Bowling News
Maltese Adventure in Marsala (Sicily) - Friendship Games
Maltese bowlers proof once again their strength in Tenpin Bowling.
MTBA for it's first time participated in this 3rd Friendship Games held in Marsala, Sicily under the auspices of MOC and CONI. The competition was against Team Sicilia and Team Trapani.
Three players, Justin C. Scicluna, Kenneth
Arpa and Mark Spiteri went to participate in this tournament accompanied by
national coach Rick Vogelesang and Secretary General Liliana Said.
In Singles Event our upcoming youngster, Justin placed 2nd with 1783 pinfall (222ave) with Kenneth and Mark playing consistently 210ave and 203ave respectively. Roberto Sottile won Gold (229ave) and Fabio D'Agostino won Bronze (220ave) both from Team Sicily. During these 8 games a 300 game was played by Fabio D'Agostino.
In Team Events the Maltese team went up for the occasion and performed a marvelous display. From the first shot they showed the determination to win the Gold medal playing consistently ending up doing three national records:
- Game of 741 Trios Team. Here both Mark and Kenneth had the chance to do the perfect game with Mark playing 278 and Kenneth 289 respectively
- Kenneth did a great series, the first one of over 1500 in 8 games playing 1519 scratch, a remarkable 253ave
- Trios Team played 4098 scratch, 227ave in a 6 game series
Team Sicily end up 2nd with 3928 scratch and Team Trapani 3rd.
Well done to all Maltese contingent.
Summer National Leagues
OKMalta.com and Globalair Travel keep impressing in the Summer league with wins over Ramis and Fina respectively.
Summer leagues are already underway. There were a lot of changes in DIV I teams this season with players changing their respective teams. FINA First was the most team to suffer with Mark Spiteri joining OKMalta.com and Brian Farrugia goes to Globalair Travel. Ray Falzon Reale moved as well to OKMalta.com while Mark Muscat joined FINA First from Globalair Travel. This should bring DIV I league more balanced. See results here
Presentation Dinner - Winter League 2009
The presentation dinner is going to be held in Intercontinental Hotel (St.Julians) on the 24th of July 2009 @ 8pm. Contact your league secretary or any one of the committee members for more information.
Pafos - Cyprus 2009
Sports Press Release
Tenpin Bowling: 5th Paphos Open, Cyprus
Mark Spiteri Makes Final – finishes second
Right after the 18th Malta Open Championship was concluded at the Eden SuperBowl, a group of fourteen Maltese bowlers flew out to Cyprus to take part in the 5th Paphos Open, taking place at the friendly ten-lane Cockatoos centre in Paphos itself, where an excellent performance from Mark Spiteri earned him the Runner Up trophy along with a considerable cash prize.
This is not the first time that local bowlers have taken part in the Paphos Open, and in fact 2006’s 2nd Paphos Open was won by Malta’s Ray Falzon Reale. Also, this was the second consecutive year that the MTBA sent two local bowlers to Cyprus after earlier running the Gold Cup Open Tournament at the Eden SuperBowl, with the winners of the respective male and female divisions being rewarded with an all expenses paid trip to the event, including entry to the tournament. This year’s Gold Cup winners were John Balani and Melissa Swift.
The Paphos Open comprises a long qualification period spread over thirteen days, during which bowlers play qualifying blocks of six games, and can also play further six-game re-entries in an attempt to improve on any previous effort, to better their chances of qualifying for the gruelling seven-stage Final Day. Similar to the Malta Open, the format in Paphos is such that the higher your qualification position, the less final stages you have to play in and so even those sure of qualification to (top 38) will re-enter in order to climb as far up the classification as possible.
After all qualification squads including the always exciting single-game ‘Desperado’, five of the Maltese contingent had made it through to the Final Day. Those were Sue Abela in 11th, meaning she got an automatic spot in final stage three, while the remaining four who would have to start from stage one were; Brian Farrugia (16th), John Balani (21st), Ray Falzon Reale (22nd) and Mark Spiteri (28th). The final stages all start from scratch, and stage 1’s five games followed by another three in stage two, saw only Mark Spiteri make it through to join Sue Abela in stage three, which would see direct ‘knock-out’ confrontations on a best-of-three game basis.
As all female bowlers throughout, Abela benefitted from an extra eight pin bonus per game, but that was not enough for her to progress to stage four as she was beaten 2 – 0 by Stathatos John from Greece (209-233, 193-218). The result gave Sue a final position of 17th from the 147 strong field. Mark Spiteri fared better as he won his match against Lirantzis, also from Greece in two straight games (169-209, 180-202).
