7th November, Arlington: The World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) will launch a new World Bowling Tour in 2011 bringing a professional structure to bowling events and enhancing the experience for athletes, fans and media around the world.

The WTBA World Tour will be integrated with existing successful events from around the world linking events currently held in France (Brunswick Euro Challenge), Helsinki (Brunswick Ball Master), Kuwait (Kuwait Open) and the U.S. (USBC Masters), along with a new event in Thailand. There will be 5 to 7 events on the initial calendar, with the opportunity to add events as the Tour develops.

Qualifying events are open to both men and women and will have cash prizes totalling a minimum of USD100,000. Points will be awarded to players in all tour events and at the end of each year prize money will be awarded to the top players of each gender. For the first time, there will be an official ranking for the best players in the world. This will allow athletes, fans and the media to follow the sport on a greater international level.

Kevin Dornberger, WTBA President, says: "The WTBA World Bowling Tour is an exciting new chapter for the sport of Tenpin Bowling. The time has finally come for the athletes, event organizers and industry to come together to show the world how incredible the sport of bowling can be."

Stu Upson, US Bowling Congress Executive Director, says: "The WTBA World Tour has great potential to elevate the sport of bowling internationally, while at the same time, enhancing the competition at our signature event."

Brent Perrier, President, Brunswick Bowling Products, says: "We're extremely happy that two of our Brunswick sponsored European tournaments will be a part of the World Tour. As a company, Brunswick is very committed to doing whatever we can to add to the success of competitive bowling throughout the world. We believe the World Tour is a great step forward for the sport."

Next WTBA Presidium meeting will be held 1 - 3 December 2010 in Lausanne, Switzerland.