About2010 USBC Junior Gold Championships Presented by Brunswick
July 10-16, 2010
Woodland Bowler – Western Bowl – Expo Bowl
Indianapolis, IndianaWhen you’re ready to go for the Gold, the USBC has the tournament for you! It’s called the USBC Junior Gold Championships, an annual national bowling tournament for male and female youth athletes where you’ll bowl against the best youth bowlers in the United States for over $140,000 in scholarships and a chance to represent your country internationally as a member of Junior Team USA!If you bowl well enough in one of the many nationwide Junior Gold qualifying events, you’ll earn a spot in the Junior Gold Championships, which are held in a different city each summer (the 2010 event is in Indianapolis). You’ll start by bowling a qualifying round of 18 games on challenging, but fair, lane conditions. After qualifying, bowlers making the cuts bowl a round of semi-finals, and then the top 16 boys and top 16 girls bowl round-robin match play finals on Friday, the last day of competition. You could be the 2010 Junior Gold Champion, and even get picked for Junior Team USA, the national youth team that represents the U.S. in international bowling competition. How cool would that be?!How can you bowl in this incredible tournament? You just have to be a USBC Junior Gold member! To be a Junior Gold member, you have to be a USBC Youth member and have a USBC league average of at least 175 (for boys) and 150 (for girls). Then you can compete in Junior Gold qualifying events and have a shot at bowling in the Junior Gold Championships. Read more to learn the details about the tournament format, how to enter, scholarships, rules, Junior Team USA and much more!Read more to learn the details about the tournament format, how to enter, scholarships, rules, Junior Team USA and much more!Read More
ResultsThis year’s Junior Gold Championships finals concluded five days of competition. Nearly 1,700 athletes participated in the Junior Gold Championships, which awarded $140,000 in scholarships. While a couple of Junior Team USA members might have lost in the finals of the event this year, they also gained two teammates who showed calm under fire. Find out who they are by checking out the results for the 2009 USBC Junior Gold Championships.Search Results
Athletes QualifiedView Qualified AthletesAs of today there are 712 spots reserved for the 2010 Junior Gold Championships.
Upcoming EventsFrom the Youth Scholarship Tournament in Anchorage, Alaska to the Kegel Youth Point Series in Lake Wales, Fla., competitive opportunities for youth bowlers exist from coast to coast and for bowlers of all skill levels.View Upcoming EventsIf you’re looking to test your skills against collegiate or even professional competition, you might want to look for a Jr. Gold PBA Experience Summer League. If you aspire to qualify for the 2010 Jr. Gold Championships, a local Jr. Gold Qualifier is something to look into. Or maybe you just want to get a taste of top level youth tournament action at some of the many Junior Gold qualifying events around the country. Our list of upcoming events for youth bowlers provides a guide to youth tournaments and leagues throughout the country—from scholarship opportunities to Jr. Gold Qualifiers, and more.Read More
Junior Gold HandbookThe Junior Gold Handbook is your main resource for any information Junior Gold.
Click here
for the handbook.
Forms/ApplicationsBelow are the forms and applications you need for Junior Gold
Junior Team USA member takes a big step at USBC Junior Gold ChampionshipsBy Terri Bigham 7/15/2009INDIANAPOLIS -
The shoes said it all for Brent Bowers.The Junior Team USA member was about to bowl his final six-game block on Wednesday afternoon at the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. In 138th place after two days of qualifying, he knew he needed a big day at Woodland Bowl.Before each shot Bowers would remind himself of his task with a simple look at the top of his shoes. The left one read "You can do this!"; the right had "Stay slow."Bowers, from Mulvane, Kan., said he sometimes uses messages for motivation. He responded with a 1,297 block and his 3,653 total pushed him through to Thursday's semifinals. The top 150 boys after three days of qualifying (18 total games) advanced.Bowers wasn't the only Junior Team USA member making a big move on Wednesday. Andrew Koff of Miami, in 16th place to start the day, shot 1,384 (231 average) on the tough conditions to lead the morning squad at Woodland Bowl while Paul Hogan of Manteca, Calif., had 1,304 to finish third in the squad. Koff is at 3,899 and Hogan is at 3,812.Second-round leader Chris Bardol of Robert Morris College, the 2009 USBC Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow Award winner, continued his