Mark then faced England’s Nicki Ainge in his stage four match, which went down to the third game, but fell 2 – 1 to The Maltese player (211-203, 212-214, 186-225). That victory meant Spiteri would now face another Greek, Parasakis, in stage five. That also went three games but once again Mark prevailed (203-194, 192-194, 167-204), putting himself into the semi-final (stage 6) against the formidable Brit Bronsted, a young Dane who already has an enviable list of honours under her belt, including that of European Champion. The match was another marathon for Spiteri who won game one 202-187, but then saw Bronsted level it with a 174-210 win in game two. The deciding third game ended, incredibly, in a 200-200 draw, and would be a decided by a thrilling ‘roll-off’ between the two, meaning just one shot on a full set of ten pins until the tie is broken. Spiteri held up under the mountainous pressure, winning the match with three successive stikes, against a strike-strike-nine from his opponent.
Awaiting Mark in the final match was local bowler Kostas Kyriakou, just back home to Cyprus from a trip to play in the Malta Open. Again it would be a best-of-three encounter, and by this time Spiteri had already bowled no less than 19 games on the final day alone, so fatigue was bound to set in at some point. Kyriakou had only played eight games thanks to his better qualifying position, but regardless, the Cypriot was always going to prove a very tough component, playing the final on home turf, in front of a largely Cypriot crowd. Kostas opened the scoring with a 214-171 win to the delight of the home support, but the visibly exhausted Spiteri then came back with an heroic effort to win game two 236-192 and draw level. After such exertion Mark could do no more, and the match belonged to the stocky, amiable Cypriot who clinched the title with a 225-130 deciding win, in front of a loud and warmly appreciative crowd of spectators, including a considerable band of visiting Maltese.
Link to some photos taken during our visit Bella Pafos
Composite Average 2009
Update Composite Average - January to May 2009
Female Composite Male Composite
National Championships 2009
Sue Abela and Kenneth Arpa are the new National Champions for 2009. Sue finished on 205ave while Kenneth finished on 213ave.
In Ladies Section, Joanna Attard finished 2nd with 194ave while Doris Camilleri finished 3rd with 185ave.
In Men Section, Mark Spiteri finished 2nd with 210ave and Justin C Scicluna finished 3rd with 206ave.
Composite Average 2009
Update Composite Average - January to April 2009
Female Composite Male Composite
Gold Cup Tournament 2009
Melissa Swift and John Balani won this year tournament. For more information click on web link
Second phase of this Gold Cup Tournament have been played this morning with the top 6 of each category wins a place in the finals, to be played Sunday 3rd May at Eden Superbowl. Both winners will win the right to go and play the Pafos Open in Cyprus.
Special congratulations goes to Ryan Grima and Philip Grupetta from Men's Section and Christabel Grima from Ladies Section for winning a place into the finals eliminating, more experienced bowlers in their category.
Mediterranean Challenge Cup 2009
Team Malta started the journey to Montpellier this morning 20th April 2009. Eight persons form our delegation from which there are4 players namely Sue, Joanna, Justin and Brian and Rick as coach.
Our aim is to keep Malta's track record as Mediterranean Champions.
Mark Spiteri - USBC Level 1
Mark completed his first step towards tenpin bowling coaching by obtaining the USBC Level 1 coaching certificate.
Congratulations
Turu's Knights web site
Division 1 team, Turu's Knights, launched their website. Visit www.turusknights.webs.com for more information including some well build up statistics.
Composite Average 2009
Dear members, Composite Average for Year 2008.
Female Composite Male Composite
AGM 2009
Our annual general meeting was held yesterday 22nd February 2009.
Mr. Julian Pace Bonello was again confirmed as MTBA president for the coming 2 years.
Go to Committee web page for more details
Sportivi Nazzjonali 2008
SUE ABELA SPORTS WOMEN OF THE YEAR 2008
Abela, Malta's leading bowler, was another former winner who was honoured during the gala night held at the Le Meridien Hotel in St Julian's. Abela topped the Sportswoman of the Year poll when she collected 281 points, ten better off than second-placed Martina Xuereb, of athletics.
Sue Abela won this prestigious title for the 3rd time in her carrier.Congratulations Queen
Composite Average 2008
Dear members, Composite Average for Year 2008.
Female Composite Male Composite
MOC Sports Awards 2008
Brian Farrugia won the Gold award for his performance in the singles event of the World Men's Championships held later this year in Bangkok, Thailand were he placed in 7th position.
