Rednall joined by Sian Honnor and recent World Bowls Hall of Fame inductee, Amy Pharaoh, who have earned eight medals for Team England between them.
Rednall, who yesterday claimed another World Indoor Women’s Singles title, last competed in the Games in 2018, coming away with a Triples Bronze on the Gold Coast.
She will compete in Glasgow for the Women’s Singles title with the Commonwealth Games regulars of Pharaoh and Honnor teaming up for the Women’s Pairs.
Between them, Pharaoh and Honnor have donned Team England colours for every Games since 2002, winning three golds, one silver and four bronzes in that time.
Team England are keen to surpass the success achieved at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
Indoor Specialists to Join Rollings and White in B6-B8 Para Team
Four bowlers will compete in the B6-B8 para bowls tournament, including debutants and indoor specialists, Joe Peplow and Helen Wood.
Peplow, who has medalled in several Disability Bowls England events, will be partnered by Commonwealth Games returnee, Kieran Rollings.
Rollings will be looking to aim for the Para Men’s Pairs gold medal, improving on his Para Men’s Pairs Bronze from 2022.
Wood will be able to draw on Michelle White’s experience of Birmingham 2022 in their bid to win a Para Women’s Pairs medal.
Both have been a focal point of the international team since 2022, with Wood consistently placing well in indoor and Disability Bowls England competitions and White finishing an agonising fourth in Birmingham.
Wood said of the opportunity to represent Team England:
“It is a dream come true. Being able to represent your country as a para-international has always been an honour.
“I’m just so proud to be given the opportunity. I thought it would never come because it’s always been an outdoor event for the Commonwealth Games and I only play indoors, so this is the first opportunity that’s come to try and get in.”
Four Commonwealth Games Debutants Make Up the B2-B3 Para VI Team
The B2-B3 para bowls competition for Visually Impaired athletes will see BEM honouree Ron Homer combine with recent World Bowls World Cup gold medal winner Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall and directors, Sue Davies and Elizabeth Shipley.
All four players are making their Commonwealth Games debuts but boast a wealth of international experience and will be expecting to compete strongly for a medal.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games marks a distinct shift in bowls and para bowls at the Commonwealth Games, seeing the play moving indoors for the first time.
The Scottish Event Campus, along the River Clyde, will act as host after appearances for bowls at all but one Commonwealth Games since 1930.
Team England is the most successful nation in the history of bowls and para bowls, winning 21 golds, 11 silvers, and 23 bronzes, also winning the most medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, totalling seven.
Mo Monkton, Bowls England Performance Director, said of the team’s chances:
“We are delighted to be a part of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games programme. England have always shone on the Commonwealth Games stage, and we have no doubt that our team will follow in the footsteps of those before them.
“Our eyes are firmly on the podium, and we will work hard to ensure that we make the country proud throughout this prestigious event – the biggest within our sports’ calendar. I ask everyone to get behind the team as they set their sights on gold and along the way, inspire the next generation of Commonwealth Games bowlers.”
Team England bowls and para bowls
Bowls Team (6)
Men
Nick Brett, Huntingdonshire
Sam Tolchard, Devon
Jamie Walker, Devon
None-Travelling Reserve: Dominic McVittie, Lincolnshire
Women
Sian Honnor, Kent
Amy Pharaoh, Lincolnshire
Katherine Rednall, Norfolk
Non-Travelling Reserve: Nicole Rogers, Devon
Para Bowls Team (8)
Para Bowls B6-B8
Joe Peplow, Worcestershire
Kieran Rollings, Northamptonshire
Michelle White, Hertfordshire
Helen Wood, Leicestershire
Para Bowls B2-B3
Ron Homer BEM, Somerset
Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall, Leicestershire
Sue Davies (director), Worcestershire
Elizabeth Shipley (director), Leicestershire
Team Officials
Alistair Hollis – Team Leader
Mo Monkton – Performance Director
Kirk Smith – Team Manager (Men)
Sandy Hazell – Team Manager (Women)
Helen Lewis-Wall – Team Manager (Para)
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games is a great opportunity to showcase English bowls to the world.
Make sure to get behind the team in any way that you can, whether that’s from the stands in July, watching on TV or following on social media.
#ComeOnEngland