Kenneth Arpa won his maiden bowling seniors title by winning the 2023 BOV National Senior Championships. Arpa was leading the competition at the end of all three days of play of this prestigious competition for 50+ year-olds. He had finished third in three of his first four BOV National Senior Championships before securing his trophy earlier this week.

Arpa – who is a 4-time BOV national champion in Maltese bowling – earned his first national senior title despite very close competition from last year’s reigning winner Mark Spiteri. Spiteri trailed Arpa closely throughout the entire three days of play, and the title was only decided in the final frame of the entire championship.

These BOV National Senior Championships were organised over three days with all competitors playing a block of six games on each consecutive day. The winner of these championships is the person with the highest total score after 18 games played.

These championships are typically divided into male and female categories; however, this year’s was united into one field due to a shortage of female applications. Last year’s winners were Mark Spiteri and Sue Abela; Abela unfortunately could not participate in this year’s championships due to scheduling conflicts.

This year’s championships also did away with the age handicap. Previous editions included a handicap system where competitors were given handicap points based on their age over 50, i.e., a 55-year-old would be given 5 handicap points per game while a 70-year-old would be given 20. This year’s championships only featured handicap points for the females, giving them 10 per game while the men played a scratch tournament (without any handicap).

Arpa accumulated a total score of 3,579 over 18 games, equating to an average of 198.83 per game. Spiteri concluded his run with a 3,553 total – finishing just 26 total points behind Arpa with an average of 197.39. Dennis Mercieca rounded out the podium, securing 3rd place following a strong finish to these championships.