BRUNSWICK BOWLING BALLS DOMINATE IN 2010 BRUNSWICK EURO CHALLENGE

The 2010 edition of the Brunswick Euro Challenge (BEC) once again underlined the tournament’s position as the leading bowling event in Europe. The BEC is organized in cooperation with Brunswick Bowling and official Brunswick distributor, Valcke Bowling Service.

The televised final was dominated by players who used the latest performance balls from Brunswick. Rob Thurlby, England, won the tournament using his new Siege™ ball, while runners up Adrian Ang, and Zulmazran Zulkifli, both of Malaysia, used the Wild Impact™ and C•(System)3.5™, respectively. Fourth seed, Ildemaro Ruiz, played the tournament using a mix of balls, including the new Wild Card™ from Brunswick.

The tournament delivered a new standard in European bowling through unprecedented LIVE, pan-European television coverage, and set a record in player participation with 449 registered bowlers. An exciting mix of players from 35 countries, including aspiring amateurs, Europe’s and Asia’s elite bowlers and Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) stars, competed for the crown and a total tournament prize fund of 90.000€ (approx. U.S. $125,000). Ultimately, England’s Rob Thurlby fought his way through the televised stepladder finals to take home his first European Bowling Tour (EBT) title and the top prize of €13.000 (approx. U.S. $18,000).

A total of eight perfect games were scored throughout the tournament with Brunswick Pro Staff player and PBA superstar, Parker Bohn III, collecting the special 300-game pot of 3.100€ (approx. U.S. $4,200). Bohn defeated five opponents who paid the entry fee for the 300-game Pot Play – Kimmo Lehtonen, Mike Fagan, Norm Duke, Bill O’Neill (USA), Fredrik Øhrgaard (DEN) – in an extremely entertaining one-ball-roll-off after the finals.

97 female bowlers took on the lanes of the BEC 2010 providing for very strong competition for the top women’s title and the bonus payout reserved for the top five women. Brunswick European Pro Staff player, Nina Flack (SWE, 9th overall), posted the best qualification result with 1,491 pins over six games and claimed the 1.300€ bonus. Brunswick European Staff bowler, Mai Ginge Jensen (SWE, 11th overall), finished second, while Krista Pöllänen (FIN), came in third. The top five in women’s classification was rounded up by Brunswick Pro Staff star, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (USA), and Brunswick European Staff bowler, Malin Glendert (SWE).

The spectators in the state-of-the-art, Plaza Bowling Center in St. Maximin (Paris), France, witnessed superb individual performances and impressive scoring throughout the entire tournament. Excellent and consistent lane conditions, provided by the Brunswick Authority22® lane maintenance system, allowed for exciting and competitive bowling, which culminated in a thrilling TV-stepladder-final, featuring players from three continents.

For the first time ever, a European tournament was broadcast LIVE on pan-European TV Eurosport 2, further underscoring Brunswick’s position as the bowling industry leader. Eurosport 2, the new generation sports channel, is shown in 47 countries and reaches well over 40 million homes. Additional to the live coverage, Eurosport has set up an extensive schedule to repeat the program on channels Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Asia/Pacific, ensuring continuing televised presence of the Brunswick Euro Challenge 2010 around the globe. Eurosport Asia/Pacific can be seen in 14 countries including Malaysia, which had two players compete in the television finals.

As in previous editions, the Brunswick Euro Challenge 2010 attracted bowlers, coaches, mechanics, proprietors, investors, and fans from around the globe. A variety of seminars were conducted by Brunswick’s International Marketing Manager, John Prokopec; Lane Maintenance Engineer, Pat Mitchell; and Brunswick’s Pro Shop Expert, Alan Chan. Seminar sessions were supported by Brunswick’s Pro Staff and PBA Tour players, Parker Bohn III and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, who provided participants with invaluable insight on physical and mental preparation.

Young bowlers received valuable bowling lessons during a special coaching clinic under the supervision of the Brunswick coaches and pros. The training featured valuable coaching tips, combined with a lot of fun on the lanes and ended with an entertaining trick-shot session. While setting a sound bowling foundation or improving the current skills of the youngsters was the main focus, laughter and fun accompanied the entire session providing for an unforgettable afternoon.

The seminar schedule was complemented by sessions aimed at bowling center proprietors, managers and mechanics, and taught lane maintenance, as well as scoring and software solutions. Brunswick experts were on-site, giving valuable tips on how to maximize a bowling center’s efficiency and profits.

Additionally, an invitation-only event titled “The R(E)volution of Bowling” — designed to inform potential and existing bowling center owners about the popularity and excitement of bowling, the state of the bowling industry, the latest trends and effective up-to-date marketing techniques — drew great interest from investors and proprietors and proved extremely successful. Besides receiving valuable information from the industry’s brightest and most experienced minds, the participants had the opportunity to witness Brunswick’s industry leading equipment perform under the extreme circumstances of Europe’s largest bowling event and were able to see the best bowlers in the world in action. Furthermore, the seminar provided the participants with the opportunity to talk with renowned bowling experts; bowling sports federation representatives, and industry greats.