Although Tenpin Bowling is not an Olympic Sports, once again kept its trademark in these awards by winning another prestigious award.
Sportivi Nazzjonali 2008
Sue Abela and Mark Spiteri have made it to the finals of this year "Ghazliet Sportivi Nazzjonali" for their performance during 2008. Both of them showed their best during their National and International competitions. We wish them good luck to win this prestigious honor.
MTBA President Mr. Julian Pace Bonello Confirmed as CTBF President
At the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling
Federation's Congress held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Julian Pace Bonello
was confirmed as president of the Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Federation for
a further term of two years.
The Congress was attended by all sixteen Commonwealth nations that were
present in Northern Ireland for the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling
Championships: Australia, Bahamas, Canada, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey,
Jersey, India, Malaysia, Malta, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore and
Wales.
Julian Pace Bonello has held this Post since the CTBF was created in 2002
and was previously the Chairperson for the Commonwealth Affairs Committee of
the World Tenpin Bowling Association.
The main aim of the CTBF is to get Tenpin Bowling re-introduced as a Sport
within the Official Programme of the Commonwealth Games.
In 2004, it was included in the Official Programme of the II Commonwealth
Youth Games held in Bendigo, Australia
Commonwealth Championships - Dublin Ireland
Team England won these championships with 7
Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze, with Singapore and Malaysia placing 2nd and 3rd
respectively.
Malta placed in a very respective 6th position from16 countries with Sue Abela and Brian Farrugia both placing in 10th position overall.
Brian Farrugia missed a Bronze medal for a mere of 21 pins placing 6th in the men singles event.
| Position | Country | Total Pinfall | Average | Diff |
| 1 | England | 21216 | 221.00 | 0 |
| 2 | Malaysia | 21056 | 219.33 | -160 |
| 3 | Singapore | 20958 | 218.31 | -258 |
| 4 | Canada | 20660 | 215.21 | -556 |
| 5 | Australia | 19870 | 206.98 | -1346 |
| 6 | Malta | 19321 | 201.26 | -1895 |
| 7 | Scotland | 18412 | 191.79 | -2804 |
| 8 | India | 18325 | 190.89 | -2891 |
| 9 | Cyprus | 18178 | 189.35 | -3038 |
| 10 | Northern Ireland | 18178 | 189.35 | -3038 |
| 11 | Wales | 18067 | 188.20 | -3149 |
| 12 | New Zealand | 17643 | 183.78 | -3573 |
| 13 | Guernsey | 17304 | 180.25 | -3912 |
| 14 | Jersey | 16806 | 175.06 | -4410 |
| 15 | Bahamas | 16699 | 173.95 | -4517 |
| 16 | Gibraltar | 15158 | 157.90 | -6058 |
BRIAN VOSS - Coaching Clinic in Malta
Star U.S. tenpin bowler, and also one of the world’s top
rated coaches, Brian Voss, will be in Malta from the 11th to the 18th of
November to hold a coaching clinic
for Malta’s National Squads.
Any other bowlers keen to improve their skills under the guidance of a coach
of such high calibre, will also have the opportunity to attend training
classes with Mr. Voss during his stay here.
The coaching clinic has been organized on the Malta Tenpin Bowling
Association’s initiative, and will be part of a European coaching ‘tour’ of
sorts for Voss, who has held similar activities in various countries across
the continent.
This will be Brian’s first ever visit to Malta, although his reputation
certainly does precede him.
Apart from coaching, Voss has also enjoyed an extremely successful career as
a player, winning his first ever Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tour
title in 1983, and the PBA National Championship in 1988, when he was also
named the PBA Player of the Year. In fact, between 1987 and 1998 Brian
managed an incredible winning streak of at least one PBA title in twelve
consecutive seasons.
More recently, 2008 has seen Voss being inducted into the United States
Bowling Congress (USBC) Hall of Fame on the very first ballot, having
already been a member of the PBA Hall of Fame since 1996.
Although now semi-retired from full-time competition, Brian still bowls in
numerous major events around the world.
His career has also included appearances as an analyst on bowling TV shows,
and he also featured in two major films, Greedy and Kin Pin in which he was
Woody Harrelson’s ‘bowling double’.
He is known worldwide as a colourful and immensely popular character, with a
unique coaching style.
He is also quite an entertainer on the lanes, usually performing an array of
trick-shots to wow his students before or in between their coaching
sessions.
