Mary Price (bowls)

Mary Price (27 August 1943 – 5 May 2023) was an English international lawn bowler and indoor bowler.^[1][2]

Mary Price

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1943-08-27)27 August 1943
Died	5 May 2023(2023-05-05) (aged 79)
Medal record Women's indoor bowls Representing  England World Outdoor Championships 1988 Auckland fours 1988 Auckland pairs 1992 Ayr fours 1996 Leamington Spa fours 2000 Johannesburg pairs Commonwealth Games 1986 Edinburgh fours 1990 Auckland fours 1994 Victoria pairs World Indoor Bowls Championships 1991 Guernsey singles Atlantic Bowls Championships 1995 Durban fours 1997 Llandrindod Wells singles 1997 Llandrindod Wells pairs 1999 Cape Town fours British Isles Championships 1989 singles 1997 fours

Bowls career

Mary Price was from Farnham Common in Slough and played competitive cricket, badminton, squash, and hockey but achieved her greatest successes in bowls. After winning the National title in 1988 she became the first woman in England to win both the indoor and outdoor singles titles. She subsequently won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 1989.^[3] Her greatest win was arguably the singles title at the 1991 World Indoor Bowls Championships.^[4]

World Outdoor Championships

Price won five World Championships medals at consecutive Championships starting with a bronze medal in the pairs and silver medal in the fours at the 1988 World Outdoor Bowls Championship. Four years later in Ayr she won a fours bronze and at the 1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Leamington Spa she won another fours bronze medal. the fifth and final medal arrived in Johannesburg in 2000 when she won a pairs bronze with Jean Baker at the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship.

Commonwealth Games

Price won three bronze medals at consecutive Commonwealth Games. She gained a bronze medal in the fours at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and bronze medals in the pairs at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and 1994 Commonwealth Games.^[5][6]

Atlantic Championships

Price won four medals at the Atlantic Bowls Championships. In 1995 she won the fours bronze medal in Durban.^[7][8] Two years later in Wales she won double gold in the singles and pairs (with Katherine Hawes).^[9][10] Her fourth and final medal was in 1999 in the fours.

Management

After retiring from international bowls she continued to participate in regional tournaments with her last win coming in the 2023 EIBA Over-60 pairs tournament. She was also the manager of the England women's team for the 2004 World Championships and on the management team for the Commonwealth Games in 2002, 2006 and 2010. She was also a regional selector until she retired in 2020.^[2]

Death

Price died on 5 May 2023, at the age of 79.^[2]

References

1. "profile". Bowls tawa.
2. "Remembering Mary Price – World and Commonwealth Games Medallist". Bowls England. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
3. "Previous Winners". British Isles Bowls Council.
4. Newby, Donald (1990). Daily Telegraph Bowls Yearbook 91. Telegraph Publications. ISBN 0-330-31664-8.
5. "profile". Commonwealth Games Federation.
6. "COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEDALLISTS - BOWLS". GBR Athletics.
7. "Jones, D.R. (1995) 'S Africa's bowlers reclaim top spot'". The Times. 24 April 1995. p. 21. Retrieved 25 May 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
8. "'For the Record' (1995)". The Times. 1 May 1995. p. 32. Retrieved 25 May 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
9. "Dunwoodie, G. (1997) 'Hawes and Price take title for England'". The Times. 27 August 1997. p. 39. Retrieved 25 May 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
10. "Dunwoodie, G. (1997) 'Price savours singular feat'". The Times. 3 September 1997. p. 46. Retrieved 25 May 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.