Austrian international Thomas Gross walked away the winner in the 4th Slovakia Open 2005 at Brunswick Bowling Aupark in Bratislava, Slovakia. In an all-Austrian affair, Gross defeated youngster Mario Baumgartner in the championship match over two games total pinfall, 397-361. Gross held a comfortable 33-pin lead after the first game (216-183) and never looked back. He won the second game 181-178 to claim the 1.500 Euro top prize.
Thomas Bock and Michaela Göbel earned the men's and women's individual titles in the 2005 German National Championships. Block averaged 210,8 over 25 games on his way to his first national title. Göbel, who won her second consecutive title, was the only woman with a 200-plus average with 203,08. The singles, doubles and mixed doubles championships took place at Neue City Bowling Hasenheide in Berlin, Germany, June 18-25.
3-time World Champion Anders "Linus" Öhman (left) and Helen Johnsson captured the men's and women's National Championship at Vilbergen Superbowl in Norrköping, Sweden. Öhman defeated Magnus Andersson in a high soring affair, 237-225 and 256-234 to earn his first individual national championship. Johnsson swept Eva Jönsson, 2-0, to win her third national title after 1997 and 1999.
Thursday, June 9, was the last league evening of the year for Theo Panneman (left) and his partner, former Dutch international Bert Beverdam. It was a perfect ending for the league season when Panneman posted an 1108 4-game series, an average of 277. His last three games were 300, 279 and 300 for an amazing 879 over three games or 34 strikes out of 36 shots.
Local favorite and tournament organizer Karel Kutina came up strong to defeat No. seeded Thomas Koch from Germany, 2-1, in the best-of-three-game finals of the 3rd Rybenor Czech Open 2005. Down 0-1 in the championship match, Kutina, seeded second, rebounded with games of 223 and 287 to seal the victory.
Isabelle Saldjian and Christophe de Munico captured the titles in the 2005 French National Championships at Bowling Center Thiais, a 32-lanes near the Orly Airport in the south of Paris. Business as usual for Saldjian (pictured), who won her 11th consecutive title and the 12th in 13 years.
Vincent Wuylens defeated American Ken Bland, 2-0, in the best-of-three-game championship match en route to win the Belgian Super 6 Finals in the Category A. The tournament series is divided into four categories: over 190 average, over 180, over 166 and under 166. Francis Maresceau earned the title in Category B, Jona Vanderzanden walked away the winner in Category C, while Steven Broeckx won Category D.
Once again, Team Pergamon of Gothenburg (pictured) is on top of the hill in the Swedish 8-player team league. The teammates combined for a 215-average in the men's final against bowling club Ellbogen/Ng from Malmö en route to win their third consecutive Swedish National Team Championship. The ladies from Spader Dam, Helsingborg, defeated Sundbybergs IK in a close match to win the 7th national team title for Spader Dam overall.
Petter Hansen and Siw Fjellheim won the individual titles in the 2005 Norwegian National Championships at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo, Norway. Both players advanced to the 3-player stepladder finals as the No. seeds. Hansen and Mads Sandbaekken were deadlocked at 206 the Hansen struck on his first three balls in roll-off to claim his third consecutive national title, 58-34.
German heavyweight Jens Nickel fired nine strikes in a row en route to defeat local favorite Paul Moor, 485-389, and to win the World Tenpin Masters and the $30,000 first prize. Nickel, who won the bronze medal in All Events at the 2003 World Championships, came back from being down by 5 pins after the first game with a 278-177 win in game two to seal the victory. Moor received $10,000 for second place.
For the first time since they are married, Ivonne and Thomas Gross won the women's and men's individual national titles in the same year. The couple established three national records en route to win the 2005 Austrian National Championships at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. They will represent Austria at the European Cup for Individuals in Germany in September.
François Geffray from Colmar, France defeated his fellow countryman Sam Faraglia from Anecy, two games to one, in the best-of-three-game championship match en route to win the 28th Grand Prix Zurich in Switzerland. Geffray trailed by one after the first game, but finished with back-to-back victories, 225-224 and 241-195.
