QUALIFYING
Another great event for the boys! After squad 1 Barrett & Hann were leading and Teece & Croke were 3rd. After both squads Barrett & Hann managed to keep the 1st place in qualifying but unfortunatley Teece & Croke were pushed out to 5th by 42.
On the way to leading the qualifying Dom & Matt broke the 6 game total record with a massive 2790 made up of Matt's 1296 and Dom's 1494 averaging 232 as a team!
The other boys posted a score of 2621 made up of Sean's 1241 and Richies's 1380!
SEMI FINALS
In the first game the boys played Iceland. They started off with 9 strikes between the 2 of them but Iceland pulled back to keep the game tight. In the end the boys sealed the win in the 10th frame to win the game 438 - 423! Sweden beat Singapore 414 - 316 so the boys played Sweden in the Final!
FINAL
Onto the final and once again the boys looked good in practice. Unfortunatley it was not meant to be and the boys did not quite keep up with the Swedes and they lost the game 399 - 417.
2 events down and 2 medals for England in the Male section....not bad considering its been a long time since England took home a male medal!
ALL EVENTS
As a country, after 12 games, we are looking strong in both categories!
Girls
Laura 39th 2340
Hayley 35th 2361
Faye 23rd 2418
JoJo 5th 2558
Boys
Sean 48th 2429
Matt 24th 2495
Richie 5th 2612
Domsie 1st 2823
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
World Youth Championships 4 - Singles & Doubles
SINGLES
Considering this was the first event of the tournament I was very happy with my performance. This event was played on the long oil pattern.
206 225 193 191 202 210 = 1227. I finished the event in joint 11th place which is the highest I've finished in this event in the 3 of the World Youth's I've competed in. The other girls played well too, the scores were as follows...
Faye 158 199 246 191 254 191 = 1239 8th place
Laura 192 183 175 232 203 197 = 1182 24th place
Hayley 191 200 165 205 216 203 = 1180 26th place
There are 135 women so for the 4 of us to be placed in the top 20% is a great achievement and gives us a good start to work towards the team event at the end of the tournament.
The boys did well also -
Dominic 228 226 216 171 267 221 = 1329 3rd place (after qualifying)
Matt 222 215 164 173 173 252 = 1199 46th place
Sean 199 212 204 202 189 182 = 1188 58th place
Richie 193 213 241 177 173 235 = 1232 22nd place
The format takes the top 4 from qualifying. The 1st seed plays 4th and 2nd plays 3rd in a 1 game roll off, the winners then compete for the gold & silver medals.
Dom's first game was against Jaime Eduador Gonzalez from Colombia which he won 244 - 206. The final match was played against Fredrik Tjernes which he won also 211 - 191. The match was tight from the start, dom struck out in the 10th frame for a 211 game causing his oponent to have to strike out for a 212 and the gold medal. This was not to be and Domsie became the World Champion in the Singles event of the World Youth Championships 2008!
There was a great atmosphere in the England Camp as this was England first gold medal in the male section of the World Youth Championships!
DOUBLES
The boys had a day off today and the girlies took to the lanes to play the doubles on the short oil pattern. It was a good day again today for the girls with all 4 of us having steady sets and feeling happy. The scores were as follows:
Hayley 199 167 193 195 190 237 = 1181
Laura 196 172 185 144 260 201 = 1158
Team Total = 2339 29th place
Faye 189 257 152 202 203 176 = 1179
JoJo 244 206 234 221 236 190 = 1331
Team Total = 2510 7th place
We were so close today but didn't eecute the shots well enough in the last game to create the big game we needed. We ended up missing the medal spots by 30 pins. We were both pretty gutted at the time but looking back we realise we both made some mistakes, bad shots, missed spares etc during the 6 game block.
This has just added extra desire for us to pull together as a unit for the team event and bring home a medal! We're all placed in the top 25% in the all events after 12 games so we have a strong base to work on!
We had a great time letting off steam tonight. The girls went out for dinner at Longhorns Steakhouse along with Richie, Matt, Amanda, Dave & Michelle. After dinner I dragged everyone over to Chuck - E Cheese...if you've never been to one of these you just HAVE to go! It's an arcade 'where kids can be kids' or where adults can be kids! It's so much fun :o)
Tomorrow is our day off so we'll relax, watch the boys and we're gonna head to Downtown Disney :o)
Fingers Crossed for the boys tomorrow and the team events on Tuesday & Wednesday!
JoJo xx
Saturday, July 19, 2008
World Youth Championships 3
Friday 18th July 2008
Official practice went well for me today. I've figured out my benchmark balls for both patterns then the balls I will change to as the patterns break down. Today my Blast Zone didn't look convincing and so it has been replaced for the Lane Masters Hornet!
The opening ceremony was one of the best run I've ever seen, everything ran smoothly and didn't seem to take hours! There was a performance from the people who perform Stomp. Steel drums, bins and buckets! It was great fun, have a look on the official website www.2008wyc.com to watch the video!
Last night the girls went to a steak house called Logan's Road House. On the table's they serve peanuts still in the shell, you help yourselves, remove the nut from the shell then throw it on the floor - RANDOM!! Still the food was great and was nice for us to relax ready for the tournament to begin.
Saturday 19th July 2008
Today is singles day. The first squad of boys have finished and the second is squad are just preparing to start. All 4 of our boys are in the same squad 12.30 but running 20 minutes late!
The girls will play at 5pm if everything is running on time! I've figured out that the best website to get scores from is Bowling Digital www.bowlingdigital.com.
I'm gonna give the guys some support now so will write again tonight or tomorrow about how everyone did!
Everything crossed :o)
JoJo XXX
Official practice went well for me today. I've figured out my benchmark balls for both patterns then the balls I will change to as the patterns break down. Today my Blast Zone didn't look convincing and so it has been replaced for the Lane Masters Hornet!
The opening ceremony was one of the best run I've ever seen, everything ran smoothly and didn't seem to take hours! There was a performance from the people who perform Stomp. Steel drums, bins and buckets! It was great fun, have a look on the official website www.2008wyc.com to watch the video!
Last night the girls went to a steak house called Logan's Road House. On the table's they serve peanuts still in the shell, you help yourselves, remove the nut from the shell then throw it on the floor - RANDOM!! Still the food was great and was nice for us to relax ready for the tournament to begin.
Saturday 19th July 2008
Today is singles day. The first squad of boys have finished and the second is squad are just preparing to start. All 4 of our boys are in the same squad 12.30 but running 20 minutes late!
The girls will play at 5pm if everything is running on time! I've figured out that the best website to get scores from is Bowling Digital www.bowlingdigital.com.
I'm gonna give the guys some support now so will write again tonight or tomorrow about how everyone did!
Everything crossed :o)
JoJo XXX
Friday, July 18, 2008
World Youth Championships 2
Wednesday 16th July 2008
I was fairly happy with the first unofficial practice session. I got to use the majority of the equipment I brought with me. The patterns we played on were a long & short, apparently the official tournament patterns but we'll see.
I've been on holiday recently so I havent bowled much in the past 3 weeks, I used today to loosen up and get used to the surroundings in the bowl. The concourse area of the bowl is quite dark with the main lighting in the seating and approach area. The seating area is also a little different to the centres at home, more tables but much more space too. I'll add a photo tomorrow!
We went to City Walk @ Universal Studios. It's just a village of shops, restaurants & bars with a relaxed but enjoyable atmosphere! The girls went for a meal at Hard Rock Cafe, which was lovely as always, walked around the shops, had matching air brush tattoos then headed back to the hotel for some more sleep!
Thursday 17th July 2008
As the tournament doesn't start officialy until tomorrow we had today to do as we pleased. We had a late morning and spent an hour fooling around in the pool before heading to the bowl for more unofficial practice!
In practice today I spent more time watching the ball reactions and seeing how the patterns broke down. I was happy with the reactions of the majority of my equipment just making slight changes.
The equipment I have with me are -
Roto Grip Cell
Hammer Black Widow
Brunswick Ultra Zone
Ebonite Complete NV
Storm T Road Pearl
Brunswick Blast Zone
Lane Masetrs Hornet
I didn't have great reactions with the Hornet or the Black Widow so at the moment they are the 2 which I will be leaving out when I select 6 for tournament use.
The Boardwalk Bowl is an 80 lane centre split into 48 & 32. Official practice ( tomorrow morning at 11.30 ) gives us the opportunity to play across the whole centre which we haven't had during unofficial practice.
We're gonna settle down now and watch some Lee Evans! I'll write again tomorrow hopefully with some photos!!
JoJo xox
I was fairly happy with the first unofficial practice session. I got to use the majority of the equipment I brought with me. The patterns we played on were a long & short, apparently the official tournament patterns but we'll see.
