AUSTRALIA AND USA TOP THE WORLD IN ST PETERSBURG (Nov. 10)

Ann-Maree Putney of Australia and Bill Hoffman of the USA have been crowned as QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup champions for 2007.

Ann-Maree bowled superbly this morning to beat Sun Hee Lee of Korea in the final winning by two games to nil (280 and 247 to 201 and 226). Her total of 527 is just one short of the all-time record for two games in the TV finals, but her 280 game is the high game for this tournament.

Earlier, Sun Hee Lee had defeated the young German star Tina Hulsch, also by two games to nil (227 to 258 to 223 and 226).

Ann-Maree, whose two sons are back in Australia with their grandparents, said afterwards: "My goal when I came here was to beat my previous best finish which was 4th and I've certainly done that! My 280 game really set it up and when I tipped the four pin in the 10th I knew that was it. This is just the greatest feeling and my best win ever."

Bill equally bowled exceptionally well beating Andres Gomes of Colombia in the sim final by 2 games to nil (247 and 276 to 196 and 205) setting up a final against number one seed Jason Belmonte of Australia.

It was not the final Jason had dreamed of - Jason will be getting married next Sunday and had wanted to give his fiancée Kimberly the World Cup. But Bill was on fire and won the first game by 227 to 147.

Jason came back in game two to win by 268 to 192, so there had to be a third game to decide the champion. It was nip and tuck until Jason left a split which he just failed to convert and Bill went on to win by 221 to 181.

"I had several motivating factors this week" said Bill afterwards. "I really hope this will get me up there into the World Bowling Writers Hall of Fame and be the first American to be inducted since 1963. And I wanted to win so that the US bowling programme can be recognised as the best in the world. Plus it's terrific to follow in the footsteps of Pat Healey who was the last American to win in 1995.

"I have been really impressed with St Petersburg. I visited the Hermitage this week and it's spectacular. And Baltika is one of my favourite beers so it's great to be able to come to the city where it's brewed!"

It was the 4th year in a row that the USA and coach Jeri Edwards have won the Bowling World Cup, but the last three years it has been the women who have finished on top of the podium.

2007 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Winners: Ann-Maree Putney and Bill Hoffman.

ANTIPODES ON TOP (Nov. 9)
Both the Australian players are top of the pops with Jason Belmonte and Ann-Maree Putney heading the rankings as we go into the finals of the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

It went down to the wire in both sections. With one game - the position round - to go, Andres Gomez of Colombia was just 10 ahead of Canadian Michael Schmidt, vying for 3rd place and of course they were playing each other. Andres hit 234 while Michael could only manage a 179, so the coveted last spot in the TV finals has gone to South America.

Over with the women, there was a similar situation though it was even closer. Sharon Koh of Malaysia was lying in 2nd, Tina Hulsch of Germany was in 3rd and Sun Hee Lee of Korea was in 4th and all three were within 11 pins of each other, with Ann-Maree Putney out in front, but still only 38 clear of second place.

Ann-Maree hit a 235 against Sharon, while Tina Hulsch and Sun Hee Lee played out a 216 draw, thus getting 15 bonus pins each and sending Sharon down to 4th place and out of the finals.

The round of eight also saw our 3rd 300 of the tournament with Jason Belmonte hitting a perfect game in the 7th round.

The finals will be played tomorrow, 10th November, starting with the women at 10 am local time.

Above photos of the top three in each section. Credits: QubicaAMF and Hero Noda.

JASON BELMONTE BY A COUNTRY MILE (Nov. 8)
The top eight men in the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup have now been decided and as expected, Jason Belmonte of Australia qualified by a long way, averaging 238.8. His lead over Bill Hoffman of the USA is 252 and he is 714 pins higher than the 8th qualified player.

The top eight who will play again tomorrow are:

 


The best set of eight games was bowled by Tina Hulsch from German with 1783. In addition, Sun Hee Lee equalled the tournament high game of 279, also bowled by Aumi Guerra, as previously reported.

