Irish Open 2012 Review

American Brian Voss showed his experience and class to win the 2012 Irish Open Championships this past weekend and claim the €3,500 first prize.

The 25-time winner on the PBA Tour took complete control of the round robin final on Sunday to overtake number one qualifier, England’s Matt Hann, who eventually fell back to finish fourth.

England’s Steve Kay continued his good form after his perfect 300 game in the round of 32 to finish in second place, with the highest placed Irishman being Alan Gibbons in third. The other Irishman to make the top 8 final, Paul Stott, finished up in sixth place, but Stott will still remember the event fondly after he shot an Irish record 1114 pins for just four games in round one, which included a 298

In the women’s section, England’s Hayley White pipped Irish champion Hannah Cullen to first place by just 19 pins. White was the only woman to bowl a perfect 300 game in the tournament, and she had to use all her nerve to hold off a strong challenge from Cullen. Scotland’s former champion Laura Rhoney finished third, with Ireland’s two-time winner Kerena Dykes, Amanda McDermott and Aimee Kellegher finishing sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.

The event will be remembered for its incredibly high standard of scoring, with seven perfect 300 games bowled over the four days of play, and a qualifying average for the second round (top 64) of 206, and the top 32 qualifying average of a remarkable 217.  

Next year is bound to see the standard only improve again as more and more top bowlers make their way to the event, which will once again be sponsored by Columbia 300, one of the biggest companies in the world of tenpin bowling. And with the 2013 championships coinciding with the 50^th anniversary of tenpin bowling in Ireland, it certainly looks like onwards and upwards for Irish bowling.

24th Irish Open Championships

The 24^th Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships take place in Leisureplex Stillorgan this weekend, with a record number of bowlers making the trip from across the country and the world.

The championships are hosted in Stillorgan each year, but this year’s impressive entry can be put down to the introduction of a new top-of-the-range oiling machine which the centre purchased towards the end of 2011. The new machine allows the centre to create conditions which can match the European and American bowling tours, which has almost certainly caused the influx of entries from abroad.

The tournament has a history of attracting the world’s top bowlers, with previous winners ranging from EBT legends Tomas Leanderson and Tore Torgersen to Europe’s newest world star, England’s Dominic Barrett, who has won the tournament in three of the last four years.

There has never been an Irish male winner in the event, something that many of our bowlers are desperate to amend. And there is a glimmer of hope for the locals, with the dominant Barrett not making the trip to defend his 2011 title due to other commitments. Irish men have gone close before, no more so than Alan Gibbons’ runner-up finish last year. He will be looking to go one better when the action kicks off on Thursday January 19^th. Others to watch out for locally are Irish Champion Alan Bride and regular finalist Graham Turner. There are plenty of other contenders, including young talent such as Simon English and EBT winner this year Paul Stott. All-in-all there is reason for optimism going into the event. 

On the women’s side we have had some recent success, with Kerena Dykes winning in 2007 and again in 2009. Similar to the men’s section, the reigning female champion, Australia’s Cassie Staudinger, is not returning to defend her title this year.  Dykes will not be the only female hope for Ireland going into the event, either. Irish champion Hannah Cullen will certainly be hoping to go all the way this year, and others such as Caitriona Mulhall could also use international experience to her advantage when the pressure is on this weekend.

Overall 2012 is an exciting year for the Irish Open Championships, with the tournament being sponsored by American giants Columbia 300. Columbia are one of the biggest names in tenpin bowling, making equipment brands such as Ebonite and Hammer, along with their own signature equipment. The involvement of such a prestigious company has added some real credibility to an event which is already steeped in history, and the strength of the field making the trip from overseas backs this up. Former champion Tore  Torgersen is returning for the first time in several years to an event he has always excelled in, and former PBA American Tour bowler Brian Voss is making the long journey from the States to make his first appearance in the tournament.

To have a big name from the United States coming to the event speaks volumes for the reputation which this event has built up over the years, especially when you consider how small of a following tenpin bowling has at a competitive level in this country. It is the biggest event on the tenpin bowling calendar, and it always provides some world class action over the course of the weekend.