I've been on holiday recently so I havent bowled much in the past 3 weeks, I used today to loosen up and get used to the surroundings in the bowl. The concourse area of the bowl is quite dark with the main lighting in the seating and approach area. The seating area is also a little different to the centres at home, more tables but much more space too. I'll add a photo tomorrow!
We went to City Walk @ Universal Studios. It's just a village of shops, restaurants & bars with a relaxed but enjoyable atmosphere! The girls went for a meal at Hard Rock Cafe, which was lovely as always, walked around the shops, had matching air brush tattoos then headed back to the hotel for some more sleep!
Thursday 17th July 2008
As the tournament doesn't start officialy until tomorrow we had today to do as we pleased. We had a late morning and spent an hour fooling around in the pool before heading to the bowl for more unofficial practice!
In practice today I spent more time watching the ball reactions and seeing how the patterns broke down. I was happy with the reactions of the majority of my equipment just making slight changes.
The equipment I have with me are -
Roto Grip Cell
Hammer Black Widow
Brunswick Ultra Zone
Ebonite Complete NV
Storm T Road Pearl
Brunswick Blast Zone
Lane Masetrs Hornet
I didn't have great reactions with the Hornet or the Black Widow so at the moment they are the 2 which I will be leaving out when I select 6 for tournament use.
The Boardwalk Bowl is an 80 lane centre split into 48 & 32. Official practice ( tomorrow morning at 11.30 ) gives us the opportunity to play across the whole centre which we haven't had during unofficial practice.
We're gonna settle down now and watch some Lee Evans! I'll write again tomorrow hopefully with some photos!!
JoJo xox
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
World Youth Championships 1
Tuesday 15th July 2008
Yesterday was travelling day, we met at the airport at 8.30am checked in, argued about baggage, had a good old English breakfast boarded and the flight was pretty smooth - Happy Days! We arrived in Orlando at 5pm US time, got to the hotel about 7. We went for food then the girls retired to bed about 10pm.
I slept great, the hotel beds are big & comfy which is a bonus! :o)
Wednesday 16th July 2008
There is no set plan for the next 2 days as the tournament doesn't officialy start until Friday. We're gonna head down the bowl today though and have unofficial practice!
The official tournament website is www.2008wyc.com but you will also find the scores and reports at www.bowlingdigital.com! I will do my best to update as regular as possible but I'm guessing it could get busy!
I'll write again later, fingers crossed practice goes ok!
JoJo xxx
Yesterday was travelling day, we met at the airport at 8.30am checked in, argued about baggage, had a good old English breakfast boarded and the flight was pretty smooth - Happy Days! We arrived in Orlando at 5pm US time, got to the hotel about 7. We went for food then the girls retired to bed about 10pm.
I slept great, the hotel beds are big & comfy which is a bonus! :o)
Wednesday 16th July 2008
There is no set plan for the next 2 days as the tournament doesn't officialy start until Friday. We're gonna head down the bowl today though and have unofficial practice!
The official tournament website is www.2008wyc.com but you will also find the scores and reports at www.bowlingdigital.com! I will do my best to update as regular as possible but I'm guessing it could get busy!
I'll write again later, fingers crossed practice goes ok!
JoJo xxx
Thursday, June 12, 2008
European Womens Championships Day 8
Jemma, Jenny, Lisa, Nicki, Zara & Me messing around before the team event!
BIFFY!
Day 8 : Thursday 12th June
Last night Denamark won the trios event, defeating France in the finals! Germeny & Holland picked up the bronze medals!
We didn't stay around the bowl to watch the finals, instead we headed downtown to a restaurant called Bone's! It was a lovely steakhouse with the bestest Salad Bar I have ever ever seen! The meal was good and we all had a great time!! After a cup of tea and a little time in the hotel lobby we headed to bed to get some sleep ready for the early morning!!
Today is the first day of the 5 man team event! Our team was drawn in the first squad so it was yet another early start!! We played 3 games on the short oil and will play the following 3 tomorrow on the long oil.
The whole team was comfortable on the lanes today and played really well together!
England
Zara Glover 192 214 211 - 617
Lisa John 236 236 179 - 651
Jo Allsebrook 238 201 243 - 682
Jemma Smith 213 185 212 - 610
Jenny Billingham 184 206 225 - 615
For a team total of 3175.
Lisa John 236 236 179 - 651
Jo Allsebrook 238 201 243 - 682
Jemma Smith 213 185 212 - 610
Jenny Billingham 184 206 225 - 615
For a team total of 3175.
After the first shift we are lying 2nd behind the Danish team who scored 3314.
We will be in the top half of the teams after today's bowling so the team will not play until the afternoon squad! Wahooo - lie in!
I've made some more changes to my equipment to try and get a better look on the long pattern, I have scuffed down both my Roto Grip Cell & Hammer Black Widow using the green pad. This has roughed up the surface hopefully helping the ball hook a little more and give me more room to play with.
After all 6 games we aim to be in the top 4 to earn a spot in the semi finals. The higher we can finish the better as the highest seeded team picks the condition to play on for the match.
Fingers Crossed for tomorrow!!!!!
JoJo xxx
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
European Womens Championships Day 7
After bowling yesterday we decided we needed to get away from bowling for a while! The way we did this was perfect......shopping for banquet clothes, watching Sex and the City @ the cimena and then a lovely meal! I twas really nice to spend time with the girls outside the bowl and it really helped us to relax! :o) Happy Days!
Day 7 : Wednesday 11th June
After both shifts of trios yesterday we were lying in 7th place, 64 pins behind 4th place which is the cut for the semi finals.
Today didn't go great for us as a unit. Jenny played great again 193, 216 & 215 for a 624. Nicki settled loads batter today with 183, 190 & 234 for 607. I had similar problems to what I did on the long in the doubles, I was always there or there abouts but it was never quite right. I seemed to have something for 3 or 4 frames then it would go and I'd spend the next 3 or 4 frames hunting. Today I had games of 188 174 177 for a 539.
We were still 4th in that shift but the 2nd shift is carrying 3 teams with big scores from yesterday! Unfortunatley one of them isn't our other team - yesterday didn;t go well for them, struggling to find a consistent reaction. The lanes didn't appear to be hooking from the very edge which makes the short pattern very tough.
I spoke to Chris about my ball selection for the long, I am going to make some surface changes to 2 of my balls. The Roto Grip Cell I will take down to 1000 to get it hooking earlier so I will be bale to play deeper into the oil and still get a good backend reaction. I'm also gonna take the surface down slightly on the Complete NV as it just goes too far down the lane before reacting, which isn't right for the long pattern.
Jem, Lisa & Zara are just starting practice so we better go and watch!
Write again soon,
JoJo xxx
Day 7 : Wednesday 11th June
After both shifts of trios yesterday we were lying in 7th place, 64 pins behind 4th place which is the cut for the semi finals.
Today didn't go great for us as a unit. Jenny played great again 193, 216 & 215 for a 624. Nicki settled loads batter today with 183, 190 & 234 for 607. I had similar problems to what I did on the long in the doubles, I was always there or there abouts but it was never quite right. I seemed to have something for 3 or 4 frames then it would go and I'd spend the next 3 or 4 frames hunting. Today I had games of 188 174 177 for a 539.
We were still 4th in that shift but the 2nd shift is carrying 3 teams with big scores from yesterday! Unfortunatley one of them isn't our other team - yesterday didn;t go well for them, struggling to find a consistent reaction. The lanes didn't appear to be hooking from the very edge which makes the short pattern very tough.
I spoke to Chris about my ball selection for the long, I am going to make some surface changes to 2 of my balls. The Roto Grip Cell I will take down to 1000 to get it hooking earlier so I will be bale to play deeper into the oil and still get a good backend reaction. I'm also gonna take the surface down slightly on the Complete NV as it just goes too far down the lane before reacting, which isn't right for the long pattern.
Jem, Lisa & Zara are just starting practice so we better go and watch!
Write again soon,
JoJo xxx
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
European Women's Championships Days 4, 5 & 6
Day 4 : Sunday 8th June
Day Off!!! Jemma & I had a day off today, was a bit weird having a day off during championships but it was quite nice to relax and perfect opportunity for Jemma's ankle to get better!
Day 5 : Monday 9th June
Me & Jemma had the early shift today - Urgh 6am alarm's are not my favourite!
After a bad start on saturday we were determined not to start like that again and we came out fighting! 225 for me & 212 for Jemma, we were both feeling good! When we moved to th enext pair I was forced to play different to the first game and sturggled to find something for a 160. I struggled for the rest of the squad after this, getting close all the time but never looking too convincing. Our scores were as follows
Jo Allsebrook 225 160 195 163 190 170 = 1103
Jemma Smith 212 194 192 199 159 224 = 1180
As a team, over the long & short games we finished on 4775.
Zara & Lisa played there final set of 6 in the afternoon. They were in a good position for a medal spot after the short and started well on the long. It was very tense and they so very nearly made 4th spot for the finals but unfortunatley fell 14 pins short. It was an experience watching them play and me, Jemma, Nicki & Jenny sat at the back getting nervous and filling up with tears!
