The IBF World Cup, an amateur bowling tournament, follows the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup and focuses on amateur bowling competitions. It encompasses both individual and team events for men and women. This event is backed by the International Bowling Federation and its sponsor, QubicaAMF. Participants from around the globe, primarily amateurs, are welcomed to compete in these tournaments. As a result of their participation, winners from all competitions for both genders will be recognized on a global scale.
History The Bowling World Cup was created by AMF's European Promotions Director at the time, Victor Kalman, and Gordon Caie, AMF's Promotions Manager in the UK at the time. Dublin, Ireland in 1965 hosted the first-ever Bowling World Cup, then called the International Masters. 20 bowlers, all men, participated. Lauri Ajanto became the first-ever winner of the BWC. Women first competed in 1972, the 8th edition of the AMF Bowling World Cup in Hamburg, West Germany where Irma Urrea became the first-ever woman to win the BWC.
13 countries have participated in every Bowling World Cup since its inception: Australia, Belgium, England (as Great Britain from 1965 to 1995), Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and United States.
In the recent year of 2025, the IBF World Cup was hosted in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Currently, the men's champion is Du Jianchao and the women's champion is Natasha Roslan. Also, the team's champions are Malaysia (men) and United States of America (women).
From 1965 to 2019, a total of 55 editions have been conducted, beginning with the International Masters, where Lauri Ajanto from Finland emerged victorious in Dublin, Ireland. This event transitioned to the AMF Bowling World Cup in 1969, which was followed by the first women's competition won by Irma Urrea of Mexico during the 8th Bowling World Cup of 1972. In the years that followed, the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup was rebranded in 2005 and took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Ultimately, in 2019, the 55th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup was hosted in Palembang, Indonesia, where champions Francois Louw from South Africa and Rebecca Whiting from Australia were crowned.
Throughout the extensive history of the Bowling World Cup, significant changes have occurred, leading to the evolution into the IBF World Cup, which encompasses competitions across various disciplines. Meanwhile, the QubicaAMF World Cup Facebook page continues to showcase a wide array of past editions, featuring posts that highlight historic moments whenever available.
Format Qualifying Rounds Stage 1: Qualifying Round of 24 Games, total pinfall. Top 24 Men, Top 24 Women advance to Stage 2, total pinfall carries over. Stage 2: Top 24 Men, Top 24 women bowls 8 games. Top 8 Men, Top 8 Women based on total pinfall after 32 games advance to Stage 3. Stage 3: Top 8 Men, Top 8 women bowls another 8 games in a round robin format, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie. Top 4 Men, Top 4 Women after 40 games (total pinfall + bonus pins) advance to the knockout finals. Knockout Finals Semifinals: First seeded bowler vs Fourth seeded bowler; Second seeded bowler vs Third seeded bowler, winners (Men and women) advance to the finals. Finals: Semifinal winners bowl for the title. (Men and women)
Lane Pattern For the 2019 BWC, all games are bowled on one pattern, typically a 41-foot pattern unless lane topography at the host site dictates that the pattern be adjusted one foot less or one foot more.
