Dubai: A leading official of Dubai Sports Council (DSC) hopes that the hosting of the annual Dubai International Open Bowling Championships will raise the standard of the sport in the country.
“One of the main objectives in organising this championship is to give our local bowlers an opportunity to interact with top professionals from across the world,” Ghazi Al Madani, Sport Tourism Manager, DSC, told Gulf News. “Such a move can only assist our bowlers in getting more professional in their sport.”
The Fourth Dubai International Bowling Championships — an Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) ranking event — was launched at the DSC premises in the presence of Jamal Qasim Sultan, Deputy Chairman, Board of Directors, Emirates Bowling Federation (EBF). The championship will be held at the Dubai Bowling Centre under the supervision of the ABF from September 18-28. The competition will be held in two divisions — an open category for men, women and youth and a youth category for bowlers born in 1993 and later. Women bowlers will receive an additional eight points per game in all rounds.
The qualifying rounds, which have already started, will see participants bowl a total of nine games in blocks of three. The top qualifiers and the best UAE bowler outside of the top three will proceed to round three. The youth finals will be held on September 25, while the open category step-ladder finals have been scheduled for September 28.
The UAE has traditionally done quite well in bowling at the international stage, with EBF president Mohammad Khalifa Al Qubaisi winning the world title some years ago. “Such strong competitions can only assist our national squad members who are currently preparing for next month’s Arab Bowling Championships to be held in Dubai,” Al Madani said.
The UAE’s Shaker Ali Al Hassan is the defending champion after Sweden’s Kim Bolleby won the title in its second year and Finland’s Osku Palermaa took the honours in the first edition.
“We’ve ensured this competition witnesses a constant growth each year so that we can attract the best bowlers in the world,” said Sultan. “This competition has achieved a huge amount of interest from the international community and we hope to see even more world champions in Dubai by next week.”