Of these eight players, four have appeared in a Bowling World Cup round of eight before: Ann-Maree Putney, Aumi Guerra, Piritta Kantola and Helen Johnsson and the last three of those made this same stage of the tournament last year in Caracas, Venezuela.

The ladies will now bowl an eight game round robin, one match against each of the other competitors with a position round to finish. There will be thirty pins bonus for a win, so there is still all to play for.

The next round will be played tomorrow, Friday November 9th with the top three advancing to the step-ladder final on Saturday 10th.

DOWN TO THE WIRE FOR TOP 24 MEN (Nov. 8)
It went to the very last shot of the very last game to decide who made it to the top 24 in the men's section of the 43rd Bowling World Cup in St Petersburg, Russia.

Nikolajs Ovcinnikovs of Latvia needed a big game and at least strike, strike, 9 in the 10th frame to make it - and he did. A 257 game put him in by just one shot in 23rd place with Paulo Lopes of Portugal in 24th.

There were two players who just missed out: Maurizio Celli from Italy and New Zealander Jason Waters tied for 25th spot, 14 pins off the cut.

At the other end of the leader board, Jason Belmonte had another good day at the office, shooting 1400 to extend his lead, though not by much as the USA's Bill Hoffman hit 1390. Jason is now on a pinfall of 5606 with Bill on 5489. Andres Gomez of Colombia is lying in 3rd on 5461.

Jason's 1400 was not the high six-game set yesterday. 47-year-old businessman Nickolay Babuk of Moldova hit 1424, including a 278 game, beating his previous six-game best by 155 pins! But he had not bowled as well over the three previous sets and this was not enough to get him up into the top 24.

High game in the last block of qualifying games went to Mark McQueen of Scotland with a 289 which was enough to pull him up into one of the qualifying positions. He finished the evening in 22nd place.

The top 24 men now move onto a further eight games to determine the top eight for the third round.

      Action shots of Nickolay Babuk and Mark McQueen [Credits: QubicaAMF and Hero Noda.]

Ghislaine van der Tol from the Netherlands is the new leader in the women's section of the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup as qualifying comes to an end.

She is on 5179, an average of 215, ahead of Malaysian' Sharon Koh in second on 5168 and Helen Johnsson from Sweden in 3rd on 5140.

Ghislaine shot 1402 this morning, the high set of the day. Hihg game of the day was bowled by Helen Johnsson, a 276.

The cut for the top 24 has now been made and Nofar Herskovitch of Israel is the last player to be coming back tomorrow. Nofar averaged 198. Just missing out is Indonesia's Putty Armein, just 5 pins off the cut, despite hitting a 1287 series today.

Early leader Sun Hee Lee of Korea is lying in 5th place with our other former leader, Maltese star Sue Abela in 5th.

The scores will carry forward as these 24 girls bowl another eight games tomorrow to determine the top 8 for the third round. At present 8th place is Ann-Maree Putney from Australia on a 209 average.

A feast of high scores came in the men's qualifying squads today, 6th November, in the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

In the first squad, 20-year-old student Marcelo Suartz from Brazil hit 1518 over his six games, including a 279 game. "I had a really good day," he said. "I felt confident and I was able to visualise every shot and then execute it all well. I came here hoping to do well and so far I have to be pleased."

Then in the second squad we witnessed several 270+ games and the list is long: Jason Belmonte had a 289, Remy Ong from Singapore had a 287, Glenn-Morten Pederson of Norway had back-to-back 279s, Colombia's Andres Gomez had a 279, Paolo Valdez of the Philippines had a 279, Germany's Achim Grabowski had a 279 and home favourite Alexey Parshukov had a 278.

But they were all capped by our second perfect game from Argyrios Ketsetzis of Greece.
He was naturally delighted and promptly turned round to the score display to take a photo of the proof of his achievement.

Jason Belmonte remains in the lead on 4206 after 18 games, a 233 average. Now, Glenn-Morten is in second on 4119 and Andres in 3rd on 4113.

