WORLDLETTER-PLUS Late-June, 2010 www.worldbowlingwriters.com 33 rd Year AUSTRALIA: Two-handed bowling sensation, Jason Belmonte, continues to attract media interest and valuable coverage for the sport in Australia and internationally. Popular television sports variety show, THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE recently showcased tenpin bowling when Belmo joined Glen Loader, Christian Purdue, Lexi Nicoll and some of Australia s other top-ranked bowlers in One HD s Sydney studio to talk to the panel and demonstrate the sport on a portable bowling lane. (l-r Belmo, Lexi Nicoll and Christian Purdue) Last weekend, a comprehensive interview with Belmo was broadcast on ABC Radio s GRANDSTAND ACTIVE program. Presenter Simone Thurtell caught up with Jason in Chicago, where he is involved in a series of clinics and bowling boot camps following the filming of the 2010 GEICO Team Shootout. The fourth annual summer special event was bowled outdoors on specially-constructed lanes at Six Flags Great Adventure Park in Jackson, New Jersey. Storm, Brunswick, Ebonite and 900 Global each fielded teams of PBA stars for the made-for-television Baker team matchplay competition which will be broadcast on ESPN on June 27 and July 3, 4 and 11. Lynne Clay The 49th Adult National Championships, to be staged at AMF s Rooty Hill Bowl in Sydney, will run for three weeks from 9-30 October and will feature four major tournaments:- 2010 Walter Rachuig Trophy Tournament (State Teams competition); 2010 National Seniors Team Challenge; 2010 National Restricted Teams Challenge; AMF Australian Masters. Invitations and entry forms have been sent to international Federations with details of the final highlight of the Championships, the AMF Australian Masters, which TBA describes as an unprecedented event for Australian bowling the winner of the Men s event will receive AUD $25,000 and the Women s champion will win AUD $15,000. In extending the invitation to overseas participants, TBA CEO Cara Honeychurch noted that bowlers will be required to lodge and complete an All Events entry in the Australian Championships, and must purchase a Tenpin Bowling Australia Silver membership (AUD$55). Membership can be organised at the event or online, with further details on the TBA website (www.tenpin.org.au). Lynne Clay Two of the most popular events on the Aussie bowling calendar were recently conducted in Victoria and Queensland the Melbourne Tenpin Cup and the Queensland Ladies Classic. The Schweppes 2010 Melbourne Tenpin Cup was held at Oz Tenpin s Narre Warren Superbowl on the Queen s Birthday weekend (12-14 June), attracting a strong field of Australia s top male and female bowlers and a contingent of talent from Malaysia. Australia s Carl Bottomley led the men s field after 15 games of matchplay, and the top five contested a stepladder final which saw Malaysia s Adrian Ang advance from third position to overtake Australia s Jason Walsh and face the top seed. Bottomley had a great shot and took the men s title with a 247-217 win over Ang. In the women s division, Malaysia s Esther Cheah was in the lead after seven rounds of matchplay. Rebecca Voukolos from the Northern Territory progressed from the first stepladder match by defeating Victoria s Rebecca Whiting 200-183, but then lost to second-seed Bianca Flanagan from Queensland, 168-210. Demonstrating the form that saw her become top-ranked female Youth bowler for 2009, Bianca Flanagan then took the women s title with a decisive 247-206 victory over Esther Cheah. The 2010 Queensland Ladies Classic, staged 19-20 June at Caboolture Bowl, just north of Brisbane also attracted an impressive field. Enthusiastically organised each year by Mary Flower, the tournament was also supported by a group of dedicated sponsors and attended by bowlers from States and Territories across Australia. After 16 games of qualifying, Rebecca Whiting led Ann-Maree Putney and Rebecca Voukolos with a 221.9 average and Whiting maintained her lead to take the title with a 220.7 matchplay average. Five wins and a tie in the seven matchplay rounds elevated Queensland bowler Kate Pilkington into second place with a 217.7 average, ahead of Rebecca Voukolos and Ann-Maree Putney, who posted 215.5 and 215.0 averages respectively. The success augurs well for Victoria s Rebecca Whiting, who also recently won the Sydney Youth Cup and who will represent Australia at the 11th World Youth Championships in Helsinki next month. Lynne Clay CYPRUS: The 6 th Cockatoos Bowling Open is currently underway at the Cockatoos Bowling Center in Paphos, offering 5,000 for the ultimate champion during the run of June 18-27.
