The exciting, best-of-three Men’s and Women’s stepladder finals produced a thrilling climax to the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship when England’s Darren Cundy rolled the only perfect (300) game of the Championship.

Bowlers from Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Cyprus, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, India, Jersey, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Wales, and the host country Northern Ireland have competed this week in individual and mixed Singles, Doubles and Team events for Commonwealth Games Federation accredited Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

Having secured the right to contest the grand final by finishing in the top 3 of the round-robin matchplay completed earlier today, four bowlers from Singapore, Canada and England took to the lanes this evening to determine who would challenge the top seeds from England and Malaysia for the coveted Masters title. 

In Game 1 of the semi-final, Singapore’s Jazreel Tan outclassed Jo Allesbrook 258-225, while England team-mate Paul Moor carded 235 against Canada’s Joe Ciach on 217.  Open frames in the second and third spelt disaster for Ciach, with Moor advancing to an all-England final stepladder match with a second game score of 225-160.   

On adjoining lanes, Jazreel Tan faltered with an open frame in the fourth, while Jo Allesbrook struck out from the seventh frame to score a 228-206 win, taking the match to a third deciding game.   Tan defeated Allesbrook 209-197 and then faced top-seed Sin Li Jane from Malaysia for the final match.

Championship rules allow the top seed of the stepladder grand final to choose their preferred lane condition for the first game of each match.   Both Derbyshire bowler, Darren Cundy and Malaysian Sin Li Jane chose Long oil condition in what unfolded as full three-game final matches in both divisions.

Top seed Sin Li Jane convincingly defeated Jazreel Tan 258-188 in the first game, but the Singaporean responded with a 269-211 in the second, while Paul Moor won the first game of the Men’s division 216-189.  Darren Cundy’s stunning 300 game caused an excited uproar with spectators and put paid to Moor’s hope clinching the title in two games, but Moor’s 258-198 win in the third sealed it for Moor.   At the same time, 16 year-old Sin Li Jane struck Gold with a 202-156 over Jazreel Tan in their third game.

The CTBF Triple Diamond Perpetual Trophy, representing the three international zones of the sport of bowling, will be awarded to the country that accumulated the highest aggregate pinfall by all team members over 24 games - Team England – at a glamorous Victory Banquet, being held tonight at Belfast’s Holiday Inn.

Masters Stepladder Final Results - Female - Click Here
Masters Stepladder Final Results - Male - Click Here

Kegel representative Ross Gibson prepared the lanes at Dundonald International Ice Bowl early this morning with a Long Oil condition in readiness for the final day of matchplay in the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships. 

With pinfall carried over from yesterday’s 6-games, the ladies final block commenced at 9am and at the half-way point Malaysia’s Sin Li Jane took the lead by a slim 4 pin margin from dual Gold medallist, Jo Allsebrook, with Canadian Jo-Ann Sanesac third, a mere 2 pins ahead of England’s Zara Glover.

Games 4, 5 and 6 saw Sin Li Jane extend her lead to finish on 2697, 43 pins clear of Allsebrook, and while the pressure showed in her final ball, Singapore’s Jazreel Tan claimed her place in this afternoon’s stepladder final with 2637, ousting Zara Glover by 8 pins.

In the first game of the Men’s matchplay, Canada’s Mark Buffa moved into top place with a 255 game, and England’s Darren Cundy threw a 268 to overtake overnight leader, Paul Moor.    Teams gold-medallist Cundy then followed with lines of 280 and 278 to card a stunning 826 for his first three games and move to a comfortable 85-pin lead. 

In the final three, 32 year-old Cundy extended his lead to finish on 2905 with a final flourish of 290, securing top seed ranking for the stepladder final, 152 pins ahead of Canada’s Joe Ciach.  Ciach outclassed Cundy’s team-mate, Paul Moor by just 4 pins going into this afternoon’s best-of-three stepladder grand final.

Championship rules allow the top seed for both matches of the stepladder grand final to choose their preferred lane condition for the first game of each best-of-three match.

