Selina Goddard – World Number 1 Women’s Bowler

Recognition at the highest levels keeps on coming for North Harbour’s most outstanding bowler, Selina Goddard.  She is now, officially, the world’s number one women’s player, that distinction having been confirmed this week by World Bowls, in whose inaugural World Cup tournament she is now competing, along with fellow New Zealander Katelyn Inch, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Selina joins an illustrious band of top women’s bowlers who at various times over the past year or so have held the number one ranking.  That group includes Australians, Kelsey Cottrell and Dawn Hayman, Canada’s Kelly McKerihen, Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah and England’s Emily Kernick.

Selina becomes the first New Zealander, male or female, to have won this distinction.

Being acclaimed the world’s number one climaxes what has been a stellar few months for Selina. Just recently she was named Bowls New Zealand’s female player of the year, which was recognition of her exploits in Australia during 2025.  In March she achieved what is almost unprecedented feat in a major tournament by winning the singles, pairs and triples at the highly competitive Victorian Open, then in June she won the Australian Open pairs and helped her New South Wales club, Cabramatta, win the state pennants title.

This was all part of a campaign, helped by a generous sponsorship from Harcourts Cooper & Co., to compete in the lucrative, but intense Australian bowling environment to bring out the best of her considerable potential.

At 31, of course, she had already accomplished much in New Zealand, including six national titles and a gold star, gold stars too at centre levels and Commonwealth Games and world championships medals. 

And her Takapuna-based coach for the past seven years Graham Dorreen believes there is even more to come.  Naturally delighted with her latest accolade, he said it has acknowledged her dedication, determination and focus to be the best in the world.

“Selina has always been a very talented player who embraced new challenges and loved training sessions that were innovative but having meaning to her development as a player,” he said. “Selina has always tested boundaries to find what works for her and this is a remarkable strength.”

Without doubt the decision to travel to Australia in the past 12 months to compete with the world’s best players has paid dividends and proved she could not only compete with the best but actually be the best.