With just six games to go, the cut for the top 24 is a 208 average, with Vitas Gykis of Lithuania just in the list.

WOMEN AFTER 18 RELEASE: SUE ABELA TAKES OVER THE LEAD (Nov. 6)

The 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup has a new leader in the women's
section - Sue Abela from Malta. She shot 1331 today and moved into first
spot on a total of 3923.

Our leader until today, Sun Hee Lee of Korea had, for her, a low scoring
set with 1228 and is now in second place on 3864.

Aumi also hit a 279 game to take over the high game of the tournament. "I was really disappointed with my scores yesterday," she said. "I had a foul at one point and I let it get to my head and then played badly. I knew I had to do something today and I'm pleased how I played. I don't think the 279 will remain as high game for the tournament but you never know."

There are now only six games to go before the cut to the top 24. Helga DiBenedetto of Italy is in 24th place on 3548 but Michaela Blazekova from Slovakia is just 4 pins below the cut.

It remains all to play for.

[Above Sue Abela in action. Credits: QubicaAMF and Hero Noda]

FIELD CLOSES ON SUN HEE LEE (Nov. 5)
Sun Hee Lee of Korea remains in the lead on a total of 2636 (an average of 219) at the half way stage of the 24 qualifying games in the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup but others are chasing her hard.

High set of six came from 20-year-old student Sharon Koh of Malaysia with 1367 to pull herself up into 10th place. Sharon is making her first Bowling World Cup appearance but has plenty of experience of international play having been a national youth team member for two years, winning gold medals at both the Asian Games last year in Doha and a gold in the World Youth championships..

Malta’s Sue Abela is in second with 2592 (1250 today), while Sasha Luciano of Puerto Rico, making another Bowling World Cup debutante, shot 1323 to move up into 3rd place on a total of 2568. Tina Hulsch of Germany is now in 4th on 2565 ( 1237 today).

We also saw a new high game for this tournament for the women with both Sandra Torrents of Spain and Sharon Koh shooting a 268. Sandra has played in five previous Bowling World Cups, including 2005 in Ljubljana and last year in Caracas.

With qualifying at the halfway stage, the cut is currently a 195 average with Irena Strakova of the Czech republic in 24th place.

[Below: Sharon Koh and Sandra Torrents in action. Credits: QubicaAMF and Hero Noda]                                  
PETTERI SALONEN OF FINLAND HITS NEW SIX-GAME RECORD (Nov. 5)
Petteri Salonen of Finland hit a new Bowling World Cup record for six games when he amassed 1538 pins in the second qualifying block at the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in St Petersburg, Russia today.

His series included back to back 279 games (247, 220, 256, 279, 279, 257) which beats the 1513 set by Jason Belmonte in 2004 in Singapore.

Petteri, naturally, was delighted afterwards and said: "Yesterday, I only shot 1158. It was bad bowling and a lot of bad decisions. So I stayed and watched the second squad then decided to change the ball and change the line.

"And today it worked! I was much more relaxed, my head opened up and I got some good breaks as well. If someone said to me I would shoot 1538 I would say he had been at the bar and had a beer!"

Jason still leads the tournament having hit 1374 today to give him a total of 2826 over the 12 games. Petteri is now in 3rd place on a total of 2696 and between them, in 2nd place, is Bill Hoffman of the USA who hit 1367 to go with his 1433 from yesterday to give him a total of 2800.

The players are now half way through their 24 qualifying games after which the cut for the top 24 will be made. Our former champion from 2005 in Ljubljana, Michael Schmidt of Canada, is sitting right on the cut on 2495, a 207 average. Our two other former champions are also both in the top 24: Sweden's Peter Ljung, winner in Copenhagen in 1986, is lying in
7th place and Mohammed Khalifa al-Qubeisi from the UAE, winner in 1988 in Guadalajara is in 19th.

