Airport PTBC
November 2006
Last weekend I bowled the last English ranking tournament of 2006 at Airport bowl – Heathrow. This is usually an important tournament for deciding the National team for the year ahead, but for me due to a rule change I know I have already qualified for the squad. Due to me playing the European tour, I missed a lot of the ranking tournaments last year so wasn’t a part of the national team for 2006. This seemed a little silly as it was just a matter of having enough time to play everything, and it is in the best interests of the National team to include the bowlers that are bowling the most frequently. So for this year the rules have been amended so as if you make the top 10 in Europe and play 5 tournaments in England you qualify for the England Squad. So I went down to Airport more for a practice than anything as the tournament was using the WTBA men’s world championships short and long patterns.
It was a bit of a strange format as the first squad comprising of 4 games, 3 bowlers on a lane, was played on the Short pattern. Followed by 4 games, 3 bowlers on a lane playing on the long pattern. Then the top 12 ladies, bear in mind there were only 13 competing… cut to bowl another 4 games this time played on a 37 foot sport pattern!!! Yes 3 different patterns!!! It then cut to the top 8 matchplay where 8 played 1, 7 v 2 etc. on the burnt up sport pattern. A bit of a grueling day, I saw a lot of bowlers going home very confused and heard a few uttering whispers of not bowling again as they were so disgusted with their performance. Unfortunately that is what happens when 3 tough patterns are laid and bowlers with no experience of playing these extreme patterns are let loose with very little guidance of where to play. In order to be successful every bowler really needed to come with a minimum12 ball arsenal and the majority have not got access to this kind of equipment or funds to pay for it.
I struggled on the short pattern, I really need to cut down my drift to score well on this I’m getting better, but definitely need to work on it before going to another championships. The Long, I was pleased with how I bowled, I have got my head around how the long breaks down so I scored pretty well. Then the top 12 played the Sport pattern, the fresh was pretty difficult, just a case of waiting for the lane to open up. Some of the guys found this pretty difficult going searching for a score. I shot two 170’s then 250, 240.
The Matchplay went straight onto the burnt sport pattern and I bowled against Lisa Gardner. I didn’t get lined up at all, and Lisa beat me pretty easily.
It was a good practice on the whole I was pleased with how I bowled.
Next week I go to Kungsbacka for the final European ranking tournament of the year.
Vienna Open 2006
by zaraglover.com on Tue 21 Nov 2006 23:09 GMT
Well a very early wake up, I had to get the the airport for 5:30 on the Saturday morning to catch my flight as I was bowling the same afternoon. We arrived in Vienna and were very kindly picked up by Thomas Gross, the Austrian National Champion on many occassions. I was scheduled to bowl with him in the afternoon. We dropped our bags off at the hotel, just enough time for a quick shower and change of clthes before leaving for the bowl again ready for the squad.
Aswell as the singles tournament the qualifying was made up in doubles with good prize money for the top few teams.
I really struggled to match up yet again in this centre, I find it very difficult every year, my ball speed and roll just seem to give me a terrible reaction. The first squad I started poorly so then used the last few games to try and get lined up for my re-entry straight after. In the second squad I bowled doubles with European Champion Mai Ginge-Jenson from Denmark. We both struggled again and neither of us made the cut. I got a few ranking points so the trip wasn't totally lost.
The sunday I spent the day showing Matt around the cit as I have been there many times, we had yet another wonderful day checking out the sights of another one of Europes Great historical cities.
Take a look at the pictures!!!
The tournament was won by Wu Siu Hong from Hong Kong China using his Red Zone and Absolute Inferno. Another great win for Brunswick.
Barcelona - 2nd European Ladies Masters
by zaraglover.com on Tue 21 Nov 2006 22:19 GMT
Only a week in England well not even that, 4 days then I was off to Barcelona to try and defend another title I won in 2005. This tournament is a favourite for all the ladies playing the European tour as it s the only tournament for the whole year solely for ladies. Clara and Rosa do a wonderful job organising the tournament and gaining so much sponsorship from the Catalonian sports committee to put into ladies bowling. This weekend is also a great social weekend, so Matt accompanied me to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Beautiful City of Barcelona. The trip was a very easy one a half an hour drive down the road to Luton Airport then a quick 2 hour hop over to the East coast of Spain. We flew in on Friday and were picked up from the airport by one of the tournament helpers. Dropped off my equipment at the bowl and met up with Jo Harries and her soon to be husband Darren Cundy (the big day is July 2007!!!). Then back to the hotel to rest up ready for the early start Saturday.
