Throughout the Olympics, Page 2 writers (on ESPN.com) will argue the merits of including various sports in the Games. To qualify as an Olympic sport, an activity must be "widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents," according to Olympics officials. In other words, participation matters. So you'd think the sport with the second-highest rate of participation in the world would be a shoo-in for Olympic medal recognition, right? Nope. Bowling, which is practiced by over 100 million people in over 100 countries, has never gained official Olympic sanction. That needs to change…
PDM Sports, organizer of the annual World Sports Festival in Austria, received one of the top honors in the 12th Austrian Event Award 2008 conducted in Salzburg, Austria. 106 projects were targeting for the golden award in 10 different categories. The jury awarded the "Events Oscar" to PDM Sports and the World Sports Festival in the category "Public Events Sport". The 2009 World Sports Festival will run from July 9-12 with the tenpin bowling events being contested once again at Brunswick Bowling Hernals in Vienna, Austria.
At the fourth Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Federation's (CTBF) Congress held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Julian Pace Bonello, president of the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association, was confirmed as head of the CTBF for another four-year term. The congress was attended by all Commonwealth nations that were present in Northern Ireland for the IV Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships, namely Australia, Bahamas, Canada, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, India, Malaysia, Malta, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore and Wales.
The World Tenpin Bowling Association has announced the dates and venues for the 2010 Men's World Championships and the 2011 Women's World Championships. The best male bowlers in the world will meet from August 11 through 22, 2010, at DreamBowl Palace in Munich, Germany. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will host the third Women's Worlds from August 31 through September 11, 2011. In conjunction with the WWC 2011 the FIQ and WTBA Congresses will be held. 
The guy to talk to, I was told, is "the kingpin of bowling."
Bowlingdigital was informed that two-time PBA player of the year Amleto Monacelli (pictured left), an 18-time PBA champion and the first non U.S. player, who was elected into the PBA Hall of Fame (1997), is not welcome in his country's national team. Monacelli's offer to qualify for the national team for the 2008 Men's World Championships in Thailand was declined. Despite Monacelli's support from the entire men's national team the officials of the Venezuelan Bowling Federation denied Monacelli's bid as "he has not participated in four national tournaments as requested by the VBF".
After a year when she won titles in four countries, Team USA's Diandra Asbaty (l.) has been named the 2007 World Bowling Writers Female Bowler of the Year. High Roller champion Jason Belmonte (r.) of Australia was selected as the Bowler of the Year among men. Former Denny's PBA Tour exempt player Tore Torgersen of Norway and 3-time world champion Zara Glover of England were both selected to join the WBW Hall of Fame. 
Each year, Bowlingdigital publishes an annual review covering the notable events of the previous year. This year we have added the best news stories, feature articles, columns, research stories and videos. You will find the top 10 or 12 in each category as we have tried to pick one per month which was almost impossible as some dates clash with other events and we still can't get information from all events. Select a topic and begin browsing these articles by clicking on it. 
Jessie Phua (left), Singapore, who was elected President of the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs several months ago, has announced that she has appointed European Tenpin Bowling Federation president Adolf Ophelders (right), Netherlands, as the new Secretary General of the FIQ. As far as we know this marks the first time that a President of one of the WTBA zones becomes the chief administrative officer of the FIQ President. 
For the second consecutive time, an immediate past president of the World Tenpin Bowling Association has contested the results of an election. Finland's Heikki Sarso (pictured left) submitted an appeal to the WTBA Presidium at this week's meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, asking the WTBA to investigate whether current president Kevin Dornberger violated WTBA statutes in seeking the endorsement of Brunswick. The appeal was quickly denied by the Presidium.
Jessie Phua of Singapore was elected president of the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs on Thursday at the FIQ Congress in Monterrey, Mexico. Phua, who is the president of the Singapore Bowling Federation, defeated incumbent FIQ president Steve Hontiveros of the Philippines, 97-74, to become the first female FIQ president in the history of this organization for the next four years. The picture shows Phua with newly elected WTBA president Kevin Dornberger, United States. 
Kevin Dornberger (center) of the United States was elected president of the World Tenpin Bowling Association on Wednesday, while the WTBA also voted to allow professionals to compete in international events, a move that bolsters the sport's bid for inclusion into the Olympic Games. Dornberger, who is the chief operating officer of the United States Bowling Congress, defeated incumbent WTBA president Heikki Sarso of Finland, 53-34, in a vote by the WTBA Congress as the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monterrey, Mexico.
Delegates at the World Tenpin Bowling Association Congress in August will once again be faced with a proposal to allow professional athletes to compete in WTBA tournaments, a measure that is critical to the sport's quest to join the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee recently published updated criteria in order to be considered for the Olympic program. The biggest obstacle for bowling remains the exclusion of professionals from international competition.
The main task of the FIQ Reorganization Committee is to prepare the re-organization or merger of the FIQ (Federation Internationale des Quilleurs), WTBA (World Tenpin Bowling Association) and WNBA (World Ninepin Bowling Association). 
QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager Anne-Marie Board (pictured), England, has received the World Bowling Writers' 2006 Mort Luby Jr. Distinguished Service Award. The presentation was made at the 2006 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Caracas, Venezuela. The award was presented by WBW President Hazel McLeary, Canada.