Bowling - English Junior Open 2002 Malta's young bowlers win 16 trophies

Ten members of Malta's youth squad - six boys and four girls - recently travelled to Birmingham to take part in the 10th English Junior Open. A formidable field of 113 teams, comprising 850 young bowlers, largely hailing from all parts of the British Isles, competed.

Following last year's success when Malta was able to boast a junior champion in Maurizio Anastasi, this year's squad had their sights set high. Their determination more than paid off, as between them, the kids landed 16 trophies.

Malta's first honours came in the singles' events, most convincingly in the male division two where Rankin Camilleri, 14, placed second, just ahead of 16-year-old Carl Borg.

Other commendable results for our boys were those of Matthew Caruana, 18, who placed 12th in the open division and also 16-year-old Anastasi, 10th in division one.

The best showing for the Maltese girls in the singles' competition was that of young Stephanie Said, 14, who bowled extremely well to claim fourth place in division three.

In the doubles' events, better results were achieved, especially that of Camilleri and Borg who claimed top spot in division two.

Keith Bugeja and Nathan Brimmer - both aged 14 - placed third in the same division. Caruana and Anastasi played well together in the doubles open division, placing sixth.

The girls were also in the medals with Said and 14-year-old Valentina Bezzina taking second place in division three. Sisters Bernardette (17) and Tiziana Carannante (14) placed ninth in division one.

The five-member team competition resulted in more silverware for our youths, who took third place in division one, among a field of 72 teams. The 'Malta 2' side was made up of B. Carannante, Brimmer, Said, Anastasi and Caruana.

In the all-events section, the scores (pinfall) achieved in the singles and doubles are combined to form an overall standings table. By virtue of their outstanding performances, Camilleri and Borg placed first and third respectively in the all-events, division two.

Bugeja placed 10th and Brimmer finished seventh in division three. In the girls' section, Said placed fourth in division two with B. Carannante claiming the seventh spot.

Masters event

The climax of the tournament was the masters event, where the best six overall performers in each division played a 'round robin' style contest. Malta was extremely well represented by the following qualifiers - B. Carannante, female division two, Said, division three, Borg, division two, Camilleri division two and Brimmer, division three.

The winners of each section would then proceeded to play a step-ladder final to decide the ultimate titles - English Junior Open Champions.

Brimmer won all five of his matches to win the section. In div. two, it was Malta all the way, with Borg placing first, equal on points with Camilleri but with a superior pinfall. Carannante and Said also played well, finishing fourth and fifth in their respective divisions.

In the finals, Brimmer lost out in the first match against Mark Tunnicliffe. Tunnicliffe then went on to lose against Adam Purnell who in turn fell to Malta's Borg in a very close 178-184 game. Borg faced off against Chris Manders, and was unlucky to lose with a 189 game against his opponent's 213. Nevertheless, runner-up is certainly a position to be proud of for Borg.

Much credit for these fine results must go to youth squad coach Giancarlo Tolu. Tolu was assisted during the tournament by Mark Spiteri and Liliana Said.