Sweden's team of Helen Johnson & Nina Flack went on to win the Gold medal, Tina Hulsch & Patricis Schwartz from Germany in 2nd and Denamrk's Anja & Mai Ginge Jenson shared 3rd place with the other Swedish team Therese Forsell & Diana Alfredson!
Day 6 : Tuesday 10th June
Trios started today. Shift 1 was at 9am - that bloody 6am alarm again :o( Jenny, Nicki & I were in this shift, in practice we saw a noticeable difference in the short pattern to the other days, they seemed to be a lot hookier! We all got sorted in practice but for both Jenny & Nicki they changed as the game started!
Jenny managed to find it again moving further towards the right hand gutter but Nicki was struggling to find something consistently! Our first game was a good starting game for us as it gave us back a bit of confidence. Jenny 201, Nicki 163, Me 269.
The 2nd game was lower, Jenny had a good start then her reaction went. She managed to make the change to another ball before too many pins were lost and struck out for 214. Nicki still had the same sorta problems for a 160 and I had a 175. I struggled carrying the corner pins in this game and I opened a split in the 8th frame.
Into the 3rd game and we came back fighting, Jenny had lots of strikes for a 245 game, Nicki flushed the pocket for 12 shots only carrying 1 at the beginning and 5 at the end for a 217 and I rounded them off with a 237 for a team game of 699!
This made our team total 1881 and 4th plae in the shift behind Germany, Denmark & Holland!
Jemma, Lisa & Zara are on now for the first 3 games of there trios on short! Tomorrow we all play a further 3 games on the long condition.
I will write again tomorrow!
JoJo
xxx
Day Off!!! Jemma & I had a day off today, was a bit weird having a day off during championships but it was quite nice to relax and perfect opportunity for Jemma's ankle to get better!
Day 5 : Monday 9th June
Me & Jemma had the early shift today - Urgh 6am alarm's are not my favourite!
After a bad start on saturday we were determined not to start like that again and we came out fighting! 225 for me & 212 for Jemma, we were both feeling good! When we moved to th enext pair I was forced to play different to the first game and sturggled to find something for a 160. I struggled for the rest of the squad after this, getting close all the time but never looking too convincing. Our scores were as follows
Jo Allsebrook 225 160 195 163 190 170 = 1103
Jemma Smith 212 194 192 199 159 224 = 1180
As a team, over the long & short games we finished on 4775.
Zara & Lisa played there final set of 6 in the afternoon. They were in a good position for a medal spot after the short and started well on the long. It was very tense and they so very nearly made 4th spot for the finals but unfortunatley fell 14 pins short. It was an experience watching them play and me, Jemma, Nicki & Jenny sat at the back getting nervous and filling up with tears!
Sweden's team of Helen Johnson & Nina Flack went on to win the Gold medal, Tina Hulsch & Patricis Schwartz from Germany in 2nd and Denamrk's Anja & Mai Ginge Jenson shared 3rd place with the other Swedish team Therese Forsell & Diana Alfredson!
Day 6 : Tuesday 10th June
Trios started today. Shift 1 was at 9am - that bloody 6am alarm again :o( Jenny, Nicki & I were in this shift, in practice we saw a noticeable difference in the short pattern to the other days, they seemed to be a lot hookier! We all got sorted in practice but for both Jenny & Nicki they changed as the game started!
Jenny managed to find it again moving further towards the right hand gutter but Nicki was struggling to find something consistently! Our first game was a good starting game for us as it gave us back a bit of confidence. Jenny 201, Nicki 163, Me 269.
The 2nd game was lower, Jenny had a good start then her reaction went. She managed to make the change to another ball before too many pins were lost and struck out for 214. Nicki still had the same sorta problems for a 160 and I had a 175. I struggled carrying the corner pins in this game and I opened a split in the 8th frame.
Into the 3rd game and we came back fighting, Jenny had lots of strikes for a 245 game, Nicki flushed the pocket for 12 shots only carrying 1 at the beginning and 5 at the end for a 217 and I rounded them off with a 237 for a team game of 699!
This made our team total 1881 and 4th plae in the shift behind Germany, Denmark & Holland!
Jemma, Lisa & Zara are on now for the first 3 games of there trios on short! Tomorrow we all play a further 3 games on the long condition.
I will write again tomorrow!
JoJo
xxx
Sunday, June 8, 2008
European Womens Championships Day 3
Day 3 : Saturday 7th June
Doubles started today! Nicki & Jenny bowled at 9am, Jemma & I were bowling at 1.30pm so we stayed back at the hotel, had a later breakfast and headed down to the bowl about 11am to watch the last game and get ready for our block. Nicki & Jenny had a steady start finishing 2361 as a team. After speaking to the girls & Chris it seemed they were both hitting the pocket lots just struggling to carry the corner pins.
Nicki Ainge 183 200 180 213 149 219 = 1144
Jenny Billingham 182 172 227 210 226 200 = 1217
The weather has been great here the last couple of days so I took advantage of the sun and did all my stretches outside, on the grass, in the sun - Happy Days! I decided against changing any surfaces as all th eballs looked ok during Official Practice! Practice looked good for us both except our thumbs been a little swollen from the heat, I managed to open up my thumb slug enough but Jemma was still struggling to get it off her hand cleanly.
Nicki Ainge 183 200 180 213 149 219 = 1144
Jenny Billingham 182 172 227 210 226 200 = 1217
The weather has been great here the last couple of days so I took advantage of the sun and did all my stretches outside, on the grass, in the sun - Happy Days! I decided against changing any surfaces as all th eballs looked ok during Official Practice! Practice looked good for us both except our thumbs been a little swollen from the heat, I managed to open up my thumb slug enough but Jemma was still struggling to get it off her hand cleanly.
The first game is one I wanna dwell on, I missed 2 single pins (10pins) and Jemma hit her ankle twice and with the ball still catching quite a bit we scraped together a total of 309. Things didn't look good! We took time after the first game to re-group, we decided to forget the 309 and start again! As you can see from our scores we definitley got fired up and the scores were much better! We had a great time on the lanes, the atmosphere was brilliant and between Jemma, Myself & Coach Chris Buck we worked together to keep fighting and make the right moves at the right times! We finished on a total of 2492 which is a good starting block for the next 6 games and we all left the lanes feeling very happy.
Jo Allsebrook 174 212 212 232 256 193 = 1279
Jemma Smith 135 191 235 238 190 224 =1213
We managed to find somewhere proper to eat last night, a lovely cafe restaurant in the shopping mall! It was an eventuful night with lots of laughs and giggles about ridiculous things but it helped to relax us after a long day bowling!
I'm down the bowl this morning watching Lisa & Zara in their first block of 6. Jemma & I have the early squad tomorrow so it seemed a good idea to get used to the early start - sensible! I am having a very clever few days - Check me out!!!
JoJo xxx
Friday, June 6, 2008
European Womens Championships Days 1 & 2
The team ready for the opening ceremony!!For the next 10 days I will be in Odense, Denmark for the European Women's Championships! I will do my best to update day by day but some days I'm guessing I'll just be tooo knackered!!
Day 1 : Thursday 5th June
Talk about early start - Jemma's alarm went off at 4.30am Urgh!!! I travelled down to Jemma's Wednesday night so we could have an early night but I went to see Adam, left there later than planned and got to Jemma's about 10.30! After chatting and getting excited about the trip we got to sleep about 1.30am!
So early start, everyone arrived at Gatwick nice & early ready for the flight which was only 1hour & 15minutes! We flew into Billund which is quite a way from Odense and the tournament wasn't providing transport. We had to get a bus to the nearest train station then a train to Odense and then we could phone the organisers for a pick up - Nightmare! It wouldnt have been so bad but we had heavy suitcases, heavy-ish hand luggage and it was super hot! Good job Eric Hayton drove all our balls here!
We finally arrived at the hotel about 2.30, dropped the luggage off quick change then for some food! After food we headed down to the bowl to have a look around. Jemma, Zara, Nicki & Jenny decided to have a bowl and loosen up but me & Lisa decided against it.
Day 2 : Friday 6th June
Today was the official start for the tournament. Official practice, Opening Ceremony & Welcome Reception. There was 3 sessions for practice, we had the 1st starting at 11am. After slicing my finger with the bread knife ( don't worry, left hand!!! ) we got down to the bowl, cleaned some balls and made some slight changes to some ball surfaces!
Official practice is played on both the Long (44ft) and the Short (34ft) patterns, alternating each pair! We played on a set of lanes for 10 minutes then made a shift so we covered the whole centre! It's a really good opportunity to see how the lanes play across the centre and see how the lanes break & carry down throughout the squad.
I brought 8 balls with me but after official practice I had to reject 2 balls and register the 6 I would use during the competition.