England s Stuart Williams, fresh from the Malta Open, set an early lead of 1468 over the six qualifying games, maybe with the motto: do as I say and do as I do after conducting a popular clinic session prior to the tournament. Williams has a 40-point buffer over second-placed Mika Maata of Finland. Full tournament details and standings: www.cockatoosbowling.com. Web streaming: www.bambuser.com/channel/talktenpin. DENMARK: It is a pleasure for the ETBF Presidium to present the European Bowling Tour 2011, which is the 12th edition of the tour. The EBT 2011 includes 22 stops, presented at the following page. Detailed information of each stop is available at www.etbf.eu. Also in 2011, there will be four categories in the tour, namely EBT Platinum (minimum 100.000 prize fund), EBT Gold (minimum 60.000 prize fund), EBT Silver (minimum 40.000 prize fund) and EBT Satellite (minimum 20.000 prize fund). As many as 18 of the 19 tournaments included in the EBT 2010 are also included in the EBT 2011, while only the tournament in Luxembourg (Satellite) won't appear again in 2011. In addition to the 18 existing tournaments, we are able to present four new EBT Satellite's; which are Odense International (Denmark), Viborg International 2011 (Denmark), Chandra Open 2011 (Netherlands) and Norwegian Open 2011 (Norway). Norwegian Open presents a comeback after a three-year break and four previous appearances in the years 2004-2007. The EBT 2011 consists of one platinum tournament and 21 tournaments divided equally between seven gold tournaments, seven silver tournaments and seven satellite tournaments. The first stop in the tour is, as always, Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki, rich of traditions and the only tournament adopted in all 12 tours. Ballmaster presents the second highest international prize pool of 90.000, while the last stop of the tour (since 2007), Qatar Bowling Open, with its platinum status presents the highest prize pool of 120.000. The total prize fund in the EBT 2011, including tour prize money, will be approximately 1.160.000; an average prize fund of approximately 51.000 per stop. It is very satisfying for the ETBF Presidium, in perspective of a European economy still in troubled waters, to be able to present another great European Bowling Tour, even including a record number of stops. The 16 highest ranked women and the 16 highest ranked men, by the conclusion of the EBT 2011, will qualify for the 5th EBT Masters, which will be hosted by the organizer of the 3rd Dream Bowl Palace Open in Munich on April 30 and May 1, 2012. The final of the ongoing EBT 2010, the 4th EBT Masters, will be hosted by the organizer of the 5th Qubica/AMF Open in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 11-12 April 2011. Kim Thorsgaard Jensen, EBT Director Stop Period Federation Tournament 01 01.01-09.01 Finland Brunswick Ballmaster Open 02 14.02-20.02 Poland 5 th International Wroclaw Open by Hammer 03 27.02-06.03 Netherlands Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament 2011 04 04.03-13.03 France Brunswick Euro Challenge 05 15.03-20.03 Catalonia IX Catalonia Open - Trofeu Galasa 06 30.03-03.04 Germany 2 nd Track Dream-Bowl Palace Open 2011 07 05.04-10.04 Slovenia 5 th Qubica/AMF Open 2011 08 07.05-15.05 Turkey 8 th Istanbul Bowling Open 09 22.05-29.05 Denmark Bowltech Aalborg International 2011 10 29.05-05.06 Denmark Odense International 11 02.07-10.07 San Marino 7 th San Marino Open 12 12.07-17.07 Catalonia 33 Trofeu Internacional Ciutat de Barcelona 13 30.07-07.08 Denmark Viborg International 2011 14 05.08-14.08 Norway Norwegian Open 2011 15 22.08-28.08 Slovakia BNC Open 16 13.09-18.09 Russia 2 nd Pavlovskiy Posad Open