The MTBA have been assisted by the Eden SuperBowl and the InterContinental
Hotel in their efforts to make Mr. Voss’s trip to Malta possible, as well as
constant support from the Malta Olympic Committee.
Any one interested to attend one of his training sessions while in Malta please contact Mark Spiteri.
ECC Duisburg - Germany
Sue Abela and Ray Falzon Reale participated in this year European Championships.
Sue finished in a very respective 10th position with 203ave only 37 pins away from the step ladder final while Ray finished in the 30th position with 186ave.
Both players were accompanied by Rick Vogelsang.
Composite Average 2008
Dear members, updated Composite Average for September 2008.
Female Composite Male Composite
Bangkok, Thailand – Men’s World Championships 2008
Brian Farrugia finishes 7th in Singles Competition
Malta sets two National Records in Team Event
A phenomenal total of 329 top flight bowlers
from no less than 58 countries from all over the world, descended upon the
S.F. Strike Bowl in Bangkok, Thailand at the end of August, for the 2008
edition of the Men’s World Championships. Malta was well represented thanks
to a six-man contingent comprising Kenneth Arpa, Paul Baldacchino, Matthew
Caruana, Justin Caruana Scicluna and Mark Spiteri. 
This latest edition of the MWC drew even more international attention than any previous championships, due to an approval at a recent World Tenpin Bowling Congress that, for the first time, allowed the participation of pro-bowlers, so affiliated with the Professional Bowlers Association. These superstars such as Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes and Patrick Allen are looked up on as the absolute elite of their chosen discipline, but the question was how would they fare in the Far East, in an event renowned for it’s punishing lane conditions, and well away from their ‘comfort zone’, the PBA circuit.
Doubles Event
The Doubles event saw the pairing of Kenneth Arpa and youngster Justin Caruana Scicluna give a sound performance over their six games. They finished 63rd from a total of 162 competing teams, their 2453 total converting to a very good combined 408 game average. Matthew Caruana and Paul Baldacchino placed 133rd, and Mark Spiteri and Brian Farrugia finished just behind them in 136th. The event was won by the PBA outfit of Patrick Allen and Rhino Page of the USA, the two beating Swedish aces Tomas Leandersson and Martin Larsen in a very tight 457 – 452 final.
Trios Event
Malta’s best showing in the Trios event came from the team made up of Mark Spiteri, Justin C. Scicluna and Kenneth Arpa who were seventh in their squad, but placing 33rd from 109 teams in all with a 3548 tally over six (591 game average). Caruana, Baldacchino and Farrugia finished in 91st place overall. The eventual trios champions were a Korean threesome who easily beat a team from Japan in the final (723 – 553).
5-Man Team Event
Baldacchino, Arpa, Farrugia, Caruana Scicluna and Spiteri formed the Maltese 5-Man team for the most anticipated qualifying event of the MWC, which would be played over two 3-game blocks on diverse oil conditions (long and short oil) as had the other team events. Team Malta suffered in the initial block, all five players putting in at least one low game from their series of three, meaning they found themselves in the penultimate position at the half-way stage. Our bowlers were able to analyze and make some sorely needed adjustments to their game overnight, and then came out to give a greatly improved display during the second set. The difference in the team was visible as most individual games started to top the 200 mark, meaning the team managed to keep pace with the big guns over the series, managing to set two new national records with a team series of 3005, and also a final team game of 1035, 60 pins better than the Brazilian team who were competing on the same lanes as Team Malta at that point.
This much better performance saw Malta shoot up the standings, to finish a much more respectable 38th place from 54 teams in all. Malta placed above a good number of larger and more prolific bowling nations in this event, such as Russia, Brazil, Scotland and Kuwait to name just a few. The 5-Man Team final was an absolute thriller between Korea and the mighty USA, tied at 1084 a-piece after ten frames, and going down to a 9&10 frame roll-off between Korea’s Kim Tae-Young and Rhino Page for the USA. A 49 from the American was enough to clinch it against Tae-Young’s 39 effort.
Singles Event
It was in the singles that the Maltese bowlers produced our best result, thanks to Brian Farrugia who was a joy to watch during his six games. Farrugia led his particular squad for much of the series, rolling games of: 199, 222, 223, 236, 198 and 213 for an excellent 1289 total (214.8 ave).
Brian earned a brilliant 7th place for his sterling efforts, from an amazing total of 329 bowlers competing. Mark Spiteri was next best for Malta in 85th place overall, 14th place in his squad. The singles title was won by American Pro Walter Ray Williams Jr. who beat Germany’s Kai Gunther 213 – 198 in the finals.
