Youth Open to have age-based divisions
December 04, 2012
ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress Youth Open Championships will move to aged-based divisions in 2013 and the event also will see the addition of a regional tournament.
While the USBC Youth Open will remain a scratch tournament, the divisions will be based on age, as opposed to average, when the 2013 tournament takes place in the Detroit area in July. The move to age-based divisions will put the Youth Open in line with other USBC youth tournaments such as the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships and Pepsi Youth Championships.
The age divisions for the USBC Youth Open will be U8, U12, U15 and U20. The highest age on the team will determine the division for team and doubles competition.
“The move to age-based divisions for the USBC Youth Open is another positive step in the transition of our major youth tournaments to a mainstream sports model,” said Chad Murphy, International Bowling Campus Managing Director of Youth Development. “Age divisions address concerns about the fairness of average comparisons while creating more opportunities for younger bowlers to take part in this great tournament.”
“It also helps to create a distinction between competitive bowling and recreational bowling, which we believe is important for bowling’s growth as a youth sport.”
The Youth Open Championships West Region will be conducted June 22-23 in Las Vegas. The tournament was created so USBC Youth bowlers could have a major tournament option on both sides of the country during the summer.
“We want to reduce the issue of travel costs preventing families from experiencing a major USBC tournament,” Murphy said. “The Youth Open Championships West Region will be a nice complement to the 2013 events in the Detroit area. In years when the USBC Youth Open is out west, we will look to place a regional event in the eastern half of the country.”
Registration for the USBC Youth Open Championships is now open. The entry fee has increased to $35 per event with the entire amount of the increase ($5 per event) going to the scholarship pool. The 2012 Youth Open awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships. Entries received after June 28 and walk-ins will be assessed an additional $5 per event.
The USBC Youth Open is a non-qualifying tournament that is open to all USBC Youth members. Go to
BOWL.com/YouthOpen
to learn more about the tournament.