The tournament was a pretty short affair, the entire thing played on one day. There had been qualiying squads all wee but as I was defending champion I was seeded straight through to the Finals day. The day consisted of 6 games, then a break for lunch which was a nice meal set out for all the bowlers by the bowling centre, the back on the lanes for another 6 games. The cut was then to the top 4, 4th playing 1st and 2nd playing 3rd in a best of 3 game match.
The carry in this centre is a little strange as alot of the decks have off set pins so the scores weren't that high, I qualified for the finals in 4th place after a good afternoon making up for a slow start in the morning. Kirsten Penny was in 3rd position, 2nd Helen Johnson, recent European Master Champion from Sweden and in 1st position was Laurence Gaillard from France.
My match was not that close as Laurence struggled to make a double. I won the match in 2 games
Laurence Gaillard (France) 150 - 179
Zara Glover (England) 205 - 214
The other Semi Final was very close going to 3 games. A very exciting last game saw Helen open at the end of te game and Kirsten take the match by striking in the 10th frame.
Helen Johnson (Sweden) 183 - 204 - 209
Kirsten Penny (England) 198 - 170 - 222
There was a bit of a break where the TV cameras were set up as the final was being shown on National TV all over Spain. I had been using my Red Zone the whole tournament.
The finals started and Kirsten has been very good on the fresh oil the whole tournament, she took the first game 255 to my 211. Then the lane transitioned and he started leaving corner pins where my ball reaction got better. I took the second game 235 to 198. The last game was very close with both of us striking the majority of the game, I had one more spare at the beginning of the game to KP's strike. We both struck until the 9th frame, then both of us threw the 9th frame a little shaky, I threw the ball a little fast and left a 2-8 combination. KP struck which won her the game 268 to 247.
The Sunday was a free day to spend looking around the city. It was recommended to us to visit the Park Guell in the north of Barcelona, so Matt and I took a trip on the metro and climed the extremely steep hill upto the park. The hill was so seep there were escalators outdoors in the street. The park was beautiful with great views of the city, and wonderful pieces of Gaudi architecture.
The park is actually the place where Gaudi lived and worked, his house has now been made into a museum. It was a wonderful day as you can see from the photographs attached. In the afternoon we walked down Las Ramblas, the famous street full of street artists leading down to the harbour. Where we ate Tapas in a lovely seafood restaurant, then headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the airport.
As I did so well in San Marino I have decided to make the trip to Vienna next weekend as I have caught up alot of points on Britt Brondsted who was leading the European Rankings so it makes sense to go and give myself the best chance I have of catching her up.
San Marino Finals!!!
by zaraglover.com on Wed 11 Oct 2006 11:30 BST
I WON!!!!!!
2 years in a row, I used my two Red Zones with different layouts for the entire finals. I bowled five, two game matches and beat all the Men!
For full details of the scores check out
http://www.bowlingdigital.com/bowling/node/12502/1
Next weekend I will be in Barcelona for the 2nd European Ladies Masters, I won this last year too, so we'll see if I can repeat the double!
San Marino II
by zaraglover.com on Sun 08 Oct 2006 12:14 BST
Just finished bowling the second round, I shot 1334 for six, just missed the top 8 by 20 which would have gained me an extra bye through to round 4. I start the 3rd round matchplay in about 20 minutes.
2nd San Marino Open I
by zaraglover.com on Sun 08 Oct 2006 11:52 BST
I am in the beautiful Republic of San Marino this weekend, a tiny place on top of a mountain in northern Italy, for the 2nd San Marino Open the 17th stop on the European Tour. I have very fond memories of this place as I won the tournament here last year, probably bowling the best I have ever bowled. I threw the last five strikes in the final to force my opponent to need to strike in the tenth frame to win, he didn’t and I won by 1 pin.