The American also prevailed in the exciting Masters knock out finals. Williams saw off two-handed Finnish phenomenon Osku Palermaa 3 – 2 in their 5 game semi-final match, while Denmark’s Jesper Agerbo beat Dom Barrett (England) in three straight games in the second encounter. Walter Ray then made short work of the Dane in the Championship final, winning it 256-203, 256-201 and 228-224 to be crowned the new Men’s World Champion.
Team Malta’s participation was supported by GO, Emirates Airlines, the MTBA and the MOC, while regular training facilities for the participants were provided by the Eden Leisure Group at the Eden SuperBowl.
World Men's Championship
Between the 18th August and 3rd September, six of our national squad members, namely, Justin C. Scicluna, Kenneth Arpa, Brian Farrugia, Matthew Caruana, Paul Baldacchino and Mark Spiteri are going to Bangkok, Thailand to participate in the World Men's Championship. The disciplines are Doubles Team, Trios, 5 men Team and Singles.
We wish them luck for this great event.
Follow this link to access the official website
Composite Average 2008
Dear members, updated Composite Average for June 2008.
Female Composite Male Composite
World Youth Festival (Vienna) 2008
Group of seven youths together with Liliana mad it to this year World Youth Festival in Vienna. They spent 4 days in the world of bowling, more than 100 bowlers participated most of them coming from USA.
James Vassallo placed 5th place overall missing the step ladder for only 2 pins, Ryan Grima placed 8th, Matthew Cossai placed 15th and Gabriel Borg 39th. From the Girls division Sabrina D'Emanuele 13th and Christabel Grima 14th. Mikaela Borg placed 6th in her category Under 14.
Well done to all.
Composite Average 2008
Dear members, updated Composite Average for May 2008.
Female Composite Male Composite
National Leagues
Fina First (DIV I), Active (DIV II) are the new MTBA league champions of each respective divisions. DIV III still undergoing. For more information click on the links above.
Composite Average 2008
Dear members, updated Composite Average for April 2008.
Female Composite Male Composite
MCC2008
Sue Abela won Gold in the Woman Singles event in this year MCC 2008 in Chania, Greece. Natassa Rovithaki (Greece) placed 2nd and Daniela Pialino (Italy) placed 3rd.
Tiziana and Sue won Bronze in the Ladies Doubles. Well done girls.
Composite Average 2008
Dear members, you can view an updated Composite Average for Year 2008 by download / view these files.
This update includes all games between 01-01-08 and 31-03-08.
Female Composite Male Composite
AGM 2008
Our annual general meeting was held yesterday 24th February 2008. Three new members joined the committee, Sue Abela, Rick Vogelsang and Sammy Borg. New assignments will be assigned this Wednesday during our 1st Committee meeting.
We would like also to thank Tiziana Carannante and Philippe Vancelle for their contribution towards the committee for the outgoing legislature.
XI Mediterranean Championship
Sue Abela, Tiziana Carannante, Dennis Mercieca and Paul Baldacchino are the four Maltese bowlers which are going to represent our island in this year 11th Mediterranean Championship.
10 nations are taking part in this year championships to be held in Shania, Greece, all of them represented with their top level bowlers.
From here we wish our squad the best of luck. Keep our small nation proud.
Sportivi Nazzjonali 2007
Sue Abela and Mark Spiteri have made it to the finals of this year "Ghazliet Sportivi Nazzjonali" for their performance during 2007. Both of them showed their best during their National and International competitions. We wish them good luck to win this prestigious honor.
Composite Average 2007
Dear members you can view the Composite Average for Year 2007 by download / view these files. Sue Abela and Mark Spiteri end up this year in the 1st position respectively. Female Composite Male Composite
2008 National Leagues
Leagues will start 2nd week of January. Download application. Closing registration date 3rd January 2008.
MOC Sports Awards
Gold for Mark in this year MOC 2007 Sports Awards.
Mark Spiteri has qualified for this year (2007) MOC annual sports awards. These are his achievements:
Mark
performed extremely well throughout these
Championships, winning the Masters’ Event and being
declared Mediterranean Champion for 2007,
beating the French National Champion, Emmanuel
Michaud, in the final. He also helped Team Malta win
a Silver medal in the team event. In the First European Sports Games which were held in Kiev, Ukraine, forty two different sports from 15 countries were on the programme of these games. In Tenpin Bowling nine (mostly elite) countries took part namely Germany, England, Ukraine, Belgium, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia and Malta.
