Paul Foster (bowls)


Paul James Foster is a bowls player who lives in Troon, Scotland. Foster is also a taxi owner. He plays at Troon Portland & Ambassador Prestwick bowling clubs.

Bowling career

Foster is the second most prolific winner of the World Indoor Championship singles title, behind six-times winner, pairs partner and close friend Alex Marshall. He has five wins from six final appearances, with his only defeat coming in the 2013 final to Stewart Anderson.
He has a record nine major WBT titles to his credit plus four Commonwealth Games Gold medals, two in pairs competition with his partner, Alex Marshall, and two in the fours event. The pairing went on to win the World Indoor Pairs title in 2011, 2012, and 2013. In 2012, they added the World Outdoor Pairs title, becoming the first players to win the indoor and outdoor pairs titles in the same year.
In addition, Foster won the World Indoor Mixed Pairs title with Laura Thomas in 2013 and 2014 and the World Indoor Pairs title with Hugh Duff in 2002. In 2007, Foster was the first bowler to win back-to-back major WBT titles. In 2009, Foster became the first bowler to win a sixth major WBT title in his career, also becoming WBT world number one for the first time.
In 2016, two more bronze medals were added when he competed in the 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Christchurch.
In 2017 he won his fifth world indoor singles title and won a pairs silver as part of the Scottish team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Alex Marshall. He then won a fourth career Commonwealth Games gold in the Fours with Marshall, Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver.
The success continued in 2019 when he won another open pairs at the 2019 World Indoor Bowls Championship, this was a fourth with Alex Marshall and fifth in total.
In 2020 he was selected for the 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia.

Awards

He was inducted into the World Bowls Tour Hall of Fame in 2008, as well as winning Players' Player of the Year and Performance of the Year at the inaugural World Bowls Tour Awards in 2008. In 2010, Foster won WBT Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year. In 2012, he was again voted WBT Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year, also winning Shot of the Year He won another three awards in 2013, which were for Fans' Player of the Year, Performance of the Year, and Shot of the Year.
Foster was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to bowls.

Honours (wins and gold only)