17 19.09-25.09 Netherlands Chandra Open 2011 18 27.09-02.10 Austria 9 th Columbia 300 Vienna Open 19 08.10-16.10 Finland Lahti Open 20 05.11-13.11 Italy 2 nd Torneo Internazionale di Roma 21 16.11-20.11 England English Open 22 09.12-17.12 Qatar Qatar Bowling Open GERMANY: The final entry count for the 2010 World Men s Championships at the Dream Bowl Place in Munich is now 68. Two teams, Dominican Republic and Romania, took advantage of the extended closing date to sign up for what is a record entry and Costa Rica cancelled their participation. The teams now competing are: Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Catalonia, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Wales. Full information on: www.bowling-wm.de The inaugural Track Dream Bowl Palace Open is running June 27 to July 4 at the impressive 52-lane Dream Bowl Palace at Unterfohring, near Munich. The first place prize is 10,000 and cash is awarded down to 48 th place with 400. An additional 250 is available for the leading three women who do not make the cut to the final rounds. There is also 250 for the highest youth not making the cut. There is a 15.825 tax on prize money for non-german competitors. Full tournament details on: www.dreambowlpalaceopen.de. Tournament web streaming: www.bambuser.com/channel/timotv. Live reports and photos from July 1: www.bowlersjournal.com. LATVIA: The 2010 Women s European Championships were staged at the Zelta Bowling Center in Riga, June 10-20. Final Results Doubles: (Play-offs) Gold: Nina Flack/Helen Johnsson, Sweden; Silver: Piritta Kantola/Krista Pollanen, Finland; Bronze: Hayley White/Lisa John, England & Rikke Holm Rasmussen/Sascha Wedel, Denmark. Trios (Play-offs): Gold: England 1; Silver: Netherlands 1; Bronze: Denmark 1 & Finland 1. Team: (Play-offs): Gold: Denmark; Silver: Netherlands; Bronze: England & Sweden. All Events (24 games): Gold: Rikke Holm Rasmussen, Denmark 5466; Silver: Mai Ginge Jensen, Denmark 5448; Bronze: Krista Pollanen, Finland 5441. Masters: Gold: Krista Pollanen, Finland; Silver: Sandra Andersson, Sweden; Bronze: Hayley White, England & Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark. MALTA: The annual enjoyable Malta Open returned to the Eden SuperBowl, June 17-20 with a reduced field of just under 100 competitors, the fall mainly due to a clash with the European Women s Championships in Latvia. However, wonderful weather and some great bowling was a fine recipe for the week and many took extra time to tour this enchanting Mediterranean island. The return of the 2007 Malta Open champion, Stuart Williams of England, cast him as a strong favourite and he was there and thereabouts through the qualifying squads but never winning one. However, he did pick up one of the sponsored 100 squad leader prizes when placing second and the winner having already won a previous squad. It was Marcus Berndt of Malmo, Sweden who was to dominate the standings and then go through the final rounds to take the 2010 title. The 21-year-old student, currently enrolled at Wichita State University in the United States, a school that has won the Collegiate Championships for the past three consecutive years, rolled a 290 in his sixth and final game of the opening qualifying squad to post 1356, then rolled 1345 in his second six-game block for 2701, a score that kept as leader through all qualifying rounds. A total of 26 made it through from the qualifying rounds and they were joined by four more competitors from the Desperado squad, a single game on one lane shoot-out. Those in qualifying positions 13-30 opened the final rounds on the Sunday morning with four games, starting from scratch. Here the surprise leader was Menno van den Heuvel from s Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. Surprise comes into the equation as he took fourth place in the previous night s Desperado squad, and that was on a tie. Now he was frontrunner. The top twelve from the opening stage advanced to stage two, a further four games scratch, with the six early qualifiers in positions 7-12 joining the fray. Here van den Heuvel passed the baton to Matt Chamberlain of England but placed fifth to continue on the trail. Chamberlain s 906 over the four games included a 298, leaving the 6-10 on his final ball.
