Despite the large international entry for the 2005 European Men's Championships in Moscow next week, over 200 competitors are now arriving at the warm and hospitable Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg for the 2005 Brunswick Aalborg International.
This event, the ninth stop of the 2005 European Bowling Tour, runs through until Sunday, May 29 and one Englishman, in the person of burly Stuart Williams (pictured right), will be determined to defend his 2004 BAI title.
Several nations have sent their representative ladies' teams that will be competing here in the 2005 WTBA Women's World Championships and the team traveling the most miles is the quintet from Singapore (pictured above).
When the qualifying squads have been completed on Saturday night, including that notorious Desperado squad, there will have been players from around 20 countries having played their six games. The top 42 from the qualifying and the lucky six from the Desperado will advance to the seven final steps, commencing at the early hour of 08:00 on Sunday morning.

SQUAD 3:
Tomas Leandersson, 39, of Kristinehamn, Sweden stamped his authority on the tournament Wednesday evening with an exhilarating 1397 six-game series to take over pole position. The pro shop proprietor, soon to take over as Sports Manager of the famous Pergamon team, settled into the swing of things with an opening 238 but then changed his bowling ball after the third game. That move boosted his scores to the next level and he currently holds a 36-pin buffer over Martin Bogehave of Denmark.
"Although this was my first entry, I studied the lanes over the past couple of days and had some good advice from Martin Larsen," Leandersson told us. "My strategy was to keep it all simple and bowl fairly straight. There wasn't a shot if you tried to swing the ball. I got good carry and was happy with the spares and strikes."
Commenting on the performance of the two 'spinners' from Singapore, currently placed 20th and 22nd, Leandersson said, "I have seen them before and they can bowl very well. But at the moment you never know what is going to happen."
Or Aviram of Israel, also a member of the Pergamon outfit, thrilled the crowd in his final game with ten straight strikes and looked set for a 300 game, but was thwarted by the 7-pin and finished with a 289.
Alice Tay and Jennifer Tan were the only Singaporeans to place in the top 40, but the quintet will be back to hopefully place higher on Thursday morning.

SQUAD 4 - Thursday 11:00:
Just 21 competitors in the early morning squad which was topped by Sweden's Robert Andersson of Pergamon fame (pictured). Opening with a 256 and hitting a 279 in the fifth game brought him pole position on the squad and brought him up to eighth place overall in the qualifying, the tournament leader still Tomas Leandersson on 1397.
Evelyn Chan of Singapore was second in this morning's squad and is now the leading scorer from Asia in eleventh place. Spinners Alice Tay and Jennifer Tan from Singapore are currently 23rd and 26th.
It is very rare to see the 'spinner' style in use in Europe and the Singaporean pair are attracting quite a lot of attention. "Spinners will define the scoring pace in the future," says Kegel CEO John Davis.
The cut at 42nd place has improved to 1171. Last year 42nd place was 1351 after the dust of the battle of the qualifying rounds had settled. forecasts are for something some 30 pins less than that for 2005.

SQUAD 5 - Thursday 15:00:
Mika Koivuniemi, 38, from Finland (pictured) but now a well-seasoned pro bowler on the PBA Tour and the 2004 PBA Player of the Year, dug deep into his form pocket and produced a 1327 to lead the fifth squad this afternoon. Now a resident of Hartland, Michigan, the tall Finn commented: "This is a very different lane condition to that we experience on the PBA Tour and I haven't had to play like this for a number of years. Of course, you play the pattern for the first game and then you play the field, that's the same all over the world. I had a bad first game and then figured out the right things to do. I made the right moves, had a pair of 249s and now I feel comfortable, so feel that I will do much better the next time I play, which may be this evening or tomorrow."
England's star leftie Paul Moor led the squad for most of the way, but dropped behind Koivuniemi with a 185 in the sixth game of his block. "I just threw bad shots on lanes five and six," he said afterwards. Moor is now tied with another Finn, Jari Ratia, in second place on the squad, but is 12th overall in the qualifying table. Koivuniemi has pulled up to seventh place overall.
Competition is now definitely hotting up and the last squad of the day at 19:00 should produce some higher scores as the players re-entering get to grip with the lane pattern. The cut creeps ever nearer the 1200-mark, now at 1194.

SQUAD 6 - Thursday 19:00:
Now it's the ladies getting into the act as Zara Glover of Preston, England (pictured)topped Squad 5 with 1344 and snuck into fourth place overall. The 23-year-old triple gold medalist in the 2003 WTBA World Championship in Malaysia had five solid games over 200 but a lowly 176 in the third. "That low game was on lanes 1 & 2 and I had no clue whatsoever as to where to bowl on that pair," Glover explained. "The rest of the lanes were not easy and I had to play quite tight, varying around the 10 to 15 boards. I switched balls back and forth as I moved pairs so was quite surprised, but pleased, to have such a good score. I might bowl again Friday afternoon.
"I've never played in the Aalborg International before but I won one gold, silver and bronze medals here in the European Championships a few years ago."
Glover's last victory on the European Ranking Tour was the Oltremare Naples Championships in Italy in November last year.
Now the cut has stepped shrply over the 1200-mark, currently lying at 1209 in the hands of Denmark's Rikke Holm Rasmussen. She hit 1161 and has the added ladies' bonus of eight pins per game, bringing her score to 1209.
Squad 7, scheduled for 09:00 on Friday, has been cancelled, so action resumes at 13:00 with Squad 8.
The high game of Thursday's final squad was 258, hit twice in the six-game series by Jimmy Dan Mortensen of Denmark.

