TBA announces Under 21 World Championships squad

Tenpin Bowling Australia (TBA) is excited to announce the squad that will be travelling to Helsingborg, Sweden for the 2022 Under 21 IBF World Championships from 21-29 June.

The tournament, which was originally planned to take place in 2020 and had been postponed twice already, will be the first bowling event to return to Europe since the start of the global pandemic. It will also be the first time since 1967 that a World Championships in bowling has been held in Sweden.

TBA Education & High-Performance Manager Mike Griffith says Australia will be strongly represented by an eight-member team that will include three debutants

“We believe we have selected a team of young, committed athletes who have shown that they are ready to compete on the world stage and do Australia proud,” he said.

“We believe the four boys and four girls announced deserve to be selected based on their performances and development over the past 12 months.”

Bernie Grueso Jnr, Jamie Robinson and Hannah Clark are set to pull on the green and gold for the first time while 2019 Asian School Championship silver medallist Nixon Chan along with Cameron Stein, Emily Bottomley, Ashlyn Mohr and Sarah Pennicott have also been selected in the team.

At the moment, the team have not set goals for the World Championships as they continue the team-building phase of their lead in.

NTS 21 head coach Geoff Bowness said goals will be created by the team, for the team.

“It has been such a long time since anyone has played internationally, it’s almost like a restart or reboot,” Bowness said.

“We have a very eager team full of enthusiasm. We’re excited to be involved with such a nice group of young adults and are confident they will do their best,” he added.

The IBF Under 21 World Championship is a new concept. In addition to singles and doubles competitions, there will be a Baker Format which places emphasis on the team effort rather than the accomplishments of the individual players.

“It has been a while since we have sent a Youth Team overseas,” Griffith said. “They are ready and eager to go. “I am sure the athletes will be counting down the days. Bring it on!”

Find the full IBF Under 21 World Championship squad list below:

Female Team

• Emily Bottomley
• Hannah Clark
• Ashlyn Mohr
• Sarah Pennicott
• Grace Fahy (Reserve if required)

Male Team

• Nixon Chan
• Bernie Grueso Jnr
• Jamie Robinson
• Cameron Stein
• Matthew Purser (Reserve if required)