In Kiev, Mark had another great performance playing his best to end up in the first position until the final day. During the final, Mark won the first game against Ukraine National Champion Andriy Vazhentsev but lost his second game, losing only by thirteen pins overall to win the Silver Medal. He is currently the record holder of these games with the highest game, highest six-game series and highest 12-game series.
Mark is a member of Fina First team, who are currently National Champions of the First Division.
He has been involved in Tenpin Bowling since 1995, is 42 years old from B’Kara and living in Xemxija.
National Leagues
Fina First (DIV I), Inlusion (DIV II), Wasadol (DIV IIIA) and BOV (DIV IIIB) are the new MTBA league champions of each respective divisions.
Bowling World Cup
Sue Abela finished in 13th place while Kenneth Arpa finished 45th place in this year World Cup tournament.
National Championship 2007
Sue Abela and Ray Falzon Reale are the new National Champions.
While Sue retained her title for the third consecutive year, Ray Falzon Reale won his title for the first time. Both of them had to battle until last shot against the youth bowler Tiziana Carannate and Mark Spiteri respectively.
Maltese Adventure in the First European Sport Games July 2007
Maltese bowlers Sue Abela and Mark Spiteri where among the medalists in these First European Sport Games held in Kiev Ukraine.
Both bowlers performed to their best for winning Bronze and Silver respectively.
Again Maltese Tenpin Bowlers showed their credibility when competing at the highest level in the sport.
New National Leagues
The new Leagues will start as follows:
5th July 2007 DIV I 4thy July 2007 DIV II 9th July 2007 DIV III 10th July 2007 DIV IV
Please take a note of the new league setup.
Download application form
X Mediterranean Championship
Ounce again Team Malta performed very well in this year X Mediterranean Challenge Cup.
Sue Abela placed second in the Masters and finished to win 4 other Silver medals.
Mark Spiteri won the Masters for his first time and declared Mediterranean Champion plus Silver in the Team Event.
Ladies Double composed of Joanna Attard and Sue Abela placed second.
Team Malta composed from Joanna, Sue, Brian and Mark won Silver by placing second in the Team Event.
Prosit Team Malta
Gold Cup 2007
Josephine Borg and Justin Caruana Scicluna won the qualification tournament for this year 31st European Gold Cup to be held in Paphos, Cyprus.
Well done and good luck.
X Mediterranean Championship
Monday 26th April our team made off Sue, Joanna, Mark and Brian plus all the squad will start their journey to Mersin Turkey for this year championship.
11 countries are taking part with all Nations presenting their best level of bowlers.
From here we wish our squad the best of luck. Keep our small nation proud.
AGM 2007
Our annual general meeting was held yesterday 18th February 2007. Two new members joined the committee, Tiziana Carrannante and Shaun Bugeja. From here we wish them good luck and big thanks for their support towards the association.
X Mediterranean Challenge Cup
Sue Abela, Joanna Attard, Mark Spiteri and Brian Farrugia are going to represent our island in this year X Mediterranean Challenge Cup which is going to be held in Mersin, Turkey. All four bowlers won their place after they played a qualification tournament during the past two weekends.
We wish them good luck and keep Malta proud.
Fina First Champions
Fina
First yesterday won a crucial match against Aercomms to win
again
another tile in their history. Fina First and Aercomms were from
day 1 on the run to catch another title but Fina First were the last team to
smile when they defeated Aercomms 6 - 2 in the position night.
League updates and final results:
Fina First Champions DIV I
Fireballs Champions DIV II
Saddles Malta Champions DIV III
New National Leagues
The new Leagues will start as follows:
11th January DIV I 10th January DIV II 15th January DIV III 16th January DIV IV
Please take a note of the new league setup.
Download application form
MOC Sports Awards
For the second consecutive time 3 players from MTBA National Squad were chosen for the MOC Sports Awards 2006. All athletes were analyzed for their performance during October 2005 and September 2006.
Lorraine Casha won Bronze medal while Brian Farrugia and Ray Falzon Reale won Silver medals.
Ray Falzon Reale
Ray (Mundu) won the second Cockatoos Pafos Open
2006. He played very consistently from day
one, 198 ave in stage one, 198ave, 202ave, 217ave and 202ave in the
following stages respectively, finishing 2nd overall.
In step ladder final he played against Gal P Shemer and won with 192 vs 151.
In the finals he won twice against Or Oviram 408 vs 333 to be declared as the 2nd Cockatoos champion.
