Back in 1814–1815, the Congress of Vienna brought Europe’s leaders together toshape the continent’s future after the fall of Napoleon. This October, Viennawill once again become the stage where decisions influencing Europe are made -this time in the world of bowling, as the European Bowling Federation (EBF)gathers for its 2025 Congress on October 26th, after the European Championshipof Champions. Today, the EBF has officially revealed the candidates for the positions of EBFPresident and Presidium ahead of its upcoming Congress. The current EBF President, Valgeir Guðbjartsson of Iceland, is the onlycandidate for the presidential post. Guðbjartsson, who was first elected in2023 for a two-year term, is seeking another mandate. Alongside the presidential election, the Congress will also vote for Presidiummembers. One Presidium member will be elected for a term until the Congress of 2027,and two Presidium members will be elected for terms until the Congress of2029. Two current members of the Presidium have submitted their candidacy forre-election. The confirmed Presidium candidates are: Mr. Onder Gurkan (Turkey)– Current EBF Presidium member, nominated by the German Bowling Federation.Mr. Aki Aarikka (Finland)– President of the Finnish Bowling Federation, nominated by the FinlandBowling Federation.Mr. Or Aviram (Israel) –Member of the Israel Bowling Federation, nominated by the Israel BowlingFederation.Mrs. Sue Abela (Malta) –Member of the Malta Bowling Federation, nominated by the Malta BowlingFederation. Mr. Onder Gurkan (Turkey)– Current EBF Presidium member, nominated by the German Bowling Federation. Mr. Onder Gurkan (Turkey) Mr. Aki Aarikka (Finland)– President of the Finnish Bowling Federation, nominated by the FinlandBowling Federation. Mr. Aki Aarikka (Finland) Mr. Or Aviram (Israel) –Member of the Israel Bowling Federation, nominated by the Israel BowlingFederation. Mr. Or Aviram (Israel) Mrs. Sue Abela (Malta) –Member of the Malta Bowling Federation, nominated by the Malta BowlingFederation. Mrs. Sue Abela (Malta) A highly controversial candidacy has also been submitted.Mr. Sergey Lisitsyn (russia), the currentpresident of the russian bowling federation and an existing EBF Presidiummember, has shown interest in another term. The European Union has restrictedthe issuing of visas to russian citizens, therefore Lisitsyn cannot travelwithin Europe and does not attend any of EBF events, yet expressed his desireto be on the candidate list. Mr. Sergey Lisitsyn (russia) Lisitsyn is known as a strong supporter of russian dictator Vladimir Putin andrussia’s war in Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, when russia invaded Ukraine, he was both an EBFPresidium member and part of the EBF Tournament Committee. Following theinvasion, EBF President Addie Ophelders announced on March 2, 2022, thatLisitsyn would step down from his roles as Championships Director for theEuropean Men’s Championships in Helsinki and the European Youth Championshipsin Wittelsheim, France. However, he retained his Presidium seat. Later that month, according toBusiness Insider andInside the Games, Lisitsyn took part in a pro-warrally in Moscow on March 18, where he openly supported Putin and the so-called"special military operation" in Ukraine. During that rally, he made statementsjustifying russia’s actions and accusing the West of spreading Russophobia. Business Insider Inside the Games "We see that the special operation being carried out today on Ukrainian soilallows us to achieve our goals with minimal losses for our fraternal peoples,"a statement fromLisitsyn said, per Inside the Games. "Given the unprecedented external pressure from the West, which for eightyears condoned the flourishing of nazism in Ukraine, today we clearlyunderstand that the special operation was just an excuse to replicateRussophobic sentiments and escalate the situation around russia and everythingrussian." Lisitsyn said, per Inside the Games Speaking to Erikas Jansonas of 'BowlingLife', EBF General Secretary MartinaJakobi explained that there are currently no official rules from theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the candidacy of russianindividuals in international federations. “Currently the guidance from the IOC committee has no rules forcandidacy/elections of Russian individuals in regards of participating inInternational Federation. As we follow their guidance, we do not restrictanybody from being a candidate for any position in our Federation. We haverequested clear guidance from IBF on this case and are waiting for theirreply,” Jakobi said. BowlingLife has also contacted the International Bowling Federation (IBF) forclarification and is awaiting a response. The article will be updated once newinformation is available. At present, russian and belarusian national teams are banned fromparticipating in both EBF and IBF tournaments. This raises questions about howhe could physically attend the EBF Congress in Vienna, as the EU has suspendedits visa facilitation agreement with Russia, whose interests Lisitsyn wouldrepresent if re-elected to the Presidium, and how whould he attend EBF eventsin the future. According to United Nations statistics, over 14,000 civilian deaths have beenrecorded in Ukraine since the start of the war, including 733 children. Morethan 36,000 civilians have been injured, including 2,285 children.Ukrainian national teams continue to be active participants inEuropean and World Championships.

