Among those who can expect a very warm welcome are two players who hold the record for the most appearances – Aida Granillo of El Salvador will be competing for an amazing 16^th time, while Mohammed Khalifa al Qubaisi is not only competing for the 13^th time, but of course he is also a returning champion, having won the title in 1988 in Guadalajara. Or Aviram of Israel will also be coming again, setting up the intriguing possibility of a rematch of last year’s final as Canada’s Michael Schmidt will be competing. Or has recently become the first Israeli to win a major international title, having won the European Cup for Individuals in Riga, Latvia, in September. His sister, Mor, will be Israel’s female competitor. She competed in 2004 in Singapore when she was just 16.

Marco Odio of Costa Rica will be making his 12^th appearance in the event. Marco, who first played the event in 1983 in Mexico City, is regarded as the best bowler Costa Rica has ever produced and is planning to retire soon, meaning this will be his last Bowling World Cup. He will be joined in representing Costa Rica by Marie Ramirez who delighted the crowd in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 2003 when she finished in 3^rd place. They are not the only players with a World Cup pedigree who will be returning. Norway’s Petter Hansen, a runner up in 2004 in Singapore and ¼ finalist last year in Ljubljana, Slovenia, will be coming back. Another ¼ finalist from last year, Lucas Legnani of Argentina, will also be competing again and Qatar’s Saed al Hajri will return after a gap of 11 years, having finished 5^th in 1994 when the event was held in Hermosillo, Mexico.

In the women’s section, Colombia will be represented by Clara Juliana Guerrero, the runner up in 2000, in Lisbon, Portugal, while Puerto Rico’s Joselin Leon who finished in 3^rd place in Singapore in 2004 will also be making a welcome return, as will Scotland’s Laura Rhoney who finished 5^th also in 2004.

Two married couples will be competing: Marcio and Lara Jesus for the Azores, and Dejan and Gordana Radulovich of Serbia. Both countries made their QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup debuts last year. Two newcomer countries have indicated their attendance – Cuba and Pakistan – although the names of their competitors have yet to be announced.   Bolivia will be making a welcome return after nearly 30 years’ absence.

29.9.2006

Entries are hotting up for the 42^nd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, planned for Caracas, Venezuela for 4^th to 10^th November, and the number of countries competing looks as if it may reach the 90 mark. Among the key names is Or Oviram of Israel, runner up last year in Ljubljana, Slovenia. This sets up the intriguing possibility of a rematch of last year’s final as defending champion, Michael Schmidt from Canada, will also be taking part. Keeping it in the family, Or’s sister, Mor, will be Israel’s female competitor. She competed in 2004 in Singapore when she was just 16.

A very warm welcome is sure to be extended to Marco Odio of Costa Rica who will be making his 12^th appearance in the event, matching the record of Mohammed Khalifa al Qubeisi of the UAE and Philip Dunne of Ireland. Marco, who first played the event in 1983 in Mexico City, is regarded as the best bowler Costa Rica has ever produced and is planning to retire soon, meaning this will be his last Bowling World Cup. He will be joined in representing Costa Rica by Marie Ramirez who delighted the crowd in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 2003 when she finished in 3^rd place.

They are not the only players with a World Cup pedigree who will be returning. Norway’s Petter Hansen, a runner up in 2004 in Singapore and ¼ finalist last year will be coming back. Another ¼ finalist from last year, Lucas Legnani of Argentina, will also be competing again and Qatar’s Saed al Hajri will return after a gap of 11 years, having finished 5^th in 1994 when the event was held in Hermosillo, Mexico.

In the women’s section, Colombia will be represented by Clara Juliana Guerrero, the runner up in 2000, in Lisbon, Portugal, while Puerto Rico’s Joselin Leon who finished in 3^rd place in Singapore in 2004 will also be making a welcome return, as will Scotland’s Laura Rhoney who finished 5^th also in 2004.

Two married couples will be competing: Marcio and Lara Jesus for the Azores, and Dejan and Gordana Radulovich of Serbia. Both countries made their QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup debuts last year.

Anne-Marie Board, QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup manager, said: “I am really looking forward to this year’s event. There are so many fine players that I know the competition will be fierce but friendly, as is the tradition of this tournament.”

Two newcomer countries have indicated their attendance – Cuba and Pakistan – although the names of their competitors have yet to be announced.

Notes for Editors
Apart from Michael Schmidt, the appearance of one other returning champion has already been announced: Peter Ljung of Sweden will be looking to repeat his success of 20 years ago, 1986, in Copenhagen, Denmark. So far, there is no female returning champion.

Other returners of note include former sportsmen of the tournament, Bashar Kalaji of Syria (2001) and Patrick Mehdi Leroy of Morocco (2003) and sportswoman Beatrix Pesek of Hungary (2003).

24.9.2006

John Walker, President and CEO, QubicaAMF Worldwide:
I know there are a lot of rumors about the 42nd annual QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup and I would like to clarify the situation regarding this year's venue. For reasons beyond our control, modernization work at the bowling centre at Mampote, Caracas has been delayed. We are still very hopeful that this work will be completed in time for this year's event. If so, it will occur exactly as planned. However, we are committed to holding the event every year and as a result, we are evaluating alternative venues should the need arise. In the meantime we would ask that you do not confirm your travel plans to Caracas until we make a further announcement on our progress. We hope to know more over the next couple of weeks. I look forward to welcoming you all to the 2006 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

John Walker
President and CEO QubicaAMF Worldwide

01.08.2006

More entries have come in for the 42^nd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, to be held in Caracas, Venezuela, from 4^th to 10^th November, including, for the first time, competitors from Cuba. The USA will again be sending their national amateur champions and as always they are sure to be among the favourites to take the title. Diandra Asbaty (nee Hyman) from Chicago will be determined to improve on her 9^th place in 2000 when the event was held in Lisbon, Portugal. Now 26, she has won medals in many important international tournaments, including gold, silver and bronze in the FIQ World Championships in 2003. She also won the World Ranking Masters in 2004. She will be joined by Dan Patterson who was delighted to qualify for Team USA for the first time. Dan hails from Seneca in New York.

