QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup

The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, previously known as the International Masters and AMF Bowling World Cup, is an annual Ten-pin bowling championship sponsored by QubicaAMF Worldwide, and the largest in bowling in terms of number of participating nations. Each nation chooses one male and/or one female bowler to represent them in the tournament, and in the majority of cases, this is done by running a qualifying tournament, the winners of which (male and/or female) are chosen.

QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup
SportTen-Pin Bowling
Founded1965
Singles entrants133 (73 men, 60 women) from 75 countries[1]
Most recent
champion(s)
Men: South Africa Francois Louw
Women: Australia Rebecca Whiting
Sponsor(s)QubicaAMF Worldwide
Official websiteQubicaAMF Bowling World Cup

History

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The Bowling World Cup was created by AMF's European Promotions Director at the time, Victor Kalman, and Gordon Caie, AMF's Promotions Manager in the UK at the time.[2] Dublin, Ireland in 1965 hosted the first-ever Bowling World Cup, then called the International Masters. 20 bowlers, all men, participated. Lauri Ajanto became the first-ever winner of the BWC. Women first competed in 1972, the 8th edition of the AMF Bowling World Cup in Hamburg, West Germany where Irma Urrea became the first-ever woman to win the BWC.

13 countries have participated in every Bowling World Cup since its inception: Australia, Belgium, England (as Great Britain from 1965 to 1995), Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and United States.[3]

As of 2019, the Bowling World Cup has visited 42 different cities in 31 different countries.

Currently the men's champion is Francois Louw and the women's champion is Rebecca Whiting.[4] On March 9, 2020, World Bowling and QubicaAMF announced a merger of the World Bowling Singles Championships and the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup into one annual event, that will continue to be called the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup from 2020 onwards.[5] The 56th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup was to be held in Salmiya, Kuwait at the Kuwait Bowling Sporting Club[4] in November 2020, but was postponed to March 2021 and then further postponed to October 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic[6] and then canceled all together.

Format

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Qualifying Rounds

  • Stage 1: Qualifying Round of 24 Games, total pinfall. Top 24 Men, Top 24 Women advance to Stage 2, total pinfall carries over.[7]
  • Stage 2: Top 24 Men, Top 24 women bowls 8 games. Top 8 Men, Top 8 Women based on total pinfall after 32 games advance to Stage 3.[7]
  • Stage 3: Top 8 Men, Top 8 women bowls another 8 games in a round robin format, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie. Top 4 Men, Top 4 Women after 40 games (total pinfall + bonus pins) advance to the knockout finals.[7]

Knockout Finals

  • Semifinals: First seeded bowler vs Fourth seeded bowler; Second seeded bowler vs Third seeded bowler, winners (Men and women) advance to the finals.[7]
  • Finals: Semifinal winners bowl for the title. (Men and women)[7]

Lane Pattern

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For the 2019 BWC, all games are bowled on one pattern, typically a 41 foot pattern unless lane topography at the host site dictates that the pattern be adjusted one foot less or one foot more.[8]