Last weekend, the Swedish Elitserien delivered more high-level action and early shifts in the standings. Team Alingsås kept their perfect record intact with a win over Clan, while Pergamon avenged their title loss in last season’s finals with a strong performance against the same opponent. Meanwhile, AIK BK earned their first point of the season in a dramatic tie with Göta. On Sunday, Full House impressed with a commanding home win, pushing into early playoff position. Saturday Matches Overview Team Alingsås BC – Team Clan Nässjö BK 13–7 Team Alingsås BC – Team Clan Nässjö BK 13–7 Alingsås made it four wins in four matches after outplaying Clan in a tight battle on home lanes. Clan opened strong, winning the first series 3–2 with 1728, but Alingsås responded with consistency and clutch shots in the later games. They took the remaining three series, including total pinfall bonuses, and sealed the match 13–7. Team rookie Noel Haglund Torgersen led the team again with 936, while Gustaf Johansson added 930. Clan’s top scorer was Alfred Berggren with 884. "Clan is a great team, so it feels really good that we managed to beat them," said Richard Dahllöf. "We're all hungry for revenge this year after missing the finals for a couple of seasons, so everyone is trying to step up." Team Pergamon – Team Clan Nässjö BK 11–9 Later that day in Partille, Pergamon got their revenge on Clan for last season’s Elitserien finals loss. Pergamon looked sharp and fresh from the start, and a dominant second series of 1916 set the tone for the match. Despite Clan’s strong finish 0-5, Pergamon had already built an uncatchable lead after three series. Jesper Svensson led Pergamon with 1012, with Markus Jansson adding 971. Clan’s Alexander Tigerstrand fired 976, and Pontus Andersson 956. "A huge effort from us after the tough loss in Boden last weekend," said Martin Larsen after a win. "We had great focus from the start, and closing out Clan in just three series is no small feat. Very proud of the guys." loss in Boden last weekend IS Göta – AIK BK 10–10 In Helsingborg, Göta and AIK delivered a dramatic match that ended in a 10–10 draw. AIK opened with a 4–1 series, but Göta clawed back with three straight 3–2 series wins, thanks to stronger totals. It was the first point of the season for both teams. For Göta, it was their season opener, while AIK had suffered a loss to Alingsås the previous week. previous week AIK’s Tobias Börding led all scorers with 946, just ahead of Göta’s Martin Paulsson (940). Sunday Matches Overview BK Full House – AIK BK 16–4 Full House closed the weekend with a convincing 16–4 home win against AIK in Ängelholm. Playing on one of the most demaning lane conditions in the league, Full House took control early with 1647 in the opening series and never looked back. The decisive blow came in the third set, where they posted 1713 — the highest of the match — and swept all lane points for a 5–0. Mik Stampe led the hosts with 886, while JD Mortensen added 849. Kevin Melin (856) and Tobias Börding (825) were the standouts for AIK.