SQUAD 8 - Friday 13:00:
The cream is quickly rising to the top of this year's enjoyable BAI and the end of Squad 8 (7 was cancelled) saw the indominatible Anders Ohman of Sweden (pictured) at the top of the leader board, both of the squad and the overall qualifying standings.
The tall Swede with the Sundbybergs IK club from Stockholm, bowling his first entry, trailed Alice Tay of Singapore going into the final game, but a high game of 290 as a finale put him in the driving seat, backing up his first five games of 239, 203, 232, 205 and 235.
"The lanes are not so easy this time," Ohman commented, "you have to be very accurate and it is a completely different shot to the normal condition here. I think the cut will be about 50 pins less than last year, so it should be about 100 over."
After a slow start, Belgium's Gery Verbruggen found a 275 to finish and needs no more qualifying entries, totaling 1345 for current third place.
Ohman and Verbruggen contested the final of the 2002 World Ranking Masters here in Aalborg and that time Ohman came out the champion.
This was the third entry of Singapore's Alice Tay (pictured), now improving from 32nd place overall to fifth. "I sanded my bowling ball today and got much better traction," she said after the squad. She can now sit on the bleachers, but her four team-mates will try to emulate her good deeds on the first squad on Saturday morning.
The five Singapore girls and their two coaches are thoroughly enjoying their visit to Denmark. "The weather is very nice and we are especially loving the breakfasts. The bread here is just fantastic," said Tay. Are the group hitting the local Chinese restaurants? "No, we can get that at home," Tay added. "Tonight we're going to get some barbecued chicken."

SQUAD 9 - Friday 17:00:
There have been many famous Helens over the years, including the one from Troy whose face is credited with launching a thousand ships, but hereabouts if you mention Helen then the name of Johnsson comes to the fore.
This evening, the aforementioned Helen Johnsson, 28, from Lund in Sweden (pictured), tried very hard to emulate the success in the qualifying section of the 2004 Brunswick Aalborg International when she topped all the scores of the 200-plus competitors and walked away, smiling broadly, with the top qualifier prize of 1,000 euros. This year, her score of 1,373 topped squad number nine, but fell 32 pins short of topping the overall standings, that number one spot still being held by Anders Ohmam, also of Sweden.
Johnsson's qualifying score last year was an outstanding 1449, but: "These lanes are a lot tougher than last year," Johnsson said, with a nice smile. "I must say that I do prefer an easier shot for the ladies, but I am pleased with my score on my first entry this year. I bowled a little outside line, changed balls after the second game and then hardly had to make any changes as I went across the lanes. I was disappointed to leave the 7-pin in the eighth frame of the third game, which robbed me of a perfect game, but it's always good to score a 279."
There are five more squads to roll before that dreaded Desperado squad takes over the lanes, well after midnight tomorrow. There are still ten ladies in the top 42 as the cut moves up to 1264.
Also moving up the ladder was Peter Ljung of Sweden, second on this squad behind Johnsson, and he now holds fourth place on the leader board.

SQUAD 10 - Friday 21:00:
The clock struck 12 at the midnight hour and the last stroke coincided with a ringing strike from Germany's Jens Nickel from Bremen, rounding off his six-game series with a 279. That was not earned the usual way, with the string of strikes and a nine-spare along the route. This was a game started with two nine-spares and then striking out. The 40-year-old bowling proprietor of 'Strikees Bowl' is a man inspired right now, having already clinched the Brunswick Euro Challenge title in Greece in March and just a couple of weeks ago the World Tenpin Masters in England, coming away from Doncaster with a very nice check for $30,000.
Pleased, of course, with his scores on his first entry and on a difficult lane condition to the normal at the BAI, Nickel commented: "The condition changed very quickly tonight. During the first three and a half games I made very little changes, but then the lanes dried out and I had to move deep inside."
Nickel holds third place right now, but with four more squads yet to bowl he might re-enter to attempt a higher position for the latter rounds.
The cut to 42 has increased once more, now at 1267, running true to the forecast of 100 over being the 42nd spot when qualifying battle ceases Saturday night.

