Norma Shaw (1937-2009), born near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, was an English international indoor and lawn bowler.

Bowls career

World Championship

Norma won twelve

World Outdoor Bowls Championship These are the premier International Bowls Events between national bowls organisations affiliated to World Bowls, the PBA, World Bowls Tour and the IIBC. Calendar Outdoor Indoor World Outdoor Bowls Championships The sport's premi ...

medals. The success started with two

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s and a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

1981 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1981 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the Willowdale Bowling Club in Toronto, Canada, from 1 to 15 August 1981. Swaziland replaced Samoa two weeks before the competition started due to the Samoan General Strike Norma Shaw ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Four years later she won a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

and another bronze at the 1985 World Outdoor Bowls Championship followed by two more silvers at the

1988 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1988 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, from 30 January to 14 February 1988. David Bryant won a third singles Gold defeating Willie Wood in the final. New Zealand won the Pairs and Triples, ...

. Norma then competed in her fourth and fifth successive championships at the

1992 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1992 Men's Woolwich World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Beach House Park, Worthing, England, from 8 to 23 August 1992. The 1992 Women's Henselite World Championship was held at the Northfield Bowling Complex in Ayr, Scotland ...

and

1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1996 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the Lockleys Bowls Club in Adelaide, Australia, from 18 to 31 March 1996. The 1996 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Victoria Park, Leamington Spa, England ...

securing a bronze in both. Her final appearance was at the

2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2000 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Marks Park Bowling Club, in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1 to 15 April 2000. The 2000 Women's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Moama Bowling Club in Moama Moama ( ...

Moama Moama ( or ) is a town in the Murray region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state of Vic ...

where she won a bronze in the triples and finished with a gold medal in the team event.

Commonwealth Games

Norma represented England at four

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

winning four medals from 1982 until 1998.

World Indoor Bowls Championship

Norma also won the 1997 World Indoor Bowls Championship held in

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

Atlantic Championships

Norma won five medals

Atlantic Bowls Championships The Atlantic Bowls Championships was a bowls, lawn bowling competition held between national bowls organisations in the Atlantic region. The event was a qualifying event for the World Bowls Championship, World Outdoor Bowls Championships until ...

including a singles gold medal at the 1993 inaugural tournament in Florida.

National

Norma won eight

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

bowling for Durham. Theyincluded the singles in 1998, the pairs in 1980 and 1989, the triples in 1982 and the fours in 1977. Norma was the first woman to break into the male dominated televised tournaments. She died in June 2009.

Recognition

Shaw was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1985 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to t ...

for services to bowls.United Kingdom list:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Norma English female bowls players 1937 births 2009 deaths Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Bowls players at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Bowls World Champions Indoor Bowls World Champions Members of the Order of the British Empire Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games 20th-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in lawn bowls