Matúš Hrušovsky of Slovakia claimed the Mega-Xtreme Sofia Open 2025 title inBulgaria, marking a significant step in his young bowling career.Just last year, Hrušovsky won the U18 division at the Slovak Youth Bowling Championships, and now he has added an international title to hisrecord. won the U18 division at the Slovak Youth Bowling Championships The final match on Sunday saw Hrušovsky defeat Czech bowler and defendingchampion Lukáš Jelínek 233-225. Hrušovsky began the tournament with a 1,458 total over six games inqualification, which placed him 11th overall. In final step 1, he struggled with a 179 in the opening game on the 40-footoil pattern, but he quickly recovered with games of 247, 287, and 246 tosecure second place and advance. With 28 players left in final step 2, Hrušovsky rolled games of 220, 233, 225,and 239 to finish 12th and a ticket to the next round. He successfullyadvanced through two more stages to reach the one-game eliminator round withfour players remaining. In the first eliminator, Hrušovsky scored 215 to secure the last advancingposition by just two pins over Croatia’s Roko Knezic. In the second round, herolled 252 to move into the championship match alongside Jelínek, as Malta’sKayden Lagana finished third with 181. For his victory, Hrušovsky  received €3,100 from the €20,000 totalprize fund.157 players took part in this year’s event across A andB divisions. Find more bowling tournaments across the globe by using BowlingLife's Tournament Finder Tool. BowlingLife's Tournament Finder Tool.

Nooa Vilokkinen of Finland won the XIII International Open City of Torrevieja,held in Spain. The Finnish bowler showed consistency throughoutthe tournament and secured the €3,000 first-place prize. In qualification, Vilokkinen placed second with a total of 1,471 over sixgames, just three pins behind his countryman Teemu Asplund, who led with1,474. Entering final step 1 with the top 32 players, Vilokkinen took control byposting 1,061 across four games. He was the only player to surpass 1,000 inthis stage, giving him a 138-pin lead. In final step 2, Vilokkinen extended his advantage to 202 pins, moving intofinal step 3 where the last eight players competed in seven round-robinmatches. Although he won only three matches, Vilokkinen scoredabove 200 in all seven games, which was enough to secure the overall victorywithout a stepladder final. Sweden’s Stefan Dew finished in second place, while Norway’s MathiasReinertsen placed third. The total prize fund for the tournament was €13,200. Find more bowling tournaments across the globe by using BowlingLife's Tournament Finder Tool. BowlingLife's Tournament Finder Tool.

France has announced the lineup for the upcoming 2025 IBF World Championships,set to take place at Top Bowl in Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong, from November24 to December 5. The men’s roster includes Mike Bartaire (USC DCL Dammarie-les-Lys), LoickCoolen (BC Albi Le Séquestre), Maxime Dubois (Les Dragons de Colmar), GaëtanMouveroux (Eagles Wittelsheim), Grégory Rius (Skittle Club Franche Comté), andValentin Saulnier (Skittle Club Franche Comté). The team will be guided by coaches François Sacco and Cédric Vettes. The 2025 IBF World Championships will bring together athletes from around theworld to compete in singles, doubles, trios, and team of five events. The tournament begins with official practice and the opening ceremony onNovember 24, followed by 12 days of competition in Hong Kong. France joins other countries such as theUnited States,Sweden, andFinland, who have already confirmed their national teams ahead of the championships. United States Sweden Finland

Week two of the Swedish Elitserien brought high drama, perfect games, and a statement weekend from Team Alingsås. After opening their season with three tough road games, Alingsås came away with three victories, including a clutch comeback win against Stureby and a 300 game from rising talent Noel Haglund Torgersen. Meanwhile, Bodens BS stunned powerhouse Team Pergamon in one of the biggest surprises of the young season. Saturday Matches Overview IKW/Köping BK – Team Alingsås BC 5–14 Alingsås started their away triple-header with a confident win over Köping. Despite a tight match on paper - Alingsås scored 6869 to Köping’s 6754 - the visitors swept all four series and took all four total pinfall bonuses. Alingsås started their away triple-header with a confident win over Köping. D the visitors swept all four series and took all four total pinfall bonuses. Team captain James Blomgren led the way with 916, while 17-year-old Noel Haglund Torgersen impressed on debut with 874. Norway’s Henrik Nordang Larsen also delivered a strong finish, closing with 256 for a 833 total. Köping’s Carl Eklund topped all scorers with 962, ahead of Viktor Danielsson’s 911. Sunday Match Overview AIK BK – Team Alingsås BC 9–11 Sunday morning’s match in Stockholm turned into a strike fest, marked with two perfect games. Alingsås opened with 1882 in the first series to take an early 1-4 lead, but AIK answered with 1914 and a clean 5-0 sweep to lead at halftime. Alingsås struck back in the third and fourth series, winning both totals by slim margins to edge the match 11–9. Noel Haglund Torgersen continued his solid performance from Saturday and fired a 300 in the second series, to finish with 1039 four-game total. Meanwhile, AIK’s new signing Lukáš Jelínek also bowled a perfect game in the final game and topped the match with 1050. Kevin Melin added 1032 for AIK. Stureby BK – Team Alingsås BC 8–12 In their third match of the weekend, Alingsås fell behind 3-7 after two series but regrouped with a 4-1 third series before unleashing a dominant 1903 in the final set to win 5-0 and take the match 12-8. Torgersen continued his breakout weekend with 952, followed closely by Lucas Fjällborg with 950. For Stureby, Tommy Wendel and Dennis Eklund both scored 934. Bodens BS – Team Pergamon BC 11–9 Just as impressive as Alingsås’ thee away wins was Boden’s surprise of the weekend - a narrow home victory over title contenders Pergamon. Despite losing several key players during the offseason, Boden opened the match with authority, posting 1711 - the only team total to break the 1700 mark. The score was 5–5 after two series, but Boden pulled ahead with a 4–1 third set and held on for a hard-fought 11–9 victory. Per Sundqvist led the home side with 913, and Philip Strandgren added 843. The duo also won all four of their points. Pergamon’s Martin Larsen posted 936, with Markus Jansson next at 836.

