44th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup gets underway with Official Practice and Opening Ceremonies
11/09/08
The 44th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup starts on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. local time with official practice at Bol 300, a brand new 32-laner (pictured) in Hermosillo, Mexico. 89 men and 65 women representing 91 countries are expected to participate in this year's event.
The 89 men will be divided into two groups. Group 1 bowl from 8 to 9.15 a.m. and Group B will follow after the men's briefing from 10.15 to 11.30 a.m. The 65 women will also be divided into two groups, which will be sandwiched around the women's briefing from 12.30 to 1.45 p.m. and 2.45 to 4 p.m.
The official practice will be followed by the Opening Ceremonies and the Welcome Reception scheduled for 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
Real action starts on Sunday, Nov. 9 with the preliminaries. All competitors, men and women bowl in separate divisions, will bowl four six-game blocks of qualifying (24 games overall) over four days before the field is cut to the top 24 in each division on Wednesday.
Advancing players will bowl an additional eight games on Thursday, Nov. 13 before the field is cut to the top 8 men and top 8 women. The remaining players will bowl 8 games of round robin match play with bonus points on Friday morning to determine the top 3 for Friday's stepladder finals.
Our favorites in the men's division include 3-time World Champion Martin Larsen from Sweden, Team USA's Derek Eoff, a 3-time gold medalist in the 2007 Men's American Zone Championships, 2008 World Ranking Masters and ABF Masters runner-up Zulmazran Zulkifli (left), Malaysia and reigning European Masters champion Mads Sandbækken (right), Norway.
They will face a strong challenge from World Tenpin Masters champion and frequent BWC participant Guy Caminsky (left), South Africa, Finnish national team head coach and former PBA pro Sami Konsteri (right), Finland, as well as two of the best Arab bowlers Hussain Al-Suwaidi and Mubarak Al Muraikhi, Qatar.
We also expect a strong showing from multiple Australian ranking champion George Frilingos; Chris Vandamme (left), Belgium, a winner on the EBT and EBPA Senior Tour; Jack Guay, Canada, who became the first player in the history of the event to hit a perfect game in 1994 in Hermosillo; long-time English international Nick Froggatt; World Games champion Francois Sacco, France; Leonidas Maragkos (right), Greece; Choi Won-Young, Korea; and Lee Yu-Wen, Singapore.
On the women's side, we wouldn't be surprised if the championship match would feature defending champion Ann-Maree Putney, Australia and two-time BWC champion Shannon Pluhowsky, United States. However, World champions Zara Glover (left), England, who recently won the European Champions Cup, and Esther Cheah (right), Malaysia, will have other plans.
Among their toughest rivals are multiple Swedish champion Helén Johnsson and Aumi Guerra (left), Dominican Republic, who finished in sixth and seventh place at last year's BWC in St. Petersburg, Russia, 2006 World Ranking Masters champion Sara Vargas, Colombia, and World Youth championships gold medalist Tina Hulsch (right), Germany, who finished in third place last year.
Expected to finish among the top 24 are Belgium's shooting star Katrien Goossens (left); Jennifer Park, Canada, who was the best non U.S. bowler in the 2008 PABCON Women's championships; Finnish record holder Krista Pöllänen; World Games champion Isabelle Sacco, France; Japan's national team captain Ayano Katai (right); Lisanne Breeschoten, Netherlands, who became the first-ever female winner of the Kegel London International earlier this year; Ann Louise Haugen, Norway, third-place finisher in the 2005 BWC; and multiple Swiss champion and frequent BWC participant Bigi Manico.
Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from Hermosillo with results and updates after each round featuring photos and our much-anticipated high definition videos commencing November 7 all the way through to the finals on Friday, November 14.
To view the tentative tournament schedule, a list of the participating countries and players and the proposed lane conditions, please scroll down this page or use the menu bar on the left.
2008 BWC
Bol 300 in Hermosillo, Mexico (Nov. 7-15, 2008)
The 44th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup starts on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. local time with official practice at Bol 300, a brand new 32-laner (pictured) in Hermosillo, Mexico. 89 men and 65 women representing 91 countries are expected to participate in this year's event. The 89 men will be divided into two groups. Group 1 bowl from 8 to 9.15 a.m. and Group B will follow after the men's briefing from 10.15 to 11.30 a.m. The 65 women will also be divided into two groups, which will be sandwiched around the women's briefing from 12.30 to 1.45 p.m. and 2.45 to 4 p.m.
The official practice will be followed by the Opening Ceremonies and the Welcome Reception scheduled for 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Real action starts on Sunday, Nov. 9 with the preliminaries. All competitors, men and women bowl in separate divisions, will bowl four six-game blocks of qualifying (24 games overall) over four days before the field is cut to the top 24 in each division on Wednesday.
Advancing players will bowl an additional eight games on Thursday, Nov. 13 before the field is cut to the top 8 men and top 8 women. The remaining players will bowl 8 games of round robin match play with bonus points on Friday morning to determine the top 3 for Friday's stepladder finals.
Our favorites in the men's division include 3-time World Champion Martin Larsen from Sweden, Team USA's Derek Eoff, a 3-time gold medalist in the 2007 Men's American Zone Championships, 2008 World Ranking Masters and ABF Masters runner-up Zulmazran Zulkifli (left), Malaysia and reigning European Masters champion Mads Sandbækken (right), Norway. They will face a strong challenge from World Tenpin Masters champion and frequent BWC participant Guy Caminsky (left), South Africa, Finnish national team head coach and former PBA pro Sami Konsteri (right), Finland, as well as two of the best Arab bowlers Hussain Al-Suwaidi and Mubarak Al Muraikhi, Qatar. We also expect a strong showing from multiple Australian ranking champion George Frilingos; Chris Vandamme (left), Belgium, a winner on the EBT and EBPA Senior Tour; Jack Guay, Canada, who became the first player in the history of the event to hit a perfect game in 1994 in Hermosillo; long-time English international Nick Froggatt; World Games champion Francois Sacco, France; Leonidas Maragkos (right), Greece; Choi Won-Young, Korea; and Lee Yu-Wen, Singapore. On the women's side, we wouldn't be surprised if the championship match would feature defending champion Ann-Maree Putney, Australia and two-time BWC champion Shannon Pluhowsky, United States. However, World champions Zara Glover (left), England, who recently won the European Champions Cup, and Esther Cheah (right), Malaysia, will have other plans. Among their toughest rivals are multiple Swedish champion Helén Johnsson and Aumi Guerra (left), Dominican Republic, who finished in sixth and seventh place at last year's BWC in St. Petersburg, Russia, 2006 World Ranking Masters champion Sara Vargas, Colombia, and World Youth championships gold medalist Tina Hulsch (right), Germany, who finished in third place last year. Expected to finish among the top 24 are Belgium's shooting star Katrien Goossens (left); Jennifer Park, Canada, who was the best non U.S. bowler in the 2008 PABCON Women's championships; Finnish record holder Krista Pöllänen; World Games champion Isabelle Sacco, France; Japan's national team captain Ayano Katai (right); Lisanne Breeschoten, Netherlands, who became the first-ever female winner of the Kegel London International earlier this year; Ann Louise Haugen, Norway, third-place finisher in the 2005 BWC; and multiple Swiss champion and frequent BWC participant Bigi Manico. Bowlingdigital will cover the event live from Hermosillo with results and updates after each round featuring photos and our much-anticipated high definition videos commencing November 7 all the way through to the finals on Friday, November 14. To view the tentative tournament schedule, a list of the participating countries and players and the proposed lane conditions, please scroll down this page or use the menu bar on the left.