Just one day after the European Championship of Champions 2025 concluded in Vienna - where Emma Palermaa and Lukáš Jelínek claimed gold - the European Bowling Federation Congress gathered for what was expected to be one of the more complex sessions in recent years.
The EBF had faced a demanding year. The federation navigated through rule changes within the European Bowling Tour (EBT), including the departure of some major tournaments, while also managing the ongoing urethane bowling ball regulations that stirred debate not only in Europe, but worldwide. In addition, controversy surrounded the candidacy of a russian delegate seeking re-election, who is known as a strong supporter of russian dictator vladimir putin and russia’s war in Ukraine.
But what initially seemed to be a tense Congress turned out quite the opposite. In just over two hours, delegates re-elected Valgeir Guðbjartsson of Iceland as President for a second term, welcomed new Presidium members, and reviewed several key projects set to shape the organization’s leadership and strategy for the coming years.
Moments after the Congress, BowlingLife spoke with Guðbjartsson, who reflected on the short but productive session, evaluated the new Presidium, reviewed the key projects, and some of the upcoming EBF goals.
High Hopes For The New Presidium
The Congress confirmed new and returning members of the EBF Presidium, shaping
the federation’s leadership for the next cycle.
In the Presidium
elections, Sue Abela of Malta was elected for a two-year term, replacing Lisa
John of England, who resigned for health reasons. Onder Gurkan of Turkey was
re-elected for four years, and Or Aviram of Israel secured a new four-year
term. They join Marios Nicolaides of Cyprus and Marc Beaufays of Belgium on
the EBF Presidium.
Reflecting on the team, Guðbjartsson expressed optimism about the Presidium’s experience and the perspectives its members bring.
“I have high hopes of the new presidium," Guðbjartsson said in an interview. "There’s basically two people that have not been in there before, Or (Aviram) and Sue (Abela). Both have been in bowling for a long time and know the aspects of the sport. Or Aviram has also been in, should I say, in the organization in Israel. He has also been very active in more things regarding bowling like Specto. Sue Abela has been mainly one of the most excellent bowlers we have in southern Europe, and for the last decades, probably 30, 40 years. I think everybody in Europe knows her very well. So I have hopes.”
Educational Programs and Cooperation with IBF
Beyond the elections, the Congress also discussed several ongoing initiatives, including updates to EBF’s educational programs and its cooperation with the International Bowling Federation (IBF). Guðbjartsson emphasized that these areas remain central to the federation’s strategic goals.
“There are projects we are working on. We are updating the educational programs - more or less all of them. We could say they are our real gem of what we are doing. The gender committee and all the committees are doing very well. We are also in very good cooperation nowadays with IBF. We are well presented, and I believe we are very well inside the IBF Executive Board. We are in good standard there. We have Marios (Nicolaides) as the vice president of IBF, and me as a representative from the EBF. I believe that we are in a good standard there.”
Second Term and BowlCon 2027
When asked about his motivation for seeking another term, Guðbjartsson pointed to a major initiative planned for April 2027, known as BowlCon - a new event designed to unite the bowling community worldwide.
“There are projects I’d like to seek. We are working on a major project which will be in April 2027. It’s kind of, you would say, a combination of trade show and the educational activities and conference, and I would like to see that go through and be one of the major activities in bowling in the world in 2027.”
He added that while there is interest in connecting BowlCon with a major European tournament, final decisions will depend on logistics and venue feasibility.
“There is interest to connect this event with some of bigger tournament. But whether it will be possible due to location and so on remains to be seen.”
Guðbjartsson also outlined that his main focus moving forward is maintaining organizational stability and cooperation among national federations.
“There are no special projects, but let’s say that just to keep the EBF going in good harmony with the National Federations. That’s one of the goals that always on the table.”
Ukraine’s Letter and Strong Position
One of the most sensitive topics surrounding the Congress was the candidacy of Sergey Lisitsyn of russia, whose previous statements justifying russia’s war in Ukraine and accusing the West of spreading russophobia and nacism widespread attention ahead of the election. Guðbjartsson confirmed to BowlingLife that the issue was addressed formally during the Congress:
“There was a letter from Ukraine to the Congress and they were asking the Congress to take a stand whether the Russian candidate would be accepted to be a candidate or not. The Congress accepted the Russian candidate, but in the election Russian candidate was not getting votes.” When asked to specify the voting outcome, the president confirmed that the Russian delegate received 4 votes out of 33 eligible ballots cast during the Congress, failing to secure re-election.
Addressing the Urethane Situation
In recent months, the bowling community has closely followed debates surrounding the legality and regulation of urethane bowling balls, with several federations seeking clarity. Guðbjartsson acknowledged that the topic remains unresolved and under review within both EBF and IBF structures.
“Let’s say that that story’s not done yet. I don’t see that being done in the next few weeks - it will take some time. But there will be steps ongoing regarding that. I cannot say more at this time.”
When asked whether EBF is waiting for further direction from IBF, he added:
“Possibly. Let’s just keep it on that for a moment. We also have some ideas
just within EBF to do our things as well. In general, I think urethanes are not
a bad thing. But there are too many things going, claiming some illegalities
that need to be sorted out one way or the other.”