The event begins with the first squad at 14:30 on Thursday, January 19^th, and runs all weekend to the 8-player round robin finals on the Sunday afternoon. If you are involved in tenpin bowling, or whether you simply are interested in coming down for a taste of the electric atmosphere, this one is not to be missed.

Phil Hulst becomes the new face of DV8 Bowling

21-year-old Dutch bowler Phil Hulst has become the latest staff player for DV8 Bowling, the brand introduced this year Valcke services.

"With DV8 I want to do the best I can," Phil says. Phil sowed his intentions by bowling a perfect game with the DV8 Misfit on October 9th in his first appearance as a DV8 staff member.

Phil, who will be known to many bowlers in Ireland from his appearances in the Irish open and the Junior Irish Open in recent years,  has joined Gery Verbruggen, Wendy Kok, Nicole Sanders and Thierry Sacco on the DV8 team.

YAC Triple Crown Livingston 2011-Men's Section

All Events      Country Singles  Doubles Trios  T/MD  Total    Average

1	Sam Rose	Eng	1331	628	697	607	3263	217.53
2	Elliot Crosby	Eng	1295	638	650	674	3257	217.13
3	Paul Green	Wal	1279	617	701	645	3242	216.13
4	Jason Byrnes	Ire	1322	683	642	513	3160	210.67
5	Richard Teece	Eng	1232	602	626	624	3084	205.60
6	Kristian McWilliams	Sco	1090	670	662	656	3078	205.20
7	Tom Turner	Eng	1250	691	585	550	3076	205.07
8	Shane Hendrick	Ire	1168	617	677	607	3069	204.60
9	Chris Standell	Eng	1216	565	643	606	3030	202.00
10	Jamie Cunningham	Wal	1199	621	661	548	3029	201.93
11	Christopher Lam	Eng	1182	584	617	645	3028	201.87
12	Gary Redpath	Sco	1258	540	673	543	3014	200.93
13	James Footner	Wal	1192	641	599	572	3004	200.27
14	Stuart Snedden	Sco	1227	632	603	529	2991	199.40
15	Martin Williamson	Sco	1269	614	571	529	2983	198.87
16	Mark Tunnicliffe	Wal	1180	595	603	594	2972	198.13
17	Gareth Shannon	Ire	1264	617	573	508	2962	197.47
18	Lyndon Walters	Wal	1096	638	656	568	2958	197.20
19	Matt Southwell	Gsy	1126	614	592	593	2925	195.00
20	Derek O'Reilly	Ire	1198	562	480	632	2872	191.47
21	Brian Gillespie	Sco	1108	600	542	571	2821	188.07
22	Alan Johns	Gsy	1153	527	561	550	2791	186.07
23	Steven Reid	Sco	1096	513	582	599	2790	186.00
24	Alex Fairclough	Wal	1075	521	613	564	2773	184.87
25	David Noonan	Ire	1148	563	526	530	2767	184.47
26	Josh Harvey	Gsy	967	600	579	607	2753	183.53
27	Karl Doherty	Ire	1119	533	569	520	2741	182.73
28	John Gauvain	Gsy	1085	534	522	551	2692	179.47
29	Glen Mauger	Gsy	1131	460	446	579	2616	174.40
30	Robin Johns	Gsy	968	559	484	592	2603	173.53