The Estonian Open 2025 came to a close in Tallinn on Sunday evening, withFinland’s Juhani Tonteri crowned as the champion. In a dramatic stepladder final, Tonteri edged fellow Finn Teemu Putkisto byjust one pin, winning 223–222 and earning the top prize of 5,000 euros. Tonteri led the tournament from start to finish. He topped the qualificationwith 1,450 total over six games, earning a direct bye to Final Step 2. There,he once again led the 32-player field with 1,396. In the top 16, he defeatedSweden's Emil Holmberg 2–0 (502–408), and in the quarterfinals he beatEstonia's Kaisa-Ly Lee 2–0 (467–344) to secure the No. 1 seed. Robin Miklas earned the No. 2 seed after edging Sweden’s William Svensson 2–1(673–662) in a close match. Teemu Putkisto claimed the No. 3 seed by defeatingJuho Rissanen 2–1 (641–614). Jussi Laine took the No. 4 seed after eliminatingKarl Martin Veiderpass 2–1 (645–528). In the stepladder finals, Putkisto defeated Laine 215–187 and then overcameMiklas in another tight battle, 217–213, to reach the title match againstTonteri. The final was evenly balanced, with both players trading strikes and spares.Putkisto held a narrow lead before Tonteri struck back, leaving the match tiedentering the tenth frame. Having to bowl first, Tonteri made a nine-spare and then a nine, leaving thedoor slightly open for Putkisto. He needed a strike in his final shot to forcea tie after posting an eight-spare, but the seven pin remained standing. Thatsealed Tonteri’s narrow 223–222 victory. The tournament drew more than 170 participants from 10 countries. The totalprize fund of the event was 33,000 Euros.

