Hawick bowler Julie Forrest misses out on third singles title but wins second in mixed pairs

​The 55-year-old made it to the final of 2024’s World Indoor Bowls Championships, staged at Hopton-on-Sea in Norfolk, but lost out by 2-1 to Suffolk’s Katherine Rednall.

The Borderer won their first set by 9-5 but her English opponent took the second by 12-5 and went to win a tie-breaker by 2-1 to claim the singles final for the third year running and sixth time in total.

Rednall, 28, was full of praise for Forrest after pipping her to the post, saying: “That was probably the best final I’ve been part of.

“Julie is an absolute class act. In the first set, Julie didn’t give me a look-in. I knew I had to do something.

“I was just pleased that I could help give such a good final.”

Teviotdale Indoor Bowling Club’s Forrest had been hoping for a hat-trick after being crowned singles champion in 2019 and 2020 but will now have to wait another year to try to add to those titles.She said she’d enjoyed the final despite missing out on this year’s title, adding: “It was probably one of the best games or finals we’ve had here for a long time.

“It’s probably the best week of my bowls career so far. I’ll not get many more like this.

“Hats off to Katherine – she played absolutely fantastic.

“I knew Katherine would come back in the second set. I’d felt really in control in the first set.”

To get to the final, Forrest beat two Welsh players on the bounce, Lauren Gowen in the last eight and Ceri Ann Glen in the semi-finals.

She didn’t leave Norfolk empty-handed, though, as she won the mixed pairs title with Cambridgeshire’s Nick Brett on Tuesday.

That was her second mixed pairs title, having previously won in 2021 with North Ayrshire’s Stewart Anderson.

Forrest and Brett, 49, beat two sets of English opponents to get to the final – Ailsa Robertson and Robert Paxton in the quarter-finals and Nicole Rogers and Wayne Willgress in the last four – prior to seeing off Glen, 45, and former sidekick Anderson, 38, by 2-1 to claim the trophy.

They won the first set by 12-2, lost the second 9-8, then took the tie-breaker 2-0.