Maccabi GB Tenpin Bowling

23 July 2009

Paul writes…

…and so another Maccabiah ends, and we say farewell to all our friends from around the world who have joined us for this experience. As a team, the GB men are all disappointed with how we played even on these tough conditions, as we know medals were there for the taking, and we could and should have all played better. We will be return here again and as better bowlers for the experience, I’m sure.

Last night, we all attended the Rugby final where Australia beat Great Britain 19-16, whilst Matthew did a great job at trying to keep order between fans off the pitch! Beer, hot weather, and a bunch of rugby fans watching their team lose are a recipe for aggro…

Tonight is the closing ceremony of the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Latrun, where it will be the last opportunity to swap kit with the other nations. I already have bowling shirts from Canada, Venezuela, Australia, Israel, and several other items from the other countries, so will see what last minute deals I can get to put in my suitcase. Most of the team leave direct to the airport from the Closing Ceremony, but Michael and I will be coming back to the hotel as our flight is at 10.30 tomorrow morning. The Aussies still have a few days here, but they will leave this horrible hotel for a much nicer one in Tel Aviv for a little R&R before their long journey back.

Next up for us is the European Maccabi Games in Vienna in 2011, and the Maccabi Australia International Games also in 2011. After a 12 year absence from Maccabi international competition, I am very tempted….

21 July 2009

MASTERS – LIVE SCORES

Round 1

Michael Loberman beat Marcos Krajmalnik (Mexico) 177-165, 175-186, 173-169

Ian Davis lost to Ori Sonenshien (Israel) 183-190, 177-273

Gary Ellis beat Uri Peled (USA) 208-158, 197-195

Paul Loberman beat Bernardo Olechnowicz (Mexico) 183-192, 208-173, 195-138

Round 2

Michael Loberman lost to the Number 1 seed Isi Eskenazi (Mexico) 187-202, 141-175

Gary Ellis lost to the Number 2 seed Isaac Amkie (Mexico) 172-198, 173-191

Paul Loberman lost to the Number 4 seed, Or Aviram (Israel) 177-232, 207-214

Phil Sachs beat Isaac Amkie (Mexico) in a closely fought final to take the Gold Medal for Australia.

Losing semi-finalists, Or Aviram and Ron Berlov both won bronze medals for Israel.

All the mens scores can be found here

All the ladies scores can be found here

20 July 2009

TEAM – FINAL SCORES

GB1

Gary Ellis – 177, 207, 179, 202, 178, 180

Ian Davis – 196, 213, 181, 166, 195, 161

Tony Sharpstone – 144, 127, 150 (replaced and retired after 3 games)

Jack Nesbit – (142, 160, 207), 143, 129, 128

Michael Loberman – 141, 159, 183, 184, 192, 174

Paul Loberman – 171, 178, 137, 178, 213, 147

TEAM – 829, 884, 833, 873, 907, 790 (5th place)

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19 July 2009

TRIOS FINAL STANDINGS

GB1

Gary Ellis – 153, 201, 216, 181, 140, 169 = 1060, a 177 average

Michael Loberman – 160, 174, 170, 227, 161, 184 = 1076, a 179 average

Paul Loberman – 168, 184, 191, 180, 179, 191 = 1093, a 182 average

Team Total = 3229 (joint 6th place)

GB2

Ian Davis – 174, 166, 176, 174, 216, 190 = 1096, a 183 average

Tony Sharpstone – 200, 171, 188, 158, 213, 156 = 1086, a 181 average

Jack Nesbit - 165, 192, 204, 157, 156, 173 = 1047, a 175 average

Team Total = 3229 (joint 6th place)

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16 July 2009

DOUBLES FINAL STANDINGS

On another tough day of competition, Team GB had two teams in contention, but neither could push on in the late stages to get that one good game to clinch a medal.

Team Mexico again dominated with father and son combo, Isi and David Askenazi leading the way with 2322 – a 194 average.  Isi taking his second gold of these championships.

The scoring is really low on tough conditions that are so unforgiving and punishing the mistakes you make, so it took a late charge from Or Aviram and Aviv Alfital for Team Israel 2 to charge up the leaderboard in the fourth and fifth game to take the Silver with 2293, a 191 average.

Team USA 1 played steadily throughout and hung on to the bronze medal position in the last game with 2246 – a 187 average.

High man of the day was Phil Sachs from Australia, who pushed himself into fourth place in the All-Events.

Everyone in the GB team felt they had a better day today, eventhough the scores perhaps did not reflect that attitude. We now have 3 players inside the all important Top 24 for the Masters (with Ian Davis in 27th place just outside, and Jack and Tony within striking distance with a few good games).

