ARLINGTON, Texas – USA Bowling crowned its first national champions during the summer and the path to the 2017 USA Bowling National Championships starts next month with the first of 16 regional events.

The USA Bowling Regional events will be held throughout the country to determine the 32 regional champions – 16 teams in the 15-and-under division and 16 teams in the 12-and-under division – that will advance to the national championships tournament in Cleveland in July.

“The inaugural USA Bowling Championships was a great experience for everyone involved and it was exciting to see youth teams compete for a national title on television,” said International Bowling Campus Youth Development Managing Director Gary Brown. “Youth bowlers from throughout the country were able to see the excitement of this tournament and we encourage teams to take advantage of the opportunity to compete in a regional event and possibly earn a spot in the national championships.”

IBC Youth Development started USA Bowling as a team-based youth program to introduce youngsters to the sport. The program follows the structure of other youth sports by placing children on a team, providing a coach, and holding regular practices and weekly competitions.

The USA Bowling Regional events were introduced three years ago to give teams additional opportunities for competition. The regional events led to the first USA Bowling National event in 2016 with the finals televised on CBS Sports Network.

The dates, region and sites for the 16 USA Bowling regional events to be held during the 2016-2017 season:

• Oct. 15-16 – Southeast, Buffaloe Lanes, North, Raleigh, N.C.
• Oct. 29-30 – Ohio Valley, Beaver-Vu Bowl, Beavercreek, Ohio
• Nov. 5-6 – Upper Midwest, Sun Valley Lanes, Lincoln, Neb.
• Nov. 12-13 – Midwest, Northrock Lanes, Wichita, Kan.
• Nov. 19-20 – Northeast, Rab’s Country Lanes, Staten Island, N.Y.
• Nov. 19-20 – Lower Great Lakes, Mike Aulby’s Arrowhead Bowl, Lafayette, Ind.
• Dec. 17-18 – Atlantic East, Smyrna Bowling Center, Smyrna, Tenn.
• Jan. 7-8 – South Central, Plano Super Bowl, Plano, Texas
• Jan. 14-15 – Coastal South, Boardwalk Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
• Jan. 21-22 – Pacific Southwest, Cloverleaf Family Bowl, Fremont, Calif.
• Jan. 28-29 – Southwest, Cactus Bowl, Tucson, Ariz.
• Feb. 25-26 – Heartland, St. Clair Bowl, Fairview Heights, Ill.
• March 4-5 – South, Vestavia Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.
• March 18-19 – New England, Westgate Lanes, Brockton, Mass.
• TBD – Mountain, TBD, Colorado
• TBD – Upper Great Lakes, TBD, Minnesota

Teams do not have to be members of a USA Bowling league to participate in the regional events.

There will be two divisions at each USA Bowling Regional – Under 12 (born Aug. 1, 2004 or later) and Under 15 (born between Aug. 1, 2001 and July 31, 2004). Rosters can have up to six bowlers though only four will compete at a time.

The two-day regionals start with eight round-robin Baker matches to determine seeding for tiered brackets. On the second day of competition, teams compete in a double-elimination match play bracket, also using the Baker format in which team members alternate frames. Each match is best-of-three games and competition continues until each tiered bracket has a winner.

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.

Go to BOWL.com/USABowling for more information about the USA Bowling program and the USA Bowling Regionals.