His Majesty, Prince Moulay Rachid from Morocco will be present for the Grand Opening of the Mega Mall Bowling Center in Rabat on April 29. Patrick Leroy (pictured), President of the Morocco Bowling Association, is the managing director of the facility.
The stepladder final of the 4th Baker Trophy in Zurich, Switzerland was an all-Swiss affair. Bowling Team Bern, seeded third, climbed up the ladder with three straight victories to win the 2005 trophy. In the championship match, Bern defeated BC Strangers Juniors, the sole team that averaged 200+ in the Peterson Finals and shot a perfect 300-game in Baker-style, with 379-302, two game total.
Defending women's champion and long-time international Bigi Manico and youth bowler Mathieu Berges won the women's and men's title in the 2005 Swiss National Championships. Both champions will represent Switzerland in the European Cup for Individuals in Böblingen, Germany, September 5-11.
The European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) has announced that the German Bowling Federation (DBU) has accepted to host the first Women's European Championships in 2006. The championships are supposed to be conducted at a 22-laner in Böblingen near Stuttgart from August 25 through September 2, 2006.
Team Solli won the third consecutive title in the Norwegian men's 5-Player Team Championships. Norwegian internationals Petter Hansen, Svein Roger Olsen, Sverre Lund, Geir O. Pedersen, Knut Hansen and youngster Thomas Fagerström sealed the victory with a 3-1 win against third-placed Strike BK. Solli already won the Norwegian Baker Team Championships earlier this season.
Italian league bowler Delfino Ceracchi wrote history when he bowled in the regional qualifying for the Italian National Championships on Sunday, February 22, at Bowling Odissea 2000 in Rome. The 60-year-old from Rome connected for 27 consecutive strikes to become the first bowler in Italy to roll first back-to-back 300-games.
6th Torneo Internacional de Bowling Ciudad de Valencia
Marcial Ovide defeated Serge Frouvelle, France, 247-226, to claim the title in the 6th Torneo Internacional de Bowling Ciudad de Valencia at Cosmic Bowling in Valencia, Spain. The Spanish international, who averaged 235,67 over 12 games to earn the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals, cashed 2.300 Euro. Frouvelle, who garnered 1.200 Euro for second, ousted Hans Jürgen Müller, Germany, in the opening match, 255-194.
French Laurent Plantard defeated Chris Van Damme, Belgium, in two games, 465-424, en route to capture the title in the Luxembourg Open at Inter Bowling in Foetz/Mondercange. Plantard, seeded fourth in the 4-player shoot-out, posted two high scores of 224 and 241 to earn 2.000 Euro top prize. Francois Sacco and Anthony Fabre, both of France, rolled 300-games.
Austrian international Thomas Gross walked away the winner in the 4th Slovakia Open 2005 at Brunswick Bowling Aupark in Bratislava, Slovakia. In an all-Austrian affair, Gross defeated youngster Mario Baumgartner in the championship match over two games total pinfall, 397-361. Gross held a comfortable 33-pin lead after the first game (216-183) and never looked back. He won the second game 181-178 to claim the 1.500 Euro top prize. 
3-time World Champion Anders "Linus" Öhman (left) and Helen Johnsson captured the men's and women's National Championship at Vilbergen Superbowl in Norrköping, Sweden. Öhman defeated Magnus Andersson in a high soring affair, 237-225 and 256-234 to earn his first individual national championship. Johnsson swept Eva Jönsson, 2-0, to win her third national title after 1997 and 1999.
Thursday, June 9, was the last league evening of the year for Theo Panneman (left) and his partner, former Dutch international Bert Beverdam. It was a perfect ending for the league season when Panneman posted an 1108 4-game series, an average of 277. His last three games were 300, 279 and 300 for an amazing 879 over three games or 34 strikes out of 36 shots. 