We have a couple of days off until Trios on Sunday, when the teams with be:

GB1 – Paul, Michael, Gary

GB2 – Ian, Jack, Tony

Our Doubles Results were as follows:

GB 1

Michael Loberman – 175,189,161,194,147,158 = 1024, a 170 average

Paul Loberman – 169,192,234,170,180,177 = 1122, a 187 average

Team Total = 2146 (10th place)

GB2

Ian Davis – 191,170,149,202,189,129 = 1030, a 171 average

Gary Ellis – 161, 200, 243, 166, 177, 158 = 1105, a 184 average

Team Total – 2135 (13th place)

GB3

Tony Sharpstone – 204,160,145,188,159,174 = 1044, a 174 average

Jack Nesbit – 175,169,160,159,182,175 = 1020, a 170 average

Team Total – 2064 (15th place)

Full results from the mens doubles can be found at:

http://www.ibf.org.il/_Uploads/1879TotDoublesLogom.pdf

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15 July 2008

SINGLES – FINAL RESULTS

It was a day of mixed fortunes for Team GB in this morning’s first event of the competition, the singles. On very difficult conditions, only one bowler averaged over 200 with Mexico’s Isi Eskenazi winning gold with a total pinfall of 1232 (205.33 av). Eskenazi went one better than his silver medal in the same event in 2005, when he bowled as a 16 year old. Since 2005, he has been Mexican amateur champion, and currently bowl’s for Wichita State University in the USA.

Israel’s Or Aviram and Yahav Rabin won silver and bronze with scores of 1195 (199.17 av) and 1187 (197.83 av) respectively. Michael Loberman was  the pick of the GB bowlers finishing in 9th place with a total pinfall of 1145 (190.83 av).

9th Michael Loberman – 197, 233, 180, 166, 170, 199 (1145 – 190.83 av)

21st Paul Loberman – 215, 181, 149, 174, 183, 184 (1086 – 181 av)

27th Ian Davis – 203, 207, 162, 176, 144, 164 (1056 – 176 av)

31st Gary Ellis – 150, 159, 204, 153, 202, 160 (1028 – 171.33 av)

39th Jack Nesbit – 153, 159, 176, 158, 167, 166 (979 – 163.17 av)

40th Tony Sharpstone – 178, 146, 151, 133, 163, 187 (958 – 159.67 av)

The doubles event takes place tomorrow afternoon with Paul and Michael Loberman teaming up, Ian Davis paired with Gary Ellis, and Jack Nesbit joining Tony Sharpstone. Check back tomorrow for LIVE SCORES and regular updates.

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15 July 2008

SINGLES

After a 30 minute delay due to technical lane maintenance, the singles competition is finally underway. Scores will be updated shortly……….

(Position after each two rounds in brackets)

Michael Loberman 197, 233 (4th), 180, 166 (8th), 170

Paul Loberman 215, 181 (10th), 149, 174 (23rd), 183

Gary Ellis 150,159 (35th), 204, 153 (36th), 202

Ian Davis 203, 207 (8th), 162, 176 (15th), 144

Tony Sharpstone 178, 146 (32nd), 151, 133 (44th), 163

Jack Nesbit 153, 159 (34th), 176, 158 (40th), 167
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14 July 2008

OPENING CEREMONY AND OFFICIAL PRACTICE

Michael Writes…

So much has happened since the last update and the competition isn’t even underway yet
On Monday night we had the opening ceremony. For me, it was my first Maccabiah opening ceremony having been unable to march into the stadium in 1997 due to the bridge tragedy. What a great feeling it is to march into a packed Ramat Gan stadium with the crowd cheering and waving your country’s flag. It was a moment I hope to remember for the rest of my life and with any luck it won’t be the last opportunity I get to be part a Maccabiah opening ceremony.

The next day was offical practice. As a team, We had 8 mins practice per pair of lanes and covered the whole centre that would be used during the tournament (22 lanes). It was probably, on the whole, the best session so far for the team. Everyone has a strike shot and its now just about making sure we execute that shot when we move into competition on Wednesday.

Last night was an emotional night for the bowlers as a collective. We returned to the site of the 1997 bridge tragedy where exactly 12 years ago to this day, four Australians lost their lives, including two bowlers, Greg Small and Yetty Bennett. A memorial has been placed at the site close to Ramat Gan stadium, and a large crowd of us said a few prayers for our fellow bowlers, and a couple of people spoke about that awful night, and how it has brought us closer together as friends from around the world and become part of the Maccabi bowling fraternity. Greg’s wife, Suzanne, and his children, Rebecca and Josh thanked everyone for coming – but it was something none of us did without a moment’s thought.