The televised stepladder finals for both men’s and women’s division will be played simultaneously, commencing at 4pm local time.

To view the final standings in the female section: Click Here
To view the final standings in the male section: Click Here

Women’s Doubles and Teams Bronze medallist, Jo-Ann Sanesac from Canada took an early lead with a 238 in the first game of the initial 6-game block of the Women’s Masters at Dundonald International IceBowl in Belfast this afternoon. 

England’s Jo Allsebrook responded with a 298 in the second to overtake the young Canadian by 63 pins going into the third game, with Malta’s Sue Abela in third position, ahead of Singles gold-medallist Sin Li Jane from Malaysia.

All Events leader and dual-gold medallist, Zara Glover then made a charge for the lead, overtaking Sanesac by 7 pins, with Abela just 4 pins behind at the half-way point, but Sanesac charged back into the lead with a 255 in Game 5, ahead of Allsebrook and Glover, but faded in the final game to finish third overall.

Team England’s duo of Jo Allsebrook and Zara Glover are almost neck and neck going into tomorrow’s final 6-game block on 1410 and 1403 respectively.

Today’s 6-game block in both Men’s and Women’s division of the elite Masters event was played on Short oil condition and the final block of both divisions will revert to Long oil tomorrow.

On completion of the 12 games of play in the Masters, the field will be cut to top three in both Men’s and Women’s divisions, with televised stepladder grand finals scheduled to commence at 3.30 pm.    

Media interest in this exciting international Championship has been exceptional, with coverage via the sport’s major websites, Northern Ireland press, radio and television, and a highlights segment scheduled on the internationally televised Trans World Sport program.

To view the standings after 6 games in the female section: Click Here

Today’s 6-game block is played on Short oil condition and the final block of 6 in the Men’s division will commence at 12.30 Saturday.  The top 12 ladies, based on All-Events results, will also play their first 6-game block starting at 1.30 pm today. 

The Masters event is based on total pinfall, from scratch using a round-robin format, but with no bonus points.  Following tomorrow’s 6-game block on Long oil, the field will be cut to top three in both divisions, with a televised stepladder final scheduled to commence at 3.30 pm.    

Media interest in this exciting international Championship has been exceptional, with coverage via the sport’s major websites, Northern Ireland press, radio and television, and a highlights segment scheduled on the internationally televised Trans World Sport program.

To view the standings after 6 games in the male section: Click Here

Malaysia’s Syafiq Ridhwan matched Glover’s 279 in the second game, also breaking the 1-game record held by Canada’s George Lambert as the Malaysian team leapfrogged from fifth into second position going into the third game.  England maintained its lead with by a slim margin, and Singapore overtook India into third place at that point.

In the third game before the lunch break, the Malaysia quartet shot to the lead with a 945 score, 80 pins ahead of England, with Singapore a further 48 pins behind.  Canada and India trailed by just 92 and 125 respectively. 

A highlight for the India team this morning was Dilbir Singh’s 279 game, equalling the Championship record set in the previous game by Syafiq Ridhwan.  25 year-old Dilbir, who hails from Kolkatta, told reporters of his strong desire to win a medal for India and this record demonstrates his determination to achieve that goal.

Official medal presentations for yesterday’s Mixed Doubles were made during the lane re-oiling and when play resumed the Long Oil condition had been laid for this afternoon’s final three games in the Teams event.

England narrowed the gap to leaders Malaysia to just 58 pins following Game 4 and in Game 5 they regained the lead by an 86-pin margin, with Canada and Singapore in hot pursuit. 

The final game for today’s Teams event was a thrilling and noisy finale to this popular event.  Team England survived a determined finish by Malaysia to add a further Gold to its tally, while Malaysia collected the Silver and Canada held on tenaciously to take the Bronze.  England’s Darren Cundy threw a final 279 game, so the record book was again re-written to include the 32 year-old Englishman from Derbyshire with today’s other record-breakers.

