11th August, Munich: A total of 358 bowlers and officials from 66 countries have converged on Unterföhring near Munich, for the World Men's Championships which will kick off with the official practice and opening ceremony on Thursday.

Bowlers went through the process of having their bowling balls weighed and checked after testing out the 52-lane Dream Bowl Palace during their unofficial practices. Early arrivals had already gone through their paces in the last two days.

The late arrivals also tested the lanes albeit on house conditions. The oiling pattern over the long and medium conditions will only be released tomorrow morning at the team managers' meeting according to the rules of the WTBA.

Among the top teams trying out were the much fancied American pros headed by Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, Tommy Jones and Rhino Page, the winning four from the 2008 championship in Bangkok, Thailand.

Debuting for Team USA are owner of six PBA titles and 2008-09 PBA Player of the Year, Wes Mallot and Bill O'Neill, winner of two PBA titles including his first major, the Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open.

Missing in this year's dream team line up is the prolific Walter Ray Williams Jnr., who won the Singles and Masters gold medals at the last championship.

Of course the team which will give the American pros a run for their money is going to be the Koreans. Cho Young-Seon, Choi Bok-Eum, Jang Dong-Chul and Kim Tae-Young survived from the last championship in which they won the Trios and All Events gold.

They are joined by 2009 AMF World Cup champion, Choi Yong-Kyu and East Asian Games gold medalist, Kim Jae-Hoon which will make the team even stronger. The Koreans went through their unofficial practice today.

Teams, which on paper appear strong contenders for medals, are Sweden, Finland, England from Europe, Colombia and Puerto Rico from American zone while other strong Asian challenges may come from UAE, Japan and Singapore.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Munich.

4th August, Hong Kong: Asian Bowling Federation will be on-site to provide live coverage of the World Men's Championship 2010, which kicks off August 12 to 21 at Dream Bowl Palace in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany.

With the withdrawal of Egypt, the championship will feature players from 68 countries, who will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in five disciplines - Singles, Doubles, Trios, Team and Masters.

With less than a week to go, the German Bowling Federation has release several PDF files for download. Apart from the championship, there will be several days FIQ Presidium and Congress meetings as well as WTBA Presidium and Congress meetings.

These congresses meeting have now been shifted from the Town Hall to Hotel Feringapark and for delegates staying at Hotel Holiday Inn, a shuttle bus will be provided for both days. The organizer has also provided a ball check schedule.

Timetables for the shuttle service wil be available at Dream Bowl Palace and at both hotels. Guests arriving at Dream Bowl Palace with their own car, parking is available bu at a nominal fee of Euro 2 per day.

Oiling patterns will only be released during the Managers' Meeting according to WTBA Rules. The preliminary schedule for the Official Practice is however available. The squad and lane assignments for competition will be published on August 12.

Should you have further questions relating to the championship, please contact the organizer at email: info@bowling-wrm.de or Tel: +49 89 61469830.

Photos courtesy of Keith Hale, Bowlers' Journal International.