Previous winners Single +Year LocationMenWomen1965 Dublin, Ireland Lauri Ajanto1966 London, England John Wilcox1967 Paris, France Jack Connaughton1968 Guadalajara, Mexico Fritz Blum1969 Tokyo, Japan Graydon Robinson1970 Copenhagen, Denmark Klaus Müller1971 Hong Kong Roger Dalkin1972 Hamburg, West Germany Ray Mitchell Irma Urrea1973 Singapore Bernie Caterer Kesinee Srivises1974 Caracas, Venezuela Jairo Ocampo Birgitte Lund1975 Makati, Philippines Lorenzo Monti Cathy Townsend1976 Tehran, Iran Paeng Nepomuceno Lucy Giovinco1977 Tolworth, England Arne Svein Ström Rea Rennox1978 Bogotá, Colombia Samran Banyen Lita dela Rosa1979 Bangkok, Thailand Philippe Dubois Bong Coo1980 Jakarta, Indonesia Paeng Nepomuceno Jean Gordon1981 New York City, United States Bob Worrall Pauline Smith1982 Scheveningen, Netherlands Arne Svein Ström Jeanette Baker1983 Mexico City, Mexico Chu You-tien Jeanette Baker1984 Sydney, Australia Jack Jurek Eliana Rigato1985 Seoul, South Korea Alfonso Rodríguez Marjorie McEntee1986 Copenhagen, Denmark Peter Ljung Annette Hagre1987 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Remo Fornasari Irene Gronert1988 Guadalajara, Mexico Mohammed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi Linda Kelly1989 Dublin, Ireland Salem Al-Monsuri Patty Ann1990 Pattaya, Thailand Tom Hahl Linda Graham1991 Beijing, China Jon Juneau Åsa Larsson1992 Le Mans, France Paeng Nepomuceno Martina Beckel1993 Johannesburg, South Africa Rainer Puisis Pauline Smith1994 Hermosillo, Mexico Tore Torgersen Anne Jacobs1995 São Paulo, Brazil Patrick Healey Jr. Gemma Burden1996 Belfast, Northern Ireland Paeng Nepomuceno Cara Honeychurch1997 Cairo, Egypt Christian Nokel Tseng Su-fen1998 Kobe, Japan Yang Cheng-ming Maxine Nable1999 Las Vegas, United States Ahmed Shaheen Amanda Bradley2000 Lisbon, Portugal Tomas Leandersson Mel Isaac2001 Pattaya, Thailand Kim Haugen Nachimi Itakura2002 Riga, Latvia Mika Luoto Shannon Pluhowsky2003 Tegucigalpa, Honduras Christian Jan Suarez Kerrie Ryan-Ciach2004 Singapore Kai Virtanen Shannon Pluhowsky2005 Ljubljana, Slovenia Michael Schmidt Lynda Barnes2006 Caracas, Venezuela Osku Palermaa Diandra Asbaty2007 Saint Petersburg, Russia Bill Hoffman Ann-Maree Putney2008 Hermosillo, Mexico Derek Eoff Jasmine Yeong-Nathan2009 Malacca Town, Malaysia Choi Yong-kyu Caroline Lagrange2010 Toulon, France Michael Schmidt Aumi Guerra2011 Johannesburg, South Africa Jason Belmonte Aumi Guerra2012 Wrocław, Poland Syafiq Ridhwan Shayna Ng2013 Krasnoyarsk, Russia Or Aviram Caroline Lagrange2014 Wrocław, Poland Chris Barnes Clara Guerrero2015 Las Vegas, United States Wu Siu Hong Clara Guerrero2016 Shanghai, China Wang Hongbo Jenny Wegner2017 Hermosillo, Mexico Jakob Butturff Krizziah Tabora2018 Las Vegas, United States Sam Cooley Shannon O'Keefe2019 Palembang, Indonesia Francois Louw Rebecca Whiting20212022 Sunshine Coast, Australia Paul Purps Bryanna Coté202320242025 Kowloon, Hong Kong Du Jianchao Natasha Roslan Number of titles by country/territory
MenCountry/TerritoryTitlesYears 111966, 1967, 1971, 1981, 1984, 1991, 1995, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2017 51968, 1970, 1993, 1997, 20221965, 1990, 2002, 2004, 20061976, 1980, 1992, 1996, 2003 41969, 1972, 2005, 20101977, 1982, 1994, 20012016, 2025 22011, 20181986, 20001989, 19991983, 19981975, 1987 12019201520132012200919881985197919781974All QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Winners1973
WomenCountry/TerritoryTitlesYears 91976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2018 71982, 1983, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2019 61975, 1977, 1980, 2003, 2009, 2013 42008, 2012 31978, 1979, 20171986, 1991, 20161981, 1993, 1995 22014, 20152010, 2011 1202520012000199719941992 198719851984197419731972
Team Year LocationMenWomen2022 Sunshine Coast, Australia 2025 Kowloon, Hong Kong
Number of titles by country/territory
MenCountry/TerritoryTitlesYears 120222025
WomenCountry/TerritoryTitlesYears 120222025