Here's what I decided to keep
Long:
Roto Grip Cell
Hammer Black Widow
Short:
Brunswick Blast Zone
Storm T Road Pearl
I also have the Ebonite Complete NV which I had a look with on both patterns and of course my trusted spare ball!
Opening ceremonywas like any other, all the teams marched in from one side, stood and posed for photos, all the official oaths were spoken and then we had drinks & nibbles as a welcome reception! The weather had been great again today so was nice to be outside on the grass!
The doubles pairing were decided today. I will play with Jemma, Nicki & Jenny, Lisa & Zara. The doubles competition is 6 games short & 6 games long played over 3 days, sectioned into 3 squads playing at 2 times each day, 9am & 1.30pm. Nicki & Jenny squad 1, Jemma & I squad 2, Lisa & Zara squad 3. I will bowl at 1.30 tomorrow (saturday) and 9am Monday morning!
I'm really looking forward to bowling now as I was really happy with how I played and the looks I had during official practice! Just really hope this continues into the tournament!!
Wish me luck :o)
JoJo xxx
Eric Hayton is here reporting on his website http://www.itenpin.co.uk/ & you will also find results, pictures & videos at http://www.ewc2008.eu/
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
May...
Queens was a fantastic experience and I had an amazing time! I did not bowl aswell as I would have liked but the advantage of me not proceeding to further rounds was that I got to watch some of the best bowlers in the world! I learnt lots and come away feeling a much stronger person on & off the lanes!
May has been a bit hectic, came home from America played the Welsh Open. Good weekend came 5th :o)
Week later I had Team England training camp to prepare for the European Womens Championships & the World Youth Championships. Was a very long & tiring week, was hard work with bowling everyday along with classroom and equipment preperation.
Bank Holiday weekend was the Scott Banks Memorial Trios - Great weekend as always, played well but not well enough in the round robin final, finished 5th! All scores, reports, videos & pictures can be found at www.scottbanksfund.org.uk
Few days later Me & Adam head over to Belgium to play an EBT Event - The Belgium Open. I drove to this one which was an experience in itself but I survived - woop woop :o) Had a fab time, really enjoyed the bowling and the time spent away. I bowled really well making the final step 1 then qualifying making the round of 32 for matchplay also! At the end of the tournament I was the 2nd placed lady which earnt me an extra cash prize so it was a good trip all around! All results e.t.c can be found at www.ebt-belgium.eu
Tomorrow I leave for the European Womens Championships in Denmark. I'm staying with Jemma tomorrow night then driving to the airport at silly o clock thursday morning! This trip has come round so so quick so today I am mega excited! You can follow the tournament at www.ewc2008.eu/
Better go now and finish packing and preparing other bits & pieces!
JoJo xx
May has been a bit hectic, came home from America played the Welsh Open. Good weekend came 5th :o)
Week later I had Team England training camp to prepare for the European Womens Championships & the World Youth Championships. Was a very long & tiring week, was hard work with bowling everyday along with classroom and equipment preperation.
Bank Holiday weekend was the Scott Banks Memorial Trios - Great weekend as always, played well but not well enough in the round robin final, finished 5th! All scores, reports, videos & pictures can be found at www.scottbanksfund.org.uk
Few days later Me & Adam head over to Belgium to play an EBT Event - The Belgium Open. I drove to this one which was an experience in itself but I survived - woop woop :o) Had a fab time, really enjoyed the bowling and the time spent away. I bowled really well making the final step 1 then qualifying making the round of 32 for matchplay also! At the end of the tournament I was the 2nd placed lady which earnt me an extra cash prize so it was a good trip all around! All results e.t.c can be found at www.ebt-belgium.eu
Tomorrow I leave for the European Womens Championships in Denmark. I'm staying with Jemma tomorrow night then driving to the airport at silly o clock thursday morning! This trip has come round so so quick so today I am mega excited! You can follow the tournament at www.ewc2008.eu/
Better go now and finish packing and preparing other bits & pieces!
JoJo xx
Friday, April 25, 2008
USBC Queens...
Arrived safe & sound!
My god I've never seen a plane so tiny....50 people on the flight to Detroit and it was full - madness! It was only a short flight 45 minutes, then a 20 minute taxi ride to the hotel! All bags arrived once again - Happy Days :o)
I have no internet connection atthe hotel so I apologise now if I'm slow updating the blog - SORRY!
I slept for 13 hours last night, I was shattered! Had a shower n went for a walk, the hotel is on a highway and surrounded by other hotels and loadsa food places, I saw that there was free WIFI at Wendy's so I went back to the hotel to gte the laptop and ere I am now!
Sat in Wendys eating a Double Baconator - Yum Yum! It's true what they say, there is no burger like an american burger!! Gotta have at least one whilst I;m here aint I???
Tonight there is a formation meeting and practice sessions, I'm 5 hours behind here so whilst you're all tucked up in bed I'll be on the lanes!
Basic plan for practice is to get used to the surroundings, throw all the balls I brought and see how they look, play different areas of the lane and make some surface adjustments if needed! I managed to bring 7 balls with me including a plastic!
In my bag I got:
Brunswick Blast Zone
Brunswick Ultra Zone
Hammer Black Widow
Ebonite Complete NV
Storm T Road Pearl
Lane Masters / Legends Hornet
Brunswick T -Zone!
Well my battery is gonna die in a moment so I'l say bye for now!
Will write again soon!
JoJo xox
My god I've never seen a plane so tiny....50 people on the flight to Detroit and it was full - madness! It was only a short flight 45 minutes, then a 20 minute taxi ride to the hotel! All bags arrived once again - Happy Days :o)
I have no internet connection atthe hotel so I apologise now if I'm slow updating the blog - SORRY!
I slept for 13 hours last night, I was shattered! Had a shower n went for a walk, the hotel is on a highway and surrounded by other hotels and loadsa food places, I saw that there was free WIFI at Wendy's so I went back to the hotel to gte the laptop and ere I am now!
Sat in Wendys eating a Double Baconator - Yum Yum! It's true what they say, there is no burger like an american burger!! Gotta have at least one whilst I;m here aint I???
Tonight there is a formation meeting and practice sessions, I'm 5 hours behind here so whilst you're all tucked up in bed I'll be on the lanes!
Basic plan for practice is to get used to the surroundings, throw all the balls I brought and see how they look, play different areas of the lane and make some surface adjustments if needed! I managed to bring 7 balls with me including a plastic!
In my bag I got:
Brunswick Blast Zone
Brunswick Ultra Zone
Hammer Black Widow
Ebonite Complete NV
Storm T Road Pearl
Lane Masters / Legends Hornet
Brunswick T -Zone!
Well my battery is gonna die in a moment so I'l say bye for now!
Will write again soon!
JoJo xox
Thursday, April 24, 2008
USBC Queens
Manchester - Chicago O Hare
Early start this morning with my alarm set for 6am, and after not getting to sleep until 2am, I was feeling a little lot tired! I finished my packing at a reasonable time last night (about 11pm) but I was way too excited to sleep!
Mum brought me tothe airport, we left home at 7am and arrived at the airport at about 9.....a journey that should take an hour! Stoopid traffic! I flew with American Airlines and they were brilliant with me through check in, the weigh belts were broken so I got away with no excess charges - Happy Days!
The flight to chicago was pretty good, I managed to catch up on my sleep from last night so I feel happy now :o) The whole 7 1/2 hours consisted of me sleeping, waking up to eat, sleeping, waking up to eat and watch a movie!!! The plane was lovely, I think I must be getting used to it! We had chicken tortellini and then pizza later on - Yummy :o) he movie was pretty good too, The Freedom Writers - I reccomend!
The weather was warm landing in Chicago but really windy which made the landing uncomfortable - true what they say about the windy city though!!
All my bags arrived which is always a relief and after a funny experience in customs they were sent onto the next flight! The customs people seemed to pay a lot of interest to me, I thought it was cos I was carrying bowling balls. They were firing loads of questions about my equipment, my shoes, my average, leagues & tournament I play etc. The guy said to me wait there....I was waiting 10 minutes, panicing thinking they were ognna take my balls off me when he came back with 3 women and a guy with cameras. Turns out they are league bowlers who follow the big USBC Tournament, when searching the USBC Queens 08 on a search engine they'd picked up Talk Tenpin and read I was making the trip! I posed for a few photographs and signed some autographs and I was on my way with ALL my equipment! Weird...I don't even get recognised in my local centres!
I'm gonna be here in Chicago airport until 5.10 local time when I transfer to Detroit! The airport is huuuuuge, had to get on a monorail to get to the transfer terminal! Happy I found a Starbucks though and a comfy chair for me to pass time on the tinterweb :o)
Gonnna get going now, will write again from Detroit!
JoJo xox
Early start this morning with my alarm set for 6am, and after not getting to sleep until 2am, I was feeling a little lot tired! I finished my packing at a reasonable time last night (about 11pm) but I was way too excited to sleep!