SQUAD 11 - Saturday 08:00:
Once again it was the ladies who dominated the squad. Coming onto the lanes seemingly only a short while after the cock had crowed to announce the dawn, Asa Wetterlund, 27, of Sweden (pictured), strolled through her six-game set to total 1323, including her eight pin bonus per game, rolling a high game of 254 and a 180 low. The Stockholm financial assistant can now sit back and watch the rest fight for pins as she should be well above the final cut tonight.
Wetterlund's total pinfall was just a single pin ahead of Denmark's Thomas Larsen and 14 over the second highest lady, Tanya Petty of Germany.
"I've always struggled in this bowling center," Wetterlund commented, "so I was very pleased to have set a good score at last and on my second entry this year. Whatever happens, this will be my highest finish in the Aalborg International.
"I played more outside than yesterday and got more carry, which has been my biggest problem here. I didn't have to change my line and position very much today but I did have to switch to a shiny ball when I played on lanes 29 & 30."
The happy Swede is now hoping that she will be selected for the Swedish national team to return to Aalborg for the WTBA Women's World Championships in August. The select group will be announced next week.
Squad 11 completion has brought the level of the cut to 42 up by just nine points, now resting on 1276. Despite all the comings and goings, there are still ten ladies in the illustrious group of qualifiers. Of the gallant band from Singapore, only Alice Tay is in a safe position. Evelyn Chan, on 1292 without any further entries, currently sits in 35th place. With three more squads to play, it is doubtful if that will hold.

SQUAD 12 - SATURDAY, 12 NOON:
Once more into the breech, dear friends, and once more it is a member of the gentle sex that is topping the squad, this time with the demure figure of Sweden's Malin Glendert (pictured). Steady scoring with 1299 scratch, plus the 48 pins bonus, gave the 24-year-old from Helsingborg a total of 1347 and ninth place on the overall leader board.
This was Glendert's second entry this year: "I bowled really badly yesterday and only had 1146. Today I changed to an Absolute Inferno ball and played much better." No doubt on the advice of mentor Goran Carlsson?
Normally averaging around 207, Glendert, like Wetterlund above, hopes to do well in next week's trials for the selection of the Swedish ladies' team for the Women's World Championships.
In Squad 11, we mentioned that Singapore's Evelyn Chan is dangerously close to being ousted. She is now in joint 41st place as the cut right now is on her score of 1292, the figure rising from 1276 during this squad.
Just two more squads to bowl now, then we'll see how many turn up for the last chance Desperado squad, a one-game, one-lane affair. Last year there were exactly 100 players on the lanes at well past midnight. It will be interesting to see how many turn up tonight.

SQUAD 13 - Saturday 16:00:
The ladies really are having a field day at the delightful Lovvang Bowl and once again it is a Swede in focus, not only as the top scorer on this 13th and unlucky for some squad, but a new name to engrave in pole position at the top of the leader board. That bright person is none other than Christel Carlsson, 48, (pictured) from Gothenburg, who put together a good string of 200-plus games, a high of 256 and 210 low, to hold the overall lead with 1421.
"This is third time lucky as I couldn't get my game together with my previous two entries," Carlsson explained. "But I was getting better and better each time I bowled. Today I used the right bowling ball for my game and these conditions."
Carlsson, a Swedish national team member, is a regular competitor in the Aalborg International and is also keeping her fingers crossed for the Swedish team trials next week. The leaders of the last three squads all have the same ambitions.
The 13th and penultimate squad of this highly successful BAI saw the first perfect game this evening, that 300 being bowled in the fourth game by another outstanding Swede, Peder Grimsen (pictured), like Carlsson, from Gothenburg.
The cut for the top 42 now stands at 1297, so early forecasts that it would be 100 over look like being very accurate. That score has so far seen the demise of quite a few early favourites and as the final full squad takes to the lanes it is the late night Desperado squad that will be the venue for many hopefuls for a place in Sunday's finals.

FINAL SQUAD (14) - Saturday 20:00:
What a spoilsport! Just as we were about to announce that it had been a ladies' dominated day as far as squad leaders were concerned, when along came the striking Finn, Lasse Lintila, (pictured) to spoil the distaff party. Even though he had a lowly 188 in his second game, the 37-year-old four-time Finnish national champion came off the lanes after the six games with the squad's top score of 1360. Even better, Lintila finished in eighth place overall, so doesn't have to twiddle his balls along the lanes until the final block on Sunday. This was Lintila's third entry to the BAI. "I played the first entry really badly and was a little better with the second. Tonight I moved out to the sixth board and was a lot better."
The forecast of the cut coming at 1300 was only one pin off as 42nd place tonight is 1299.
Missing out by two pins is local heroine Kamilla Kjeldsen, now lining up for the Desperado squad with a load of others, including buddy Britt Brondsted.
A nice prize of 1,000 euros has been earned by Sweden's Christel Carlsson for being the top qualifier. Last year fellow countrywoman Helen Johnsson did the same thing.
Six places in the main event are still at stake through the Desperado squad, then the action continues Sunday morning with the first step of the finals at 08:00.

For further information, contact Keith Hale: keithhale@btconnect.com