YAC Triple Crown Livingston 2011-Ladies Section

1	All Events  Autum    Chamberlain	Eng	1295	573	642	669	3179	211.93
2	Danni Hopcroft	Eng	1260	677	580	629	3146	209.73
3	Katrina MacIver	Eng	1193	625	625	653	3096	206.40
4	Cherise Denham	Eng	1183	693	640	573	3089	205.93
5	Aimee Kellegher	Ire	1204	572	640	608	3024	201.60
6	Rebekah Hamlet	Eng	1166	680	582	528	2956	197.07
7	Katherine Wallace	Sco	1159	586	497	621	2863	190.87
8	Stephanie Fisher	Sco	1127	585	567	518	2797	186.47
9	Zara Yusaf	Sco	1065	580	558	586	2789	185.93
10	Stephanie Cleary	Ire	1067	548	582	583	2780	185.33
11	Tania Yusaf	Sco	1171	555	572	472	2770	184.67
12	Sara Kelly	Ire	1137	530	558	484	2709	180.60
13	Holly Fleming	Sco	1227	479	492	510	2708	180.53
14	Sarah Overall	Eng	1043	526	543	492	2604	173.60
15	Niamh Haughton	Ire	1034	556	488	506	2584	172.27
16	Hazel Morrison	Sco	930	590	475	526	2521	168.07
17	Olivia Flavin	Ire	955	509	467	480	2411	160.73
18	Jaye Kinsella	Ire	807	397	446	465	2115	141.00

Adult Triple Crown Review

The Adult Triple Crown took place in Norwich, England last weekend, with multiple successes for the Irish teams, in particular the men's team.

Ireland's Paul Stott took gold in the singles on day one, bowling a perfect 300 game in game four on his way to 42-pin victory over England's Steve Miller. England's Rob Thurlby took the bronze medal, beating Ireland's Darragh McLoughlin into third spot by just 4 pins.

In the women's singles Aimee Kellegher was the pick of the Irish, finishing in 5th place. The gold went to England's Autumn Chamberlain, who posted the highest total of any player in the tournament, male or female, on her way to a very comfortable 102-pin victory. Jo Cundy and Laura Ivory made it a clean sweep of medals for the English.

The Doubles saw Ireland take another gold medal in the men's section, with Paul Stott and Alan Bride pipping Steve Miller and Rob Thurlby by 16 pins. The bronze medal went to the Welsh pairing of Gareth Roberts and James Footner.

The English ladies continued their domination of the medal haul with a second consecutive 1-2-3 in the doubles, with the gold going to Angie Brown and Alison Taylor. Jo Cundy and Autumn Chamberlain took the silver with Sarah Purnell and Laura Ivory finishing in third place. Ireland's Dymphna Kestell and Aimee Kellegher just missed out on a medal with a fourth place finish.

The English men got their hands on their first gold medal in the trios, with Steve Miller, Chris Oates and Rob Thurlby beating the Irish team of Alan Bride, Fran Puzzoli and Paul Stott into second place by a considerable gap of 138 pins. The bronze medal was taken by the Welsh team of Lyndon Walters, Paul Green and James Footner.

The English ladies once again showed the gulf in class between themselves and the rest of the field in the trios, taking both gold and silver ahead of Guernsey, who took their first medal of the tournament. The gold went to the team of Angie Brown, Jo Cundy and Autumn Chamberlain, with silver taken by Sarah Purnell, Alison Taylor and Laura Ivory. The Guernsey team which took the bronze consisted of Danni Machon, Linda Robilliard and Lauren Hurford.

The Five-man team event had huge significance in the men's section, as it would decide whether Ireland could hold off the English and take the shield, awarded to the team which accumulates the most points over the course of the weekend.

Unfortunately for Team Ireland, England were simply to good on the day, with only one of their five players shooting under 700 for the three games. The Irish posted a positive total of 3386, but the English put in a masterful display to finish on 3533 and take both the gold medal and the shield, by a mere 1.5 points. The Irish men had been ahead since the opening game of the first event of the weekend, so it was a disappointing end to a very positive weekend.

It was not all bad news for the Irish men on Sunday, however, as Paul Stott and Alan Bride made it an Irish 1-2 in the Masters. And Darragh McLoughlin also bowled terrifically to share third place in the Masters with England's Rob Thurlby.

In the Women's section, Team Ireland took the silver medal behind the dominant English team. Aimee Kellegher qualified for the women's Masters, where she eventually finished in sixth place. The top five places were filled by English ladies, showing once again just how dominant they were throughout the weekend. In the end they took the women's shield by a remarkable 202.5 points over Team Wales, with Team Scotland in third place. Team Ireland eventually finished in fifth place overall.

It was a strong showing form Team Ireland at this year's Adult Triple Crown, in particular from the men's team. Overall the two teams collected three gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes, in a much improved performance from twelve months ago, when a young, inexperienced team were outclassed in Scotland.

