The 11th Sinai International Open Bowling Championship begins in Cairo, Ghada Abdel-Kader reports Under the auspices of the head of the National Sports Council Hassan Sakr, the Egyptian Bowling Federation is hosting the 11th Sinai International Open Bowling Championship on the occasion of Sinai Liberation Day. The championship, at Cairo's International Bowling Centre in Nasr City, takes place from 21-28 April. The entries are Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Mauritius, Thailand, Spain, the US, Philippines and Egypt the host country. In 2006, Egyptian Mahmoud Mazloum won the men's title while Suzan El-Azabi from the Interior Club won the women's event. Last year, Mexican bowler Teresa Healey won the women's title and the 2006 world ranking Masters champion, Kuwaiti Khaled Al-Dubian, won the men's title. This year, the world's leading ten-pin bowler, American Tim Mack, is participating. Before Mack became a professional bowler, he was considered the best amateur bowler in the world. As an amateur he won titles on five continents and in September 2002 he won a gold medal during the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2003, during the Miller High Life Open at Hawthorn Lanes, he joined the PBA. Mack is the captain of Team USA in the world famous bowling tournament, the Weber Cup. "Until now the number of participating countries has not been determined because it is an open tournament. Any country can participate without confirmation," Ahmed Nasr, president of Egyptian Bowling Federation (EBF), said. "We are trying to attract the largest number of countries. Last year, the total prize money was $32,000 but this year it went up to $40,000," Nasr added. The winner in the men's event will be awarded a gold medal and a $9,000 cheque while $4,500 awaits the best female. Second place winners will receive a silver medal and $5,000; $3,000 goes to the second woman. Third place winners will receive a bronze medal and $3,000 and $2,000 respectively. "The EBF has a foreign coach ranked No 5 in the world. He has contributing in raising the players' performance," Nasr said. "The Egyptian team did well in the Kuwait International Open Championship in 2009." The Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), headed by Sayed Farghali, is the chief sponsor of the championship. The Sinai championship is sanctioned by the Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) and the Federation International des Quilleurs (FIQ)-World Tenpin Association (WTBA). "It is one of the important tournaments in improving the bowlers' rank on the international and Asian levels," added Nasr. The qualifying trials consist of the highest total pinfall for two blocks of four games each. Multiple re-entries are permitted, with no limit but are subject to lane availability. Upon the completion of the trials, the field will be cut to the top 32 bowlers plus the best four Egyptians in men's event. The best 14 players in addition to the best Egyptian players are chosen in the women's event. In the final round, each bowler plays 12 games starting from the scratch. In the round robin final, in the men's event, the top 15 players plus the best Egyptian player are chosen. In the women's event, the top seven players plus the best Egyptian player are chosen. Bowlers will play one game match against each other in their respective divisions plus a position round. The scoring system will be the total pinfall plus 10 for a win and 5 for a tie. A loss equates to zero points. This includes the position round starting from scratch. In the stepladder and final format, the top four men and women will advance to stepladder finals in a one-game match. The fourth plays against the third player. The winner plays the second best player and the winner faces the No 1 for the title.