We arrived late on Thursday flying into a small airport called Bologna Forle, approximately 40 minutes by car away from the bowling centre. We are staying in Rimini a resort town about 10 km away from San Marino as we left it too late to find a room close by. I think it’s better though here as it is a much bigger place, so a lot more different restaurants and shops to look in.
I bowled the first squad on Friday at 1pm; after studying the graph of the lane pattern published on the internet before leaving home, I thought there would be a shot on the gutter as the pattern is only 37 foot. So I selected the 6 most appropriate balls to give me the best range of options on that pattern. In practice I tried a few different balls in different parts of the lane but decided to go with my BVP Wizard straight up board 5. I drilled this ball in Las Vegas specifically to play the gutter as the pin in located 2 inches from my axis point, which gives a very different ball reaction. The ball gets into a roll very early which creates a much better angle to carry when playing so far right. In practice it looked very good, but when the game started it was over reacting a little, so in the 5th frame I switched to my Red Zone, which looked much better, a lot smoother reaction. This looked really good, as the lanes carried down I just kept moving right, however, when I couldn’t get any further I changed to the Wizard again and it looked very good. I finished with 1364 so qualified for the finals on my first entry. In hindsight I think I should have changed to the Wizard earlier so I will keep that in mind for the finals.
So today (Saturday) I’ve had a day off, just rested up read for the finals tomorrow. We have just got back from a typical Italian meal of Pizza & Pasta and I’m going to bed. We will be on the lanes at 8am tomorrow. All the scores go back to scratch in the morning, the top 24 will make it through to matchplay. This will be 2 game total score wins, instead of the usual best of 3 game matches, so a lot more emphasis on the score rather than just winning the match. I will keep you posted.
Night Night
ZG
x-x-x-x
Sorry been having admin issues!!!
by zaraglover.com on Fri 06 Oct 2006 17:13 BST
Hi All,
Sorry I haven't written for a while, been having problems with the admin for the site, but we're all back up and running now.
I've been very busy the last six weeks....
World Cup Qualifier
I bowled terrible; this tournament sees the winner going to represent England at the AMF World Cup. This year’s representatives will be Dom Barratt and Lisa John!
Greek Ladies Coaching
After the World Cup Qualifier I went to Athens and spent 10 days training the National Ladies Team of Greece, before taking them to Germany to compete in the European Championships. We spent the time practicing on the Short and Long patterns in Athens and we really bonded as a group. It was a little strange for me not bowling but I definitely needed the break. The ladies did themselves proud, struggling a little in parts but for the team event they were fantastic, finishing in 9th position, the highest position they have ever achieved. I really enjoyed the experience of coaching the team; it is definitely something I would like to pursue in the future.
It was very sad leaving them all at Stuttgart airport but I flew home to an exciting new job!!!
Brunswick
The week after the Europeans I started working for Brunswick at their UK distributor, so far I am really enjoying the roll there.
English Open
The next tournament was the PTBC English Open at Nuneaton.
This is the first year the tournament has been organized, to try and put UK bowling back on the European Calendar. It was organized by one of my closest friends and sponsors Alex Hamilton of Power Play Pro Shop.
Unfortunately the tournament clashed with the Men’s World Championships so there were a few faces missing, but the tournament ran extremely well all weekend with out any hiccups. I bowled well too, qualifying high up so receiving byes through to the 3rd round which was where the matchplay began. I won four best of three game matches before meeting Stuart Williams in the Semi Finals. Stuart had a great ball reaction, although he tried to let me win the 1st game opening the 9th & 10th frames, leaving me to need a double in the 10th frame to win. I left a flat 10 pin, and ended up losing in 2 games so finishing joint 3rd with Matt Giles. Stuart went on to meet Paul Moor in the final where he was defeated. I used my Red Zone & Vapor Zone all weekend.
Viernheim Open
This was a very fleeting visit to Germany, I traveled with Kirsten Penny (my Doubles partner from the Worlds 2003). We flew in early Friday morning bowled Friday afternoon & evening. I didn’t bowl very well on Friday, but tried a few things out and got lined up for Saturday.