Mum brought me tothe airport, we left home at 7am and arrived at the airport at about 9.....a journey that should take an hour! Stoopid traffic! I flew with American Airlines and they were brilliant with me through check in, the weigh belts were broken so I got away with no excess charges - Happy Days!
The flight to chicago was pretty good, I managed to catch up on my sleep from last night so I feel happy now :o) The whole 7 1/2 hours consisted of me sleeping, waking up to eat, sleeping, waking up to eat and watch a movie!!! The plane was lovely, I think I must be getting used to it! We had chicken tortellini and then pizza later on - Yummy :o) he movie was pretty good too, The Freedom Writers - I reccomend!
The weather was warm landing in Chicago but really windy which made the landing uncomfortable - true what they say about the windy city though!!
All my bags arrived which is always a relief and after a funny experience in customs they were sent onto the next flight! The customs people seemed to pay a lot of interest to me, I thought it was cos I was carrying bowling balls. They were firing loads of questions about my equipment, my shoes, my average, leagues & tournament I play etc. The guy said to me wait there....I was waiting 10 minutes, panicing thinking they were ognna take my balls off me when he came back with 3 women and a guy with cameras. Turns out they are league bowlers who follow the big USBC Tournament, when searching the USBC Queens 08 on a search engine they'd picked up Talk Tenpin and read I was making the trip! I posed for a few photographs and signed some autographs and I was on my way with ALL my equipment! Weird...I don't even get recognised in my local centres!
I'm gonna be here in Chicago airport until 5.10 local time when I transfer to Detroit! The airport is huuuuuge, had to get on a monorail to get to the transfer terminal! Happy I found a Starbucks though and a comfy chair for me to pass time on the tinterweb :o)
Gonnna get going now, will write again from Detroit!
JoJo xox
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Istanbul Bowling Open.....Game Over
Final Step 1 was at 8am this morning!
I woke up feeling pretty good, and after last nights games quite confident! I didn;t settle well on the lanes though, I wasn't throwing the ball consistently and had no lucky breaks to carry me through. I had games of 213 194 194 177 for 778 or 810 with bonus!
Gonna hang around the bowl today watching the later stages, crossing my fingers for the other UK players then we have a players party this evening! :o)
JoJo xox
I woke up feeling pretty good, and after last nights games quite confident! I didn;t settle well on the lanes though, I wasn't throwing the ball consistently and had no lucky breaks to carry me through. I had games of 213 194 194 177 for 778 or 810 with bonus!
Gonna hang around the bowl today watching the later stages, crossing my fingers for the other UK players then we have a players party this evening! :o)
JoJo xox
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Istanbul Bowling Open....I'm in!
I MADE THE TOP 42 :o) YAY
It's such a relief! With one squad to go I was in 38th place so I decided to try one more time, luckily I got a spot off the waiting list!
I felt I bowled good this squad, much better than the previous squads. I was ore consistent with my first balls and didn't miss any spares! I had games of 247 234 232 215 222 & 214 for a total of 1364 plus bonus = 1412....exactly the sae as before! But hey it doesn't matter I'm in!
Bowlers positioned 29 - 42 plus the 6 from desperado will play 4 more games in the morning from scratch with the top 10 procedding to the next round, where bowlers who are placed higher come in each round!
I'm going to sleep now as I'm up in 6 hours! The joys of playing the final squad and not being too high in the qualification results!
Goodnight, Wish me luck :o)
JoJo xox
It's such a relief! With one squad to go I was in 38th place so I decided to try one more time, luckily I got a spot off the waiting list!
I felt I bowled good this squad, much better than the previous squads. I was ore consistent with my first balls and didn't miss any spares! I had games of 247 234 232 215 222 & 214 for a total of 1364 plus bonus = 1412....exactly the sae as before! But hey it doesn't matter I'm in!
Bowlers positioned 29 - 42 plus the 6 from desperado will play 4 more games in the morning from scratch with the top 10 procedding to the next round, where bowlers who are placed higher come in each round!
I'm going to sleep now as I'm up in 6 hours! The joys of playing the final squad and not being too high in the qualification results!
Goodnight, Wish me luck :o)
JoJo xox
Istanbul Bowling Open...Squad Watching......
2 squads to go and I'm sitting in 33rd place with 1412. The top 42 proceed to the finals which means only 9 bowlers can pass me during the next 2 squads.
It's really not a nice feeling sitting here hoping that nobody beats me!
Dom & Stu are already in for sure. Rob has 1410 and playing again now to try and up that score and Paul's highest is 1385 which is just below the cut so bowling again this squad!
Cross your fingers for me please :o)
JoJo xox
It's really not a nice feeling sitting here hoping that nobody beats me!
Dom & Stu are already in for sure. Rob has 1410 and playing again now to try and up that score and Paul's highest is 1385 which is just below the cut so bowling again this squad!
Cross your fingers for me please :o)
JoJo xox
Friday, April 11, 2008
ISTANBUL BOWLING OPEN
This is a European Bowling Tour Event, played at the Time Out Bowling Center which is on the bottom floor of a 5 floor shopping centre! It's a really nice bowl which, just like many European bowls, serves really nice food. I think I'm addicted to the chicken wraps!!!!
Tournamnet information can be found here http://www.istanbulbowlingopen.com/
DAY 1 - Monday 7th April
I woke up this morning to find out I was flying from Terminal 5, I was a little worried due to all the baggage problems, flight delays & cancellations since it opened. I re-packed all my bags so I had some clothing in every piece of luggage and also the hand luggage, so I know if anything didn't arrive I'd at least have some fresh clothes!
I was flying alone so I drove from home to Matt's which is about 20 minutes from Heathrow! I dropped my car there and Matt brought me to Terminal 5. I was a bit anxious as I walked into this massive building which looked so lovely but had so many bad words! I spoke to the assistant on check in about baggage delay and was assured there was no problems that day. My bags were taken with priority tags and I felt a little better! The staff at T5 were great with me, from talking tot he assistant at check in I was sent to the front of the que for security screening so I was through and sat down relaxing within about 20 mins from arriving!
I looked up at the flight information screens to see my flight was delayed for 2 hours, within 10 minutes of realising this a member of BA Staff came and notified me of this delay and offered me free drink :o) The delay eventually got down to 45 minutes which after reading my book and checking emails soon passed.
The flight was 3hours 45minutes but didn't seem that long. I had a lovely meal with Chicken, Potatoes & Vegatables and was sat next to a Turkish lady who told me a little bit about Istanbul. At the other end all my bags arrived and were the first on the belt which was a relief, I came through the airport doors to be greeted by one of the tournament organisers who took my trolle and led me to the car! The guy didn't however tell me that Turkish drivers don;t stop for pedestrians at Zebra crossings (what is the point in them if they don't stop??) and I was hit by a guy that waved his arms crazily at me through his window! Nice welcome to Turkey!! Luckily he was only driving around 5mph and I was able to laugh it off! The drive to the bowling centre was crazy, here in Turkey if there is a gap in the tarffic about 10 cars all decide they want to go there, the horns are constantly going off. It's just manic and I don;t like it at all!
I met Dom Barrett and Mads Sandbaekken at the bowl, who I'm rooming with for the week! We stayed around the bowl for another hour or so drinking with the owner of the bowl, the tournament organisers and a few local bowlers! Much Fun! When we got back to the hotel we were sat up talking whilstthe hotel tried to fix our shower. We could get water through the taps but not through the showerhead so we were unable to have a shower! This went on for a while so we were all glad of the lie in we were able to have the next morning!
DAY 2 - Tuesday 8th April
We slept until 11 which was nice but the shower still wasn't fixed, we were eventually given a key to another room to have a shower. This was goo dbut I was the last in and it was freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing, I stood to the edge of the tub and just jumped in and out when I felt brave enough!! We had to quickly get ready and make the 10 minute walk to the bowl so we had time to eat before we bowled at 1pm, once I'd arrived at the bowl I didn't feel like eating so just took my time getting ready for the squad.
The pattern for the tournament is Route 66, a challenger pattern from the Navigational range by Kegel. You can see more information about the pattern here http://www.kegel.net/news/foNews.asp?iKodHaber=94
I settled in well during practice using my Ultra Zone. This is a new ball I've only had a couple of weeks and already its one of my favourites!
I started off with a 223, after each game you move one pair left or right depending whether you're on an odd or even numbered lane. My next 5 games were 188, 224, 279, 258 and 192. My total for the 6 games was 1364 + 48 ladies bonus ;o) made 1412. This put me 3rd in the squad behind Dom & Mads who had 1465 & 1412.
I was happy with my score and although it almost guarenteed to make the cut I decided to play again at the 5pm squad. We went out to get some food inbetween squads, on the top floor of the shopping centre is a massive food court. I couldnt be bothered looking around so ordered chicken dippers from Burger King.