WELL DONE RAY
World Youth Championships 2006 in Berlin Germany
Four youths mainly Justin C. Scicluna, Rankin L. Camilleri, Mauro Anastasi and Matthew Caruana, are going to participate in this prestigious event in Berlin between the 22nd and 29th of July. 46 countries are going to participate. Sue Abela to accompany our squad.
Wish you good luck and good bowling.
III Commonwealth Games Melbourne Australia
At
the ongoing Commonwealth Championships in Melbourne, Malta has already
featured among the medal winners after an excellent second placing by Sue
Abela and Melissa Anastasi in the ladies doubles.
Malta's participation commenced with the ladies singles in which Abela
placed ninth from 32 bowlers, racking up a 1,175 total over six games.
Anastasi finished 12th on 1,144.
In the male singles, the Maltese duo of Ray Falzon Reale (1,140) and Brian
Farrugia (1,103) classified 13th and 18th respectively.
While Falzon Reale and Farrugia struggled in the doubles, placing 15th,
Abela and Anastasi shone in the ladies division, shooting an excellent 2,349
total from their six games to clinch second place. The Maltese pair were
deprived of gold by just 70 pins, the top spot going to the English pairing
of Fiona Banks and Katey Jowsey. Australians Ann-Maree Putney and Tracey
Madden were third.
In the mixed doubles, Malta's best position was achieved by the pairing of
Farrugia and Abela who placed a respectable 12th with a 2,307 tally. The
second Maltese team of Falzon Reale and Anastasi also totalled 2,307, as did
the Wales 2 team, but the Championship rules for tie-breaks placed Falzon
Reale/Anastasi in 13th place, and the Welsh in 14th.
In the team event Malta placed in 4th position after a good struggle between
the top four teams. Our team failed to clinch a medal by just 39 pins. First
placed Canada, 2nd Australia and 3rd England.
This morning the Masters event started. In the ladies section Melissa is in
the 10th place and Sue 11th place. Still 6 games to be played and everything
can happen since the gap between the 3rd and 12th place is only 130 pins.
In the men section Ray Falzon Reale after 6 games is in 3rd position with a
good chance to make the cut with the top 3. We will await for tomorrow six
games on long oil to know our faith.
Aercomms Winter Champions
Aercomms were crowned the Middlesea Valletta Life National League Champions for the Winter season. This is the third time that they won DIV I.
The other three divisions were won as follows:
HSBC DIV II Touch of Class DIV III Hi We're Here DIV IV
Gold Cup 2006
This year tournament was one of the best for our representatives especially for our male bowler who ended up for the first time winning Gold in the men individual competition. More information from Tournaments section.
Medi Cup 2006
Our team is once again Champion of his region, the Mediterranean.
Go to Tournaments section to see all results.
New sponsorship from Teamsport
The Teamsport franchise which one can find at Iklin, Sliema and Fgura has just sponsored MTBA with a new gear for our National Squad.
From here we thank this company for their support towards our association and even more towards the sports itself.
Gold Cup Qualification Tournament
The tournament is programmed to be played in March (12, 19, 26, 31). Go to Tournaments section for more information.
Medicup Qualification Tournament
Go to Tournaments section to see the results.
Mediterranean Cup this year is going to be held at San Marino. 18 games are going to be played as a qualification this February. The first two competitors from both sections will represent Malta in March this year. Download application form.
Annual General Meeting 2006
The AGM is going to be held as usual on the 19th of February 2006 @ 10:00am.
You can download the AGM letter and Nomination Form from Downloads Section.
Fina First Champions
Fina First yesterday won again, after an absence of 4 seasons, the DIV I National League after beating Aercomms 6 - 2. It was a very easy run for them at the beginning of the season but after loosing an advantage of more than 20 points, it was looking difficult for them to win again the league. But yesterday, 15th December 2005, they woke up for the occasion and won their last direct clash. Fina Excel finished 3rd.
The other three divisions were won as follows:
Royal Shock DIV II N.I.N.E. DIV III The Clan DIV IV
Go to league results to see results in full.
Next leagues will start again 1st week of January 2006.
MOC Sports Awards 2005
This year for the first time two MTBA athletes where chosen for the MOC Sports Awards finals. Kenneth Arpa and Mark Spiteri were judged for their performance during Year 2005. They were mainly judged for their performance during the Mediterranean Cup held this April 2005.
Kenneth obtained the Silver award while Mark took the Bronze award.
Since today another MTBA athlete, Melissa Anastasi took the Bronze Award in 2004.
