The irrepressible Bill Hoffman, 29, of Columbus, Ohio (pictured) in the United States, known to some as the 'imp' of bowling, hit the third 300 game of the tournament here in Helsingborg this evening and put together his first three game series of the squad with 796. Unfortunately, he slipped he slipped back to a 650 over the next three, so passed on the chance to challenge Gery Verbruggen of Belgium for pole position.

"I had a conversation with coach Fred Borden last night and agreed with him that I needed a new ball," remarked Hoffman after this evening's squad. "I tested it out on this squad and it worked. The cooler temperatures here now and the new ball meant a difference of 200 pins to the scores I was shooting yesterday."

TeamUSA mate Tim Mack was bowling almost alongside over the last two games and the margin between the two was lessening as Mack found the strike pocket. Did Hoffman find this disturbing? "No, there's a growing bond between us as we prepare to bowl in the World Championships in Malaysia, so what used to be competition between us has turned to a really true camaraderie," he added.

Hoffman did a two-day instructional stint earlier in the week with Fred Borden, featuring a seminar for some 25 students on the finer points of the game. It seems he practices what he preaches.

Squad 7 takes to the lanes Friday morning at 9:00 am and will be followed by two more squads later in the day.
                                                                                                                                     Keith Hale, Helsingborg

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