Stage three heralded the 12-player round robin and the six qualifiers from stage two joined up with original qualifiers 1-6, a group which included Marcus Berndt and Stuart Williams. From this eleven-game marathon, the top four were to qualify for the stepladder final. Mark Spiteri of Malta was the star of the early rounds by rolling the tournament s first 300 in the opening game but, unfortunately, he was unable to keep up that pace and eventually finished in eighth place. Almost the same fate for fellow countryman Justin C. Scicluna, seventh, who had the honor of the only other 300 in the closing game of the round. Marcus Berndt won nine of his eleven matches and finished as top seed for the stepladder with 2672 points, well clear of Matt Chamberlain of England and Cypriot George Stavrinou. Dutchman Menno van den Heuvel once again finished in fourth place, his earlier finish in the Desperado squad, having played all 19 games of the final rounds. The stepladder opener, played over just the one game, saw Stavrinou advance to the second match by defeating Van den Heuvel, 235-201. Chamberlain stepped up against the Cypriot and advanced to the title match with a nail-biting 242-237 win. The format switched to best-of-three games for the final match and first blood was taken by Berndt, 235-201. The tall Swede then settled the issue in two games with a second game 214-188. The eleven-game round robin was tough, especially in this heat, explained Berndt. I was playing well from game one through to game eleven, so just kept playing good shots. I didn t have to move very much and managed to stay in the same part of the lane, just making small adjustments now and again. I knew it would be fun to bowl against Chamberlain in the final because he is a good player and he has bowled good all the week. The crowd support for the Cyprus guy was incredible but the English were good supporters too. Once again, the Malta Open ran like clockwork and was as enjoyable as ever for competitors and spectators alike. Amiable SuperBowl general manager and tournament director Neil Dent was more relaxed then ever before seen and his well-trained and crew made this among the friendliest and best events of the year. Final standings: 1. 2,500 Marcus Berndt, Sweden; 2. 1,500 Matt Chamberlain, England; 3. 1,100 George Stavinrou, Cyprus; 4. 700 Menno van den Heuvel, Netherlands; 5. 450 Costas Kyriakou, Cyprus; 6. 400 Stuart Williams, England; 7. 330 Justin C. Scicluna, Malta; 8. 300 Mark Spiteri, Malta. PHILIPPINES: National bowlers, Liza Clutario and Chester King scored a fabulous double when they clinched the Women's and Men's Open Masters titles of the 39th Philippines International Open which ended June 20. Chester King, who topped the earlier 8-game Round 2 finals in pole position with 1723, defeated Joonee Gatchalian of MTBA, 210-198 in an all-filipino finals to break a five-year title drought and win his second Philippine Open crown. King had a slight lead over his challenger, Gatchalian in the title match but a split in the eighth frame from the top seed provided a slim chance for Gatchalian to force a sudden-death decider. Fortunately, King kept his cool to roll a turkey from frame nine ending with 210 which forced Gatchalian needing to strike out for a tie and a ninth and tenth frame roll-off. But Gatchalian failed to capitalise ending with 198. It's been a tough finals and my opponent had his large supporters behind him, said the relieved Chester King. I'm glad I hung on for this victory. I've been bowling well, especially after the third game. Gatchalian ousted fifth-seed Cha Ji Hyun of Uiwang, Korea and second-seed, Zaid Izlan of Malaysia, 194-187-192 in the second match to advance to the finals. Cha defeated two Filipinos No. 6 seed, Jeff Carabeo and No. 4 seed and Round 1 leader, Jumar Jumapao, 204-185-157 in the first match. Meanwhile, top seed Liza Clutario clinched the fabulous double for her country when she edged challenger, Lara Posadas of PBAP-Bowlmart in a low scoring finals, 160-151 to win the Philippine Open for the first time. Clutario, whose last title was back in 2002 winning the Penang Pesta Open title in Malaysia, had finished in pole in the earlier Round 2 finals with 1660. No. 4 seed, Lara Posadas took the first match by defeating fifth-seed, Lovella Catalan of MTBA and sixth-seed, Putty Armein of Indonesia, 225-179-162 to advance to the second match. Posadas then edged third-seed Rachelle Leon and second-seed, Sin Li Jane of Malaysia, 176-163-154 in the second match. Chester King won the top prize of 250,000 peso (approx US$7,500) as champion while Liza Clutario won 100,000 peso (approx. US$2,500). The first runnerups took home 100,000 peso and 40,000 peso respectively. Top 3 winners, Posadas, Clutario and Sin Final Standings Men: 1. Chester King, Philippines 200,000php (US$4,350); 2. Joonee Gatchalian, Philippines 100,000; 3. Zaid Izlan, Malaysia 50,000; 4. Cha Jin Hyun, Korea 25,000; 5. Jomar Jumapao, Philippines 15,000; 6. Jeff Carabeo, Philippines 10,000; 7. Benshir Layoso, Philippines 6,000; 8. Tadashi Fujita, Japan 5,000. Women: 1. Liza Clutario, Philippines 100,000; 2. Lara Posados, Philippines 40,000; 3. Sin Li Jane, Malaysia 20,000; 4. Rachelle Leon, Philippines 15,000; 5. Lovella Catalan, Philippines 8,000; 6. Putty Armein, Indonesia 5,000; 7. Apple Posadas, Philippines 4,000; 8. Kim Lao, Philippines 3,000. Photos and text by Terence Yaw in Manila