The singles is up first on Wednesday morning, followed by doubles on Thursday afternoon. It is clear from watching some of the other teams here, that there is going to be some really strong competition. But Team GB has a great opportunity to come out of these games with some medals around our necks and that is what we will be giving our all to achieve.

Keep checking back for score updates. We have internet access at the bowl, so updates should be a bit more frequent over the next couple of days.

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11 July 2008

SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT TO PARTY

Paul writes…

Saturday was a free day for all the bowlers. Some spent it walking along the beautiful beach here in Netanya, others around the pool or hanging out in the lobby of the hotel whilst Michael and I visited some of our family living in Israel.

After another glorious red sunset, about 50 of the bowlers and team management from eight different countries strolled into the centre of town for dinner. Table for 50 please!

It was a chance for the bowlers to chat together as they meandered down the hill. I caught up with Daniel Zalcman from Australia, a two time medal winner from previous Games. Daniel and I first met in 1993 and we recounted numerous stories from years gone by.

When we arrived into the town, I think the eyes popped out of the heads of the restaurant and bar owners as they saw everyone descend, and they quickly tried to entice us in with whopping 10% discounts! In the end, we actually all got into the busiest restuarant in town. They laid up new tables, and even got chairs out of storage that had never been used for us, and effectively created a new outdoor extension to their restaurant just for us. We all sat on tables of 6-8 and mingled with the other countries (totalling 3 on my table), and then the food came…wow, the plates were stacked high with burgers, schnitzels, salads, bagels, and plenty more. The portions were enormous – I’ll try and post some photos, as they have to be seen to be believed. With 50 unexpected people, I have to say that the service and the food at the “London” restaurant was excellent, and when none of us could finish what was on our plates, they brought us free desserts and margheritas! Amazingly, there was still room for ice cream.

The walk back up the hill to the hotel was very welcome and we hang out in the lobby for a while for a nightcap and to catch up on more stories.

Tomorrow is our first team practice, and from what we have seen so far, the lanes look tough, but we have three days of practice to work out the shots that are best for the team, and I’m sure we will do well.

Let bowling commence…

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9 July 2008

PRE-CAMP – KIBBUTZ RAMAT RACHEL, JERUSALEM

After a three hour wait on the tarmac at Heathrow (due to supposed heavy trafffic) we eventually departed for Israel with much anticipation. We landed at Ben Gurion shortly before midnight, but it was not until well after 2am on Wednesday morning that we arrived at our pre-camp destination, Kibbutz Ramat Rachel on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. Wednesday was designated as a rest day and Gary, Jack and Tony made the most of the baking hot sunshine at the pool while Matt had to take care of some business meetings in Ramat Gan. At 6pm, we departed for Kfar Maccabiah in Ramat Gan for the Team GB welcome party. The evening included a great dinner with live entertainment followed by a disco for the younger members of the delegation.

After a good night sleep, we hit the road at 8am on Thursday morning and headed for Yad Vashem. We were guided by an inspirational woman who delivered her message straight from the heart. It was a truly memorable and emotional morning which concluded with a memorial and wreath laying ceremony. Kaddish was recited by David Pinnick, the head of the GB delegation, followed by the singing of Hatikvah. Hearing the anthem ringing around the auditorium sent shivers down the spine.

After a quick stop over in Jerusalem for lunch, we headed off to a specialist IDF army base close to the airport where we were given a number of demonstrations by Oketz, the anti-terrorist K-9 unit. This comprised a number of drills where German and Belgian Shepherd dogs would search for ‘assailants’ or ‘unexploded devices’. The afternoon ended with a visit to the dog cemetary where dogs killed in training have been buried. After an hour bus journey back to Jerusalem, the evening was spent having dinner (Jack particularly enjoyed the chocolate mousse cake!!) and relaxing in the hotel.

Tomorrow morning, we head off to the Galil Hotel in Netanya where we will be joined by Ian, Michael and Paul. We will pop in to the bowl in Poleg tomorrow afternoon for a quick practice session before Shabbat. We begin practising as a team on Sunday and I can say that we are all itching to go!

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The Maccabiah is almost upon us and the team fly out to Israel this week for what will be a great fortnight of competition.

The schedule has been published and can be found in full at http://www.ibf.org.il/_Uploads/1841Maccabia_18_Schedule.pdf

Essentially the highlights are:

Tuesday 14th July – Offical Practice

Wednesday 15th July – Singles

Thursday 16th July – Doubles

Sunday 19th July – Trios

Monday 20th July – 5 Man Team

Tuesday 21st July – Masters (Top 24 from all events compete in a matchplay competition)

We will be providing updates live from the bowl in Israel on a daily basis (minimum hopefully), so keep checking back to see how the team is getting on