I bowled well Saturday 1366, putting me in the top half of the field that qualified through to round 2. We bowled again and the field was cut down, and then arranged in to matches, again best of 3 games. I won my first match against a man from Canada, then I faced a PBA bowler Lonnie Waliczek, I had the best ball reaction I think I have ever had, shooting 273 & 279 to win the match by a big margin.
Next I faced Pasi Uotila from Finland, again I opened up with 279 so over the last 3 games I had shot 831 my highest block. I used the Red Zone again straight up board 5. Then my reaction started to fade when the lane carried down and I made the wrong move, changing balls and moving left. In hindsight I should have stuck with the Red Zone and moved right.
So I got knocked out in that round which put me finishing in 14th position.
Liz Johnson – former PWBA bowler won the tournament, bowling phenomenally well!
Next Tournament is the San Marino Open – See if I can defend the title from last year!!
Indonesian Open Final II
by zaraglover.com on Sat 29 Jul 2006 22:41 BST
I WON!!!!
Click here for FULL RESULTS
I beat Shalin Zulkifli in the finals she needed to double in the 10th to win. I struck 9th frame, throwing a messemger onto the 10 pin, but didn't catch the 10th and left a 2 pin, spared then struck. Shalin struck the first one in the 10th but then threw the 11th pretty fast and left a 2-8 combination for me to win by 2 pins.
Roll on 2007 Indonesian Open!!!
Indonesian Open I
by zaraglover.com on Sat 29 Jul 2006 09:46 BST
I arrived here in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.
It is common policy here in Asia that the defending champion of each tournament gets sponsored to return the following year and is seeded straight through to the top 24. So I didn't have to qualify, however you do have to play each event once. So on Wednesday I bowled Trios with Missy Bellinder of USA and Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia. We shot 1298 for the 2 games and ended up winning Gold. Then on Thursday I played my singles which is what is usually used to qualify for the masters. I shot 849 for 4 games, then bowled doubles with Missy again and we shot 772 for 2 games which won us Silver behind Missy and Shalin in Gold.
The Masters started yesterday, I bowled really well, one of the best 8 game blocks I have had in a long time. I finished on 1898 a 237 average (219-256-219-255-278-206-279-186) I had real problems carrying in the last game.
That put me in 1st place at the half way stage but only 22 pins clear of Singapore's Rena Teng who bowled an excellent very consistent block, all her games were between 213 and 256. I was bowling between 2nd & 3rd arrow all day out to about board 5 with my new Red Zone. I love the shape of the new ball, it's the first tournament I've really used it a lot and I'm very impressed with the reaction it gave me. I hardly had to move and didn't change ball all day.
Today wasn't so plane sailing, I had real problems carrying for the first few games. As the lanes were playing a little tighter I was leaving a lot of 10pins even though I was moving around nearly every frame trying different things to carry. I tried bowling with the other 2 balls I had brought, my Strike Zone and Vapour Zone but they didn't give me as good a reaction. I dropped down to second with 3 games to go after shooting 234-201-181-202-200 then finally got the right combination of ball speed and ball roll. I finished off 225-244-236 (1723 daily total) to go back into 1st by 70 pins infront of Shalin. I finised the 16 games with a total of 3621 a 226 average.
I am now waiting while the men finish their qualification then the finals will start at 5pm. The format is a 6 person step ladder where 6,5 & 4 play one game, the highest score then competes against 3 & 2. The highest score in that match then takes on the number 1 seed.
The number 1 seed has to be beaten twice to lose so fingers crossed!!!
I'll let you know how I fare!
CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS
Brunswick Shootout - Las Vegas III
by zaraglover.com on Sun 09 Jul 2006 08:07 BST
I just got back from bowling the shootout and came 2nd!!!
I bowled with my Scorchin Inferno and BVP Wizard and won 4 matches, two of which by only one pin!
If you'd like to read more about the matches check out Bowling Digital as Herbert Bickel is here keeping everyone updated on the happenings at the tournament.
I am bowling the finals on the Mini tomorrow evening at 6pm, see if I can have a repeat performance!!!
