By Val Febbo

Queensland’s Kelsey Cottrell already boasts a Commonwealth Games gold medal thanks to her fours exploits at Gold Coast 2018, but the 36-year-old says that feeling of winning is why she keeps coming back for more.

Lining up for her fourth Games, alongside her fellow 2023 World Bowls Championships triples winner Dawn Hayman in the women’s pairs in Glasgow 2026, she is confident ahead of the most different competition that she has been a part of.

Pairs is the only discipline that Cottrell doesn’t hold a medal in, and claiming a gold would mean a great deal to the recently inducted Bowls Australia Hall of Fame member.

“It’s just the ultimate dream really. It’s why we do it,” Cottrell said.

“That’s why I keep coming back. You suffer disappointments at different times and you think, ‘Oh God, am I done?’ And then you just think about the opportunity to win again.

“To be at something like this at a Commonwealth Games and that’s why you keep coming back.”

The Queenslander and Hayman already share such a strong history both with and against each other, giving bowls fans some of the most memorable singles matches in recent memory, which poses a tricky prospect for their opposition seeing them on the same team.

Cottrell is ecstatic at the opportunity to stride on to the green at the Scottish Entertainment Campus (SEC) with Hayman in her debut Games, noting the quality that she possesses in all facets of her game.

“I’m very much looking forward to playing with Dawnie,” she said.

“I’ve played a lot against her and then also teamed up with her at the last world championships where we had success, with a lot of that success being because she got us off to such a great start.

“She’s such a great singles player and such a wonderful lead and I think she’s just going to get us off to a great start. It’s just important for me to play a couple of good ones at the right time.”

The former gold medallist is brimming with confidence thanks to coming through the arduous process to earn selection for the Games.

Noting that the spots for open bowlers was reduced from five to three, the race was as tight as it has ever been with the deep talent pool within Australia.

Cottrell’s spot in the squad has filled her with belief due to the sheer amount of bowls that have been played across various indoor rinks and greens both at home and abroad to hone her skills on the conditions.

“No disrespect to previous campaigns, but this one has definitely been harder just to get selected for Australia,” she said.

“I think naturally just the fact that only three girls were going to get picked for the open girls team and three guys. It just seemed so much harder.

“There was just such a fight to the end with so many selection trials and a lot of travel, even coming over to Scotland a couple of times. 

“I’m confident for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because we’ve had so much bowls under our belt and played this format so much. 

“We’ve played so much indoor in the last twelve months and we’ve played against some incredibly good opponents across that timeframe, which makes me feel like I’m in a really good space and the bowls are coming out really well.

“Everything’s looking great around Glasgow, just wandering around the city and seeing all the signage going up, all the volunteers and the workforce shirts everywhere is amazing.”

In terms of the format, Cottrell is no stranger to the quick fire cut throat style that is played twice a year at the Bowls Premier League, an event that she has won twice.

While moving to the skipper position with a shot clock is something new, she has ensured to practice bowling with time constraints to acclimatise to the format as well as she can.

“Absolutely, Australians need to be confident because we’ve got that BPL experience. For me personally, I’ve never skipped at a BPL and I’m skipping here at the Comm Games so I have a train and practice a lot different than I normally would,” she said.

“I’ve been out there with a shot clock running up and down the green practising only having that 20 seconds left, no timeouts left and playing a big shot.

“The preparation’s been very different for me.
At BPL I’m quite relaxed, I just lead and come off the bench feeling like I’ve got all the time in the world. 

“So getting used to that as a skip has been a bit of a challenge but I’ve been loving it though.”

Since her gold medal in 2018, Cottrell has added to her family with her and her partner Andrew welcoming their second child, Ava, in 2021.

Their eldest daughter, Sienna, was in the stands eight years ago as an infant, but now understands the enormity of her mum’s achievements a lot more.

Cottrell loves the opportunity to be able to share more about the games with her children and hopes to bring home a shiny new gold medal.

“It’s a very different experience now because when I played 2018, Sienna was only about seven months old and a little baby up in the grandstand,” the Queenslander said.

“But now to actually be able to have conversations with her about all the different athletes, the different sports, showing them the map that were on the other side of the world and face timing has made it more exciting for them as well because they can be a part of it when I send photos and videos.”