[Petteri Salonen in action. Credits: QubicaAMF and Hero Noda]

HIGH SCORES FROM THE LADIES IN THE FIRST QUALIFYING BLOCK (Nov. 4)
Sun Hee Lee from Korea blitzed them in the first qualifying block of six games in the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in St Petersburg, hitting 1386, an average of 231, to go into an overnight lead. The 36-year-old from the town of Dan Jin Kun has looked in fine form from the practice sessions onwards.

However, she is not having it all her own way with other fine players high on the leaderboard.

Aumi Guerra, lying in 2nd place on 1376, left her home in the Dominican Republic just before Hurricane Noel hit the country. She is many people’s choice to reach the finals, having finished in 5th place in Caracas last year.

The early leader from the first squad is an old friend of the Bowling World Cup – Sue Ablea of Malta who is in third place. She first played in the event an amazing 20 years ago when she took part in Malaysia and this is her 9th appearance in the event. She shot 1342 over the six games. Sue won the Sportswoman of the tournament trophy in 1991 in Beijing, when she also recorded her highest finish of 6th place.

Helen Johnsson of Sweden is also riding high, in 4th place on 1336. This is her fourth appearance in the Bowling World Cup and she will be looking to improve on her 5th, 5th and 6th positions in Singapore, Ljubljana and Caracas.

The cut for the top 24 will take place after 24 games have been bowled by all the competitors. At present the cut is a 195.8 average.

The high game in the women’s section of the tournament so far is 263 from Tina Hulsch of Germany.

[A photograph of Sun Hee Lee in action. Credits: QubicaAMF and Hero Noda]

43RD QUBICAAMF BOWLING WORLD CUP SEES FIRST 300 (Nov. 4)

Ildemaro Ruiz of Venezuela made a storming start to his 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup career when in his fifth game of six qualifying games he hit a perfect 300.

The 21-year old economist from the town of Lara delighted the spectators in the Kontinent bowling centre in St Petersburg, Russia. It is not his first 300 but it is his first in a major international tournament.

Even with that score he is not top of the leader board. That honour goes to Jason Belmonte, the double-handed player from Australia who is playing in his second Bowling World Cup, having come 5th when the event was held in Singapore in 2004. Jason shot 1452 over his six games, an average of 242.

Jason commented afterwards: ‘It may sound strange but I found it hard out there. I really had to work for the score, so I’m pleased to be in top spot so far. But I know it’s early days. I’m going to try and relax now by learning how to play Russian billiards!’

In second place is Bill Hoffman of the USA on 1433 (ave. 238) with Ildemaro in third and Paolo Lopes of Portugal in fourth. Paolo was in first place after the first squad of bowling early this morning.

Alexey Parshukov of Russia lived up to the ‘home favourite’ tag and is in fifth place overnight.

All the players have now completed their first block of six games. There another three blocks to play before the cut is made for the top 24. At present the cut is a 206 average.

[Photo of Ildemaro Ruiz.Credits:QubicaAMF and Hero Noda]

QUBICAAMF BOWLING WORLD CUP GREETS OLD AND NEW FRIENDS (Nov. 1)

No-one will be participating in the 43 rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup on St Petersburg next month with a greater pedigree than Mohammed Khalifa al-Qubeisi of the UAE. Our champion in 1988, he will be making his 14 th appearance in the tournament – a record for the men’s side – and is still a force to be reckoned with, having narrowly missed the top eight last year. He joins Michael Schmidt of Canada and Peter Ljung of Sweden as returning champions.

At the other end of the spectrum we will welcome bowlers from Nigeria for the first time, as Jim Felix and Joy Obomanu will be representing the West African state.

They will take their place alongside players such as Ryan Lalisang from Indonesia , who was one of two men to hit a 300 game in Caracas last year and Yahav Rabin of Israel (5 th in 2001 and 3 rd in 2003). Other players of note will be the popular Guy Caminsky of South Africa and Daniel Falconi of Mexico who have each won our coveted ‘Sportsman of the Tournament’ award, in 2002 and 2000 respectively.