The 2025/2026 Swedish Elitserien season is officially underway. Defendingchampions Team Clan opened with a dominant win at home, while BK Kaskad alsostarted strong. BK Full House had a challenging Saturday against both Clan andKaskad but turned things around on Sunday with a key road win against Köping. Saturday Matches Overview Team Clan Nässjö BK – BK Full House 17-2The defending champions wasted no time making a statement. Clan rolled overFull House in their season opener, posting 7557 as a team and controlling allfour series. Team Clan Nässjö BK – BK Full House 17-2 "We know everyone is chasing us this year, so we wanted to start the seasonwell," said Alexander Tigerstrand, who was one of the Clan's leaders onSaturday. The match started tight, with Clan edging the first series 4–1 by just 20pins. From there, they never looked back. Peter Hellström fired a 300 game inthe second series, and both Robin Ilhammar (1013) and Alexander Tigerstrand(1011) broke the 1000 barrier.Despite the lopsided score, Full House's Ben Robinson had the highestindividual series of the match with 1030. Clan made some notable offseason additions, including Emil Holmberg fromBodens BS, Alexander Holm from Team Alingsås BC, and Robin Jacobsson from BKWik. While Holm and Jacobsson were not in the lineup, Holmberg made his debutfor Clan and opened with scores of 215 and 182. BK Kaskad – BK Full House 13-7 Later the same day, Full House traveled to Norrköping for a closer matchagainst BK Kaskad. The teams split the first two series 4–1, but Kaskad pulledahead with a strong third series and held on to secure the win.Filip Wilhelmsson led Kaskad with 865, supported by four teammates between 801and 828. Raymond Teece (880) and Jimmy-Dan Mortensen (807) were the only FullHouse bowlers to score above 200 average. Sunday Match Overview IKW/Köping BK – BK Full House 8–12 Full House closed the weekend on a high note, picking up their first win ofthe season in Köping. After two close series, the visitors broke away in thethird with a 5–0 sweep that put the match out of reach. Raymond Teece led Full House again with 918, followed by Jimmy-Dan Mortensen(897), who also swept all four lane points. Kim Andersson added 845. Köping, missing several key players, couldn’t find their rhythm. ViktorDanielsson (849) and Erik Hermansson (824) led the scoring for the home team,but their efforts wasn't enough to take the win. New Format Introduced for 2025/2026 Season This season brings a major change to the Elitserien playoff format. Only the top two teams after the regular season will earn direct spots in theFinal Four. Teams finishing third to eighth will fight for theremaining two spots in a play-in tournament - adding more pressure to everyregular season point.Next four Swedish Elitserien ganes will be plaued on September 21-22,

The International Hammer Challenge 2025 concluded at Tali Bowl in Helsinki, Finland, with Petteri Salonen claiming the title. In the final, Salonen defeated Sweden’s Alex Joki 228–211. Salonen advanced to the main field from the seniors qualification and then went on a strong run through the final rounds. 50-year-old defeated Teemu Putkisto 3–1, Pyry Puharinen 3–1, Jarno Lahti 3–0, and Juhani Tonteri 3–0 to reach the televised finals. There, he faced Storm Lucky Larsen Masters runner-up Juho Rissanen, winning narrowly 201–199 to secure a place in the championship match. Storm Lucky Larsen Masters runner-up Juho Rissanen Alex Joki earned his spot in the final by defeating Denmark’s Nicolas Carter 253–199 in the semifinal. Salonen started a final match better, making a strike and a spare. Joki, meanwhile, missed a spare in the second frame, to be in a role of a chaser. But then, in the third frame, Salonen suffered a blister on his right hand’s ring finger, which burst during a spare attempt. He continued to bowl with a bleeding finger and managed to strike four times in a row from frames six to nine to take control of the match. He only needed a good count in the tenth frame to seal the victory. Salonen celebrated his first major open tournament win by falling to the ground in tears of joy after the final shot. Despite having previously collected medals for Finland in international competitions, such as European Senior Bowling Championships, this was his first big individual victory in an open field. European Senior Bowling Championships For the win, Salonen collected 7,000 euros. Runner-up Joki received 4,500 euros, while Rissanen and Carter each took home 2,800 euros for their third and fourth-place finishes. The 2025 edition of the International Hammer Challenge attracted 286 participants, marking the third running of the event.

Sweden’s Nora Johansson has made history at the 2025 Norwegian Open in Oslo, securing the European Bowling Tour title with a 229–191 victory over fellow Swede Carl Eklund in the championship match.With this result, Johansson became the first female bowler to win a EBT stop since 2019, when Cynthia Duca of Malta won the Dimitris Karetsos Tournament in Greece.Johansson also became the first female bowler ever to win Norwegian Open. Johansson, a two-handed player, began her run in qualification where she finished in 15th place. On Sunday, she gained momentum and finished first in Final Step 3, and then later earned her the No. 2 seed for the stepladder finals. In the semifinal, she faced Norway’s Christer Åker and came out on top in a close contest, 194–184. She then went on to defeat Eklund in the final to claim the trophy. For her victory, Johansson was awarded 50,000 Norwegian Kroner, which is approximately 4,200 euro.

