The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) has formally announced that Team USA intends to abstain from participating in the upcoming International Bowling Federation (IBF) 2023 World Championships in Kuwait.
This decision stems from concerns regarding the expected lack of participating countries.
The USBC Athletes Advisory Committee, consisting of Team USA Athletes and the USBC Board of Directors, collectively arrived at this conclusion.
According to Andrew Anderson, the Chair of the USBC Athlete's Advisory Committee, there is a unanimous agreement among Team USA athletes that they do not wish to travel for a World Championships event if there is an insufficient number of federations participating, as it would diminish the competitive value of the tournament.
'There is a consensus among Team USA athletes that we do not want to travel for a World Championships if there are not enough federations participating for a meaningful competition. Team USA athletes are disappointed as we want to compete for true World Championships. Our hope is the IBF World Championships will return to historical participation numbers in the near future,' Andrew Anderson said in the official statement.
USBC has been in contact with various federations, who have communicated their decision not to attend the IBF 2023 World Championships.
In an attempt to ascertain the current number of registered federations, USBC has reached out to the IBF. However, the IBF has yet to provide this information to USBC.
Andrew Anderson further added that if the situation were to change and a reasonable number of federations commit to participating, Team USA remains open to reconsidering their decision.
'Should we learn the situation changes and a reasonable number of federations will be participating, then we are open to revisiting the decision.'
The event is scheduled to take place from October 3rd to October 15th, 2023, in Salmiya, Kuwait.