Records Winners Paeng Nepomuceno holds two Guinness World Records from his victories in the Bowling World Cup. His four victories (1976, 1980, 1992, 1996) came in a record three different decades. He also holds the record for the youngest men's champion, 19, when he won his first of four titles in 1976. Incidentally, Nepomuceno won his titles in Olympic years. The oldest champions are Remo Fornasari, 51, when he won in 1987;Oldest Men's Champion and Irma Urrea, 45, when she won the very first women's title in 1972. Gemma Burden holds a Guinness World Record as the youngest Bowling World Cup Champion, 17, when she won in 1995. Two other men besides Nepomuceno has won multiple Bowling World Cup titles, Arne Svein Ström (1977 and 1982) and Michael Schmidt (2005 and 2010). Six women have each won two times, Pauline Smith (1981 and 1993), Jeanette Baker (1982 and 1983), Shannon Pluhowsky (2002 and 2004), Aumi Guerra (2010 and 2011), Caroline Lagrange (2009 and 2013) and Clara Guerrero (2014 and 2015). Baker, Guerra, and Guerrero are the only bowlers in Bowling World Cup history to win consecutive titles. Only once has a country swept the men's and women's titles in the same year. This occurred in 1986 when Sweden incidentally defeated Philippines in both the men's and women's finals. A host representative has won the Bowling World Cup three times. Bob Worrall won in New York City in 1981, Wang Hongbo won in Shanghai in 2016, and Shannon O'Keefe won in Las Vegas in 2018. Chris Barnes (2014 men's champion) and Lynda Barnes (2005 women's champion) is the only husband-wife duo to win the Bowling World Cup. is the most successful nation in the Bowling World Cup, winning a combined 20 titles (11 men's titles, 9 women's titles)
Scoring CategoryRecordPlayerYear/Venue Qualifying RoundsMen's Individual Game30059 300s have been bowled in the qualifying rounds.Women's Individual Game30015 300s have been bowled in the qualifying rounds.Men's 3 Game Series896 Paul Trotter2002, Riga, Latvia Women's 3 Game Series803 Aumi Guerra2011, Johannesburg, South AfricaMen's 5 Game Block1307 Ahmed Shaheen2002, Riga, LatviaWomen's 5 Game Block1304 Aumi Guerra2011, Johannesburg, South AfricaMen's 6 Game Block1599 Mats MaggiMen's 6 Game Block Record2013, Krasnoyarsk, RussiaWomen's 6 Game Block1531 Lynda BarnesWomen's 6 Game Block Record2005, Ljubljana, SloveniaMen's 8 Game Block2088 Tommy JonesMen's 8 Game Block Record2011, Johannesburg, South AfricaWomen's 8 Game Block1948 Clara GuerreroWomen's 8 Game Block Record2014, Wrocław, PolandMen's High Average246.22 Osku PalermaaMen's High Average Record After 32 games2006, Caracas, VenezuelaWomen's High Average244.03 Caroline LagrangeWomen's High Average Record After 32 games2013, Krasnoyarsk, Russia Finals – Arena "Knockout" Rounds (2000–2005), (2016–) and StepladderMen's Individual Game300 Kai Virtanen2004, Singapore Chris Barnes2014, Wrocław, PolandWomen's Individual Game298 Jasmine Yeong-Nathan2008, Hermosillo, MexicoMen's 2 Game Series536 Petter Hansen2004, SingaporeWomen's 2 Game Series561 Jasmine Yeong-Nathan2008, Hermosillo, MexicoMen's 3 Game Series778 Derek Eoff2008, Hermosillo, MexicoWomen's 3 Game Series747 Clara GuerreroWomen's 3 game Series Record2014, Wrocław, Poland
Appearances and Participation Most Appearances, Men – 16, Paeng Nepomuceno 1976, 1979–1980, 1982, 1985–1989, 1991–1996, 2009 Most Appearances, Women – 17, Aida GranilloMost Appearances Male or Female 1982–1983, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1994–1996, 1998–2000, 2002–2006, 2008 Erik Kok has participated in the Bowling World Cup in five different decades.Participation in each of the last five decades 1979–1980, 1985, 1989, 1995, 2005, 2014 Most Championship Appearances, Stepladder and Arena, Men – 9, Paeng Nepomuceno 1976, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1991–1993, 1995–1996 Most Championship Appearances, Stepladder and Arena, Women – 7, Shalin Zulkifli 1996–1998, 2000–2001, 2003–2004 Most Countries – 95 in 2004 Most Bowlers, Men and Women Combined – 167 in 2010 Most Bowlers, Men – 93 in 2004 Most Bowlers, Women – 76 in 2010
Awards The Bent Petersen Country Award is awarded to the country with the best combined finishes in the men's and women's divisions. It is named after Bent Petersen, who ran AMF's international operations for 36 years before retiring in 1998.Bent Petersen Award Originally known as the Country Champion Award, it has been awarded at the BWC since 1984. The first winner of the award was Thailand.First Country Champion Award Australia are the most recent winners. In 2000, the award was renamed in honor of Petersen. Petersen died on November 21, 2014.