SWEDEN: National team member Dennis Eklund and former national team player Marie Bengtsson won the Swedish Championship finals at Strike & Co in Gothenburg. Dennis Eklund defeated Team Pergamon s Hafthor Hardarson, 2-0, in the title match, while 44-year-old veteran Marie Bengtsson outplayed Joline Persson Planefors, 2-1, in the ladies final. For Marie Bengtsson it was a surprising but eagerly awaited victory. I had two silver medals and two bronze medals before, but the gold was always missing. When I prepared myself for the title match I said to myself It is now or never, said Marie Bengtsson. She played on the national team during the 1990s, winning a team silver medal in the World Championship in Reno in 1995. Needless to say, as a mother of two, she is now satisfied with competing only in league matches for her club Örgryte from Gothenburg. Honestly speaking I had not planned to participate in this year s championship, but fortunately I was persuaded by my team-mates, she said. The finals were a showcase of the future of Swedish women s bowling, but Marie Bengtsson was able to answer to all the challenges from the young players. In the quarterfinal she defeated 20- year-old Victoria Johansson, in the semifinal, 19-year-old Jenny Johansson and in the final, 19-year-old Joline Persson Planefors. When the title match came down to a third and decisive game, Marie quickly took charge as she opened with a 5- bagger and never looked back. The final score was 228-193. The earlier rounds of the men s final were dominated by Sweden s top players. When the cut was made to top 8 after 16 games, Martin Paulsson, Robert Andersson, Martin Larsen and Dennis Eklund were on the top of the leader-board. However, in the quarterfinals (best of three games) Paulsson, Andersson and Larsen were knocked out, leaving Dennis Eklund as the favourite to win the championship. Dennis continued his impressive run, averaging 232 during the final day and closing out the championship with three straight 2-0-victories. In the final against Hafthor Hardarson, the 23-year-old from Iceland, Eklund was in the driver s seat early and won with 257-169 and 184-182. I had a game plan and I followed it all the way through. It worked out perfectly until the final when the lane conditions were extreme and I had to use my two-step-approach on the right lane, said Dennis Eklund after completing a string of victories lately. One month ago he won the third Super Six stop in Gothenburg, then his team Sundbyberg outplayed Team Pergamon in the play-offs and went on to win the league championship, and finally he claimed his first individual national title. Now I will have a two-week vacation from bowling and then the preparations start for the World Championship in Munich in August, he said. Dennis Eklund and Marie Bengtsson will be the Swedish participants in the European Champions Cup later this year. Through his victory Dennis also secured the top spot in the Swedish World Cup ranking, Helén Johnsson had earlier won the women s World Cup ranking. Results: Men quarterfinals: Markus Jansson-Martin Paulsson 167-195, 213-197, 233-182 Hafthor Hardarson-Robert Andersson 182-177, 187-258, 223-169 Karl-Johan Eliasson-Martin Larsen 218-183, 205-229, 220-212 Dennis Eklund-Mikael Larsson 258-226, 209-180 Semi-finals: Dennis Eklund-Markus Jansson 247-191, 236-191 Hafthor Hardarson-Karl-Johan Eliasson 217-243, 217-204, 180-155 Final Dennis Eklund-Hafthor Hardarson 257-169, 184-182 Women, quarterfinals: Joline Persson Planefors-Linda Haglund 247-189, 176-163 Jenny Johansson-Rebecka Larsen Jr 213-210, 224-239, 217-205 Marie Bengtsson-Victoria Johansson 198-193, 190-203, 225-224 Helén Johnsson-Veronica Lantto 203-168, 259-248 Semi-finals: Joline Persson Planefors-Helén Johnsson 237-234, 204-240, 210-134 Marie Bengtsson-Jenny Johansson 248-217, 213-202 Final Marie Bengtsson-Joline Persson Planefors 194-185, 166-217, 228-193 All results are available on http://www.2010.bowlingsm.se/dynamic/results.asp Hans Karlsson UNITED STATES: Arlington, Texas The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has elevated the sport of bowling to emerging sport status. The move by one of the nation s governing bodies for collegiate athletics puts bowling on the path to becoming a championship sport for dozens of additional colleges and universities across the country.
