EBF Confirms Urethane Rule, EBT Status and russian Youth Eligibility
The European Bowling Federation has issued an official statement regarding therecent urethane bowling ball regulation announced by the International BowlingFederation. The statement also addresses how the decision will affect EBF competitions andclarifies the eligibility of russian and belarusian youth athletes in EBForganized tournaments. Regarding athlete eligibility, the EBF confirmed that it will follow therecommendations of the International Olympic Committee and the IBF concerningyouth athletes holding russian or belarusian passports. These athletes will be allowed to compete in EBF and IBF youth events,provided their national federation is in good standing and all standard IBFprotocols and regulations are followed. The decision not to allow any russian or belarusian athletes to participate inEBF events was made in 2022. The brutal war caused by russia has resulted insignificant loss of life. According to official data, more than 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have beenkilled on the battlefield. Other Ukrainian sources, cross-referenced by theBBC, suggest the number could be as high as 200,000. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reports that15,168 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 41,534 wounded during fouryears of full-scale war, including 3,018 child casualties. The war is considered Europe’s largest armed conflict since World War II. In 2022, Russian Bowling Federation president Sergey Lisitsyn took part in apro-war rally in Moscow on March 18, where he openly supported Putin and theso-called "special military operation" in Ukraine. During that rally, he madestatements justifying Russia’s actions and accusing the West of spreadingRussophobia. "We see that the special operation being carried out today on Ukrainian soilallows us to achieve our goals with minimal losses for our fraternalpeoples," Lisitsyn 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 Urethane Use The EBF has issued an official statement regarding the recent urethane bowlingball regulationannounced by the International Bowling Federation. The EBF has also confirmed that it will apply the same urethane bowlingball regulation announced by the International Bowling Federation. The newurethane ball hardness requirement will come into effect for EBF EuropeanChampionships starting from 6 April 2026, after the European YouthChampionships 2026 in Berlin, Germany. announced by the International Bowling Federation According to the EBF, it will also conduct random hardness checks during itsEuropean Championships. Any ball found below the permitted hardness level willbe declared non compliant and removed from competition.Theofficial USBC list of non eligible bowling balls is availablehere here No Change on EBT The EBF also clarified that no changes will apply to the ongoing EBT Tour for2026. All current events will continue under the existing equipment rules.Athletes competing in the 2026 tour do not need to make immediate changes totheir bowling balls.