5th September, London: Over 90 countries have signed up to participate in the 46th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup which will be held from October 16 to 23 in Toulon on the French Riviera.

Among those is the world's newest country of Kosovo, recognised by the USA and most of the European Union countries. The Director of Bo Bowling in Kosovan city of Prishtine, Fitim Fazliu, is clearly delighted and commented: "Participating in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup will be a huge highlight for our bowling industry, sport and for our country."

Among the bowlers so far nominated will be two former champions:
- Michael Schmidt of Canada won in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2005, and has never finished lower than 4th. This will be his fifth appearance in the event.
- Ann Maree Putney from Australia will be competing for the 9th time, having won in St Petersburg, Russia, in 2007.

Paul Trotter who holds the record for a three game set of 896 set in 2002, will be back again, representing Australia, while our female runner up in 2005, Fiona Banks, will again be representing England. The USA will be sending 22-year-old John Szczerbinski, from North Tonawanda, New York and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, named as Bowling Journal International's Bowler of the Decade earlier this year. Marin Tranier will again be representing New Caledonia, for the 13th time.

Anne-Marie Board, QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager, commented: "This could turn out to be a record entry for the Bowling World Cup, and I am sure all the participants will thoroughly enjoy the hospitality of the south of France. I am particularly looking forward to welcoming the players from Kosovo, and all those who will be coming back to our event."

The external and internal renovations to Bowling de Provence, where the event will be held, will shortly be completed and the new look centre will be officially reopened on 10th September.

For the first time, bowlers, coaches, officials and guests will live in an Olympic-style village with evening entertainment and a holiday atmosphere.

Fans around the world will again be able to get all the results and follow the scores on line during the tournament by going to the website and clicking on the on-line scoring logo. Live streaming will also be available through the local TV network www.vartele.fr.

QubicaAMF Worldwide is the founder, organiser and principal sponsor of the Bowling World Cup. Additional information on the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this year’s event can be found on www.qubicaamf.com.

QubicaAMF Worldwide is one of the largest bowling products companies in the world. With worldwide headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, USA, and European headquarters in Bologna, Italy, the company manufactures a complete line of high-quality, innovative solutions for new and existing bowling and entertainment centres. Please see the web site www.qubicaamf.com for further information.

Photos courtesy of QubicaAMF.

10th July, London: QubicaAMF is pleased to announce that the 46th Bowling World Cup will be held in Toulon, on the French Riviera, from 15 to 24 October 2010. Michel Beltramone, Managing Director of the 44 lane Bowling de Provence, stepped in to host the World Cup after a change in ownership in Croatia prevented the tournament going ahead there as planned.

Commenting on the change in venue, President and CEO of QubicaAMF, John Walker, said: "It's very regrettable that the economic climate in Croatia and ownership changes at the host bowling center have made it necessary to move the 2010 Bowling World Cup from Zagreb.

We had great support for the event from the Croatian Olympic Committee, the local Bowling Federation and other government agencies and I am confident that the World Cup will be held in Croatia in the near future.

"It's a wonderful country which is very rich in sporting history and will one day be a tremendous site for the Bowling World Cup."

"We are also very lucky to have an alternative like Toulon where Michel Beltramone has offered to host this great event and bring it to France for the third time."

The Bowling de Provence centre is located at La Garde, a suburb of Toulon. It is part of one of Toulon's major sports complexes, which also boasts an ice centre (skating, ice hockey and curling), billiards, a swimming pool, gymnasiums and fitness centres.

The centre has been completely refurbished, inside and out, and will re-open in early September. It is a modern, state of the art facility, fully equipped with QubicaAMF equipment. It has grown down the years, from 6 lanes at the beginning to become a 12, then 16, 20, 24, 28 and with 44 lanes, it is now the biggest bowling centre in France.

TRon Wood, Vice President of QubicaAMF said: "I'm certain that the event in Toulon will match the spectacular tournament when we were last in France in 1992, in Le Mans. Michel Beltramone and his team are looking forward to welcoming the bowling world to this historic city.

I'm also delighted that Hubert Falco, the mayor of Toulon and Minister in the French Government, is giving his personal backing and that of his administration to the event."

The 1992 event saw Martina Beckel of Germany and Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines crowned champions. French bowlers have been ever present in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup since the very first tournament in 1965. But only one French player has ever

lifted the trophy - Philippe Dubois in 1979, when the event was held in Thailand.

Toulon lies on the western end of the Cote d’Azur on the Mediterranean, known around the world as the French Riviera. It was settled by the Romans when its claim to fame was production of the purple dye used for imperial robes.

It developed into a harbour for trading ships, then a royal port and it is now the major French naval port on the Mediterranean. Its delightful historic centre is a mass of narrow streets, small squares and numerous fountains. It is twinned with six other cities, among them the naval ports of Norfolk, Virginia, USA and Kronstadt, Russia.

QubicaAMF Worldwide is the founder, organiser and principal sponsor of the Bowling World Cup. Additional information on the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this year’s event can be found on www.qubicaamf.com.

QubicaAMF Worldwide is one of the largest bowling products companies in the world. With worldwide headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, USA, and European headquarters in Bologna, Italy, the company manufactures a complete line of high-quality, innovative solutions for new and existing bowling and entertainment centres. Please see the web site www.qubicaamf.com for further information.

Photos courtesy of Yahoo Travel.