Previous winners

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Year Location Men Women
1965   Dublin, Ireland   Lauri Ajanto
Women did not participate from 1965-1971
1966   London, England   John Wilcox
1967   Paris, France   Jack Connaughton
1968   Guadalajara, Mexico   Fritz Blum
1969   Tokyo, Japan   Graydon Robinson
1970   Copenhagen, Denmark   Klaus Müller
1971   Hong Kong   Roger Dalkin
1972   Hamburg, West Germany   Ray Mitchell   Irma Urrea
1973   Singapore   Bernie Caterer   Kesinee Srivises
1974   Caracas, Venezuela   Jairo Ocampo   Birgitte Lund
1975   Makati, Philippines   Lorenzo Monti   Cathy Townsend
1976   Tehran, Iran   Paeng Nepomuceno   Lucy Giovinco
1977   Tolworth, England   Arne Svein Ström   Rea Rennox
1978   Bogotá, Colombia   Samran Banyen   Lita dela Rosa
1979   Bangkok, Thailand   Philippe Dubois   Bong Coo
1980   Jakarta, Indonesia   Paeng Nepomuceno   Jean Gordon
1981   New York City, United States   Bob Worrall   Pauline Smith
1982   Scheveningen, Netherlands   Arne Svein Ström   Jeanette Baker
1983   Mexico City, Mexico   Chu You-tien   Jeanette Baker
1984   Sydney, Australia   Jack Jurek   Eliana Rigato
1985   Seoul, South Korea   Alfonso Rodríguez   Marjorie McEntee
1986   Copenhagen, Denmark   Peter Ljung   Annette Hagre
1987   Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia   Remo Fornasari   Irene Gronert
1988   Guadalajara, Mexico   Mohammed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi   Linda Kelly
1989   Dublin, Ireland   Salem Al-Monsuri   Patty Ann
1990   Pattaya, Thailand   Tom Hahl   Linda Graham
1991   Beijing, China   Jon Juneau   Åsa Larsson
1992   Le Mans, France   Paeng Nepomuceno   Martina Beckel
1993   Johannesburg, South Africa   Rainer Puisis   Pauline Smith
1994   Hermosillo, Mexico   Tore Torgersen   Anne Jacobs
1995   São Paulo, Brazil   Patrick Healey Jr.   Gemma Burden
1996   Belfast, Northern Ireland   Paeng Nepomuceno   Cara Honeychurch
1997   Cairo, Egypt   Christian Nokel   Tseng Su-fen
1998   Kobe, Japan   Yang Cheng-ming   Maxine Nable
1999   Las Vegas, United States   Ahmed Shaheen   Amanda Bradley
2000   Lisbon, Portugal   Tomas Leandersson   Mel Issac
2001   Pattaya, Thailand   Kim Haugen   Nachimi Itakura
2002   Riga, Latvia   Mika Luoto   Shannon Pluhowsky
2003   Tegucigalpa, Honduras   Christian Jan Suarez   Kerrie Ryan-Ciach
2004   Singapore   Kai Virtanen   Shannon Pluhowsky
2005   Ljubljana, Slovenia   Michael Schmidt   Lynda Barnes
2006   Caracas, Venezuela   Osku Palermaa   Diandra Asbaty
2007   St Petersburg, Russia   Bill Hoffman   Ann-Maree Putney
2008   Hermosillo, Mexico   Derek Eoff   Jasmine Yeong-Nathan
2009   Malacca Town, Malaysia   Choi Yong-kyu   Caroline Lagrange
2010   Toulon, France   Michael Schmidt   Aumi Guerra
2011   Johannesburg, South Africa   Jason Belmonte   Aumi Guerra
2012   Wroclaw, Poland   Syafiq Ridhwan   Shayna Ng
2013   Krasnoyarsk, Russia   Or Aviram   Caroline Lagrange
2014   Wroclaw, Poland   Chris Barnes   Clara Guerrero
2015   Las Vegas, United States   Wu Siu Hong   Clara Guerrero
2016   Shanghai, China   Wang Hongbo   Jenny Wegner
2017   Hermosillo, Mexico   Jakob Butturff   Krizziah Tabora
2018   Las Vegas, United States   Sam Cooley   Shannon O'Keefe
2019   Palembang, Indonesia   Francois Louw   Rebecca Whiting
2021   Dubai, United Arab Emirates   Tom Daugherty   Shayna Ng
2022   Queensland, Australia   Carl Eklund   Colleen Pee
2023   Salmiya, Kuwait   Xiang Yi Zhang   Shannon O'Keefe
2024   Lima, Peru   Robin Ilhammar   Jenna Stretch
2025   Kowloon, Hong Kong

Source:[9]

Number of titles by country/territory

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  1. ^ a b As West Germany.

