Joan has been introduced to Endlish draughts by her brother Bill Halsey, who was representing Birmingham and invited her to take part in Open Air Tournament in St Nicholas' Park, Warwick.

[3] Four players representing England, Ireland and Scotland took part in the tournament that was held in Aberdeen during the British Open, and Caws won the title without losing a single game.

[4] In 1987, Caws successfully defended her world title on her home ground, at Ryde, Isle of Wight, in a match against the American Faye Clardy, winning with a score of 6–5–8.

Next match between Caws and Breen was played at the same location in 1993, and this time the Irish champion won handily, taking 8 games and losing only 1 with 5 draws.

[3] In 1992, Joan Caws became the first woman ever to play for the England national team in this sport when she took part in the Home Internationals at Morecambe, a four-sided match against Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.