ARLINGTON, Texas - With the first of eight USA Bowling Regional events just weeks away, openings still are available for the team-based youth competitions.

The 2014 events kick off Oct. 4-5 at Mike Aulby's Arrowhead Bowl in Lafayette, Indiana, with a different region scheduled each weekend through Nov. 22-23.

Each USA Bowling Regional features two divisions - Under 12 (born Aug. 1, 2002 or later) and Under 15 (born between Aug. 1, 1999 and July 31, 2002) - and costs $110 per team to secure a spot. Teams do not have to be a member of a USA Bowling league to compete in the events.

To register, simply go to BOWL.com/USABowling and select 2014 Regional Tournaments.

The dates and host centers for the 2014 USA Bowling Regional events are:

• Oct. 4-5: Mike Aulby's Arrowhead Bowl, Lafayette, Indiana
• Oct. 11-12: Paradise Bowl, Tacoma, Washington
• Oct. 18-19: Don Carter Lanes, Rockford, Illinois
• Oct. 25-26: Pin Chasers Midtown, Tampa, Florida
• Nov. 1-2: Northrock Lanes, Wichita, Kansas
• Nov. 8-9: Rab's Country Lanes, Staten Island, New York
• Nov. 15-16: Fountain Bowl, Fountain Valley, California
• Nov. 22-23: Vestavia Bowl, Birmingham, Alabama 

Rosters can have up to six bowlers, though only four will compete at a time. The first day of competition will consist of eight round-robin Baker matches and teams will be seeded into tiered brackets based on match-play records. On Day 2, teams will compete in double-elimination match play with each match a best-of-three games format. Competition will continue until each tiered bracket has a winner. The team winning the Tier 1 bracket will be named tournament champion.

USA Bowling Regional events were introduced in 2013 to provide additional opportunities for team competition, and, as the tournaments continue to grow, USA Bowling plans to hold 16 regional events in 2015 with the regional winners invited to participate in the first USA Bowling National event in spring 2016.

USA Bowling, a team-based youth program offered through the International Bowling Campus, was initiated to introduce youngsters to bowling and follows the same structure as other youth sports by placing children on a team, providing each team with a coach and then having regular practices along with weekly competitions.

USA Bowling is a product of the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund, a joint initiative of the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America and United States Bowling Congress supported by top bowling brands including Bowling.com, Brunswick, Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer, QubicaAMF, Roto Grip, Storm and Track.

For more information on the USA Bowling program, visit BOWL.com/USABowling.