The city of Riga, with wonderful architecture, cool scenery, historical sites and most importantly hospitality, awaits bowling champions from the world over coming together for the 38th AMF World Cup. Bowlers from more than 90 countries are expected to compete in the October 20 - 26 event at Toss Boulinga Halle, and organizers are planning the week's schedule so as to allow the participants to take in as much of the Latvian capital as possible.

Riga celebrated its 800th anniversary last year and has been ruled at various times by Sweden, Poland, Germany and Russia. As such it has many museums including the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, the Latvia People's Front Museum and the Museum of War. Bowling World Cup visitors can easily explore the major sites in Old Riga on foot, as automobiles are not permitted inside the Old City. Bus transport from Riga International Airport to the Radisson SAS-Daugava Hotel will be provided for World Cup bowlers and official guests on their arrival dates of October 18. Taxis are also available for hire; the fare between the airport and the hotel is approximately 10 Lats (US$15).

Those wishing to reserve a room at the Radisson SAS-Daugava Hotel for the AMF Bowling World Cup should send reservations to Anne-Marie Board no later than August 31, 2002 or via Fax: 44-(0)1-442-286-530.

AMF Bowling World Cup tournament manager Anne-Marie Board said that more than 60 countries to date have requested entry into AMF's international fall sports classic, the world's largest annual international sports championship in terms of number of participating nations. "We are on target to break the attendance record of 88 nations we set in 2000," she said.

A new qualifying format and schedule of activities have been set for this year's AMF Bowling World Cup. Tournament Week dates have changed from 20 - 26 to October 19 - 26, as the Opening Ceremonies and Welcome Reception move to the day prior to the start of competition. Qualifying squads will begin immediately following the formal opening of the torunament. All athletes will bowl 20 qualifying games at Riga's Toss Boulinga Halle beginning Sunday, October 20 through Wednesday, October 23, before the fileds are cut to the top 24 men and top 24 women. Those survivors will bowl 12 more games to determine who makes the cut to the top 8 in each division.

Board noted that the "knockout" format, in which a bowler must win two of three games in a head-to-head match with an opponent to advance to the next round, remains intact for the "Round of 8." The seeding format established in Lisbon, Portugal in 2000 - whereby the leading qualifier gains the No. 1 seed and faces the No. 8 qualifier in the quarterfinals - also remains intact.

The top 8 men and women begin quaterfinal play on Friday morning, October 25, and the 2002 tournament champions will be crowned on Saturday afternoon, October 26. This year's quaterfinals, semifinals and finals will be staged on one side of the centre, which is configured as a "split house" (12 lanes on each side, separated by a concourse and public area), rather than an arena.

The AMF Bowling World Cup, founded by AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., is the largest annual international sports competition in the world in terms of number of participating countries. AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc. is the world's largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centres around the world. AMF is also a world leader in the manufaturing and marketing of bowling products. In addition, the company manufactures and sells PlayMaster, Highland and Renaissance billiards tables. Information about AMF is available at www.amf.com.