It is with great sadness that Kegel has announced that its founder and CEO, John M. Davis passed away at the age of 64 this morning at his home in Winter Haven, Florida. John was a very generous and compassionate man, who absolutely loved the sport of bowling. John leaves behind a legacy that will impact the sport of bowling and those who knew him forever. He will be sadly missed by his mother, wife, four brothers, three children, and six grandchildren, along with his extended family at Kegel and throughout the bowling industry.
Mihela Križman (pictured left) and Nino Stenko (right) captured the women's and men's individual titles at the 2013 Slovenian National Championships. The top 27 men and the top 13 women after two qualifying rounds in November 2012 and in February 2013 advanced to the finals which were held Saturday, May 25, at Gladiator bowling center in Ljubljana.
Daria Kovalova (l.) and Alexander Sarazhinsky (r.) claimed the women's and men's title in the Ukraine Cup 2013 from the top seeded position at Terminal bowling center in Brovari near the capital city of Kiev. In low-scoring but very close championship matches, Kovalova defeated Olga Tarasova by three pins, 356-353, while Sarazhinsky topped Andrey Andreev by two pins, 347-345, to emerge as men's champion.
Wim Claessens (l.) and Melissa Vallons (r.) emerged as men's and women's champions in the 2013 Belgian National Championships, which concluded Sunday, May 26, at Bowling Stones in Wemmel, Belgium. In a high-scoring men's title match, Claessens cruised to the title with a huge 277-255 victory against Jean-Marc Lebon. On the women's side, Vallons topped Veronique Perniaux, 202-179, to wrap up the title.
Mads Sandbækken and Janne Monsen won the men's and women's individual title at the 2013 Norwegian National Championships. The event was held at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo from May 9-12 and drew 301 players including 74 women and 227 men. The Championships were the fourth and last event of the
qualifying series for the 49th QubicaAMF World Cup. Tore Torgersen and Patcharin Torgersen will represent Norway in Siberia from Nov. 15-24, 2013.
Loudmouth Golf, the leader in bold and bright colored sports and lifestyle apparel, has announced that Swedish tenpin bowler Sandra Andersson (l.) will be wearing their clothing whilst competing in the 2013-2014 season. "We are thrilled to welcome Sandra to the Loudmouth team," says Loudmouth Executive Vice President, Alan Wallace. "Sandra's exceptional talent and personality makes her the perfect fit for our brand."
Sarit Mizrahi (l.) of Nesher club and Ben Slutzki (r.) of Petach-Tikva club won the women's and men's individual titles at the 2013 Israeli National Championships which were held at Petach-Tikva bowling center. It was the fifth title for Mizrahi after 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2009 but the first for Slutzki. The duo will represent Israel at the 2013 European Champions Cup October 21-28 at BNC Bowling Center in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The Dutch team roster for 2013 World Championships begins to take shape as the Netherlands Bowling Federation (NBF) announced the selection of eight women and eight men, who will battle for the six spots in each team. Jeroen van Geel (l.) led the men's selection process ahead of Johnny Spil and Roel Mol. Ghislaine van der Tol (r.) led the women's field and was followed by Lisanne Breeschoten and Wendy Kok.
Seventy-seven of the best Dutch bowlers descended upon Bowling center Dekker in Zoetermeer (Dutch for "Sweet Lake"), a city in the western Netherlands, on the weekend of March 2-4 for the annual Dutch National Championships. As in the year 2010, Michael Kok (left) and Nicole Sanders (right) defeated all their opponents en route to become the 2013 Dutch National champions, both at the age of 25.
Swiss national team member Harn-Chieh Kwan (pictured left with his trophies) of Zurich saved his best for last, defeating Eric Bezuchet, 300-169, to win the 6th Mutze-Derby Sunday, March 10, at Timeout Bowling in Spiez, Switzerland. It was the second perfecto of the tournament for "HCK", who shot the first in his 1969 eight-game block to dominate qualifying. With an average of 246.13, Kwan outaveraged his nearest competitor by almost 40 pins.
The Netherlands Bowling Federation (NBF) has announced the selection process for athletes to qualify for the Dutch men's and women's national team for the 2013 World Championships in the United States. 24 players, 13 men and 11 women, started the "Road to the World Championships 2013" program to select six men and six women who will represent the Netherlands in the first combined World Championships since 2003, August 18-31 at Sunset Station's Strike Zone bowling center in Henderson, Nev.
QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager Anne-Marie Board has announced that the finals of the 48th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, played December 1 at Sky Bowling center in Wroclaw, Poland, are scheduled to be broadcast on Eurosport 2 at the end of February. The channel, which reaches 54 countries in Europe, will show the finals in two one-hour long, back-to-back shows on Thursday evening, Feb. 28. Please check your local TV guide for detailed schedules in your country.
Barry Foley (l.) of the host country Ireland and Zara Giles (r.) of England remained undefeated in the match play finals over two games total pinfall en route to capture the men's and women's title of the 25th Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships Sunday at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. In the title match, Foley outlasted Norwegian Robin Nordas Grindvik, 459-342, while Giles defeated Hannah Cullen of Ireland, 456-423.
Local bowlers set the tone on the first day of qualifying in the Storm Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships Thursday at Leisureplex Stillorgan in Dublin, Ireland. The 25th edition of the event kicks off the 50th Anniversary Year of the Irish Tenpin Bowling Association (ITBA). Matt Hann (right) rolled games of 247, 238, 280, 247, 248 and 278 to lead the men's division after four qualifying squads with 1538 and an average of 256.33.
Rebecka Larsen Jr. (pictured) of Sweden maintained her lead in round robin match play en route to win the 33rd AIK International Tournament at Bowl-O-Rama in Stockholm, Sweden. The two-time European champion, who held a 146-pin lead over her nearest competitor after Final Round 2, averaged over 230 in match play to finish with 4983 total including 110 bonus pins. Larsen received 60.000 Swedish Kronor for the victory (approx. 6,940 Euro or $9,160). Bjørn Einar Rudshagen of Norway was second with 4839. 
Two-time European Champion Joline Persson-Planefors (pictured) of Sweden averaged 254.50 in the 12th squad en route to outscore the men and to win the qualifying of the 33rd AIK International Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden. Persson-Planefors, who was the 2011 European Bowling Tour women's point ranking leader, fired games of 259, 219, 224, 300, 268 and 257 for 1527 scratch and added 40 pins handicap - eight pins for each game but the 300 - to lead the field of 342-players with 1567 total.
Hafthor Hardarsson (l.) of Iceland posted the highest six-game series on the penultimate qualifying day to jump into third place in the overall standings of the 33rd AIK International Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden. Hardarsson had games of 239, 233, 244, 220, 248 and 269 for 1453 or an average of 242.17. With 11 of 14 qualifying squads in the books, PBA champion Dominic Barrett (r.) of England leads the 330-player field with 1497. 
Mikael Kanold (pictured) of Sundbybergs IK had a 1392 series, a 232 average, Wednesday at Bowl-O-Rama in Stockholm, Sweden, to lead Squad 5 in the 33rd AIK International Tournament. The Swedish international came out the gates fast with 263 and 267, then added 226 and a pair of 235 games. With a 235 triplicate Kanold would have taken the lead but had to settle for ninth place after a 166 final game. Lars Pejstrup leads the 166-player field since the first squad with 1460 and an average of 243.33.