20121201 - 2
Shayna Ng of Singapore and Syafiq Rhidwan Abdul Malek of Malaysia are the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup champions for 2012 after a stunning display in the stepladder finals, held in the Sky Bowling Centre in Wroclaw, Poland.  Shayna first had to overcome England’s Kirsten Penny in the semi-final, which she did by 2 games to nil, 246 to 215 and 221 to 191. She moved on to play Aumi Guerra of the Dominican Republic, trying to win the title for a record third time in a row.  Aumi started like a train, winning the first game 269 to 224, but Shayna came back to win and amazing second game by 267 to 259. So a third game was needed and two big splits put Aumi at a big disadvantage. By the 9^th frame it was all over and Shayna took the third game 247 to 169. Her set of 738 is a new arena record, beating the Philippines’ Lisa del Rosario’s 737 set in 2001.

Shayna is studying for a sports science degree, and is coached by Remy Ong who himself has an impressive Bowling World Cup record, having competed five times with a best placing of 2^nd in 2002. Shayna said: “I had to fight my way up from third but it did mean that I got used to the lanes for the finals and Remy really helped me make lots of adjustments, so many that I had to write them down to remember them. It has been a great experience working with Remy. This is my first world title and I’m a record holder as well!”

The men’s first match saw Syafiq beat Andres Gomez of Colombia in three games. Andres won the first game 236 to 234 but Syafiq came back with 224 and 258 to Andres’ 201 and 213.

Syafiq moved on to play Marshall Kent of the USA for the title. He bowled steadily and won by 2 games to nil, 236 and 237 against 225 and 221.  He said afterwards: “I think I was lucky to play on the championship lanes first. I learnt how to play the lanes and I got better carry in the final match.  It is such an honour for me and my country as I am the first Malaysian player to win this wonderful tournament.” His win actually means that Malaysia and the USA are tied for top country but the trophy goes to Malaysia as one of their players won the title.

20121201 – 1
When it came to the position round of the round robin, Marshall Kent of the USA and Andres Gomez of Colombia were already assured of their place in the stepladder finals of the 48^thQubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in the Sky Bowling Centre, Wroclaw, Poland. But it was a tight race to see who would make it in 3^rd place. Before this final match, Hareb Al Mansoori of the UAE was 48 pins up on Syafiq Ridwhan Abdul Malek of Malaysia which meant Syafiq needed to win by 19 pins to go through. He shot 209 to Hareb’s 161, hence he will be playing in this afternoon’s TV finals. The top three for the women were set before the position round and it was just a question of the order they would finish in. Aumi Guerra of the Dominican Republic, bidding to become the first bowler to win the World Cup three years in a row, is in pole position, with Kirsten Penny of England in 2^nd and Shayna Ng of Singapore in 3^rd. Again, the women scored higher than the men. Top man’s score for the 8 games of the round robin was 1788, by Syafiq. Six of the women beat that, with five of them shooting over 1800. Overall average for the men in the round robin was 220.18, for the women it was 224.47. The round robin results have also assured the USA of the trophy for top country.

20121130
Marshall Kent of the USA remains in pole position after the second round of the 48^thQubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Wroclaw, Poland, but the excitement was all lower down the standings, to see who would qualify for the round robin. Canadian Michael Schmidt, a two-time Bowling World Cup Champion, came from 22^nd place after the qualifying 20 games to shoot a total of 1915 and pull himself up the leader board. With one game to go, he was into the next round by 15 pins, but Matt Chamberlain of England and James Gruffman of Sweden were chasing hard. In the end it was Matt who went through to the round robin, leaving James and Michael to think of what might have been. Included in Michael’s set was a 299 game, the high game of the tournament for just one game until Mykhaylo Kalika of the Ukraine, last year’s third placed player, shot our first men’s 300 of the tournament, winning for himself the high game trophy. And Mykhaylo did it in front of a TV crew from his home country, here to cover the event. Mykhaylo’s previous game had been a 152 and coach Ron Hatfield explained: “We made a really big change. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t, but this worked like a dream!” 

14. Oktober 2012

Aumi Guerra of the Dominican Republic will be looking to make history in December when she tries to become the first player ever to win the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup title three years in a row.   She won in 2010 in Toulon, France, and last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, and has qualified to represent her country again in Wroclaw, Poland.   She will face stiff opposition, not least from Ann Maree Putney, our champion in 2007, and from England’s Kirsten Penny, one of the stars of the world game for many years now.

We now know the names of the Polish competitors:  Pawel Bielski and Bozena Pajak. Pawel will be taking part for the third time, having played in 2004 and 2009. In 2004, in Singapore, he shot a perfect game to share the high game prize for the tournament. Bozena will be competing for the first time, but her daughter, Daria, is no stranger to the tournament, having competed in 2007,2008 and last year, when she narrowly missed making the top 24.

Also returning will be our third placed player last year, Mykhaylo Kalika from the Ukraine. This year his coach will be his twin brother, Oleksandr, who himself competed in 2006 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Jeanette Baker of Australia was the first player to win back to back Bowling World Cup titles in 1982 and 1983. No man has ever won back to back titles.

The finals will be on Saturday 1^st December with departure on 2^nd December. The event will be held in the Sky Bowling Centre in Wroclaw and televised for Eurosport.

Marek Maciejewski, owner of Sky Bowling and our host for the 48^th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup was one of the proudest people in Wroclaw, Poland, recently when the 24-lane centre was officially opened. “I am so pleased the QubicaAMF has chosen my centre to host the prestigious Bowling World Cup,” he said. “We have worked hard to create an exciting centre and we will offer a very warm Polish welcome to all competitors and their guests.” Marek’s first career was in construction and development. “My company was responsible for quite a few of the bridges, buildings and roads around here,” he said. “Then I was looking for further opportunities and with a rising standard of living in Poland, I decided on fitness and recreation.” A friend of his was developing the Sky Tower. “I didn’t join him in the development,” said Marek, “that’s the way to lose friends.” But he did take part of the second floor of the lower section. And that area is now home to an extensive and very impressive Fitness Academy gym, one of six Marek owns, and, of course, the Sky Bowling Centre. The official opening of the floor featured a body-building demonstration, a concert from Justyna Steczkowska, one of Poland’s most popular singers and a demonstration of sport bowling from some of Poland’s top players, including Greta Frost who represented her country in the 2009 Bowling World Cup. Among the VIPs present was the Vice-President of Wroclaw, Michal Janicki. Anne-Marie Board, Bowling World Cup Manager, commented: “The Sky Bowling centre is stunning, a terrific place to hold the 48^th World Cup. With all the other facilities on offer, from the shopping and restaurants in the Sky Tower, to the beauty of Wroclaw itself, this is sure to be a great event.”

Ron Wood, QubicaAMF Senior Vice-President, International Sales and Service, said: “The Sky Tower is a landmark for Wroclaw, rising above all the other buildings. It is sure to be a major attraction in southern Poland and we are delighted that bowling features so prominently in the development.”

The official arrival day for the tournament is 24^th November. The finals will be on Saturday 1^stDecember with departure on 2^nd December.

QubicaAMF World Cup 2012