Canada’s Singles Players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Ottawa, Ontario | March 30, 2018

Name

Hometown

Kelly McKerihen

Toronto, ON

Kelly McKerihen (Toronto, ON) will be representing Canada once more in the singles event.   

McKerihen will be looking to improve upon her bronze medal performance at the 2016 World Championships. Standing in her way will be Norfolk Island, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Cook Island, and Botswana. The past year has proven to be extremely beneficial to McKerihen’s game, as she consistently plays against tough opponents on the Australian greens. McKerihen is frequently near the top of the Australian Ranking System and has made her presence known as a top contender. While Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Cook Island, and Botswana will all come out swinging, the real challenge will lie in Norfolk Island. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2016 World Championships, Norfolk Island has gone 3-1 and 6-3 in the women’s singles round robin respectively. As Norfolk Island is the last game in the round robin, McKerihen should be warmed up by then, making that game even more crucial to watch. Now that she resides down under and can play year round, McKerihen’s draw shot should be even more consistent than it was at the 2014 Games. If she can connect on her upweight shots as well, a podium finish would not be a surprise.

Team

2014 CWG

2016 World Championships

CANADA

2-2

8-1 (Bronze Medal)

Botswana

N/A

N/A

Cook Island

3-1

0-9

Kenya

2-3

3-6

Norfolk Island

3-1

6-3

Papua New Guinea

2-4

N/A


Name

Hometown

Ryan Bester

Hanover, ON

Ryan Bester (Hanover, ON) will be making his fifth straight Commonwealth Games appearance and will be tasked with the difficult challenge of performing on the world stage at the place of his employment.

Bester, the Bowls Coordinator at the Broadbeach Bowls Club, has resided in Australia for the past decade. The “Master Blaster” is one of the most renowned bowlers in the world, and certainly in Australia. Bester was the first player to win the prestigious Golden Nugget invitational title in consecutive years, and was the Australian Ranking winner in 2014/15 and 2015/16. Securing silver medals at the past three international championships, Bester will be looking to dominate on his home turf. Standing in his way will be Northern Ireland, Jersey, Papua New Guinea, Isle of Man, and Botswana. In the past, Jersey players have quickly adapted to fast surfaces and could prove to be difficult to contend with. The game to watch, however, will be against Northern Ireland. At the 2014 Games, Ireland went 5-1 in the Singles and will surely be looking to improve on that performance. The key for Bester will be to find a way to focus on his games and block out the background noise that will undoubtedly go on at his workplace. It’s not everyday that thousands of people descend onto your place of employment and finding a way to overcome that could prove the biggest challenge of all.

Team

2014 CWG

2016 World Championships

CANADA

4-0 (Silver Medal)

7-2 (Silver Medal)

Botswana

N/A

N/A

Isle of Man

N/A

N/A

Jersey

4-2

4-5

Northern Ireland

5-1

4-5

Papua New Guinea

2-4

N/A

For more information on the 2018 Commonwealth Games, please visit:
https://www.gc2018.com/sport/lawn-bowls

For more information on Broadbeach Bowls Club, please visit:
http://www.broadbeachbowlsclub.com/

For more information, please contact:
Jake Schuknecht, Technical Coordinator, Bowls Canada Boulingrin
jschuknecht@bowlscanada.com 

About the Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sport event that takes place every four years amongst the Commonwealth countries. The 2018 event will take place along the Gold Coast of Australia, with the bowls portion of the event being hosted at the Broadbeach Bowls Club from April 4 – April 15, 2018.  

About Bowls Canada Boulingrin
Bowls Canada Boulingrin (BCB) is the governing body responsible for lawn bowls in Canada.  The BCB mission is to advance the sport of bowls in Canada.  For more details on Bowls Canada Boulingrin and the sport of lawn bowls, visit
www.bowlscanada.com.