The High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Margaret McKenzie and NITBF President, Billy Beattie presented the medals and magnificent glass bowling pins to the winning teams in a ceremony held on the lanes immediately following the end of play this evening.

“We are so proud to be hosting this event in Belfast – it’s a great honour,” said Cr. McKenzie, commenting afterwards on the Support for Sport scheme initiated by the Belfast City Council in 2001.

Pictured (L-R): Dilbir Singh (India), Syafiq Ridhwan (Malaysia), Darren Cundy (England), Zara Glover (England)

Pictured L-R: Malaysia (Silver), England (Gold), Canada (Bronze)

To view the final standings : Click Here

Set the goal of a 440-plus game to snatch Gold going into the final game of today’s Mixed Doubles, Singapore pair Jazreel Tan and Remy Ong rose to the challenge, eclipsing the 2766 mark set by Malaysian duo Sin Li Jane and Muhd Nur Aiman in today’s first block by 12 pins. 

This morning’s matches at Dundonald International Ice Bowl had produced a heart-stopping finish, with three countries – Singapore, Canada and Australia – finishing within 4 pins of each other, 162, 165 and 166 respectively behind the leading Malaysian pair. 

Highlight of the second squad this afternoon was the record-breaking 557 shot in Game 4 when Singapore’s Jazreel Tan came within a 10-pin of the Championship’s first perfect game.  Tan’s mixed doubles partner, Remy Ong contributed a 268 game to blitz the 1-game Mixed Doubles record of 518 previously set in Cyprus.

“The pair of lanes we shot 550-plus was ‘wow’, but then Jazzy had some trouble on the next pair so we just tried to help each other,” said Ong afterwards.  “Remy helped keep me calm, and encouraged me,” added Tan who has now bagged a Gold and two Silver medals in the three events in which she has competed so far at the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships in Belfast.

Today’s result has added a Silver to the medal haul of Malaysia’s Sin Li Jane and Muhd Nur Aiman, with compatriots Syakirah Yeoh and Syafiq Ridhwan finishing a further 100 pins behind to claim the Bronze.

All-Event honours are held by England’s Zara Glover with a 4064 score over three events, and Muhd Nur Aiman from Malaysia with a stunning 4324 total to date.

Malaysia’s Syafiq Ridhwan matched Glover’s 279 in the second game, also breaking the 1-game record held by Canada’s George Lambert as the Malaysian team leapfrogged from fifth into second position going into the third game.  England maintained its lead with by a slim margin, and Singapore overtook India into third place at that point.

In the third game before the lunch break, the Malaysia quartet shot to the lead with a 945 score, 80 pins ahead of England, with Singapore a further 48 pins behind.  Canada and India trailed by just 92 and 125 respectively. 

A highlight for the India team this morning was Dilbir Singh’s 279 game, equalling the Championship record set in the previous game by Syafiq Ridhwan.  25 year-old Dilbir, who hails from Kolkatta, told reporters of his strong desire to win a medal for India and this record demonstrates his determination to achieve that goal.

Official medal presentations for yesterday’s Mixed Doubles were made during the lane re-oiling and when play resumed the Long Oil condition had been laid for this afternoon’s final three games in the Teams event.

England narrowed the gap to leaders Malaysia to just 58 pins following Game 4 and in Game 5 they regained the lead by an 86-pin margin, with Canada and Singapore in hot pursuit. 

The final game for today’s Teams event was a thrilling and noisy finale to this popular event.  Team England survived a determined finish by Malaysia to add a further Gold to its tally, while Malaysia collected the Silver and Canada held on tenaciously to take the Bronze.  England’s Darren Cundy threw a final 279 game, so the record book was again re-written to include the 32 year-old Englishman from Derbyshire with today’s other record-breakers.

The High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Margaret McKenzie and NITBF President, Billy Beattie presented the medals and magnificent glass bowling pins to the winning teams in a ceremony held on the lanes immediately following the end of play this evening.

