Zayed Sports City has lined up the country’s best bowlers to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the NDC Ramadan Bowling Tournament.

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A mix of national team members and returning champions are competing alongside the country’s most avid bowlers for a slice of the competition’s Dhs140,000 cash prize, with the event running until July 13.

More than a hundred participants comprising 15 different nationalities have signed up for the milestone edition, with notable players including reigning Open Division champion Ghalib Rashid Al Busaidi of Oman and Emirati Shaker Al Hassan, who won silver in the World Bowling Championship at the same venue last year.

Currently in its qualifying stages, the competition is set to heat up in the Youth and Open categories with high-finishing Emirati brothers Ahmed and Sultan Al Qubaisi participating in each respectively.

In what will be a family affair, the siblings are joined by their younger brother Yaqoob and father Mohamed Al Qubaisi, most famous for winning a gold medal in the World Bowling Masters in 1988.

Sultan, who won last year’s Youth competition and is competing in the Open category for the first time, said: “When we talk about Ramadan, one of the first things that comes to my mind is bowling.

"It’s a habit for me. It’s about playing with my brothers and the whole community."

With Abu Dhabi set to host the Women’s World Bowling Championship this December, the Ramadan competition is a prime opportunity for the UAE women’s team to test their skills against other top talents ahead of joining the World Championship squad.

The women’s category will see tough competition from 19-year-old perennial top scorer Samantha Hannan, who bowled an impressive 243.3 in last year’s tournament, earning her fourth place in the overall standings..

“With the World Bowling Championships in town later this year, the excitement of the competition is especially heightened.

“Last year there were seven perfect (300) games, and with the impressive quality of this year’s field, we are expecting to see many more.”

This year organisers have also added a disabled division to complement the already popular youth, intermediate amateur, and high-powered open categories.

Registration is still open for eligible individuals at any time during the qualifying period by visiting the bowling centre or contacting bowling@zsc.ae or call 02 403 4648 for further details.