We went back down to the bowl and got ready to play again. Just before practice this time I had to rush to the bathroom to be sick....I put it down to nerves (this happens almost every bowling tournament) and went to carry on with the squad! I didn't bowl as good this squad, I didn't make the moves early enough causing me to lose a lot of pins. I had games of 177 203 206 197 217 190 for 1190 - 1238 with bonus. Throught out the squad I was hot, feeling sick and my chest and throat felt tight! When I went to the bathroom after the squad I noticed I had a rash over my chest, neck and arms......THE TOMATO KETCHUP. It made sense afterwards that I'd had an allergic reaction with me being sick, feeling hot e.t.c. I am allergic to a lot of things with colourings in and I only eat branded ketchup at home, I thought I'd be O.K with the stuff from Burger King but obviously not! I can guarentee you now I will not be having no more Turkish Tomato Ketchup!!!
After bowling we stayed around the bowl, had a few drinks and watched the next squad! We had another late night getting back to the hotel after 12.
DAY 3 - Wednesday 9th April
Another Lie-In :o) We all woke up between 11 and 12 but none of us actually got out of bed until after 1 - Happy Days! Me & Dom weren't due to play today but Mads decided to play again so we took time getting ready in our hot shower :o) then walked to the bowl! It takes about 10 minutes to walk to thebowl but it's hills al the way, the heat on Tuesday made it really hard but since then it's not been so hot and a much nicer walk! We went to Pizza Hut for food....it's a bargain there! 8lira which works out at €4 (about £3) for all you can eat buffet which includes spaghetti bolognaise....one thing I wasn't doing this week is starving!! Mads bowled his squad whilst me & Dom just relaxed and watched the bowling.
I figured we probably weren't gonna be up for breakfast much this week so I went to the supermarket earlier on in the day and bought bread, Jam, Cheese and other bits for the room. I hadn't felt great all day so I got a taxi back to the hotel. I decided to have a bath and relax a little! I felt hungry but wasn't upto anything big so I had the bread & jam I'd bought earlier. I didn't have a knife though...not a problem. I teard the bread into chunks and dipped it into the jar - Happy Days :o)
I had a reeeeally hot bath, sweated out all the rubbish in me then got ready for bed! I drifted in and out of sleep until Dom & Mads came in when I woke up giggling at them! They are so funny together anyway but when they've had a drink they're even better! It took me about 10 minutes to explain to Mads that Laughing Cow was cheese spread and I wasn't making them a cow sandwich and about 1 minute for them to demolish it! Again it was a late night after us talking, laughing and eating all the stuff i'd bought earlier on in the day. Good job I made the shopping trip I think!
DAY 4 - Thursday 10th April
Guess what......another lie in! I've never slept so much on a bowling trip :o) it's a nice change!
1.30 we decided to get ready today!! None of us were bowling but we went down to the bowl to get some food, watch a bit of bowling then a Turkish friend took us into Istanbul. We got in a taxi but was turned around, when asking why we were told there'd been a bomb in town.....nice. We went somewhere else instead, it was nice just walking around not having to do anything or be anywhere at a certain time. We went to the place where across the river is Asia, we had a few drinks, got lairy with the locals....I didn't want a jacket potato from the first man so why would I want one from the next 10 stalls???? The bomb thing turned out to be a lie....not sure why it started but hey!
We got a taxi back to the bowl as 3 more people had arrived from England. Stu Williams, Rob Kendall & Paul Moor. We had a pizza from the bowl which might be the nicest pizza I've ever had then I decided to come back to the hotel as I was bowling at 9am. The taxi drive takes about 3 minutes and costs 4lira. This night it took me 1hour and 20 minutes and he tried to charge me 40 lira I think it was. The taxi driver didn't speak a word of English and after telling the bowl staff he knew where he was going he took me right to the other side of town! It was real hard work trying to find someone at that time of night who speaks english, when we did finally find someone he didnt know of the bowling centre but he did tell me thatthere was about 10 different hotels in Istanbul with the same name and unless I knew the area, basicly I was stuck. :o( not a nice feeling. When we eventually arrived at the hotel I refused to pay the full fare and the taxi driver locked the doors, luckily the hotel porter was around! I explained my story and the porter argued with the driver for a while before paying the taxi driver. When I offered topay he told me it was O.K and the hotel would cover it - Nice Man!
I'm a bit weary getting in taxi's alone even in England and this experience hasn't helped. I certainly wont be getting a taxi alone again!!
DAY 5 - Friday 11th April
I decided to bowl once more although I'm looking safe to make the cut. A better score will always help plus it's more practice on how the lanes breakdownat different times e.t.c
I struggled to relax this morning and was really tight for my first 3 games. The first 3 games were 189 195 & 166. I left 8 x 4-9 splits during these first 3 games. All my shots were over hooking and at the time I thought it was me tugging the ball during release. I let out some frustration after game 3, received a nice text and I calmed down and thought about it a bit more. I moved a few boards left with my feet and moved my target further down the lane. I found a much better shot with this and relaxed lots. My final 3 games were 254 222 & 279 leaving a 4pin in the 6th frame.
I was annoyed once I finished the squad wondering why I didn't think sooner but hey it's done now! Another lesson learnt and I have a better idea how to play if the lanes are like this again.
I had some lunch atthe bowl, Chicken Wrap again!!!! I stayed and chatted with a few people before coming back to the hotel! I've been sat by the pool dipping my feet in the water writing my blog :o) What a hard life I lead?!?!?!
I'm gonna have a shower then go back to the bowl now!!
Cross your fingers for me to make the finals on sunday :o)
Love & Hugs
JoJo xox
Tournamnet information can be found here http://www.istanbulbowlingopen.com/
DAY 1 - Monday 7th April
I woke up this morning to find out I was flying from Terminal 5, I was a little worried due to all the baggage problems, flight delays & cancellations since it opened. I re-packed all my bags so I had some clothing in every piece of luggage and also the hand luggage, so I know if anything didn't arrive I'd at least have some fresh clothes!
I was flying alone so I drove from home to Matt's which is about 20 minutes from Heathrow! I dropped my car there and Matt brought me to Terminal 5. I was a bit anxious as I walked into this massive building which looked so lovely but had so many bad words! I spoke to the assistant on check in about baggage delay and was assured there was no problems that day. My bags were taken with priority tags and I felt a little better! The staff at T5 were great with me, from talking tot he assistant at check in I was sent to the front of the que for security screening so I was through and sat down relaxing within about 20 mins from arriving!
I looked up at the flight information screens to see my flight was delayed for 2 hours, within 10 minutes of realising this a member of BA Staff came and notified me of this delay and offered me free drink :o) The delay eventually got down to 45 minutes which after reading my book and checking emails soon passed.
The flight was 3hours 45minutes but didn't seem that long. I had a lovely meal with Chicken, Potatoes & Vegatables and was sat next to a Turkish lady who told me a little bit about Istanbul. At the other end all my bags arrived and were the first on the belt which was a relief, I came through the airport doors to be greeted by one of the tournament organisers who took my trolle and led me to the car! The guy didn't however tell me that Turkish drivers don;t stop for pedestrians at Zebra crossings (what is the point in them if they don't stop??) and I was hit by a guy that waved his arms crazily at me through his window! Nice welcome to Turkey!! Luckily he was only driving around 5mph and I was able to laugh it off! The drive to the bowling centre was crazy, here in Turkey if there is a gap in the tarffic about 10 cars all decide they want to go there, the horns are constantly going off. It's just manic and I don;t like it at all!
I met Dom Barrett and Mads Sandbaekken at the bowl, who I'm rooming with for the week! We stayed around the bowl for another hour or so drinking with the owner of the bowl, the tournament organisers and a few local bowlers! Much Fun! When we got back to the hotel we were sat up talking whilstthe hotel tried to fix our shower. We could get water through the taps but not through the showerhead so we were unable to have a shower! This went on for a while so we were all glad of the lie in we were able to have the next morning!
DAY 2 - Tuesday 8th April
We slept until 11 which was nice but the shower still wasn't fixed, we were eventually given a key to another room to have a shower. This was goo dbut I was the last in and it was freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing, I stood to the edge of the tub and just jumped in and out when I felt brave enough!! We had to quickly get ready and make the 10 minute walk to the bowl so we had time to eat before we bowled at 1pm, once I'd arrived at the bowl I didn't feel like eating so just took my time getting ready for the squad.
The pattern for the tournament is Route 66, a challenger pattern from the Navigational range by Kegel. You can see more information about the pattern here http://www.kegel.net/news/foNews.asp?iKodHaber=94
I settled in well during practice using my Ultra Zone. This is a new ball I've only had a couple of weeks and already its one of my favourites!
I started off with a 223, after each game you move one pair left or right depending whether you're on an odd or even numbered lane. My next 5 games were 188, 224, 279, 258 and 192. My total for the 6 games was 1364 + 48 ladies bonus ;o) made 1412. This put me 3rd in the squad behind Dom & Mads who had 1465 & 1412.
