Australian lawn bowls star Lee Schraner creates history

After struggling with mental health issues and overcoming torrential weather conditions, one Aussie has created a slice of lawn bowls history.

Lee Schraner has created history by winning his second World Champion of Champions title. Picture: Bowls New Zealand

At one stage of his life, Lee Schraner had lost his co-ordination and was having hallucinations.

He was seeing animals in his living room, with the colours of a toucan and the stripes of a zebra swirling around his house as a life-sized playing card – the ace of spades – sat by his door.

Suffering from anxiety and depression, Schraner has credited lawn bowls with helping him fight through these difficult periods.

Now, more than a decade on from his lowest point, the 42-year-old has created bowls history by becoming the first Australian and indeed the first man to win two World Champion of Champions titles.

After winning his first crown in 2019, Schraner – who is originally from Melbourne but now lives in NSW’s Hunter Region and plays for the Raymond Terrace Bowling Club – took out the 2024 event in Auckland last weekend.

“I’m very proud. I just haven’t had time to reminisce too much because I’m playing in another tournament,” said Schraner, who flew straight from NZ to Dandenong to take part in another event, the Ultimate Bowls Championship.

Schraner defeated Aiden Takarua in the final. Picture: Bowls New Zealand

In the final at the Browns Bay Bowling Club in Auckland last Saturday, Schraner not only had to take on local hope Aiden Takarua but also battle the torrential conditions as he won 6-4, 4-4 to etch himself into history.

“The day before the finals we basically played under water because it pelted down in Auckland,” he said.

“The wind went away for the last day, which was a miracle, but it didn’t stop raining. We were drenched.”

The rain added an extra degree of difficulty to what is already a significant challenge playing across the ditch.

“The conditions in NZ are one of a kind compared to the rest of the world so it was more a concentration test,” he said.

“They have the fastest greens in the world. Australia can be similar in some places but NZ play on a weed grass and the weight you have to put on the ball is so much less than the rest of the world. It’s a whole new rhythm in your action.”

But Schraner’s success wasn’t purely down to one good day or a good week out in Auckland.

Considered the pinnacle of lawn bowls outside the international team tournaments like the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, the World Champion of Champions is an incredibly long and testing event that sees bowlers start at the local level and work their way through the grades to the world stage.

“It’s a long tournament. You’ve got to get through your club, then you’ve got to get through your zone, then your state, your country and then try and win the worlds when you get there,” said Schraner.

“Each event goes for almost two years from when you start at your club to the end of the worlds.”

The cut-throat nature of the competition means that bowlers simply can’t afford to have a bad day, with Schraner’s consistency and concentration coming to the fore.

“It’s the endurance of it, and the different conditions and places you play at along the way. One little slip-up and you’re out.”

Schraner’s second victory at the World Champion of Champions last weekend adds to his two bronze medals he has already won in the event, taking his overall record at the WCoC finals to a remarkable 51 victories from 54 games.

The event was played on very wet green after heavy rain. Picture: Bowls New Zealand

While Schraner’s anxiety and depression came at an incredibly difficult time of his life, he credits his experiences with making him the man he is today. Indeed, in his 2014 autobiography, Nothing to Prove, Schraner wrote how it has in turn played a big role in his lawn bowls success.

The victory caps off a bumper few months for the 42-year-old, who in November was included in the Australian men’s bowling squad for the 2024-2025 season, some 14 years since he last represented the Jackaroos.

“I made the Australian team this year and I haven’t played for Australia since 2010, so as much as I have the Australian gear on in that event it’s not what’s called an international capped event. Getting more international caps is certainly something I want to go for,” he said.

And on the back of his recent win, Schraner is sure to be in contention to make his return to the national team at February’s Trans-Tasman Championships in Wellington.

“I’m in the mix. There are no guarantees but my name will pop up because it’s in NZ.”