If you switch on to the BBC coverage of the World Indoor Bowls Championships in late January, you may just spot a tall, bearded young man from Hornsea playing with the elite at the Ambassador Cruise Line Indoor World Bowls Championships.
At just 29, James Baxter has qualified for the past 32 World Indoor Bowls Championships, held every January at Potters Resorts, Hopton-on-Sea in Norfolk. The event runs for about a fortnight and is widely seen as the blue-riband indoor tournament of the year, bringing together many of the finest players on the planet.
For those who do not follow bowls, it is worth pausing on what that means. The World Indoor brings together leading names from traditional strongholds such as Scotland, England and Wales, but also from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and a growing band of nations across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The field is a mix of the World Bowls Tour’s top-ranked professionals and those who have fought their way through tough qualifying events such as the Belfast Qualifier where James was runner-up in early November.
The prize for lifting the men’s singles title is not just the trophy and a place in the record books but a cheque of about £50,000 – life-changing money for many bowlers. Recent years have seen names such as Scotland’s Jason Banks and England’s Nicky Brett (who plays professionally in Australia), trading ends under the television cameras and global live streams. And now, into that company, walks James Baxter of Hornsea.
James has been playing bowls for as long as he has been able to swing a wood. He is, in every sense, a home-grown product of Hornsea Indoor Bowls Centre.
Coached by Ian Paddy at Hornsea, James now also works at the club, being the friendly face behind the bar or vacuuming the vast bowls hall carpet.
What makes his achievement all the more impressive is the route he has taken. Hornsea Indoor Bowls Centre is a friendly, member-run club on the Yorkshire coast, not a vast city arena. Yet for many years the club has quietly punched above its weight, sending teams to county and national competitions and to play in England teams while nurturing players of all ages.
The centre has invested in coaching, juniors and league structures, and James is one of the clearest signs that this steady work is bearing fruit.
James’s first match will be at 7.30pm on Thursday, January 15, when he meets Scotland’s Darren Burnett. This round can be watched through live streaming found through the Potters Resort website with later rounds being on the television.