JEDDAH, 28 May 2007 — Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of General Presidency of Youth Welfare, yesterday inaugurated the Universal Bowling Center, a spanking new 30-lane state-of-the art facility in Riyadh.
At the same function, Prince Sultan declared the1st Kingdom International Open Bowling Tournament open during a colorful ceremony.
The center built at a cost of SR20 million sits inside the sprawling Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Olympic Complex in Naseriyah. Prince Sultan said the bowling center is a new addition to the Kingdom’s outstanding sports facilities.
The ambitious project was a brainchild of Prince Abdul Hakim ibn Musaed ibn Abdulaziz, himself an avid bowler, who saw the need to upgrade the playing venues available for the bowlers and boost the growth of bowling in the Kingdom.
Hakim thanked the king and crown prince for their continuous support to sports and youth welfare activities. “Many countries have shown interest to participate in the tournament and this reflects the Kingdom’s international reputation,” he said.
Prince Sultan later honored Abdullah Al-Amoudi, the oldest player in the tournament, and Turki Al-Hadyan, the youngest player.
The tournament attracted 180 bowlers from Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Thailand, US, Egypt, Jordan, Australia, the Philippines and host Saudi Arabia.
A multiple entry tournament, the players must bowl three three-game blocks during the qualifying round. The top 26 with the highest average will join the seeded four Saudis and two super bowlers in the round of 32 that will be cut by half to 16 after a further eight games.
During the round of 16 the qualifiers will bowl eight games for places in the five-man stepladder final, where the No. 1 will have a twice-to-beat privilege over the challenger.
When fully operational, the center can accommodate up to 300 players. Besides bowling the center also has facilities for billiards and snooker, computer games, as well as for meetings and conferences and a cinema for children.
“The center simply wants to serve the society, not only through offering bowling but also entertainment for the whole family,” the prince said.