Another player making a return to the tournament is Sven van Eyken of Belgium who last took part 14 years ago in Le Mans, France. Sven will be hoping to emulate and even improve on his brother Yves’ result in 2004, when he finished joint 5th. Belgium’s female representative will be Kirsten Horemans.

A popular returning player will be Shant Panos Tomassian from Iraq, making his 5^th appearance at the event. Shant has made many friends over the years and we will look forward to seeing him again. Italy will be sending Daniela Esposito and Vittorio Vaglia who will no doubt be hoping to add the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup to Italy’s FIFA World Cup. Theresa Depka of the Virgin Islands will be trying to make it third time lucky, having competed twice before, in 2003 and 2004 while Ahmad Abdelhakeen Almanasrah will be representing Jordan for the second time, having played in Singapore in 2004. Both the players who represented Kazakhstan last year in Ljubljana, Slovenia, will be returning - Makhmut Lazaridi in the men’s section and Veronika Solozhenkina in the ladies. Veronika also competed in Singapore in 2004. Croatia will also have a returning player  in the shaper of Krunolslav Struml who competed last year. He will be joined by Vesna Mandaric. Ilkin Babayev from Azerbaijan will be another returner from last year while Elisabeth Relautte from the lovely island of Martinique will be back after a three year absence, having played in 2003 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The names of the Cuban participants are yet to be confirmed.

The tournament will take place in the 40-lane centre in Mampote, just outside Caracas, from 4^th to 10^th November 2006. The centre, which was the venue for the 1983 FIQ Bowling World Championships, will be fully refurbished with the latest QubicaAMF equipment. It boasts magnificent facilities including excellent spectator viewing. The event has the personal support of President Hugo Chavez and the Minister of Education and Sports, Prof. Aristobulo Isturiz. The Vice-Minister for Sport, Prof Eduardo Alvarez Camacho, who is also the President of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee and President of the National Institute of Sports, is heading up the organising committee.

Two champions in the starting line up for 42^nd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup

Entries are starting to come in for the 42^nd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Caracas, Venezuela in November. The early news is that already there are two previous champions in the starting line up, Michael Schmidt from Canada and Peter Ljung from Sweden. Michael will be attempting to become the first male bowler ever to win the title two years in a row and successfully defend the title he won in Ljubljana, Slovenia, last year. And 20 years after his victory in Copenhagen in 1986, Peter will be making a welcome return to the event. Michael led the tournament in Ljubljana throughout and sealed his win with a victory over Or Aviram of Israel in the televised arena final, having averaged 232 over the 24 qualifying games. Joining him in the Canadian team will be Veronica Lalande-Lapointe who also played in Ljubljana, finishing 31st.

Peter Ljung averaged 213 for the tournament to win the title in Copenhagen back in 1986 when he was just 19. He beat the famed Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines in the final 413 to 392 and also won the trophy for men’s high game with a 289. Peter will be joined by Helen Johnsson, who reached the quarter-final in Ljubljana and won the award for high women’s game with a 299. Peter commented: “We are both delighted to get this chance to compete in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup again. For me it is like a dream come true and I will be doing my best to win the title again after all these years.“

Another returner from last year’s event will be Frenchman Thierry Sacco. He finished 14^th.  Marylin Planchard will join him to represent France in the women’s section.

2006 QUBICAAMF Bowling World Cup - At a Glance

What: The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup is the largest annual international sports championship in the world in terms of number of participating nations. A record ninety-five  countries were represented at the 2004 Bowling World Cup in Singapore. This year marks the 42^nd edition of the tournament.

When: November 4 - 10, 2006

Where:  Centro Nacional de Bowling Mampote, Caracas, Venezuela.  The 40-lane bowling centre is currently undergoing major modernization and refurbishment and is scheduled to re-open in October 2005.

Who: Men and women amateur champions from around the world compete on an individual basis for sterling silver trophies and one of the most prestigious individual titles in international bowling.

How: Bowlers advance to the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup by winning their national qualifying tournament. Defending champions must re-qualify through their home countries to be able to defend their titles the following year.  

*Format: Singles (individual) competition, featuring four blocks of six qualifying games (24 games) for the entire field, and one additional blocks of eight games for the top 24 men and women; top eight men and women after 32 games are seeded according to qualifying scores and advance to best-two-of-three-games single-elimination matches to determine the champions.

Organizers: The Venezuelan Department of sport.  The event has the personal support of President Hugo Chavez and the Minister of Education and Sports, Prof. Aristobulo Isturiz. The Vice-Minister for Sport, Prof Eduardo Alvarez Camacho, who is also the President of the National Institute of Sports and President of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee, is heading up the local organising committee. 

Sponsors: International: QubicaAMF Worldwide major manufacturer and supplier of bowling products and equipment. Local: To be announced

42^nd Bowling World Cup to be held in Caracas, Venezuela