3-time European ranking champion Paul Moor (l.), England, fired games of 226, 267, 248, 299, 237, 277 and 1554, an average of 259.00, en route to win the qualifying in the Sofia International Open at Mega Xtreme Bowling in Sofia, Bulgaria. Moor led a total 56 players into the finals on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. The top 8 qualifiers will bypass the first round of the finals. The top 27 players cracked the 1400-bar, a 233.33 avg. The Sofia International Open offers total prize fund of 40.000 Euro with 6.000 going to the winner.
Addie Ophelders, President of the European Tenpin Bowling Federation, has announced that the completion of the last ETBF presidium meeting minutes marked the last action of Rune Widell (l.), Sweden, as Secretary General of ETBF. Widell will retire after 25 years serving in international bowling. An old era ends and a new era begins. Valgeir Gudbjartsson (r.), Iceland, has been appointed to the position of Secretary General of ETBF starting March 1st, 2010.
Matchroom Sport, organizer of the USA vs. Europe Weber Cup has announced that the 11th annual edition will take place at the Metrodome in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th November as ten of the best bowlers representing the USA and Europe return to do battle. In other tenpin news, regrettably the World Tenpin Masters will not be taking place in 2010, following twelve years of the event. This is due to the world-wide economic downturn. 
The Israeli men's and women's national team trials were contested over the past four weeks and ended last weekend with the fifth and last event. 29 men and 6 women bowled a total of 40 games (five 8-game series) on mixed lane condition (one lane dressed with short oil, the other lane with long oil) to determine six men and three women who will represent Israel in the 2010 Men's World Championships and 2010 Women's European Championships.
European Tenpin Bowling Federation presidium member and chairman of the ETBF Education Committee, Onder Gurkan from Turkey, has announced that the ETBF will conduct its first International Coaching Clinic for Level One Coaches May 7-12, 2010. According to Gurkan the ETBF coaching programs are updated with the latest information of modern bowling sport and they are supported by ETBF partners Kuortane Bowling Training Center, USBC, Kegel Training Center and Ebonite.
2009 Irish Open champion and last year's runner-up, Dominic Barrett (l.), England, captured his second Irish Open Championships Sunday at Stillorgan Leisureplex in Dublin, Ireland. Barrett overtook the lead in the third round of the finals to lead the top 8 players into the final match play portion. He started his match against Ireland's Alan Gibbons with the tournament's second 300 game and never looked back. He finished with 4567 pinfall total and an average of 235.11 for 19 games to earn the 3.000 Euro top prize.
Kenneth Haukås (l.) from Norway and Aimee Kellegher (r.), Ireland, finished the 11th Hammer ALSAA Re-Entry Open at ALSAA Bowl in Dublin, Ireland, atop the leaderboard in the men's and women's Open Division. Haukås became the 6th Norwegian champion with a 1309 series and an average of 261,80 for five games. Kellegher became the first Irish women's champion with 1122 (224.40 avg.). Haukås pocketed the 800 Euro top prize while Kellegher received 400 Euro.
Sandro Ancarani (right) of Winterthur, Switzerland, and Manuela Schliengensief (left), Germany, won the men's and women's titles in the Zurich Singles Championships 2010 Sunday at Bowling Center BeSeCo in Rümikon-Winterthur, Switzerland. The Championships drew 65 men (Divisions A-C) and 22 women (Divisions A and B). Joel Lienhard of Ettenhofen and Dora Perlmutter of Stäfa won the title in Division B while
Fritz Jeker of Winkel b. Bülach finished first in Men's Division C.
