USA Bowling National Championship Sites Announced

USA Bowling Regional events determine the field for the USA Bowling National Championship, to be held in Cleveland. At each regional, there are two divisions – Under 12 (born Aug. 1, 2004 or later) and Under 15 (born between Aug. 1, 2001 to July 31, 2004) – and each regional champion advances to the national event.

The regional events kicked off last October with the Southeast Regional held at Buffaloe Lanes North in Raleigh, N.C. Since then, regional events have taken place in Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, New York, Tennessee and Texas.

Several USA Bowling Regional events remain, so there still is time to register a team for competition. The dates, region and sites for the remaining eight USA Bowling regional events are:

• Jan. 28-29 – Southwest, Cactus Bowl, Tucson, Ariz.

• Feb. 12 – Upper Great Lakes, Concord Lanes, South St. Paul, Minn.

• Feb. 19 – Mountain, Brunswick Zone Circle, Colorado Springs, Colo.

• March 4-5 – South, Vestavia Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.

• March 18-19 – New England, Westgate Lanes, Brockton, Mass.

• March 25-26 – Heartland, St. Clair Bowl, Fairview Heights, Ill.

Among the teams that already have qualified for the 2017 USA Bowling National Championships is 3 Rights Make a Left, which defended its U15 Midwest Regional title at the Midwest Regional in Wichita, Kansas. The team was aided by an eight-game qualifying pinfall total of 1,833, a 229.1 average. The runner-up team, Northrock Teal, rolled a 300 game during match play at the same event.

Bill and Ellen Johnson, who last season coached The Strikers to the inaugural U15 USA Bowling National Championship title, will seek another title-match appearance on CBS Sports Network after leading the U12 Georgia All Stars to the Atlantic East U12 title in December.

For USA Bowling Regional events, rosters can have up to six bowlers, though only four will compete at a time. Each member of the team must be USBC certified to participate.

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.

The cost for teams to compete in the event is $110 and all participants receive an event gift with trophies awarded to the top teams.

The USA Bowling Regional events were introduced in 2013 to give teams additional opportunities for competition. The regional events led to the first USA Bowling National Championships in 2016 in Indianapolis with the finals televised on CBS Sports Network. The Indiana U12 All-Stars claimed the U12 title, while The Strikers took home the U15 crown.

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.

About International Bowling Campus: The International Bowling Campus (IBC) is the headquarters for the bowling industry and directly serves the more than 69 million bowlers in the United States. The IBC houses the resources of the United States Bowling Congress, the governing body and membership organization for the sport; the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America, representing the business interests of bowling centers; IBC Youth Development; Strike Ten Entertainment, the marketing arm for the industry; the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame; the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association; the International Bowling Media Association; the Bowling News Network; the Billiard and Bowling Institute of America; and the International Training and Research Center.