8th January, Hong Kong Ninety six men and fifty women from sixteen Asian countries are all set to do battle at the 26th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships, which will be held from January 8 to 18 at SCAA Bowling Centre.
Athletes were confirmed during the team managers meeting held at Conference Room 7, Olympic House, Caroline Hill near the bowling centre. China, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United Arab Emriates, Uzbekistan and host Hong Kong are the participating countries.
Before the meeting started, Ms Vivien Lau, SBS, JP., Organizing Chairman and Chairman of Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress, welcomed the team officials to this long-awaited championship and extended her gratitude for the support shown by the associations, congresses and federations who have sent their teams to Hong Kong.
Technical Committee members at the head table, Ms Vivien Lau, Dr Danny Santos and Mr Mike Seymour
She also extended her utmost appreciation to Asian Bowling Federation for its support, confidence and endorsement of HKTBC as host of this championships for the sixth time especially the generous sponsors and partners. Dr Danny Santos, Tournament Director kicked off the meeting with a roll-call before going through the technical matters pertaining to the championships.
He also introduced members at the head table and members of the Technical Committee, which include Mr John Janawicz, Technical Delegate, Mr Mike Seymour, the Head Referee and Mr Frankie Cheung, Host Tournament Coordinator. Dr Santos also announced members of the Jury of Appeal, which comprise of Ms Viven Lau, ABF Honorary Life President, Mr Choi Jang-Kyu, ABF Vice President and Mr Winston Chan, ABF Honorary Auditor.
Five events will contested consisting of Singles, Doubles, Trios, Team of 5 and Masters all of which will be played using the current frame scoring system. The top 16 men and top 16 women based on their All Events standings from the first four events will qualifying for the Round-Robin Masters Finals to be contested over two blocks of eight games.
The top 3 men and top 3 women at the end of the Round-Robin Masters finals will advance to the Stepladder Shootout Finals to determine the medal winners. The combined All-Events scores total of the top 5 bowlers from each country will also be used for the teams to qualifying for the 2024 IBF Combined World Championships to be held in Kuwait in October, 2023.
The official practice is scheduled for tomorrow (January 9) divided into two squads, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. This will be followed by the official opening ceremony at 1730 hrs local Hong Kong time. Dignitaries, sponsors, partners, distinguished guests, team officials and athletes will be invited to a Welcome Reception at Regal Hong Kong Hotel after the opening.
Competition will kick off with the Singles on Tuesday, January 10, Doubles on Wednesday, January 11, Trios on January 12 and 13, Team of 5 on January 14, 15 and 16, and Masters Finals on January 17 and 18. A victory banquet, hosted by HKTBC at KITEC, E-Max in Kowloon Bay at 1900 hrs will end the week-long championships.
Live video streaming will be featured throughout the championships and Live TV broadcast will also be available during the Masters Stepladder Finals.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.