Las Vegas II
by zaraglover.com on Sun 09 Jul 2006 02:37 BST
Hi,
Bowled well the last few days, I drilled a new BVP Wizard which matches up really well at the Mini Eliminator I bowled there again after qualifying earlier in the week to play some brackets, I made a bit of money and won a free Shootout entry. This is an extra tournament that Brunswick put on in the evening where only Brunswick balls are to be used! The qualifying for that was last night, 3 games dropping your lowest game. I qualified shooting 454 for last two games. The finals are in an hour, it's 1 game matchplay within your age division.
I also bowled the High Roller and made it through to round 3 shooting two 230's but then in round 3 I only managed 196 so missed the finals but cashed, so I broke even for that tournament. The finals are taking place now at Sam's Town.
Got to get down to the bowl now, keep your fingers crossed for me!!!
Mega Buck Tournaments - Las Vegas I
by zaraglover.com on Wed 05 Jul 2006 23:02 BST
Hi,
Been bowling a lot the last few days, spent Monday and Tuesday at the High Roller, this format is a one game shootout where I am in the 39 and Under age bracket. 1 in 4 bowlers each squad make it through to round 2. I didn't have a very good ball reaction the first day so drilled a new Red Zone to try on Tuesday, however the lanes played a lot tighter the second day so I ended up using my Vapour Zone and had a much better reaction. I had 213 last game there but missed the cut by 4 pins this qualified me for a free re-entry which I will be using later on in the week.
Today I bowled the Mini Eliminator which is the Brunswick sponsored event, I started off with only a 173 game changing balls every few frames as I didn't have that good a ball reaction, then at the end of the game I bowled the Scorchin Inferno which looked fantastic I shot 235 and 247 last two games to make it through to the finals on Sunday.
I haven't decided what I will bowl tomorrow yet, there is a sweeper here at the Orleans tonight which I will probably bowl, this is just a 2 game pot really. Everyone bowls 2 games and the highest scores win money.
Will write again in the next few days.
Malta Open
by zaraglover.com on Wed 28 Jun 2006 01:28 BST
Hi Guys,
Sorry been having a few computer issues. I had a good tournament at the Malta Open finished in 3rd place using my Absolute Inferno the entire tournament.
I went to Malta for a holiday aswell so spent a week there enjoying the sun. I have posted some photographs in the left hand column photo album take a look!
I am now in Vegas for BowlExpo and the Mini Eliminator tournament until 10th July!
ZG
Dutch Open
by zaraglover.com on Sun 11 Jun 2006 13:58 BST
Just finished bowling the finals here in Dolfijn bowling Scheveningen. I arrived on Thursday evening and bowled my first squad at 16:00 on Friday. The pattern here was quite difficult, playing long with an out of bounds to the right. I didn't play very well the first block, but tried out some different balls in different parts of the lane.
The town here is a lovely beach resort, and the weather has been really hot so i spent the next morning checking out the sites, the beach is beautiful! I bowled the 16:00 squad again on Saturday, I was planning on playing up track with the Scorchin Inferno but the lanes were hooking a lot more than Friday so I ended up playing with Strike Zone and Vapour Zone but struggled to carry. I bowled again straight after in the 8pm squad, I used my Vapour Zone the whole block with a slower ball speed and had a much better reaction shooting 1338. It was the best I've bowled in a long time, I needed a 220 last game to make the top 8 and go straight to round 3 but only managed 203 with a tap in the 10th so was placed in 13th place.
The second round started at 8:30 this morning, a six game block everyone starting from scratch. I had a terrible start opening up with 150-138 I just couldn't replicate the slow ball speed I had yesterday, after 3 games I sorted myself out and slowed everything down and was much better then shooting 640 over the last 3 games, but I had left it too late and finished 50 pins short of the next cut!
We are going to set off for home in an hour or so, we will drive from here through Belgium to Dunkerque in France and catch the ferry back to he UK. I fly to Malta tomorrow morning so I will drive straight to the airport in London. I can't wait for Malta, holiday and bowling in one!!! The tournament starts there on Thursday.
ZG
Aalborg International III
by zaraglover.com on Sun 28 May 2006 14:08 BST
Just finished bowling... missed the cut by 18 pins so finished in 20th position. I bowled the first three games in the left hand side of the centre. I have always had trouble on that side of the house every time I have bowled in this centre, it's driving me crazy I can't work out how to get a good ball reaction there. Last year I bowled a low last game in that end of the centre to just miss the next cut. The last game this year I was up at the high end of the centre and bowled a good game, needing a double in the 10th for 240 and to go through. Unfortunately I didn't make it, only shooting a spare and count for 223.
