On an unremarkable Tuesday evening, Abbeyview Bowling Club in Dunfermline has a couple dozen people casually chatting, observing and playing friendly games of lawn bowls. The atmosphere is relaxed, social; the senior citizens and middle-aged men making up the majority of room are contentedly enjoying a leisurely evening of the physically low-demand sport.
Among them, knowingly standing out, is Sophie McGrouther, a 22-year-old woman with a self-proclaimed passion for lawn bowls.
Again, unlike the others, she is not just here for fun. As the World Bowls Indoor Women’s Single Champion 2025, Sophie is here to train for upcoming competitions, including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Although, when she first set foot on a bowling green, the stakes were nowhere near as high.
“I was ten when I first started playing bowls,” Sophie said, squinting as she cast her memory back, “It was in a primary school taster session and I loved it.
“I just kept coming back from there.”
As Sophie got more involved in bowls, her pastime developed into something more competitive. Her skills improved, and her club encouraged her to enter competitions to grow her confidence.
So, Sophie competed in her first National Championship when she was 14. It was held in Northfield, Ayr and hundreds came from across the country to watch. Against all the older competitors also in the U25 singles category, Sophie took home the bronze medal.
“It was a huge whirlwind moment,” she reminisced.
“I had played against a lot of big names that I didn’t know, including beating the current U25 team captain.
“I had a lot of support as I was the youngest in the field that year… it was a great introduction to playing under pressure.”
With a newfound motivation in her step, Sophie kept competing— and her trophy pile kept growing.
In 2019, she won two gold medals in her first U18 international event.
Later, she won the 2023 Scottish Indoors Ladies U25 Singles then won it again the following year. Also in 2024, she won the Bowls Scotland Ladies National Triples with the mother and daughter bowling duo Kara and Lynn Lees.
Then, also in 2024, she flew to Hong Kong to compete in the World Bowls Junior Championship where she won bronze.
Finally, in April 2025, Sophie competed in the World Bowls Indoor Championship in Aberdeen and earned her biggest title to date: the Women’s Indoor Singles champion.
Although, in the Scotland v Australia test match this past October, Sophie had a mixed bag of wins and losses.
Her catalogue of wins, she explains, does not make her immune to defeat and the emotions that come with it.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to continue to perform at a high standard,” Sophie said, a little forlorn.
“I know how it feels to get beat and feel frustrated… but I use that as motivation to avoid being in that situation where possible.
“This year especially I have struggled with the internal pressure of being ‘World Champion’.
“The mental strength required to compete at a high level is an unspoken aspect of sports, but it is super important to make sure you are mentally strong, as well as physically.”
Slightly nervous, Sophie explained that maintaining her nerves is crucial if she wants to achieve her dream of winning gold in the Commonwealth games, especially accomplishing it in a home event
The stakes are especially high, she says, as bowls is a core sport at the Games and must be included in every tournament. It was only excluded in 1966, as Jamaica did not have sufficient bowling greens.
So, not only is the sport important to Sophie; it is also important to the Games.
Potentially being part of a key sport at a particularly sentimental Games adds a little more pressure to Sophie to qualify. Yet, her persistent excitement is palpable.
“If I was to tell my younger self watching those [2014 Glasgow] Games that I would be competing at the next one… that would be a dream come true,” Sophie said.
“Playing in competitions is my favourite part of the sport… Obviously, I would be focused on trying to win medals.
“But honestly, I think I willbe mainly concentrating on trying to enjoy the experience.”
Regardless of the results, she will continue being the youthful spark at Abbeyview Bowling Club, enjoying lawn bowls no matter what.
Image provided by Sophie McGrouther.
Editor-in-Chief.
Twitter/X and BlueSky: @AlexPaterson01
