Rebecca Field married name Rebecca Willgress is an English international lawn & indoor

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

player. Field was the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

World Indoor singles champion.

Personal life

Field starting playing bowls at the age of eight,Mustard video: Norfolk’s Potters resort prepares for WIBC return
GY Mercury. 08-01-2014. Retrieved 30-01-2015. in her local village hall in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, giving the short mat game a go. She was attracted to the sport following a big drive in the 1990s to get people playing indoor bowls in their communities. Subsequent moves to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

with her family and then to study at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

only increased her appetite for the game. Field has language degrees in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and currently works for a Norwich-based marketing firm. Field is a supporter of the Championship team

Norwich City Football Club Norwich City Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football ...

Bowls career

Indoors

Field plays and competes for the Norfolk Bowling Club in Norwich.Norfolk Bowling Club - Our players
Norfolk Bowling Club. Retrieved 27-01-2015. She competed as a junior (U25) international player for several years and won multiple titles. Amongst her accomplishments as a junior, is being a two-time English and British Isles indoor singles champion. Field first competed for the England senior ladies team at indoor level in 2011, when she was named in the squad for the BIWIBC International Series.BIWIBC Series 2011 (England squad)
EIBA/EWIBA. Retrieved 26-01-2015. Field competed at her first World Indoor Championships in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

in the ladies singles event. Organisers invited Field to the competition after being impressed with her recent rise in the sport. Field reached her first World Indoor Bowls ladies singles final in

, defeating

Alison Merrien Alison Jayne Merrien (born 28 November 1974) is an indoor bowls player from Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. She reached a career high ranking of world number 11 in June 2024. Bowls career By virtue of winning her national title she qualified t ...

in a tie-break setRebecca Field beats Alison Merrien to win world indoor title
BBC Sport. 24-01-2013. Retrieved 25-01-2015. becoming the youngest ever winner of the event at 23.World Indoor Bowls 2014: Rebecca Field to defend title
BBC Sport. 10-01-2014. Retrieved 25-01-2015. The victory gained Field a wild card entry into the WBT International Open and direct qualification for the World Indoor Championships in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, where she was beaten by 18-year-old Katherine Rednall in the final.Katherine Rednall is youngest World Indoor Bowls winner
BBC Sport. 23-01-2014. Retrieved 25-01-2015. Field was twice runner-up in the 2016 World Indoor Bowls Championship and

2018 World Indoor Bowls Championship The 2018 Just World Indoor Bowls Championship took place at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the is ...

losing to

Ellen Falkner Ellen Marie Falkner (née Alexander; born 12 June 1979) is an English international lawn and indoor bowler from Cambridge, England. Falkner was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services ...

and Katherine Rednall respectively.

Outdoors

Field won her first outdoor titles, winning the ladies two-wood singles and junior pairs events at the

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 ...

in 2014.NBA: Ladies Section - News
Norfolk Bowls Association. 14-08-2014. Retrieved 25-01-2015. She first competed for the England senior ladies team at outdoor level in 2015, when she was named in the squad for BWIBC International Series.2015 International Team Women
Bowls England. Retrieved 21-06-2015. Also at outdoor level in 2015, Field was selected to represent England at the European Team Championships and Atlantic Rim Games. She won gold in the ladies pairs, mixed fours and team events at the European Team Championships. In 2018, she finished runner-up to

Amy Gowshall Amy Pharaoh (born 20 March 1979 in Grimsby), also known as Amy Gowshall and Amy Monkhouse, is an English international bowls, lawn and indoor bowler. She reached a career high ranking of world number 14 in September 2024. Personal life In A ...

in the National Two Wood Singles. Five years later, she won another national title at the 2023 Bowls England National Finals, partnering her husband Wayne in the

mixed pairs Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''. Mixed may refer to: * Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 2001 Census Music * ''Mixed'' (album) ...

Titles and finals

¹The Gedling Trophy is awarded to the best overall performing nation.

Awards

*Norwich Sportsperson of the Year (2013)

Personal life

Her husband is England international

Wayne Willgress Wayne Willgress (born 1988) in Mulbarton, Norfolk, is an English male lawn and indoor bowler. Bowls career Willgress was an England Junior international and was the National triples champion in 2007 and singles runner-up in 2012 during the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Rebecca Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia English female bowls players Indoor Bowls World Champions 1990 births Bowls European Champions 21st-century English sportswomen