David Maycock and Dennis Joell are determined to do Bermuda proud on their debut at the Pan American Bowling Confederation Champion of Champions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The local pair are among competitors from 25 countries that will compete for three 2023 Pan American Games qualifying spots up for grabs.

The invitational event, comprised of singles and doubles formats, is being held at the Boliche Social Club from today, and is hosted by the Brazilian Bowling Confederation.

Maycock and Joell, who departed for the South American country on Thursday are confident of living up to their expectations.

“My expectation is to win,” Maycock said.

“Any time I go off the island to represent the my country I want to come back with a medal. I don’t want to come back empty-handed; I always want to come back lifting the hardware, trophy or medal.

“I feel like we can do it and have the most confidence that I can bring something back.

“I am not doing this just for myself, I am doing it for the whole country.”

Joell is well aware of the task in hand but is also backing himself to achieve his objectives.

“I expect a very competitive field of bowlers from the countries invited,” he said.

“It will be a tough competition. The bowlers we will come up against do this for a living. This is their 9 to 5 job, with many bowling on the Professional Bowling Association Tour.

“But I always go in with the expectations to win, if not what’s the sense of competing.

“I am in a good space mentally and physically and just need to put them together when it matters. Execution will be key.”

Maycock is making his second appearance competing on Brazilian soil and will do battle with some of the players he regularly competes against on the professional circuit in the United States.

“I bowl with these guys all the time on US soil and also internationally, so it’s good to see them again,” he added. “These bowlers are the best in the world and I know what these guys can do.

“They are top notch and are going to be trying to win for their country. So Dennis and I have to put our striking shoes on and just make this tournament really good and really special.”

The pair are no strangers representing Bermuda together on the international stage having previously done so in Dubai and Columbia.

“We have both been on the team together for at least the last four years,” Joell said. “David has been on the team longer, so I will look to him for extra guidance.”

Maycock added: “I know his game and he knows my game, so we will just try and work the best out of us.

“We just have to get off to a good start. Once we find the lanes, what we need to do, what part of the lane we need to be playing in, what balls to use, we will be all right.”

The pair have left no stone unturned in preparation for the battles up ahead.

“We have bowled together and the preparation has gone pretty smoothly,” Maycock said.

“We know the pattern, so we have put it down on the lanes and have been bowling on that pattern ever since we found out what it was.

“We have prepared the best we can, so all we can do is put our best foot forward and go from there.”