David Gourlay MBE steps down as High Performance Coach

Bowls Scotland can confirm that David Gourlay MBE has stepped down from his role as High Performance Coach.

David has taken the difficult decision to step down due to ongoing challenges with international travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made it extremely tough for David to perform his role to the best of his ability and fully assist Scotland’s performance players with their preparations for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The 1996 World Indoor Singles champion has led Scotland to major successes at the previous two Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Gold Coast, winning an impressive total of 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal.

Alan McMillan, CEO of Bowls Scotland, said: “I would personally like to thank David for his hard work and dedication to the performance programme over the years, which have manifested into incredible successes for Scotland at World and Commonwealth Games levels.

“The professionalism and experience he has brought to the organisation have been nothing short of exceptional. By making this hard decision now, David has given the programme ample time to review our options ahead of Birmingham 2022.”

David Gourlay MBE added: “I want to express my gratitude to Bowls Scotland CEO, Alan McMillan, and the Board of Bowls Scotland for giving me the opportunity to be High Performance Coach and for all the support and encouragement over the last 9 years. I also want to pay tribute to all the support staff, past and present, who have and continue to support the players.

“I always wanted to ensure that the High Performance programme was specific to bowls and was committed to ensuring the individual needs of the players were met. It has been an honour to work with the best players in the world and I want to wish the squad and all the High Performance staff good luck on the road to Birmingham 2022.”