I was happy with my score and although it almost guarenteed to make the cut I decided to play again at the 5pm squad. We went out to get some food inbetween squads, on the top floor of the shopping centre is a massive food court. I couldnt be bothered looking around so ordered chicken dippers from Burger King.
We went back down to the bowl and got ready to play again. Just before practice this time I had to rush to the bathroom to be sick....I put it down to nerves (this happens almost every bowling tournament) and went to carry on with the squad! I didn't bowl as good this squad, I didn't make the moves early enough causing me to lose a lot of pins. I had games of 177 203 206 197 217 190 for 1190 - 1238 with bonus. Throught out the squad I was hot, feeling sick and my chest and throat felt tight! When I went to the bathroom after the squad I noticed I had a rash over my chest, neck and arms......THE TOMATO KETCHUP. It made sense afterwards that I'd had an allergic reaction with me being sick, feeling hot e.t.c. I am allergic to a lot of things with colourings in and I only eat branded ketchup at home, I thought I'd be O.K with the stuff from Burger King but obviously not! I can guarentee you now I will not be having no more Turkish Tomato Ketchup!!!
After bowling we stayed around the bowl, had a few drinks and watched the next squad! We had another late night getting back to the hotel after 12.
DAY 3 - Wednesday 9th April
Another Lie-In :o) We all woke up between 11 and 12 but none of us actually got out of bed until after 1 - Happy Days! Me & Dom weren't due to play today but Mads decided to play again so we took time getting ready in our hot shower :o) then walked to the bowl! It takes about 10 minutes to walk to thebowl but it's hills al the way, the heat on Tuesday made it really hard but since then it's not been so hot and a much nicer walk! We went to Pizza Hut for food....it's a bargain there! 8lira which works out at €4 (about £3) for all you can eat buffet which includes spaghetti bolognaise....one thing I wasn't doing this week is starving!! Mads bowled his squad whilst me & Dom just relaxed and watched the bowling.
I figured we probably weren't gonna be up for breakfast much this week so I went to the supermarket earlier on in the day and bought bread, Jam, Cheese and other bits for the room. I hadn't felt great all day so I got a taxi back to the hotel. I decided to have a bath and relax a little! I felt hungry but wasn't upto anything big so I had the bread & jam I'd bought earlier. I didn't have a knife though...not a problem. I teard the bread into chunks and dipped it into the jar - Happy Days :o)
I had a reeeeally hot bath, sweated out all the rubbish in me then got ready for bed! I drifted in and out of sleep until Dom & Mads came in when I woke up giggling at them! They are so funny together anyway but when they've had a drink they're even better! It took me about 10 minutes to explain to Mads that Laughing Cow was cheese spread and I wasn't making them a cow sandwich and about 1 minute for them to demolish it! Again it was a late night after us talking, laughing and eating all the stuff i'd bought earlier on in the day. Good job I made the shopping trip I think!
DAY 4 - Thursday 10th April
Guess what......another lie in! I've never slept so much on a bowling trip :o) it's a nice change!
1.30 we decided to get ready today!! None of us were bowling but we went down to the bowl to get some food, watch a bit of bowling then a Turkish friend took us into Istanbul. We got in a taxi but was turned around, when asking why we were told there'd been a bomb in town.....nice. We went somewhere else instead, it was nice just walking around not having to do anything or be anywhere at a certain time. We went to the place where across the river is Asia, we had a few drinks, got lairy with the locals....I didn't want a jacket potato from the first man so why would I want one from the next 10 stalls???? The bomb thing turned out to be a lie....not sure why it started but hey!
We got a taxi back to the bowl as 3 more people had arrived from England. Stu Williams, Rob Kendall & Paul Moor. We had a pizza from the bowl which might be the nicest pizza I've ever had then I decided to come back to the hotel as I was bowling at 9am. The taxi drive takes about 3 minutes and costs 4lira. This night it took me 1hour and 20 minutes and he tried to charge me 40 lira I think it was. The taxi driver didn't speak a word of English and after telling the bowl staff he knew where he was going he took me right to the other side of town! It was real hard work trying to find someone at that time of night who speaks english, when we did finally find someone he didnt know of the bowling centre but he did tell me thatthere was about 10 different hotels in Istanbul with the same name and unless I knew the area, basicly I was stuck. :o( not a nice feeling. When we eventually arrived at the hotel I refused to pay the full fare and the taxi driver locked the doors, luckily the hotel porter was around! I explained my story and the porter argued with the driver for a while before paying the taxi driver. When I offered topay he told me it was O.K and the hotel would cover it - Nice Man!
I'm a bit weary getting in taxi's alone even in England and this experience hasn't helped. I certainly wont be getting a taxi alone again!!
DAY 5 - Friday 11th April
I decided to bowl once more although I'm looking safe to make the cut. A better score will always help plus it's more practice on how the lanes breakdownat different times e.t.c
I struggled to relax this morning and was really tight for my first 3 games. The first 3 games were 189 195 & 166. I left 8 x 4-9 splits during these first 3 games. All my shots were over hooking and at the time I thought it was me tugging the ball during release. I let out some frustration after game 3, received a nice text and I calmed down and thought about it a bit more. I moved a few boards left with my feet and moved my target further down the lane. I found a much better shot with this and relaxed lots. My final 3 games were 254 222 & 279 leaving a 4pin in the 6th frame.
I was annoyed once I finished the squad wondering why I didn't think sooner but hey it's done now! Another lesson learnt and I have a better idea how to play if the lanes are like this again.
I had some lunch atthe bowl, Chicken Wrap again!!!! I stayed and chatted with a few people before coming back to the hotel! I've been sat by the pool dipping my feet in the water writing my blog :o) What a hard life I lead?!?!?!
I'm gonna have a shower then go back to the bowl now!!
Cross your fingers for me to make the finals on sunday :o)
Love & Hugs
JoJo xox
February, March & Team England Selection
Blimey I've had a busy 2 month so sorry for not updating! Here's what I got upto throughout February & March...
Feb 7th - 11th : EBT Event @ Tilburg,Holland.
This event was played on dual lane conditions where the left lane is dressed with a long oil condition and the right a short oil conditions meaning you had to be on the top of your game! I didn't play too great and scored accordingly. I came home with a bit more experience and a bit more fight!
Feb 17th : Team England Training @ Lakeside Peterborough
This was a follow up day to the week long training camp we had in November. It was good to see Sid & Ruben again, they were happy with my progress and I left with new things to practice!
Feb 23rd - 24th : Y.A.C County Championships @ Lakeside Nuneaton
The Y.A.C Counties is a weekend I always look forward to having a chcne to play with the girls I've grow up with! Saturday was slow for us but after a nice meal and a few drinks saturday evening we pulled it together Sunday morning! We came away with 2nd place behind Surrey who are always tough competition.
Mar 16th : BTBA National Championships : Hollywood Bowl, Tolworth.
The nationals is the only tournament when almost every member of the British Tenpin Bowling Association (BTBA) play. It is 3 events Singles, Doubles & 5 man Team all categorised Male & Female and different avergae groups! I didn't have a great tournament here.......back to the practice lanes! I must say well done to Mike 'Q' Quarry for his 300 game during the 5 man team event which was played on a sport oiling condition.
I've spent a lot of time practicing throughout February working on a number of things which seem to be coming together well.
TEAM ENGLAND 2008
On April Fools day the selection letters arrived for the teams to represent Adult Team England for the year. I was selected for the European Womens Championships in Denmark& The Commonwealth Championships in Northern Ireland. I love playing for my country and this is the first year playing for the adults so I cannot wait! The team for the Europeans is myself, Nicki Ainge, Jenny Billingham, Jemma Smith, Zara Glover & Lisa John. The teamfor the Commonwealths is myself, Zara, Paul Moor & Darren Cundy!!
I am still waiting to hear if I am selected to represent the youth team at the World Youth Championships in Florida during July.
Feb 7th - 11th : EBT Event @ Tilburg,Holland.
This event was played on dual lane conditions where the left lane is dressed with a long oil condition and the right a short oil conditions meaning you had to be on the top of your game! I didn't play too great and scored accordingly. I came home with a bit more experience and a bit more fight!
Feb 17th : Team England Training @ Lakeside Peterborough
This was a follow up day to the week long training camp we had in November. It was good to see Sid & Ruben again, they were happy with my progress and I left with new things to practice!
Feb 23rd - 24th : Y.A.C County Championships @ Lakeside Nuneaton
The Y.A.C Counties is a weekend I always look forward to having a chcne to play with the girls I've grow up with! Saturday was slow for us but after a nice meal and a few drinks saturday evening we pulled it together Sunday morning! We came away with 2nd place behind Surrey who are always tough competition.