Local favorite and tournament organizer Karel Kutina came up strong to defeat No. seeded Thomas Koch from Germany, 2-1, in the best-of-three-game finals of the 3rd Rybenor Czech Open 2005. Down 0-1 in the championship match, Kutina, seeded second, rebounded with games of 223 and 287 to seal the victory.
Once again, Team Pergamon of Gothenburg (pictured) is on top of the hill in the Swedish 8-player team league. The teammates combined for a 215-average in the men's final against bowling club Ellbogen/Ng from Malmö en route to win their third consecutive Swedish National Team Championship. The ladies from Spader Dam, Helsingborg, defeated Sundbybergs IK in a close match to win the 7th national team title for Spader Dam overall. 
Petter Hansen and Siw Fjellheim won the individual titles in the 2005 Norwegian National Championships at Veitvet Bowling Center in Oslo, Norway. Both players advanced to the 3-player stepladder finals as the No. seeds. Hansen and Mads Sandbaekken were deadlocked at 206 the Hansen struck on his first three balls in roll-off to claim his third consecutive national title, 58-34. 
German heavyweight Jens Nickel fired nine strikes in a row en route to defeat local favorite Paul Moor, 485-389, and to win the World Tenpin Masters and the $30,000 first prize. Nickel, who won the bronze medal in All Events at the 2003 World Championships, came back from being down by 5 pins after the first game with a 278-177 win in game two to seal the victory. Moor received $10,000 for second place. 
For the first time since they are married, Ivonne and Thomas Gross won the women's and men's individual national titles in the same year. The couple established three national records en route to win the 2005 Austrian National Championships at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. They will represent Austria at the European Cup for Individuals in Germany in September. 
François Geffray from Colmar, France defeated his fellow countryman Sam Faraglia from Anecy, two games to one, in the best-of-three-game championship match en route to win the 28th Grand Prix Zurich in Switzerland. Geffray trailed by one after the first game, but finished with back-to-back victories, 225-224 and 241-195. 
The stepladder final of the 4th Baker Trophy in Zurich, Switzerland was an all-Swiss affair. Bowling Team Bern, seeded third, climbed up the ladder with three straight victories to win the 2005 trophy. In the championship match, Bern defeated BC Strangers Juniors, the sole team that averaged 200+ in the Peterson Finals and shot a perfect 300-game in Baker-style, with 379-302, two game total.
Defending women's champion and long-time international Bigi Manico and youth bowler Mathieu Berges won the women's and men's title in the 2005 Swiss National Championships. Both champions will represent Switzerland in the European Cup for Individuals in Böblingen, Germany, September 5-11. 
The European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) has announced that the German Bowling Federation (DBU) has accepted to host the first Women's European Championships in 2006. The championships are supposed to be conducted at a 22-laner in Böblingen near Stuttgart from August 25 through September 2, 2006. 
Italian league bowler Delfino Ceracchi wrote history when he bowled in the regional qualifying for the Italian National Championships on Sunday, February 22, at Bowling Odissea 2000 in Rome. The 60-year-old from Rome connected for 27 consecutive strikes to become the first bowler in Italy to roll first back-to-back 300-games.
Marcial Ovide defeated Serge Frouvelle, France, 247-226, to claim the title in the 6th Torneo Internacional de Bowling Ciudad de Valencia at Cosmic Bowling in Valencia, Spain. The Spanish international, who averaged 235,67 over 12 games to earn the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals, cashed 2.300 Euro. Frouvelle, who garnered 1.200 Euro for second, ousted Hans Jürgen Müller, Germany, in the opening match, 255-194. 
French Laurent Plantard defeated Chris Van Damme, Belgium, in two games, 465-424, en route to capture the title in the Luxembourg Open at Inter Bowling in Foetz/Mondercange. Plantard, seeded fourth in the 4-player shoot-out, posted two high scores of 224 and 241 to earn 2.000 Euro top prize. Francois Sacco and Anthony Fabre, both of France, rolled 300-games. 