Records

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Winners

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  •   Paeng Nepomuceno holds two Guinness World Records from his victories in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup. His four victories (1976, 1980, 1992, 1996) came in a record three different decades.[10] He also holds the record for the youngest men's champion, 19, when he won his first of four titles in 1976.[10] Incidentally, Nepomuceno won his titles in Olympic years.
  • The oldest champions are   Remo Fornasari, 51, when he won in 1987;[11] and   Irma Urrea, 45, when she won the very first women's title in 1972.
  •   Gemma Burden holds a Guinness World Record as the youngest Bowling World Cup Champion, 17, when she won in 1995.[12]
  • Two other men besides Nepomuceno has won multiple Bowling World Cup titles,   Arne Svein Ström (1977 and 1982) and   Michael Schmidt (2005 and 2010).
  • Six women have each won two times,   Pauline Smith (1981 and 1993),   Jeanette Baker (1982 and 1983),   Shannon Pluhowsky (2002 and 2004),   Aumi Guerra (2010 and 2011),   Caroline Lagrange (2009 and 2013) and   Clara Guerrero (2014 and 2015).
  • Baker, Guerra, and Guerrero are the only bowlers in QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup history to win consecutive titles.
  • Only once has a country swept the men's and women's titles in the same year. This occurred in 1986 when   Sweden incidentally defeated Philippines in both the men's and women's finals.
  • A host representative has won the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup three times.   Bob Worrall won in New York City in 1981,   Wang Hongbo won in Shanghai in 2016, and   Shannon O'Keefe won in Las Vegas in 2018.
  • Chris Barnes (2014 men's champion) and Lynda Barnes (2005 women's champion) is the only husband-wife duo to win the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.[13]
  •   USA is the most successful nation in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, winning a combined 20 titles[14] (11 men's titles,[15] 9 women's titles[16])

Scoring

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Category Record Player Year/Venue
Qualifying Rounds[a]
Men's Individual Game 59 300s have been bowled in the qualifying rounds.[b]
Women's Individual Game 15 300s have been bowled in the qualifying rounds.[c]
Men's 3 Game Series 896   Paul Trotter[18] 2002,   Riga, Latvia
Women's 3 Game Series 803   Aumi Guerra[d] 2011,   Johannesburg, South Africa
Men's 5 Game Block 1307   Ahmed Shaheen[19] 2002,   Riga, Latvia
Women's 5 Game Block 1304   Aumi Guerra[19] 2011,   Johannesburg, South Africa
Men's 6 Game Block 1599   Mats Maggi[20] 2013,   Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Women's 6 Game Block 1531   Lynda Barnes[21] 2005,   Ljubljana, Slovenia
Men's 8 Game Block 2088   Tommy Jones[22] 2011,   Johannesburg, South Africa
Women's 8 Game Block 1948   Clara Guerrero[23] 2014,   Wroclaw, Poland
Men's High Average[e] 246.22   Osku Palermaa[24] 2006,   Caracas, Venezuela
Women's High Average[e] 244.03   Caroline Lagrange[25] 2013,   Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Finals - Arena "Knockout" Rounds (2000-2005), (2016-)[f] and Stepladder
Men's Individual Game   Kai Virtanen[26] 2004,   Singapore
  Chris Barnes[13] 2014,   Wroclaw, Poland
Women's Individual Game 298   Jasmine Yeong-Nathan[27] 2008,   Hermosillo, Mexico
Men's 2 Game Series 536   Petter Hansen[26] 2004,   Singapore
Women's 2 Game Series 561   Jasmine Yeong-Nathan[27] 2008,   Hermosillo, Mexico
Men's 3 Game Series 778   Derek Eoff[27] 2008,   Hermosillo, Mexico
Women's 3 Game Series 747   Clara Guerrero[28] 2014,   Wroclaw, Poland
  1. ^ Qualifying rounds consists of three or four days of qualifying, eight games in the Top 24 round, and round-robin match play.
  2. ^ Jason Belmonte and Tore Torgersen has bowled the most 300s, each with three.[17] In 2013, Torgersen became the first in QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup history to bowl consecutive 300s.[17]
  3. ^ No women has bowled multiple 300s as of 2019.[17]
  4. ^ Qualifying Day 2: Games 6, 7, 8: 244, 280, 279
  5. ^ a b 32 Games
  6. ^ From 2000-2005, Arena Knockout Rounds was a format of three rounds of single elimination, best-of-three-games. From 2016 till present, Arena Knockout rounds is a format of two rounds of single elimination, one game matches.