Yesterday the Under 16 category came to its end (see Tournaments web page for more details). The Under 23 will commence this Thursday with the Top 8 of each category competing for the final stage played exactly after playing another four games to determine who will participate in the step ladder.
Lorraine finished 22nd in this year's tournament. It was a very good positive participation from our young bowler moreover that this was her first experience. Congratulations.
Lorraine placed 24th with 190 average giving her the pass to the next cut. Well done Lorraine and good luck for the next step.
Lorraine with team manager Leli
World Cup 2005 in Slovenia
Our team composed from Lorraine Casha and Kenneth Arpa with team manager Leli Baldacchino started already their adventure in Ljubliana. Competition already started and both players are doing fine especially Lorraine.
2005 National Intermediate and Under 16 Championships
The Championships this year are going to take place at the Eden Super Bowl on the 20th November, 27th November and 4th December. You can download the application Form from here. Good luck to all participants.
Malta Seniors Open
Maltese bowlers did very well in this year's tournament. Best of all was Doris Camilleri. She end up 5th in the ladies section. Congratulations.
New MTBA Logo
The committee, after a request from our President Mr. Julian Pace Bonello, to change MTBA logo, even to commemorate the 30 years of our association, decided to change the logo. As from today, 7th October 2005 this new logo is going to be used.
Miss Lorraine Casha
Miss Lorraine Casha has resigned from the committee for personal reasons. We wish her good luck for the future.
Malta Open 2005
Maltese bowlers are doing well in this year's competition. Whilst more squads still has to complete their 12 games looks like that this year we will have more bowlers doing the way to top 36 men and top 18 ladies.
MTBA Membership Form
All those bowlers who are not members within the association and wants to become a MTBA member has to pay a membership fee. Download application here MTBA membership and become a member today.
Mr.Pierre German
Mr. Pierre German has resigned from the committee and now even as a National Youth coach. We wish him good luck for his future and big thanks for all his dedication towards MTBA.
Gold Cup 2005 Italy
Third Place for Maltese Team winning the Bronze Medal
Vicky Camilleri finished 8th place overall (Ladies Section)
Rankin Camilleri finished 18th (Men Section)
For more updated news http://www.goldcupitaly.it/
Viking International 2005
Between the 11th and 18th of May 2005, three of our bowlers, Anthony Paris, Ray Falzon Reale and Mark Spiteri made it to the Viking International tournament played in Aarhus in Denmark. In this tournament 5 different countries were represented, Malta, Norway, Germany, Sweeden and Denmark. A Total of 235 players participated in this tournament.
Our bowlers did their best to make the best results possible in their level. The best result was obtained from Mark Spiteri playing a high series of 1361 (227ave) over 6 games. His mission ended up in the semi finals of this tournament playing an overall average of 209 over 20 games. Ray did quite well playing a series of 1273 (212ave) over 6 games and Anthony 1075 (179ave) over 6 games. For more information click www.bk-viking.dk
The high level of this tournament was unbelievable. But the most impressive for sure was the high level scores obtained from the youths of these countries. The winner was Thomas Larsen from Denmark, nearly 16 years of age obtaining an incredible 229ave over 34 games.
Leli Baldacchino
Leli is our new MTBA Treasurer. His new responsibility is with immediate effect from the 27th of April 2005. This comes after the resignation of former treasurer Mr. Pierre German. While we all give big thanks to Pierre for his work done towards MTBA, we all give our "Awguri" to Leli for his new assignment.
Julian Pace Bonello
Our President, Mr. Julian Pace
Bonello was confirmed for another two
year
s
as president of the Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Federation. The Congress was
attended by all sixteen Commonwealth nations that were present in Paphos,
Cyprus for the II Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships: Australia,
Bahamas, Canada, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, India, Malaysia,
Malta, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore and Wales.
Julian Pace Bonello has held this Post since the CTBF was created in 2002
and was previously the Chairperson for the Commonwealth Affairs Committee of
the World Tenpin Bowling Association.
The main aim of the CTBF is to get Tenpin Bowling re-introduced as a Sport
within the Official Program of the Commonwealth Games.
Read Julian Pace Bonello profile
Composite Average For Year 2005
Composite Average for year 2005 is calculated on all Leagues and Competitions played in Malta which where sanctioned by MTBA during Year 2004. Attached are all results defined by Total Games played.
Giancarlo Tolu
One of our members, Giancarlo Tolu, successfully broke the previous world record for endurance bowling. For more information please follow this link G Tolu