This is a fantastic development for bowling student athletes, United States Bowling Congress Collegiate Manager Gary Brown said. We have crossed a key threshold on the path to bowling becoming an NAIA championship sport. Bowling reached emerging sport status when 25 or more NAIA member institutions declared to participate for the 2010-2011 academic year. There are currently 27 NAIA schools with varsity men s bowling teams, while 29 have varsity women s teams. If 50 or more NAIA member institutions designate bowling as a varsity sport, then bowling will be eligible for championship sport status and an NAIA national championship. Collegiate bowling has grown in popularity and our members are excited about how this sport will add to the competitive sports experience offered to young men and women competing in the NAIA, Lori Thomas, NAIA Vice President for Championships said. I would like to thank the United States Bowling Congress for their work to grow intercollegiate bowling. We look forward to a collaborative partnership. In the past season, USBC Collegiate has facilitated an overall growth of more than 16 percent in the number of institutions with bowling programs nationwide. In addition to NAIA, the sport of bowling is now recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The NAIA has 60,000 student-athletes participating at nearly 300 member colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Divided into 25 conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions, the NAIA offers 23 championships in 13 sports. All of the NAIA bowling programs are members of USBC Collegiate, including the reigning USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships women s champions, Webber International, and runner-up McKendree. Other women s NAIA teams that advanced to the 2010 ITCs from the NAIA include Pikeville, Lindenwood, Robert Morris-Illinois and St. Ambrose. On the men s side, McKendree, Robert Morris-Illinois, Lindenwood, Webber International and the runner-up for the national title, Calumet College of St. Joseph, are all NAIA teams. Jason Overstreet, USBC Communications Muskegon, Mich. Brunswick continues to bring the entertainment of bowling to new venues, helping to expand the interest and participation in the sport well beyond the bowling center. For example, the ultimate luxury vacation a sea cruise just got better. How cool is it to bowl in the middle of the ocean? Because of the huge popularity of bowling on Norwegian Cruise Line s (NCL), the Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem, NCL s newest ship will also have bowling. In fact, this new ship will have the most bowling lanes at sea, with a total of six lanes between two different venues on the vessel. The Norwegian Epic, a third generation Freestyle Cruising ship and, to date the company s largest and most innovative ship, is set to depart on its maiden voyage in June 2010. Six bowling lanes, complete with Brunswick Anvilane synthetic lanes, Vector scoring systems, GS-X pinsetters and Pinball Wizard bumper bowling, are included in the many world-class recreational options available onboard for all ages. Three lanes are included in the Epic s innovative sports bar and lounge called Bliss Ultra Lounge and Night Club, while three more lanes are available for play as part of the ship s seven decks of Freestyle Family Fun. Additionally, Brunswick will be featured as the bowling amusement partner in the in-cabin book for the Norwegian Epic. The commemorative book will be available in the cabins onboard for the enjoyment of the cruise guests sailing during the first year and distributed during the inaugural festivities. The book also will include topics ranging from NCL's history, concept and construction of the ship, onboard services, shopping and ports of call. In addition to the most bowling lanes at sea and its world-class entertainment including Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, Legends in Concert, The Second City, Howl at the Moon and Nickelodeon at Sea, the 4,200- passenger Norwegian Epic incorporates many innovations including several new types of accommodations, unique nightlife, and a 33-foot high, 64-foot wide extreme rock climbing wall and the first ever rappelling wall at sea. Norwegian Epic is currently under construction at STX Europe in France. At 153,000 gross tons, the ship is Norwegian s largest with 19 decks, spanning 1,068 feet in length and 133 feet in width with a 28.5 foot draft, staffed with approximately 1,730 crew members. The Norwegian Epic will be christened July 2, in New York, by legendary country singer, Reba McEntire. Kristin Filz Seattle, Wash. PBA.com s Xtra Frame will deliver two days of exclusive, on-demand coverage of the latest news in bowling from International Bowl Expo 2010 in Las Vegas, Nev. Bowlers Journal on Xtra