Appearances and Participation

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1976, 1979–1980, 1982, 1985–1989, 1991–1996, 2009

1982-1983, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1994-1996, 1998-2000, 2002–2006, 2008

  •   Erik Kok has participated in the Bowling World Cup in five different decades.[30]

1979–1980, 1985, 1989, 1995, 2005, 2014

1976, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1991–1993, 1995–1996

1996–1998, 2000–2001, 2003–2004

  • Most Countries - 95 in 2004[17]
  • Most Bowlers, Men and Women Combined - 167 in 2010[17]
  • Most Bowlers, Men - 93 in 2004[17]
  • Most Bowlers, Women - 76 in 2010[17]

Awards

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  • The Bent Petersen Country Award is awarded to the country with the best combined finishes in the men's and women's divisions. It is named after Bent Petersen, who ran AMF’s international operations for 36 years before retiring in 1998.[31] Originally known as the Country Champion Award, it has been awarded at the BWC since 1984. The first winner of the award was   Thailand.[32]   Australia are the most recent winners.[4] In 2000, the award was renamed in honor of Petersen. Petersen died on November 21, 2014.[33]
  • Highest Game Award is awarded in both the men's and women's division to the bowlers who had the highest one game score during the tournament. There have been 76[34] 300s bowled at the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup (61 by men, 15 by women).   Jack Guay bowled the first-ever 300 game in 1994, the 30th year of the AMF Bowling World Cup; while   Shalin Zulkifli was the first woman to bowl a 300 in 1997.[17]   United States has the most 300s by a country, seven.
  • The Barry James Sportsman Award and Jacky Felsenstein Sportswoman Award, awarded to one male bowler and one female bowler, is voted for by the participating bowlers. Representatives from   Canada and   Mexico have each won this award more times than any country, seven times each.

References

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  1. ^ "abf-online.org - brought to you by ASIAN BOWLING FEDERATION". www.abf-online.org. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  2. ^ "Humble Beginnings by Keith Hale - A World Cup Story". Talk Tenpin.
  3. ^ "50th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup officially declared open | bowlingdigital.com". www.bowlingdigital.com. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  4. ^ a b c "South Africa, Australia win titles at 2019 QubicaAMF World Cup". USBC.
  5. ^ "World Bowling and QubicaAMF Work to Form a New Partnership". QubicaAMF Worldwide.
  6. ^ "World Bowling and QubicaAMF Announce Postponement of the 56th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup to October 2021". QubicaAMF Worldwide. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e "53rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup kicks off with Opening Ceremonies". Bowlingdigital. 6 November 2017.
  8. ^ "2019 proposed lane conditions" (PDF). QubicaAMF. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d All QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Winners
  10. ^ a b "Paeng's Guinness World Records". Philippine Star.
  11. ^ Oldest Men's Champion
  12. ^ "Youngest tenpin bowling world champion". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  13. ^ a b "Chris Barnes sweeps two opponents to win men's title in 50th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup". Bowlingdigital.
  14. ^ "Medal Tally All (Men & Women)". European Tenpin Bowling Federation.
  15. ^ "Medal History Men". European Tenpin Bowling Federation.
  16. ^ "Medal History Women". European Tenpin Bowling Federation.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h "Stats, records and more stuff on the 51st QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup". Bowlingdigital.
  18. ^ "Australian National Records". Tenpin Bowling Australia.
  19. ^ a b "Aumi does it again!". QubicaAMF.
  20. ^ Men's 6 Game Block Record
  21. ^ Women's 6 Game Block Record
  22. ^ Men's 8 Game Block Record
  23. ^ Women's 8 Game Block Record
  24. ^ Men's High Average Record After 32 games
  25. ^ Women's High Average Record After 32 games
  26. ^ a b "40th AMF Bowling World Cup". Asian Bowling Federation.
  27. ^ a b c "High scoring finals see championship go to Singapore and USA". QubicaAMF.
  28. ^ Women's 3 game Series Record
  29. ^ Most Appearances Male or Female
  30. ^ Participation in each of the last five decades
  31. ^ Bent Petersen Award
  32. ^ First Country Champion Award
  33. ^ "A very sad farewell to AMF legend, Bent Petersen 1932–2014". Bowlingdigital.
  34. ^ "Kyle Troup achieves perfection: Wins Qualifying at the 54th Bowling World Cup". Bowlingdigital. 9 November 2018.
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