Tomas Leandersson (l.), Sweden, estimates that he has participated about 25
times in the AIK Tournament at Bowl-O-Rama in Stockholm, Sweden. This
year, the popular tournament celebrated its 30th anniversary with the
finals being held on Jan. 6. For the first time in his illustrious
career, Leandersson walked away with the winner's trophy after defeating his arch rival, Tore Torgersen, Norway, in the title match, 215-193. Dennis Eklund and Malin Glendert won the Super Six Tour 2009 finals,
The Tenpin Bowling Year 2009 was filled with action, record-breaking performances, great comebacks as well as stunningly surprising or long-overdue breakthroughs. The PBA pros went globe-trotting and Asians, Americans and Europeans tested their skills in the inaugural PBA World Series of Bowling. Spearheaded by Philippine legend Paeng Nepomuceno, the international USBC silver coaches have certified numerous bronze coaches all over the world. To watch Bowlingdigital's slideshow with the highlights of the year 2009
Just 175 days after the ground-breaking ceremony, Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany, celebrated its Grand Opening on Monday evening, Dec. 14, 2009 with a couple of hundred guests from politics, business, media and the world of bowling The 52-laner equipped with Brunswick Anvilane Pro Lane with Vector plus scoring system is the largest bowling center in Europe with all 52 lanes on a single floor with no supporting pillars.
A group of tournament directors representing the most popular Seniors tournaments in Belgium, England, Germany and Netherlands have decided to leave the European Bowling Proprietors' Association (EBPA) Senior Tour and to run their own International Seniors Bowling Tour starting in March 2010. Past Belgium national team member Liliane Vintens was elected president of the ISBT. It was agreed that all tournaments of the ISBT should be sanctioned by the European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF).
The Swedish Bowling Federation has selected Helén Johnsson as Swedish Bowler of the Year 2009. The 33 year-old multiple World Championship medalist had another outstanding year, highlighted by a silver medal in All Events in the Women's World Championships in Las Vegas in August. On several occasions Johnsson has shown that she has the ability to challenge the top male bowlers, sometimes even without using the much-debated 8 pins handicap generally given to the women.
Swedish international Helén Johnsson made history when she defeated Norwegian standout Tore Torgersen, 255-204, in the title match of the Swedish Super Six Tour event at the Baltic Bowling Center in Malmö. It was the second Super Six victory for Johnsson making her the first woman to win twice on the Swedish Super Six Tour. Her first victory came in Vårby in April 2008. "I consider this one of my biggest wins, especially considering the tough lane condition in the tournament", Johnsson said.
Diplomats and Filipinos in Ankara, Turkey's capital city, are now eagerly awaiting the visit of six-time World Bowling Champion Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno (pictured) next Wednesday. Paeng is due to arrive in Istanbul on December 2 with his wife, the former Pinky Puyat. The Champion will play exhibition games and participate in the Philippine Embassy-organized "Diplomats' Bowling Tournament" scheduled in Ankara on Saturday, December 5, at the "Play Planet" bowling center at Ankara's modern Panora Shopping Mall.
Kostas Liratzis from Greece defeated Mathias Olsson, Sweden, 259-225, to win the Sofia International Open at Mega Xtreme Bowling in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the 6.000 Euro top prize. In the semifinals, Olsson eliminated his compatriot Peter Nordenson, 226-210
to set up the title match against Liratzis, who won a low-scoring
encounter against Andrea Fedeli, Italy, 178-168. The Sofia International Open drew 150
players from 21 countries offering a total prize fund of 40.000 Euro.
The biggest area of confusion in the modern game of bowling is ball selection and matching up to different lane conditions. Brunswick has recognized this and put together a series of seminars held all over Europe this month to address this knowledge area. "It is a unique opportunity to get a ball dynamics expert and a lane pattern expert in the same room running a seminar," said Brunswick staffer Zara Giles (nee Glover), a multiple World and European champion. 
After a week-long promotion tour in Germany that brought him to five cities, 4-time PBA champion Sean Rash
capped off a week featuring kids clinics, adult coaching and show
bowling with an official 300 game in the "Bundesliga", the national
five-player league in Germany.
The 2007 USBC Masters champion and Brunswick Pro Staff member joined German national team members Achim Grabowski and Michael Krämer and their team from 1st Bowling Club Duisburg in the second stop of the Bundesliga in Böblingen. 
100 years ago on October 10, 1909, Sweden's first bowling center opened its doors in downtown Stockholm. Consequently, Swedish bowling celebrated the centennial with a gala held on October 10, 2009. Almost 400 people, the Who-is-who of Swedish bowling and their relatives and friends gathered at the renowned Berns Salonger, a restaurant and entertainment venue in Berzelii Park in central Stockholm, which is just a few blocks away from where the first bowling balls were thrown exactly a century ago. During the festivities awards were given in eight different categories.