Never mind, I am pleased with how I bowled for the duration of the tournament. I have not had such good form recently, but I feel like I am on my way back to bowling well. A few more hours on a practice lane when I get home and I think I will be sorted! Let hope by the next event!
The next tournament is the Dutch Open 8th - 11th June.
Until then...
Aalborg International II
by zaraglover.com on Sat 27 May 2006 19:59 BST
I went to the 9 pin no tap tournament today. It was great fun I haven't bowled 9 pin since I was a junior. It was in a very small centre only 10 lanes and there were just locals bowling until we showed up (Britt Brondsted, Anja Ginge Jensen, Stuart Williams and myself). It was the highest 3 game block, only bowling on 1 lane! I bowled with Stu, and the first block we weren't that good, just working out where to play, Britt started really well with the front 9 then a pocket 7-10 in the 10th frame, she wasn't impressed!!! I started off using my Vapour Zone then after leaving a few splits changed to my Strike Zone.
The four of us didn't make a score that would cash so we played again, this time we had a bit of a wager, Britt's verses Danes, losers buying lunch!!! Stu and I breezed to victory shooting 540-530-480. I finished with a total of around 750, not enough to cash. We played again, Stu scoring very well this block but still not making 800, we were estimating the winner to have around 850. I missed the transition and only shot 660 this block, however in the last game I changed to my Classic Zone and found a much better ball reaction. So I entered AGAIN ha ha.
This block I did much better, shooting a 244-297-246 total of 787, so close, I chopped a 6-10 spare in the 9th frame of the last game, very frustrating. That was enough for me, I don't think I could have done any better, especially as they were re-oiling the lanes. So we came back to Aalborg as Stu was bowling here at 8pm, and went out for our victory Dinner :o).
The finals here in Aalborg start tomorrow, I am currently sitting in 12th position with the last squad now underway, for a full list of scores go to http://www.bai2006.dk/
ZG
Aalborg International I
by zaraglover.com on Fri 26 May 2006 19:26 BST
Arrived yesterday in Copenhagen then drove up to the north here in Aalborg. We stopped off at a local Danish tournament, six games and the highest total pin-fall wins. I bowled pretty good shot 1388 for 6 games. Britt is winning she bowled brilliant shooting over 1500 for 6 games! I was in 6th place when I left and the tournament runs until Sunday.
I arrived here last night and bowled at 7pm. The lane pattern is pretty difficult scoring is really low so there are a lot of women doing well as we get 8 pins a game bonus. I didn't bowl so well last night, trying different balls in different parts of the lane but by the end of the squad I found a better ball reaction ready for today.
The lanes here in Aalborg are very different from pair to pair so I decided to throw the ball faster and straighter so as I didn't notice the differences as much. I used my Strike Zone the whole squad. I finished on 1337 which currently puts me in 8th position with one more day of qualifying to go.
Tomorrow I'm going to another town to play a 3 game 9 pin no tap tournament, apparently this is really popular in Denmark and usually takes a 900 series to win so we'll see how that goes!
ZG
WRM conclusion
by zaraglover.com on Mon 15 May 2006 19:47 BST
Well the tournament has come to a very exciting conclusion. The ladies title was returned to Columbia for the second conecutive year, this years champion was Sara Varges. The men's champion was Kuwaiti, Khalid Al-Dubyan a very talented youth bowler. So you can imagine the crowd was going crazy in the finals yesterday when he defeated Pasi Uotila from Finland. The entire tournament was screened live on the sports channel for the Gulf region.
Britt unfortunately lost her first match to Shalin from Malaysia. I have really enjoyed watching the tournament, it as been nice to have a week of not bowling and I think I have learned a lot about the break down of these Short/Long patterns so I think the trip has been very beneficial for my future career (and also my tan!!)
The next tournament I have is the Aalborg International in Denmark 24th - 29th May, the 9th stop of the European tour.
