LAS VEGAS - With 21 countries represented at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Queens this week and nearly as many in the standings during the first three events of the current Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour season, there's no question about how much competitive bowling is thriving globally.
In the previous version of the PWBA Tour, which ran until 2003, international players found success, most notably from Australia and Japan, with a few other country codes sprinkled in, but what is contributing to the wave of passport stamps in 2016?
For competitors like 2013 USBC Queens champion Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, the PWBA Tour has become an unexpected career option following a successful collegiate bowling career in the United States at Webber International.
Many of the world's top young players are attracted to, or being recruited into, the growing world of collegiate bowling, and it gives them a chance at a university education as well as exposure to the best coaches and competition in the world.
"I came to the U.S. because there wasn't much bowling in my country, and I knew the United States was the country of bowling," said Zavjalova, who claimed wins at the Intercollegiate Singles Championships (2014) and Intercollegiate Team Championships (2012). "I believe I learned how to really bowl when I was in college thanks to the great coaching and training, and now, I get to bowl for a living. This is what I've wanted since I was young."
Among the best-represented countries at The Orleans Bowling Center for the Queens this week were Singapore and Malaysia, where national team members receive government support and celebrity status.
Each country had eight bowlers entered in the Queens, with all eight from Singapore and five from Malaysia making the cut to the top 64 for the double-elimination match-play bracket.
The Singapore contingent, which includes former Wichita State standout and 2015 PWBA Lubbock Sports Open champion Jazreel Tan, has been in the United States for the first four events of the 2016 PWBA Tour season and definitely has had a noticeable impact.
Right-hander Hui Fen New qualified for the stepladder finals of the Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open and the PWBA Storm Sacramento Open and just missed a spot on the show for the season-opening PWBA Las Vegas Open, while Singapore's lone left-hander, Cherie Tan, earned the top seed for the PWBA Sacramento Open.
"To be able to come and compete at this level means a lot, and to be successful, or even win, is more than we could've hoped for," Tan said. "We have learned a lot being away for this long, and it definitely will help us as we travel for other international events. We have a very competitive team, and we've had some coaching changes recently, so to come here and do well this month means we're definitely headed in the right direction."
Tan and her teammates now will return home to focus on other events, while the Malaysians will remain stateside for the next few PWBA events.
Players from Mexico and Colombia also are among the finalists for the first three events of the season, while there were 29 international players from 14 countries outside the United States among the top 64 at the Queens.
The countries with players at the Queens included Aruba, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, England, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, United States, Ukraine and Venezuela. The field included 63 international players overall.
For USBC Hall of Famer Carol Gianotti of Australia, a trailblazer and one of five international players to win the Queens (1989), the surge of bowlers from distant lands is inspiring.
"I don't think bowling around the world could be any stronger, and it's really great to see all the amazing talent out here," Gianotti said. "They want to compete against the best, and the best in the world definitely are here. I'm just glad the Tour is back and these girls have the opportunity to enjoy it."
Following Gianotti's win at the 1989 Queens, it would be more than two decades before the next international bowler claimed the coveted tiara. Zavjalova ended the drought in 2013, and Colombia's Maria Jose Rodriguez matched the feat in 2014.
Now, there's a four-in-five chance of the tiara and $20,000 top prize heading overseas again in 2016.
Sweden's Sandra Andersson earned the top seed for the Queens telecast and was followed by Bernice Lim of Singapore, Team USA's Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, Malaysia's Sin Li Jane and qualifying leader Birgit Poppler of Germany.
