LONDON, ENGLAND, July 14, 2005 - Several countries have now nominated their representatives for the 41st QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, which will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from November 13th to 20th and a warm welcome awaits them all!

Last yearÂ’s semi-finalist Yoselin Leon from Puerto Rico and quarter finalist Helen Johnsson from Sweden will both be trying to improve on their results. Joselin will be joined by Edmanuel Ramirez to represent Puerto Rico, while Anders Ohman, who took part in both 2001 and 2002, finishing 10th and 11th, will take part in the menÂ’s section for Sweden.

The family connections in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup are frequent and this year FranceÂ’s Thierry Sacco will emulate his brother Francois, who played in the 1994 tournament in Hermosillo. Isabelle Saldjian, FranceÂ’s undoubted No 1 and a two-time participant in the Bowling World Cup (1998 and 2000, when she made the quarter finals), will be their female representative.

From the USA we will be welcoming the US amateur champions, Linda Barnes (nee Norry) and Ryan (Rhino) Page. Linda, who is married to pro bowler Chris Barnes, has herself had a stint as a pro player and gave birth to twins in 2002. She will be aiming to repeat last yearÂ’s feat of her compatriot, Shannon Pluhowsky, and win the event for the USA.

For the Isle of Man, a small but fiercely independent island off the coast of western England, Dave Hill will be competing for the third time – 1997 and 1999 were his other appearances – and he will be joined by Viv Cornelius, who participated last year in Singapore.

Several countries will be sending male players making return visits while their competitors in the women's section will be debutantes.

•  Maurice Talane from French Guyane will be playing in the tournament for fifth time. His best result was in 2002, when he averaged 201. He will be joined by Justine Arcas as their representative in the women's section.

•  Now 27, Mohammed Janahi has represented the Gulf state of Bahrain once before, in 1996. In 2005, Nadih Ageel will be their female player.

•  Tunisia first competed in the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Honduras in 2003 and we are pleased to welcome back Arif Mohammed Hedi making his third appearance. Ben Abdallah Fatma will be competing for the first time.

CanadaÂ’s representatives will both be first timers: Michael Schmidt and Veronica Lalande-Lapointe. Canada ranks third among the nations with a total of 6 victories over the 40 years of the QubicaaMF Bowling World Cup.

So far, three countries which have never competed in the event before have indicated their attendance: Slovakia, Libya and the Azores.

QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager, Anne-Marie Board, commented: “We are hoping for a record number of participating countries, beating even the 95 countries which were represented in Singapore last year, and this would cement our place as the world’s largest annual sports event in terms of the number of countries participating. I’m looking forward to welcoming everyone to the event in November.”

Notes for Editors

The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup will be held in the Gladiator Bowling Centre, Ljubljana ( Slovenia ), a brand new 28-lane facility which opened in May 2005. The centre is part of a leisure complex Arena Vodafone Live!, owned and operated by Kolosej Ltd, one of the biggest entertainment companies in Slovenia and QubicaAMF's key partner for the 41 st AMF Bowling World Cup. Further information on Kolosej Ltd can be found on www.arenalive.si and www.kolosej.si

Additional information on the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this year's tournament, is available at www.amfbowlingworldcup.com

QubicaAMF Bowling Worldwide is the founder and principal sponsor of the Bowling World Cup and is also one of the largest bowling products manufacturers and marketers in the world.  With worldwide headquarters near Richmond , Virginia and European headquarters in Bologna , Italy , the joint venture will offer a complete line of high-quality, innovative solutions for new and existing bowling and entertainment centres. Additional information about QubicaAMF Worldwide is available on the web at www.qubicaamf.com