World Ranking Masters
by zaraglover.com on Sat 13 May 2006 14:25 BST
Qualification is over... Today was 8 games on the short and long at the same time... One lane on each pair short pattern the other long. This really highlighted the experienced bowers and they moved up the field pretty quickly today. I have been helping Britt all week, just being an extra pair of eyes for her to bounce ideas off. She bowled really well today, we'd figured out what moves worked and didn't over the last few days and it was just a matter of putting into practice what we had learned.
Britt finished in 5th position and meets Malaysian Shalin Zulkifli tomorrow at 9am in a best of 3 game match alternating patterns every game.
Sorry I haven't been able to tell you about the Men but I've been sunning myself at the pool in the afternoons, instead of watching them bowl. If you would like to see results go to http://www.kuwaitbowling.com/
Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
World Ranking Masters
by zaraglover.com on Thu 11 May 2006 14:06 BST
I have stayed on in Kuwait to watch the World Ranking Masters, I didn't play enough tournaments to qualify last year, but thought I would stay and watch catch up with some friends. There are 3 English representatives, in the Ladies Jo Harries and the Men's Paul Moor and Stuart Williams.
In the time in between the two tournaments Britt Brondsted and I spent some time at an Arab Beauty salon owned by one of the bowlers, we had a very amusing day and got done up with full Arabic makeup!! Don't worry we took photos... I will post them in the next few days then you can all have a giggle! (See if you can recognise us)
Official practise was yesterday, this was also a short and long oiling pattern tournament, the patterns were changed from those put down for the kuwait open by the technical committee as they thought something more challenging was required for the level of bowlers competing in the Masters. It is after all the top 8 bowlers from each of the three WTBA zones. Both patterns were made flatter to increase the level of accuracy required to score. Most players seemed confident after practise was over.
Today all the bowlers completed 8 games on the short pattern. From the back the lanes seemed the same as practise for the first 3 games but then broke down a little different. Because all the bowlers were lined up playing a similar part of the lane, the break down was very different to yesterday when bowlers were trialing different areas of the lane. This threw a some people as they made wrong moves and dropped down the field.
Ladies from Europe took an early lead with Helen Johnsson (Sweden) starting with an impressive 269 she was later joined at the top by fellow European Tanya Petty (Germany), both of them lapping the field and competing between themselves for the daily leader prize money. Tanya finally taking the victory when she shot 235 last game to Helen's sub 200 game. Tanya finished the 8 games with a total of 1796 (225 ave).
The men are bowling now so will let you know how they do, I'm off to the pool!!!!
Bad Day at the Office!!!
by zaraglover.com on Tue 09 May 2006 14:32 BST
Unfortunately I didn’t do so well in the second round here in Kuwait, bowled well on the long but I didn’t work out the short. The short pattern was a great deal harder than the long and difficult to create the correct angle into the pocket to carry. I ended up in 8th position , the eventual champion was Shalin Zulkifli from Malaysia and in the men’s Jason Belmonte from Australia.
I will stay in Kuwait for another week to watch the World Ranking Masters.
Kuwait Open 2006
by zaraglover.com on Fri 05 May 2006 21:34 BST
I'm in Kuwait this week playing the Kuwait Open.
It is a re-entry two pattern tournament (Short and Long oil), with your highest two 3 game totals on each pattern counting towards your place in the finals. The scoring has been very high all week as the field is of a very high quality due to this centre hosting the World Ranking Masters next week and the majority of the competitors arriving early to play both tournaments.
I arrived on Tuesday morning on a 10 hour flight from Manchester via Doha in Qatar. Had a short rest and bowled on Tuesday afternoon. It has taken me a while to get lined up on the two patterns, the long was playing roughly as I expected it to, but the short has been a little weird! I wasn't expecting to have trouble hooking the ball on the short oil, but have ended up using the same balls on both patterns just in different parts of the lane.