Mar 16th : BTBA National Championships : Hollywood Bowl, Tolworth.
The nationals is the only tournament when almost every member of the British Tenpin Bowling Association (BTBA) play. It is 3 events Singles, Doubles & 5 man Team all categorised Male & Female and different avergae groups! I didn't have a great tournament here.......back to the practice lanes! I must say well done to Mike 'Q' Quarry for his 300 game during the 5 man team event which was played on a sport oiling condition.
I've spent a lot of time practicing throughout February working on a number of things which seem to be coming together well.
TEAM ENGLAND 2008
On April Fools day the selection letters arrived for the teams to represent Adult Team England for the year. I was selected for the European Womens Championships in Denmark& The Commonwealth Championships in Northern Ireland. I love playing for my country and this is the first year playing for the adults so I cannot wait! The team for the Europeans is myself, Nicki Ainge, Jenny Billingham, Jemma Smith, Zara Glover & Lisa John. The teamfor the Commonwealths is myself, Zara, Paul Moor & Darren Cundy!!
I am still waiting to hear if I am selected to represent the youth team at the World Youth Championships in Florida during July.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Blackburn to Dublin!
BLACKBURN!!!
The first stop of the Team England Ranking Tour was the Blackburn Singles, in Blackburn obviously on the 20th January. I bowled my 6 games qualifying at 9am and finished on a total of 1353 (208 226 241 224 232 222) I was really happy with my total although a little annoyed I did miss a couple of silly spares. I was 2nd after round 1 behind Zara Glover who had a total of 1364 including a 299 in game 1
Round 2 was 4 more games 222 278 195 162. After round 2 I was still in 2nd place with a total of 2210 behind Zara's 2232 and just in front of Finny Banks on 2163 and Jo Cundy on 2105. The top 6 was made up with Laura Marcham on 2039 and Junior Team England member Katrina Maciver on 2034.
I played Laura in the first game and scored 205 to Laura's 204 earning me 30 bonus pins. It was a close game from the start and went down to the final ball. The second game I tied with Katrina Maciver on 185 for 15 nonus pins, again it was another close game where we matched eachother frame by frame. Game 3 was 226 against Jo Cundy 201 for another 30 bonus pins. In game 4 I came head to head with my good friend Finny which is always a tough match! We both had the first 5 strikes before having a 5 minute break for a lane fault. Finny struck again and I got 9. Finny had a great game of 247 to my 224 which meant going into my final game against Zara, Finny was leading the tournament and I was 2nd 100 pins behind. Zara was close behind me and I knew I had to win that game to guarantee 2nd place!
100 pins is easily picked up in a Round Robin but with Finny having 4 previous games of 248 227 219 247 I wasn't expecting it to be possible! I started well with the front 5 strikes then a couple of taps. Finny was on the next lane and I could see she was struggling and was looking to make a 180. The first ball in the 10th I knew I needed to strike to catch her, I threw it fast and scored 7. I spared then struck to finish 2nd by 6 pins and a cheque for £150.
I was very happy with my performance at the event, especially as I didn't give up fighting even though I was 100 pins down. I averages 219 for 15 games so cameaway very happy indeed.
DUBLIN!!
Last weekend I travelled to Dublin with my Mom & Dad to play in the Irish Open at the Leisureplex in Stillorgan. I've been playing this event for 5 years now and I love it more 7 more every time! It's a lovely tournament to play and great to have a weekend away with both my parents!
I didn't play too well this year. I never settled properly and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. It was something so simple but I didn't realise untilI went to practice when I got home from the event. I came 11th, so I was still happy as it could have been a lot lot worse. I haven;t had much time to practice since I returned from resting my injury over christmas and I feel this has a lot ot blame for me being un prepared for the event.
Work have been great giving me time off but I've been working so much to cover the time I need off meaning I cannot prepare 100%. After long discussions with my parents over the weekend I have decided to quit work and concentrate on bowling. I know I have the talent and the ability to compete so if I have the time to practice and prepare well I feel I can do well in the European events.
This is a massive step for me and huge decision which I couldn't do without the support from my Mom & Dad. It will be financially difficult aswell as being a strain both mentally & physically on my body. It's something I've thought a lot about, what my dreams have been made of and I will be taking it very seriously. I have organised a personal trainer and nutritionist to help keep me healthy and fit.
Financially I am going to be looking for any help possible and hoping to receive some sorts of sponsorship throughout the year. If you are interested in supporting me or have any advice on how I can appeal to sponsors please email me at jojo@joallsebrook.com.
I have a free weekend this week but I will be bowling alongside the Junior England Team when they come to Sheffield for their final training session before they travel to Finland for the European Youth Championships in May. I am going to Blackburn tomorrow to see Jim, I'm gonna have a look at my physical game on Bowlers Map then have a bowl on long & short patterns in preperation for my trip to Tilburg for an EBT event on the 7th February!
Better get some sleep now, Nighty Night :o)
JJ xxx
The first stop of the Team England Ranking Tour was the Blackburn Singles, in Blackburn obviously on the 20th January. I bowled my 6 games qualifying at 9am and finished on a total of 1353 (208 226 241 224 232 222) I was really happy with my total although a little annoyed I did miss a couple of silly spares. I was 2nd after round 1 behind Zara Glover who had a total of 1364 including a 299 in game 1
Round 2 was 4 more games 222 278 195 162. After round 2 I was still in 2nd place with a total of 2210 behind Zara's 2232 and just in front of Finny Banks on 2163 and Jo Cundy on 2105. The top 6 was made up with Laura Marcham on 2039 and Junior Team England member Katrina Maciver on 2034.
I played Laura in the first game and scored 205 to Laura's 204 earning me 30 bonus pins. It was a close game from the start and went down to the final ball. The second game I tied with Katrina Maciver on 185 for 15 nonus pins, again it was another close game where we matched eachother frame by frame. Game 3 was 226 against Jo Cundy 201 for another 30 bonus pins. In game 4 I came head to head with my good friend Finny which is always a tough match! We both had the first 5 strikes before having a 5 minute break for a lane fault. Finny struck again and I got 9. Finny had a great game of 247 to my 224 which meant going into my final game against Zara, Finny was leading the tournament and I was 2nd 100 pins behind. Zara was close behind me and I knew I had to win that game to guarantee 2nd place!
100 pins is easily picked up in a Round Robin but with Finny having 4 previous games of 248 227 219 247 I wasn't expecting it to be possible! I started well with the front 5 strikes then a couple of taps. Finny was on the next lane and I could see she was struggling and was looking to make a 180. The first ball in the 10th I knew I needed to strike to catch her, I threw it fast and scored 7. I spared then struck to finish 2nd by 6 pins and a cheque for £150.
I was very happy with my performance at the event, especially as I didn't give up fighting even though I was 100 pins down. I averages 219 for 15 games so cameaway very happy indeed.
DUBLIN!!
Last weekend I travelled to Dublin with my Mom & Dad to play in the Irish Open at the Leisureplex in Stillorgan. I've been playing this event for 5 years now and I love it more 7 more every time! It's a lovely tournament to play and great to have a weekend away with both my parents!
I didn't play too well this year. I never settled properly and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. It was something so simple but I didn't realise untilI went to practice when I got home from the event. I came 11th, so I was still happy as it could have been a lot lot worse. I haven;t had much time to practice since I returned from resting my injury over christmas and I feel this has a lot ot blame for me being un prepared for the event.
Work have been great giving me time off but I've been working so much to cover the time I need off meaning I cannot prepare 100%. After long discussions with my parents over the weekend I have decided to quit work and concentrate on bowling. I know I have the talent and the ability to compete so if I have the time to practice and prepare well I feel I can do well in the European events.
This is a massive step for me and huge decision which I couldn't do without the support from my Mom & Dad. It will be financially difficult aswell as being a strain both mentally & physically on my body. It's something I've thought a lot about, what my dreams have been made of and I will be taking it very seriously. I have organised a personal trainer and nutritionist to help keep me healthy and fit.
Financially I am going to be looking for any help possible and hoping to receive some sorts of sponsorship throughout the year. If you are interested in supporting me or have any advice on how I can appeal to sponsors please email me at jojo@joallsebrook.com.
I have a free weekend this week but I will be bowling alongside the Junior England Team when they come to Sheffield for their final training session before they travel to Finland for the European Youth Championships in May. I am going to Blackburn tomorrow to see Jim, I'm gonna have a look at my physical game on Bowlers Map then have a bowl on long & short patterns in preperation for my trip to Tilburg for an EBT event on the 7th February!
Better get some sleep now, Nighty Night :o)
JJ xxx
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
ETONIC
Etonic
International Amateur Staff
Over christmas I signed onto the International Amateur Staff of Etonic shoes! To be associated with such a successful company is such an honour. The shoes are fantastic, the comfiest shoes I have ever worn aswell as been super stylish!
I am currently wearing the ESS Action in pink & silver (see above)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
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