Bowltalk would like to congratulate all who were involved, with special mention to Paul Stott for his Masters win and his perfect game, and Alan Bride for his second place finish in the Masters. Also congratulations to Aimee Kellegher, who bowled fantastic all weekend to qualify for the Masters.

For a complete list of results, go to the Irish tenpin bowling website, www.tenpinireland.com, and follow the link to the Adult Triple Crown.

Junior Triple Crown-Singles Girls Under 19's and Boys Under 16's

Ireland's Holly Evans and Laura Curran start with strikes. Tough start for Ciara McDunphy though, who splits both opening frames and opens both as well.

England's Autumn Chamberlain covers opening split and open frame with a strike in frame two.

In the Boys section, Scotland's Paul Addison opens with a strike, as does Ireland's Gareth Byrne.

Ryan Leong leaves a ten-pin in frame one but converts it comfortably. Similar story for England's Brandon Roberts on the same lane.

Stephen Dillon bowling well for Ireland, on a turkey and staying cean through frame six.

Scotland's Jack Kerr also looking confident through six frames. His teammate John O'Neill, however, was unlucky to leave a 7-10 split in frame 7 as he struggles in game one.

England's Daniel Cook recovering well from split in frame 4 with a double. Teammate Jamie Elliot struggling to keep up with Ireland's Kevin Wattimena on his lane.

England's Verity Crawley bowling well, pacing a 200-plus game in game one. Scotland's Naomi Lawson, on the same lane, is keeping clean but lagging behind a little.

Ireland's Laura Curran opens frame seven after very good opening six frames. She needs a couple of strikes now to pass the 200 mark.

Scotland's Victoria Chatburn scores 246 for an excellent game one. Ellanor Thurston of England posts 248 to just better her rival.

Ireland's Ciara McDunphy struggles to an opening 139, while teammate Emily Goode also struggles to a 156.

Boys well into game two, with Scotland's Addison pacing 258 after a strike in frame 8.

England's Brandon Roberts on a turkey through eight frames, currently pacing a 268.

Ireland's Stephen Dillon on a four-bagger and is pacing a 248. On the same lanes, England's George Ackerman also has a four-bagger and is pacing 259. The scores are vastly improved in game two.

England's Brett Armer goes front five in game one, but leaves a single pin in frame 6 to miss out on the chance to shoot 300.

Ireland's Sarah Finlay was pacing 290 after frame 5 but split and opened in frame 6 to halt her run in game three.

England's Ellanor Thurston converts 4-10 split to save opening frame six.

Scotland's Danielle Carr struggling on 88 through frame 6.

Scotland's Naomi Lawson front three in game three. England's Verity Crawley, on same lanes, pacing 290 early on.

Scotland's Danielle Carr solid through first half of game four, all clean frames and high counts so far.

Ryan Leong pacing 279 through five frames of game four in the boys' section.

Stewart Matthews follows up  an open first frame with a five-bagger to pace a high game in the fourth.

Brandon Roberts double in frames 6 and 7 keeps him on track for a 249 in game four.

Jack Kerr pacing 268 after a strike in frame 5.

Laura Curran double in frames 6 and 7 covers for an open in frame 5.

Kevin Wattimean doubles in frames 5 and 6 as he paces 268.

Daniel Cook opens game 4 with a four-bagger but can only manage a 7-spare in frame 5.

Kimberley Perch shoots 203 in game four. Autumn Chamberlain shoots 206, while Ireland's Sarah Finlay posts 222. Hannah Frsot shoots 196, Verity Crawley shoots 227.

Brandon Roberts pacing 290 through frame 8, Stephen Dunne pacing 280 through the same frame, on the same lanes.

Roberts opens frame 9 to leave himself 227 going into frame 10.

Jack Kerr posts 162 in game four. Roberts posted 227, Dunne 145, Matthews 223, Leong 222. Roberts then posts 236 in game five tom keep his good form in the singles going.

Live updates to stop now for this squad as scores are taken in and compiled. Look out for final scores shortly.