Sweden has officially named its national bowling team for the upcoming 2025 IBF World Championships. National team coatch Robert Andersson and assictant coach Louise Sonne has selected six men and six women to represent the country. The men’s roster features Pontus Andersson, James Blomgren, Robin Ilhammar, Markus Jansson, Joachim Karlsson, and Jesper Svensson. On the women’s side, the team consists of Anna Andersson, Anneli Blomqvist, Hanna Engberg, Josefin Hermansson, Nora Johansson, and Victoria Johansson. Sweden did not participate in the 2023 IBF World Championships due to uncertainty around the event, but the country enjoyed major success at the 2021 edition in Dubai, winning seven medals including two gold. The 2025 IBF World Championships will feature singles, doubles, trios, and team of five events, gathering the best bowlers from around the world in Hong Kong. Competition is set for November 24 to December 5.In June, the Finnish Bowling Association has also announced the men’s and women’s national teams for the IBF World Championships 2025. also announced the men’s and women’s national teams

PBA Hall of Famer Sean Rash ended the 2025 PBA Tour season by winning his 18thcareer title in Helsingborg, Sweden on Sunday night. This marked his first PBATour title in four years since his 2021 PBA Chesapeake Open win.Ihave to tell you, fellow reader, that moments before the first match playround, a strange feeling wouldn’t let me go that Rash might go all the way tothe title. The idea was based more on feel than on solidarguments, but seeing how Rash was comfortable on a very simple, yet,demandingoil patternwe've been used to see 10-15 years ago, only strengthened that feeling.Rashseemed to be enjoying the conditions on the lanes. Even though he did not winany squad, he was scoring well right from the beginning, eventually earning abye to Final Step 2 after his second try on the lanes with 1,367 total.WhenI shared the idea with my colleagues, they nodded that they had the samefeeling. Rash’s calmness clearly showed he had found somethingothers didn’t. Plus, with his experience, he avoided the bad decisions,unnecesarry bal change and mistakes. It didn’t take long for the scoreboard toreflect it. What once was just a feeling started to take shapewhen Rash successfully passed both match play rounds, defeating Finland’sKaaron Salomaa 606-567 and later England’s Raymond Teece to advance to thefinal four. oil pattern Semifinal: Rash vs Purches Even without strikes, Purches managed to build a lead to the ninth frame. Thefeeling about Rash’s title started to fade. The veteran struck in the ninthand tenth frames to keep his hopes alive, but all Nate needed was a mark.Thefirst shot went way high, leaving the 3-6-9-10. Nate looked devastated, butCristian Azcona, sitting in the crowd, was quick to calculate that Nate neededa mark and shouted to Nate to calm down and take the spare.Natefired. The ball went right through the 3 and 6 pins, knocked down the 7, butthe 10 pin stayed. The crowd sighed as Nate’s dreams of playing for his firstPBA Tour title shattered in the most brutal way possible. Semifinal: Anderson vs Rissanen “Pretty cool,” Juho Rissanen said, summing up his feelings after defeatingAndrew Anderson to advance to the finals against Rash. Injury Almost Cost a Title “This one’s for the old guys, I guess,” Rash said claiming the trophy.Rightafter the win, Rash sat in a chair to absorb the moment. From the crowd, KyleTroup handed him a phone - on the line was the one person Rash most wanted toshare the victory with: his wife.“My anxiety started to take overmy mind. I called my wife, and she said, ‘Mind over matter. You got this, dowhat you can,’” Rash recalled claiming the trophy.For his triumph,Rash collected 165,000 SEK (about $17,500 USD).The award ceremonyfeatured Storm Products Inc. CEO Barbara Chrisman and President Tyler Jensen.Given that Storm and Rash parted ways earlier this year after his complaintregarding a vaping incident, receiving the prize and trophy from companyleaders added another layer to the moment.On his way to claim thetrophy, Rash embraced each tournament official, but when it came time toreceive the trophy from Tyler Jensen, the moment was noticeably more formalthan the rest of the celebrations. There’s a lot of talk around Rash as a player and as a human. You might lovehim or hate him, but Rash has bowled here in Europe for more than two decades,including numerous competitions at the Super Six Tour here in the early 2000s,showing how much it means to him to bowl not only in the U.S., where he nowhas 18 PBA Tour titles, but also in Europe. That is why he is in the Hall ofFame.