“We are so proud to be hosting this event in Belfast – it’s a great honour,” said Cr. McKenzie, commenting afterwards on the Support for Sport scheme initiated by the Belfast City Council in 2001.

Pictured (L-R): Dilbir Singh (India), Syafiq Ridhwan (Malaysia), Darren Cundy (England), Zara Glover (England)

Pictured L-R: Malaysia (Silver), England (Gold), Canada (Bronze)

To view the final standings : Click Here

Set the goal of a 440-plus game to snatch Gold going into the final game of today’s Mixed Doubles, Singapore pair Jazreel Tan and Remy Ong rose to the challenge, eclipsing the 2766 mark set by Malaysian duo Sin Li Jane and Muhd Nur Aiman in today’s first block by 12 pins. 

This morning’s matches at Dundonald International Ice Bowl had produced a heart-stopping finish, with three countries – Singapore, Canada and Australia – finishing within 4 pins of each other, 162, 165 and 166 respectively behind the leading Malaysian pair. 

Highlight of the second squad this afternoon was the record-breaking 557 shot in Game 4 when Singapore’s Jazreel Tan came within a 10-pin of the Championship’s first perfect game.  Tan’s mixed doubles partner, Remy Ong contributed a 268 game to blitz the 1-game Mixed Doubles record of 518 previously set in Cyprus.

“The pair of lanes we shot 550-plus was ‘wow’, but then Jazzy had some trouble on the next pair so we just tried to help each other,” said Ong afterwards.  “Remy helped keep me calm, and encouraged me,” added Tan who has now bagged a Gold and two Silver medals in the three events in which she has competed so far at the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships in Belfast.

Today’s result has added a Silver to the medal haul of Malaysia’s Sin Li Jane and Muhd Nur Aiman, with compatriots Syakirah Yeoh and Syafiq Ridhwan finishing a further 100 pins behind to claim the Bronze.

All-Event honours are held by England’s Zara Glover with a 4064 score over three events, and Muhd Nur Aiman from Malaysia with a stunning 4324 total to date.

Pictured L-R: Shaun Ng & Remy Ong (Singapore)

Paul Moor’s high game of 288 in Game 1 of the Men’s Doubles set the pace for what looked like a re-play of the Ladies Doubles earlier in the day, when the England pair of Zara Glover and Jo Allsebrook seized the first Gold for England in the Commonwealth Championship now underway in Belfast.

Moor and doubles partner Darren Cundy maintained the lead until half-way through this afternoon’s 6-game block, when Canadians Joe Ciach and Mark Buffa shot to the lead with lines of 226 and 247 in the fourth.  Singapore’s Remy Ong and Shaun Ng also overtook the England duo with 257 and 249 games respectively, and kept the pressure on with 243 and 223 games to claim the overall lead in the fifth game.

Going into the final game of the match, the Singapore pair were 50 pins ahead of England, with Canada a mere 9 pins behind, but a strong finish by Malaysian pair Muhd Nur Aiman and Syafiq Ridhwan enabled the young Malaysian bowlers to claim Bronze, while Singapore struck Gold for the first time in this Championship with a combined average of 227.50.

Two more Championship records were shattered, with Singapore assuming the new mark of 2730 for 6 games in Men’s Doubles, while England took some comfort from missing Gold by setting a 511 record for one game in this event.      

Reflecting the overriding philosophies of the Commonwealth Championships – friendliness, competition and equity – Remy Ong and Shaun Ng were in agreement that this tournament stands out in international competition.  “The Commonwealth Championship is a good mixture,” Ong explained.  “Many of the stronger countries come for the competition and hopefully the other countries can learn from this experience to take home and upgrade themselves … I believe everyone is here to help - we really want to share our experience and it’s very important that we do this,” he added.

Records tumbled again this morning at the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship in Dundonald International IceBowl, with England’s duo of Zara Glover and Jo Allsebrook dominating the Ladies Doubles event. 

