A group of five Maltese youth bowlers competed successfully in the Second English Red Rose Open Tournament held at GoBowling Centre in Dunstable. 

Bowlers from England, France, Denmark and the Netherlands took part.

Matthew Magro and Sara Xuereb both gave an excellent performance in the Under 16 Mixed category which consisted of 48 entries. In the  qualifying round Magro placed in 2nd place with a 1234 series, while Xuereb qualified in 4th place with a 1169 series, and both qualified for the finals.

In the quarter-finals Magro faced and defeated Dutch player Kim Ter Bruggen 2-1. Xuereb played against Danish Anna Djunsing and that match also ended in a 2-1 score in the Maltese bowler’s favour. In the semi-finals they managed to avoid each other raising hopes for an all-Maltese final.  

The hope for an all-Maltese final faded away after closely fought games. Both finished in a joint-third position awarded on the podium.

In the Under-19 category, Raquel Xuereb placed in sixth place in the qualifying round and progressed to the quarter-finals, playing her personal best 6 games series, 194 average. She then lost to England Jake Edward’s, ending in 7th place overall but placing 1st amongst Under 19 female bowlers to win her category.

Kurt Attard participated in the Under 19 category whilst  Daniel Magro was the only Maltese to participate in the Under 25 category. Both players registered a strong average of 189 and 190 respectively but fell short of qualification. 

The English Red Rose Open is part of the Youth Euro Tour (Y.E.T) rankings. England was the first stop for this season’s tour.  Currently Sara and Raquel Xuereb are 1st in the female U16 and Under 19 rankings, respectively, while Matthew Magro is 2nd in the male Under 16 category.  The next stop of the tour will take place in Belgium at the end of October. Other tournaments in Ireland, France, Netherlands and Denmark will complete the tour. 

The Finals will be held in France in May 2018.