Inaugural U22 Masters and Queens ready to begin in Detroit
May 23, 2024
DETROIT – After months of preparation, nearly 250 of the nation’s top young bowlers have traveled to the Greater Detroit area to compete in the inaugural U22 Masters and Queens, which get underway on Friday and runs through Memorial Day.
The U22 Masters will be hosted by Super Bowl Lanes in Canton, Michigan, while the U22 Queens will be contested at historic Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park.
Each event’s official practice sessions will be held on Friday morning with tournament action following later that day with seven games of A Squad qualifying starting at noon Eastern and B Squad following with its own seven-game block at 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
All competitors will return for a second seven-game qualifying block on Saturday with B Squad hitting the lanes at 11 a.m. Eastern and A Squad wrapping things up at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
After the completion of 14 games of qualifying, the field for each event will be whittled down to just 32 competitors. Those bowlers will advance to the bracket-match-play portion of the event, which kicks off Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Each match will be two games with total pinfall determining the winner. A player will be eliminated from the competition upon losing his or her second match.
Eight rounds of matches will be contested in each tournament on Sunday with just the top three players in each event surviving and advancing to the final day of competition on Monday.
The finals for both tournaments will conclude at Strobl Arena at Thunderbowl Lanes on Memorial Day at noon Eastern when the final three athletes in each event will participate in the BowlTV stepladder finals.
Each of those bowlers will be hoping to walk away with their event’s first-place trophy and the distinction of being crowned the first champion in tournament history.
However, while winning is the obvious goal for all competitors, prize money won’t be the only thing on the line during the U22 Masters and Queens.
Athletes competing in this year’s events have extra incentive to author their best performances as the United States Bowling Congress Team USA Athlete Advisory Council has recommended awarding a total of eight spots on Junior Team USA to top finishers at the 2024 U22 Masters and Queens.
The AAC, which is made up of current or former tenured Team USA athletes, supported that berths on Junior Team USA 2025 will go to the top three age-eligible finishers after the qualifying rounds at both the U22 Masters and Queens and to each tournament’s champion.
If the champion has already acquired a spot or is not age eligible, the fourth and final Junior Team USA position up for grabs at each event will be given to the next-highest age-eligible finisher after the qualifying rounds.
Age-eligible athletes will be those who have not reached their 21st birthday by Jan. 1, 2025.
All rounds of competition leading up to the stepladder will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
For more information or to register for the 2024 U22 Masters and Queens, visit BOWL.com/U22.
The U22 Masters will be hosted by Super Bowl Lanes in Canton, Michigan, while the U22 Queens will be contested at historic Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park.
Each event’s official practice sessions will be held on Friday morning with tournament action following later that day with seven games of A Squad qualifying starting at noon Eastern and B Squad following with its own seven-game block at 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
All competitors will return for a second seven-game qualifying block on Saturday with B Squad hitting the lanes at 11 a.m. Eastern and A Squad wrapping things up at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
After the completion of 14 games of qualifying, the field for each event will be whittled down to just 32 competitors. Those bowlers will advance to the bracket-match-play portion of the event, which kicks off Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Each match will be two games with total pinfall determining the winner. A player will be eliminated from the competition upon losing his or her second match.
Eight rounds of matches will be contested in each tournament on Sunday with just the top three players in each event surviving and advancing to the final day of competition on Monday.
The finals for both tournaments will conclude at Strobl Arena at Thunderbowl Lanes on Memorial Day at noon Eastern when the final three athletes in each event will participate in the BowlTV stepladder finals.
Each of those bowlers will be hoping to walk away with their event’s first-place trophy and the distinction of being crowned the first champion in tournament history.
However, while winning is the obvious goal for all competitors, prize money won’t be the only thing on the line during the U22 Masters and Queens.
Athletes competing in this year’s events have extra incentive to author their best performances as the United States Bowling Congress Team USA Athlete Advisory Council has recommended awarding a total of eight spots on Junior Team USA to top finishers at the 2024 U22 Masters and Queens.
The AAC, which is made up of current or former tenured Team USA athletes, supported that berths on Junior Team USA 2025 will go to the top three age-eligible finishers after the qualifying rounds at both the U22 Masters and Queens and to each tournament’s champion.
If the champion has already acquired a spot or is not age eligible, the fourth and final Junior Team USA position up for grabs at each event will be given to the next-highest age-eligible finisher after the qualifying rounds.
Age-eligible athletes will be those who have not reached their 21st birthday by Jan. 1, 2025.
All rounds of competition leading up to the stepladder will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
For more information or to register for the 2024 U22 Masters and Queens, visit BOWL.com/U22.