A hectic tournament schedule that’s seen Glover jet-setting between Germany, Mexico and across to Northern Ireland in less than a month hasn’t fazed the cheerful 26 year-old, who blitzed the lanes in Belfast this morning with lines of 280, 258, 243, 237, 244 and 236.  In less than 3 hours, she eclipsed both the single game and series records previously established by Malaysia’s Choy Poh Lai and Australia’s Ann-Maree Putney in Scotland in 2002.

“Both Jo and I are more confident on the Short oil…we both throw it pretty hard, so it helps,” said Glover.   In her first CTBC appearance, Glover’s Doubles partner Jo Allsebrook was delighted with their Gold medal win, after coming close to medalling with a 4th in All Events at the World Youth Championships in Orlando.   Their combined pinfall of 2779 this morning resulted in a stunning 231.58 average.

Singapore pair Jennifer Tan and Jazreel Tan matched Jazreel’s Silver medal performance in yesterday’s Singles event with a combined average of 214.08, just 48 pins ahead of Canadian pair Jo-Ann Sanesac and Julie Johson-Loyer.  The Northern Ireland duo of Karen Payne and Lynda Black-Watson bowled strongly throughout the match but were pipped to the Bronze by the Canadian pair. 

To view the final standings: Click here

Malaysia’s Muhd Nur Aimen led throughout the entire six games of the Men’s Singles event this morning, shooting an average of 256.50 to convincingly secure the first Gold medal at the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship currently underway in Belfast.

“He’s been coming up very well this year,” said pleased MTBC official, Sidney Tung.   20 year-old Aimen’s stellar performance today follows recent Gold-medal achievements in both the Teams events at the Asian Zone Championships in Hong Kong, and the World Youth Championships held in Orlando, USA in July.

Half way through the block, Charis Panayiotou from Cyprus and Billy Nimick from host Federation, Northern Ireland were in strong medal contention, but a strong finish by Australia’s Glen Loader and Mark Buffa from Canada secured the Silver and Bronze medals respectively.    Loader shot 279 and 278 in games 5 and 6 finishing 137 pins behind the winner, and Buffa also came close to the elusive perfect game, shooting 279 in his final game of the match, to finish just 7 pins behind Loader.

Bowlers, officials and supporters from 16 Commonwealth countries were welcomed to Belfast at Sunday evening’s official Opening of the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship by the Mayor of Castlereagh, Cr. Ann-Marie Beattie and the High Sheriff of Belfast, Cr. Margaret McKenzie.

The Championship is a highlight on the international calendar of the sport of Tenpin Bowling.  Held biennially, it has previously been staged in Scotland, Cyprus and Australia, and this year the Northern Ireland Tenpin Bowling Federation is hosting the event at Dundonald International Ice Bowl, Castlereagh.

National and international dignitaries attended the Opening, including the Chairman of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Association, Mr. Robert McVeigh, Secretary-General of the sport’s international governing body, FIQ – Mr. Addie Ophelders, consular officials from several of the participating countries, University of Ulster’s Sports Development Manager, Alison Moffitt, the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Julian Pace-Bonello from Malta and members of the CTBF Executive Committee from England, Malaysia and Australia.   They were treated to a colourful march past of teams competing in this year’s event, and an entertaining display of Irish folk dancing and music.

“My Council is immensely proud of our bowling facility, and we are extremely delighted that once again you have chosen this venue to hold such a prestigious event,” said Mayor Beattie prior to declaring the Championship officially open.  Following the ceremony, participants and guests were led by a Piper to a Welcome Reception hosted by Castlereagh Borough Council, and enjoyed further entertainment by a lively Jazz band.

Dundonald International Ice Bowl and Castlereagh Borough Council, together with Belfast City Council, Sport Northern Ireland, the British Tenpin Bowling Association, QubicaAMF, Holiday Inn Belfast, Discover Ireland and FonaCab, are sponsoring the event.

Spectators will be welcome during the week of the Championship, with play commencing at 10am daily from Monday 24 November – admission to the venue is free.