On the women’s side, the USA’s Lynda Barnes remains our only returning champion but she will face stiff competition from all, including Indonesia’s Putty Armein (5 th last year) and Aumi Guerra of the Dominican Republic (8 th last year).

In addition there will be three previous winners of our ‘Sportswoman of the Tournament’ award, with Sue Abela from Malta joining Beatrix Pesek of Hungary (2003) and Nasheesha King of Mauritius (2006).

This year there will be a special trophy for the very first 300 game to be bowled. ‘The 300 Game 43 rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Trophy’ will be sponsored and presented by key local sponsor the East European Finance Corporation.  

Final arrangements have been made for TV coverage of the event. The finals will be broadcast live on Russian channel RTR and will feature on Eurosport in two one-hour slots, the ladies’ final being broadcast at 17.45 CET on November 10 th and the men’s at 15.30 CET on 11 th . Production will be in conjunction with Kingpin Promotions.

Anne-Marie Board, QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager, said: “I am naturally really pleased that the event will be seen on live TV in Russia and then throughout Europe on Eurosport.

“We are also very grateful to the East European Finance Corporation for their generous sponsorship of the tournament and for providing a special trophy for the first perfect game.

“And I know St Petersburg and its bowlers are looking forward to welcoming everyone, particularly the two nations taking part for the first time – Nigeria and Pakistan - to their wonderful city.” 

Bowling World Cup at a glance and Media Accreditation Form.

The 43 rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup will take place in the 32-lane Kontinent Bowling Centre, St Petersburg , from November 3 rd to 11 th 2007.

Apart from the East European Finance Corporation, other local sponsors are Academservice, Pepsi, RTR-Sport and Sportbox.ru, Kontinent Shopping Mall and Big Game.  

The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup is the world’s largest annual sports event in terms of number of nations competing. It was first held in Dublin, Ireland, in 1965.

Last year’s event was held in Caracas, Venezuela, where the winners were Osku Palermaa ( Finland ) for the men and Diandra Asbaty (USA) for the women.

ST PETERSBURG TO WELCOME TWO RETURNING CHAMPIONS

Entries are coming in for the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in St Petersburg, Russia, and already we know we welcome two returning champions and witness a great competition.
Both the champions from 2005, when the event was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, will be there: Michael Schmidt of Canada and the USA’s Lynda Barnes. They won their respective country’s qualifying tournament and with it their place in this year’s QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup starting line up.
For Michael, it is his third appearance in a row. He followed up his 2005 win with a third place last year in Caracas, Venezuela.
He will face some stiff competition, not least from Achim Grabowski of Germany (6th last year and runner up in 1992 when the tournament was held in Le Mans) and from England’s Paul Moor. Paul, who will be making his fourth appearance in the Bowling World Cup, is currently lying in second place in the European rankings having won this title in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
One champion who will not be there is last year’s winner, Osku Palermaa of Finland. There is no automatic right of entry for reigning champions: each has to win his or her right to return through their own national elimination tournament. This year, it is Petteri Salonen who will represent Finland in the men’s event. Petteri has already won five titles this year as well as picking up a silver medal in the European Championships. The women’s participant will not be determined until late August.
The last two women’s finals have been between the USA and England and this year England’s representative will be the up and coming Jo Allsebrook, who will be looking to post a first win for England since 1995.
Other returning competitors will be Nasheeha King of Mauritius who won the coveted ‘Sportswoman of the Tournament’ award last year, and Patrick Leroy of Morocco who won the ‘Sportsman of the Tournament’ award in Honduras in 2003. Patrick will be making his 11th appearance in the event – just two short of the record of 13, held by Mohammed Khalifa al-Qubaisi of the UAE.
“I am always delighted by the number of players who return to this tournament year after year,” said Anne-Marie Board, QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager. “This year it will be a special pleasure to welcome Michael, Lynda, Nasheeha and Patrick again, along with bowling friends from all over the world.”
The 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup will take place in the 32-lane Continent Bowling Centre, St Petersburg, from November 3rd to 11th 2007.