ARLINGTON, Texas – The opportunity for teams to earn spots in the 2019 USA Bowling National Championships presented by Sixlets starts in October with the first of 16 regional events.
Each USA Bowling Regional event will have two divisions – 12-and-under and a 15-and-under – with the champions at each regional advancing to the national tournament, which will take place in the Detroit area in July 2019.
CBS Sports Network once again will televise the title matches of the USA Bowling National Championships. Each of the three previous finals of the event were nationally televised.
Oct. 20-21, 2018 – Southeast, Buffaloe Lanes North, Raleigh, N.C.
Oct. 27-28, 2018 – Lower Great Lakes, Mike Aulby’s Arrowhead Bowl, Lafayette, Ind.
Nov. 3-4, 2018 – Midwest, West Acres Bowling Center, Wichita, Kan.
Nov. 10-11, 2018 – Upper Midwest, Sport Bowl, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Dec. 8-9, 2018 – Northeast, Rab’s Country Lanes, Staten Island, N.Y.
Jan. 5-6, 2019 – Coastal South, Aloma Bowl, Winter Park, Fla.
Jan. 19-20, 2019 – Pacific Southwest, Steve Cook’s Fireside Lanes, Citrus Heights, Calif.
Jan. 26-27, 2019 – Heartland, Pheasant Lanes, Bloomington, Ill.
Feb. 10, 2019 – Upper Great Lakes, Concord Lanes, South St. Paul, Minn.
Feb. 17, 2019 – Mountain, King Pin Lanes, Colorado Springs, Colo.
March 2-3, 2019 – Ohio Valley, Merri-Bowl Lanes, Livonia, Mich.
March 16-17, 2019 – Atlantic East, Ten Pin Strike & Spare, Louisville, Ky.
March 23, 2019 – New England, Walnut Hill Bowl, Woonsocket, R.I.
March 30-31, 2019 – South, Vestavia Bowl, Vestavia Hills, Ala.
The majority of the regionals will be two-day events. On the first day, teams will bowl eight round-robin Baker matches to determine seeding for bracket play. Day 2 will feature a double-elimination match-play bracket, with each winner decided using a best-of-three Baker format, until a champion is determined in each division.
The four one-day regionals will have the same format, with all rounds taking place on one day.
Because four-person teams are used in USA Bowling events, the competition has a unique Baker format. For each Baker game, the first two bowlers in the lineup each bowl three frames (1-5-9 and 2-6-10, respectively), while the other two team members bowl two frames each (3-7 and 4-8).
USA Bowling Regional tournaments started in 2013, building the foundation that would lead to the inaugural USA Bowling National Championships in Indianapolis in 2016. The national event grew from the USA Bowling program, designed as a team-based youth program to introduce the sport to children.
USA Bowling Leagues share a team-based structure, similar to all youth sports, where young athletes receive instruction and have regular practice with a coach and then compete against other teams during a short eight- to 12-week season.
USA Bowling is a product of the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund, a joint initiative of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and the United States Bowling Congress, supported by top bowling brands, including Bowling.com, Brunswick, Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer, QubicaAMF, Roto Grip, Storm and Track.
Visit BOWL.com/USABowling for more information on USA Bowling and to register for a USA Bowling Regional event.