CANADA INTO CONTENTION

Finger nails are being chewed down to the last millimeters now  as the stage of the final qualifying squad taking to the lanes has been reached and those in contention to beat the men's cut to 72 and the 36 ladies nears.

As Squad 'E' finished their final block, leaving just the smaller number in Squad 'D' to go, a chance of taking over pole position came within the grasp of Stew Meadus (pictured), a Canadian resident in Harrogate, northern England. He fought hard over the last three games to get on level terms with the current leader, Sweden's Torbjorn Halling, hitting final games of 244, 235 and 247 to finish 55 points adrift in second place. Tournament favorite Ron Oldfield, also from northern England, currently lies third.

Strangely, Meadus was runner-up to Halling in last year's final. "I'll get him this time," the Canadian vowed. "I've been bowling for 42 years but it is only in the last few that I've got my act together," he added. "Of course, I've got to thank reactive bowling balls for my improvement as I've hit three perfect games in the past three years. Also, the marvellous coaching I receive from Mario Joseph in Nottingham and the skill he has to drill my bowling equipment is a great credit to his prowess."

In the ladies' division, England's Brenda Pratt broke the third place deadlock with 2344, pushing Jan Hodge and Gun Alstrom down to joint fourth. The ladies' cut stands at 2025, that spot held by Inger Strambert, but there are still four ladies in the final squad, including Maltese champion Doris Camilleri, currently bowling a 209 average which would put her in first place if she holds that through the final six games.

That vital 72nd place in the men's division, with just 13 male scores to book, has John de Vries of the Netherlands sitting in the hot seat.

CURRENT STANDINGS:

Current Men's Division

Current Ladies' Division

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For further information, contact Keith Hale: keithhale679@aol.com