Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, Vice President of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW), inaugurated the Fourth Arab Bowling Championship at Universal Bowling Center here Saturday. On behalf of Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, General President of GPYW, Prince Nawaf welcomed the Arab countries participating in the eight-day championship. Nine Arab countries are competing in the five categories of the championships, which include individual, doubles, trio, teams and masters. The nine participants alongside the host team Saudi Arabia are the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Yemen. Yemen joined the Arab Bowling Federation only recently and is participating in the regional competition for the first time. The real action kicks off Sunday when individual competition gets under way. Ibrahim Al-Jrifani, head of the Saudi Bowling Federation, hailed the efforts exerted by the Saudi leadership and the GPYW in promoting the sport in the region. “Arab bowling has been making waves in the international arena since Mohammed Al-Qubaisi of the UAE won the Bowling World Cup in Mexico to scoop the first record for an Arab state,” Jrifani said. He said that the Saudi Bowling Federation has also proved its mettle in many events such as the Asian Games, held in Doha in 2006 where the Saudi team dominated most of the Bowling medals. At the end of the ceremony, Prince Nawaf honored Mohammed Al-Qubaisi for his achievement. Prince Abdul Hakem Bin Mesae'd, General Supervisor of the Universal Bowling Center, was also rewarded by Prince Nawaf for his efforts in helping develop the sport in the Kingdom. __