Frame, pba.com s online video streaming service, will originate from the trade show floor at the Las Vegas Hilton Convention Center on Wednesday, June 30, and Thursday, July 1. As an added bonus, Xtra Frame will present reports from the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame s Salute to Bowling on June 30. The Salute to Bowling is the IBM/HF s largest annual fund-raising event. Bowling s premier magazine is looking forward to teaming up with bowling s premier digital platform, said Keith Hamilton, president of Luby Publishing and publisher of Bowlers Journal International magazine. This project will give bowling fans and those in the business of bowling who are unable to attend Bowl Expo a chance to get an inside look at the bowling industry s newest products, services and programs. Xtra Frame s Bowl Expo coverage will originate from the PBA booth where Mike Jakubowski (also known to Xtra Frame viewers as Mike J. Laneside ) and producer Jason Thomas will talk with industry leaders, Hall of Famers and other personalities about what s happening in the world of bowling in advance of the 2010-11 season. As a special bonus for Xtra Frame subscribers, Bowlers Journal International will offer special 25 percent subscription discounts to viewers during the video streaming sessions. Xtra Frame is PBA s official online video subscription service. Bowling fans can subscribe to Xtra Frame on pba.com for $64.99 per year or $7.99 per month. To check out the Xtra Frame programming schedule for the upcoming weeks, click on pba.com/xtraframe. Bill Vint
Seattle, Wash. PBA Tournament of Champions winner Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J.; U.S. Open champion Bill O Neill of Southampton, Pa., and 2009-10 PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., have been nominated for ESPN s Best Bowler ESPY for 2010. ESPN announced nominees in a wide variety of categories Thursday. Fan voting is underway now through 11:59 p.m. Eastern on July 10 at espn.com/espys. Use the scroll-down list to locate the Best Bowler category and click on the image of your favorite player to vote. The ESPY winners will be announced during the 17th annual ESPYs, televised live on ESPN at 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, July 14. Saturday Night Live star Seth Meyers will host the gala from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Kulick, who also won the 2009 PBA Women s World Championship and 2010 USBC Queens and U.S. Women s Open, has been nominated for the first time. O Neill, who also won the PBA Chameleon Championship and finished second to Williams in the PBA points race, also is a first-time nominee. Williams, who raised his all-time PBA Tour title total to a record 47 with two more victories last season including the 2010 USBC Masters is a six-time Best Bowler ESPY winner. The ESPYs, co-presented by Capital One and Castrol EDGE, will present best athlete and best team awards in 37 categories, all selected by fan voting. In addition, Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who is battling cancer, will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance; the Arthur Ashe Courage Award will be presented to the family of the late Ed Thomas, the Parkersburg, Iowa, high school football coach who was killed by one of his former players, and the Best Comeback Award which will be presented to Kim Clijsters, the first unseeded tennis player ever to win the Women s U.S. Open. ESPY BEST BOWLER AWARD WINNERS: 2009 Norm Duke; 2008 Norm Duke; 2007 Norm Duke; 2006 Walter Ray Williams Jr.; 2005 Walter Ray Williams Jr.; 2004 Pete Weber; 2003 Walter Ray Williams Jr.; 2002 Pete Weber; 2001 Walter Ray Williams Jr.; 2000 Parker Bohn III; 1999 Walter Ray Williams Jr.; 1998 Walter Ray Williams Jr.; 1997 Bob Learn Jr.; 1996 Mike Aulby; 1995 Norm Duke. Bill Vint, PBA.com WTBA NEWSLETTER Extended application period for WYC 2012 As no application to host WYC 2012 had been received until the deadline 15 June we now extend the period for applications. NEW DEADLINE IS 1 AUGUST 2010. If you are interested please contact WTBA Secretary General ( christer.jonsson@swebowl.se ) to get application document. The document is also available on WTBA website WWC 2011 deadline reminder As the deadline for application to host WWC 2011 is already 15 July we remind you to send application. Invitation to host World Championships 2013 - reminder World Championships (men and women) 2013 Deadline 1 October 2010. Notice - there is a new procedure to apply for this championship. Document on WTBA website. If you have any questions on the above mentioned championships please contact WTBA Secretary General ( christer.jonsson@swebowl.se ). Kevin Dornberger WTBA President Email: kdornberger@tx.rr.com Christer Jonsson WTBA Secretary General Email: christer.jonsson@swebowl.se