Today is the last day of qualifying, the last squad is half way through their first game now and I'm currently in 7th position in the ladies with a total of 2617 for 12 games (218 Ave). I've had an OK ball reaction on both patterns using my Scorchin Inferno and Strike Zone on the long and Absolute Inferno and Strike Zone on the short, but have scored slightly more on the long oil. The finals start tomorrow morning and the top 10 ladies and 2 locals go through to the finals, so fingers crossed I stay inside the top 10 after this squad. Tomorrow the ladies bowl 4 games on each pattern then it cuts to the top four for a live televised step ladder. Last year I made the step ladder but lost to my Doubles team mate from the World Champs Kirsten Penny and finished in 3rd position.
I am going to try my luck in the Desperado when this squad finishes as I can compete in the Men's final as well as the Women's but the scores have been huge this year so no women have got close to qualifying on their total score. Desperado is basically a one game shootout for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, you bowl on one lane only and the top scores go through to the finals. Here the top 4 scores will go through to the finals tomorrow, so I think we're all going to have a go, after all what's one more game???
So I will go and prepare and be back tomorrow to let you know how it goes!!!
Cross your fingers!
Welcome to my World
by zaraglover.com on Wed 26 Apr 2006 12:21 BST
Hi, Welcome to my website…
Let me tell you a bit about myself. I have been bowling since I was a junior, first qualifying for Team England when I was 14 years old, after being approached and offered coaching by the then junior England coach Brian Michael he rebuilt my game around my natural talents. Through his knowledge and my determination (and also many hours on a practice lane) together we created the mental and physical game I have today. I had reasonable success throughout my career but my big break came at the World Championships in 2003, this was my first world event at the adult age category, and I surprised everybody, even myself winning 3 gold’s and 1 silver medal. Since then my life has changed dramatically, I have been fortunate enough to visit some of the most beautiful places on the planet and experience many of the most friendly and hospitable cultures around and all while competing in the sport I love.
I had just graduated from Portsmouth University where I had been reading Psychology for 3 years when the letter came announcing I had been selected as a member of Team England, the six man team to be sent to Kuala Lumpur later on that same year. I was not very certain what career path I was going to take after graduating, and as the trip was going to entail 3 weeks of traveling so soon after starting a new job, I decided I would take the summer off before seriously job seeking and use it to prepare myself for the event.
This was the biggest tournament of my career so far; I spent the summer working in Power play Proshop Poole learning about bowling equipment and surface adjustments while being able to practice freely every morning before shop opening times. This was the first time I had been able to dedicate so much time to bowling and the results spoke for themselves. My game improved immensely from the volume of time I was spending practicing and only increased my confidence in my bowling abilities. Since then I have spent most of my time bowling tournaments and coaching. I am currently running bowling coaching Academy’s in Europe for Brunswick.
With this site I’m aiming to give you an insight into my life on the road! The trials and tribulations of the amateur bowling world along with what I learn and experience along the way….. I hope you enjoy it and learn from my experiences!
ZG
My World Masters Weekend
Tenpin Bowling is back at the Barnsley Metrodome this weekend for this years' World Tenpin Masters. The event see's 16 of the world’s best bowlers representing twelve different countries.
Schedule of Events:
Round of 16
Friday, April 21
Match 1 at 19:00 Dominic Barrett (ENG) vs. Jens Nickel (GER)
Match 2 at 20:00 Tomas Leandersson (SWE) vs. Guy Caminsky (RSA)
Match 3 at 21:00 Lynda Barnes (USA) vs. Wim Van Der Veen (NED)
Saturday, April 22
Match 6 at 16:00 Zara Glover (ENG) vs. Jason Belmonte (AUS)
Match 4 at 14:00 Liza Del Rosario (PHI) vs. Paul Moor (ENG)
Match 5 at 15:00 Tore Torgersen (NOR) vs. Alex Liew (MAS)
Match 7 at 19:00 Kirsten Penny (ENG) vs. Michael Schmidt (CAN)
Match 8 at 20:00 Britt Bröndsted (DEN) vs. Chris Barnes (USA)
Round of 8
Saturday, April 22
Match 9 at 21:00 Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2
Sunday, April 23
Match 10 at 13:00 Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4
Match 11 at 14:00 Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6
Match 12 at 15:00 Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8
Semi-finals
Sunday, April 23
Match 13 at 18:00 Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10
Match 14 at 19:00 Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 11
Finals
Sunday, April 23
Match 15 at 21:00 Winner Match 13 vs. Winner Match 14
