Asian Schools Team Ready for Championships in Hong Kong

Australia’s Asian schools team will depart on Tuesday for the 2019 Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championships in Hong Kong which officially begins when the opening ceremony is held on Sunday 7^th July.

The six-day tournament will host the best junior bowlers from the top 13 countries from across Asia where competitors will compete for medals in singles, doubles, teams, all events and Masters competitions.

Travelling from Sydney the team will touch down in Hong Kong on Tuesday evening and begin to fine tune their preparations over two days, at the dedicated 12 lane Hong Kong Sports Institute.

With nine of the sixteen team members boasting experience at Asian or World level, the Australian’s will know what to expect when the competition officially begins on Monday 8th July with the singles competition.

Following success at last year’s event in Chinese Taipei where the team finished fourth on the medal table after winning two silver and two bronze medals, head coach Shane Bernhardt said the team will be looking to build from the 2018 campaign.

“Over the last two years, ‘being in contention’ has been our overarching theme. This included being in contention to medal as we start the final game of an event, which pleasingly was a position that we were regularly in, as well as being in contention to win the Asian Schools Championship, which was a position that we were in at the start of the final day last year in Taiwan,” Bernhardt said.

Australia will get their first look at the 40 lane South China Athletic Association Bowling Centre (SCAA) on Saturday when unofficial practice begins and with a number of Asian and World Championships being held at the centre Bernhardt said the team has done their homework on the local conditions.

“At our training day in May, coaches and athletes reviewed the topography charts of the SCAA bowling centre, as well as considered the oil pattern that we are competing on. We are expecting the conditions to be tough, as they should be in an international event, but we are also confident that we are well prepared.”

“I know that some athletes have been viewing YouTube videos of previous events at SCAA and with two unofficial training sessions, as well as our official practice prior to the event, I am confident that athletes will have a good read of the lanes. Talking with the athletes individually, I know that all are excited by the challenges ahead,” Bernhardt added.

This year’s Championship will mark the 20th running of the event, where Australia currently sits in 9th place on the overall medal tally having won 34 medals including 9 gold. This year’s tournament will also mark the sixth time that Hong Kong has hosted the event and 10 years since Australia won Asian Schools medals in Hong Kong when the Australian girl’s team claimed gold and Bec Whiting finished third in the Master’s event in 2009.

To follow all the action during the tournament visit the Championship website http://www.asianschool2019.com/ and keep an eye on TBA’s Facebook page for the latest updates.

2019 Australian Asian Schools Team
Girls
Emily Bottomley
Grace Fahy – 2018 Asian Schools representative – Silver medal teams event
Sophie Martin – 2018 Asian Schools & 2019 World Junior representative
Ashlyn Mohr – 2018 Asian Schools representative
Sarah Pennicott – 2018 Asian Schools representative
Amy Shoesmith – 2018 Asian Schools – Masters qualifier & 2019 World Junior representative
Lilly Wilson
Alannah Woodfield

Boys
Jackson Botham – 2017 & 2018 Asian Schools representative
Bevan Brooke
Nixon Chan – 2018 Asian Schools & 2019 World Junior Championship representative
Bailey Miller
Jake Mitchell – 2018 Asian Schools representative
Matthew Purser
Kyle Salter
Cameron Stein – 2019 World Junior Championship representative

Head Coach: Shane Bernhardt – 2017 & 2018 Asian Schools Coach, 2019 World Junior Championship Coach
Assistant Coaches: Bianca Flanagan & Simon Pearce – 2018 Asian Schools
Team Managers: Jamie Taafe & Dee Taafe – 2017 & 2018 Asian Schools team managers.

Check out below what Sarah Pennicott had to say when she featured on 7-news recently.