IBF grasping at straws, calling all member federations to join the World Championships

The World Championships have been opened to all IBF Member Federations for participation, IBF Executive Board announced yesterday.

This decision was made due to the lack of attendance from qualified countries.

In May, Swedish Bowling Association already decided to opt out of the World Championships, while Norway made the same decistion in June.

The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) has formally announced in June, that Team USA also intends to abstain from participating in the upcoming International Bowling Federation (IBF) 2023 World Championships in Kuwait.

Shortly after that, Finland made the decision to withdraw from the upcoming championships as well, citing the lack of concrete and reliable information from the International Bowling Federation (IBF).

The IBF Executive Board has decided to open the World Championships to all member federations until the quota of 32 countries is met.

Based on Bulletin 4, which was dispatched to member federations yesterday, the participation of only nineteen men's and twelve women's national team delegations has been confirmed up to now.

Countries that have confirmed participation in the 2023 World Championships

The IBF Executive Board has also extended the deadline for submissions. The deadline to submit the intention of participation has been extended to August 15th. This extension is based on several member federations needing ample time to plan their trips.