Lisa John, Autum Chamberlain, Hayley Rumkee, Jenny Billingham and Hayley White of England (pictured left) defeated Germany's Birgit Pöppler, Patricia Luoto, Janine Gabel, Vanessa Timter and Janin Ribguth, 1049-919, to earn the coveted Team title at the 4th Women's European Championships.

The championship match was staged in arena-style at the Efteling Theater (right). Playing on two specially installed lanes was completely different to Dolfijn Bowling, where the players bowled during the past eight days of competition.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Three players of each team did not find a comfortable line during the one-game match. While Chamberlain, Billingham and White managed games between 180 and 191, Pöppler, Timter and Ribguth all suffered 160s.

The German team (left) was led by Luoto and Gabel with 217 and 202, respectively, but the team had to settle for the silver medal. The 919 total was by far their lowest game of the entire event.

John and Rumkee posted 254 and 238, resp., to win the first gold medal for England in the Championships. It was the 22nd medal for John either in World or European Championships.

In Thursday's semifinals, England, the No. 4 seed, eliminated top seeded Sweden (left) with Elin Adolfsson, Sandra Andersson, Nina Flack, Rebecka Larsen, Joline Persson-Planefors, in a high-scoring match, 1146-1114.

Meanwhile, third-seeded Germany edged No. 2 seeded Denmark (right) with Britt Brøndsted, Anja Ginge Jensen, Randi Kryger Pedersen, Randi Brogaard Christensen, Stine Nørgaard Johansen, by nine pins, 1030-1021.

Sweden and Denmark shared the bronze medal.

 

The Netherlands Bowling Federation (NBF), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, in cooperation with Uniglobe Special Travel has booked the Efteling Theater to stage the championship match of the five-player Team finals as well as the finals of the Masters competition in an arena-style format.

Masters match play will resume with the semifinal matches at 1 and 2.45 p.m., respectively. The winners will bowl for the Masters crown in the title match starting at 4.30 p.m., which will conclude the 4th Women's European Championships in Tilburg, Netherlands.

The 2012 Women's European Championships was held from June 6 through 17 at Dolfijn Bowling in Tilburg, Netherlands.

Record 153 players from 27 out of 49 European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) member federations - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Catalonia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the host country Netherlands - participated in the event.

Each team consisted of maximum six players, who competed for gold, silver and bronze medals in Doubles (12 games), Trios (6), Teams (6), All Events (24-game total) and Masters (top 24 in All Events, single-elimination, best-of-three games).

The ETBF Technical Delegate and Kegel, the official lane maintenance partner of ETBF, have decided the two oil patterns which were used during the 2012 Women European Championships. The medium pattern is 38 feet long while the long pattern has a length of 44 feet.

For more information please download the 2012 WEC Bulletin (PDF file).

 

2012 Women's European Championships - Team Finals

Championship Round:
1. England (Lisa John, Autum Chamberlain, Hayley Rumkee, Jenny Billingham, Hayley White, Katrina Maciver)
2. Germany (Birgit Pöppler, Patricia Luoto, Janine Gabel, Vanessa Timter, Janin Ribguth, Martina Schütz)
3. Sweden (Elin Adolfsson, Sandra Andersson, Nina Flack, Rebecka Larsen, Joline Persson-Planefors) and Denmark (Britt Brøndsted, Anja Ginge Jensen, Randi Kryger Pedersen, Randi Brogaard Christensen, Stine Nørgaard Johansen, Charlotte Bach Madsen)

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1:
#4 England (Lisa John 256, Autum Chamberlain 206, Hayley Rumkee 236, Jenny Billingham 258, Hayley White 190) def. #1 Sweden (Elin Adolfsson 227, Sandra Andersson 204, Nina Flack 235, Rebecka Larsen 204, Joline Persson-Planefors 244), 1146-1114

Semifinal Match 2:
#3 Germany (Birgit Pöppler 201, Patricia Luoto 225, Janine Gabel 166, Vanessa Timter 225, Janin Ribguth 212) def. #2 Denmark (Britt Brøndsted 235, Anja Ginge Jensen 181, Randi Kryger Pedersen 179, Randi Brogaard Christensen 222, Stine Nørgaard Johansen 204), 1030-1021

Championship:
#4 England (Lisa John 254, Autum Chamberlain 180, Hayley Rumkee 238, Jenny Billingham 191, Hayley White 186) def. #3 Germany (Birgit Pöppler 164, Patricia Luoto 217, Janine Gabel 202, Vanessa Timter 167, Janin Ribguth 169), 1049-919.

 

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