strong showing with 1,263 to finish fifth in the morning squad and is at 3,904 overall.While Bowers had the second-best total of the afternoon squad, T.J. Baral, 18, of Palm City, Fla., made a big leap with his 1,335 to lead the squad. A Florida high school state champion, Baral will attend Webber International in the fall."Experience definitely helps," said Baral, who is making his third Junior Gold appearance and is at 3,928. "The shot is a lot harder this year than it was last year. The year before I think I averaged like 200 but I really didn't know what I was doing."Shane Tetterton of Kenhorst, Pa., tied for second overall entering Wednesday's action, was fourth in the afternoon squad with a 1,276 and stands at 3,910."I took this year a little differently," said Tetterton, 21, who attends Penn State-Berks and is making his fifth Junior Gold appearance. "The last four years I've just been coming out for experience. This is my last year of doing this so I'm trying to go out big."The Junior Gold Championships are being contested at Woodland Bowl, Western Bowl and Expo Bowl. Semifinal competition will take place Thursday, consisting of two six-game blocks. The top 16 males and top 16 females will earn spots in Friday's match-play finals.Hamilton shines in girls division Brittni Hamilton of Webster, N.Y., who teamed with Christine Bator to capture the doubles title at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships in Bogota, Colombia, last week, had a 268 game en route to a 1,352 block at Western Bowl on Wednesday.Hamilton, who started the day in eighth place, is at 3,760 for the tournament. The leaders, meanwhile, backed up a little. Second-round leader Liz Seibel of Hellertown, Pa., fired a 1,148 (3,649 total), Josie Earnest of Vandalia, Ill., rolled a 1,202 (3,694) and Kim Yioulos of Rochester, N.Y., had a 1,218 (3,699).Earnest was coming off a big day at Expo Bowl on Tuesday, where she averaged 221 for her six-game block."I was fortunate enough to hit the short pattern (at Expo Bowl) pretty well to get me up (to second place)," Earnest said. "But it was a dogfight the other few days for me."The top 78 females advanced to the Thursday's semifinals, which will be two six-game blocks. The top 16 females after the semifinals advance to Friday's match-play finals.Read More
Team Selection GuideThe Team Selection Guide gives you the information needed to learn what it takes at Junior Gold to become a Junior Team USA member for 2010.View Team Selection Guide
More TournamentsWhether you’re a highly competitive bowler carrying a 200 average in a sport league or a bowler who wonders if there is a tournament in which you can compete and have a chance to win, the USBC offers such a wide variety of tournaments that you are bound to find one perfect for you.Are you a women’s bowler who thinks she can cut it against PBA Women’s Series bowlers? Try the USBC Queens event. Are you a youth bowler looking to put your skills to use by earning some scholarship money? Learn more about how to qualify for the Jr. Gold Championships. Are you a bowler looking for a chance to compete on a level playing field against bowlers in your average range? Look into the USBC’s longest-standing event, the 108-year-old USBC Open Championships. USBC tournaments offer opportunities for all bowlers regardless of age or skill level. You never know, you could be one of the next bowlers to compete on live TV at the next USBC Bowling’s Clash of Champions.Read More
Jessica EarnestHometown:
Vandalia, Ill.
Born:
March 17, 1991
Height:
5-3
Throws:
Right
Age Started Bowling:
2
High School:
Vandalia Community High SchoolYears on Junior Team USA (1):
2009
8th at 2008 USBC Junior Gold Championships
2008 Illinois Scholarship Bowling Club Player of the Year
2007 Chris Barnes Thanksgiving Youth Tournament champion
2005 Illinois state youth doubles champion (with sister Josie Earnest)
Bowled two sanctioned 300 games in one day on Saturday, May 30 2009 at just 12 years old
Bowled first sanctioned 300 game in January 2009
Placed 323rd in field of 1020 bowlers at Jr Gold Championships at just 11 years old
As with any bowler using the two-handed style in the age of Belmonte, it did not take long for Anthony Simonsen to attract attention at the Jr. Gold Championships in Detroit last year. While Simonsen rode high games of 255 and 268 to place 323rd in a field of 1020 bowlers, though, it was not his scores everyone wanted to know about—it was his age. “His 22-year-old brother was there carrying bowling balls around the center for him, and everyone kept coming up and asking him ‘How old is your boy?’” says Simonsen’s mother Teresa, “And he kept saying ‘He is not my boy; he is my brother.’ But finally he got tired of it and just said ‘He’s 11.’” Now the wizened old age of 12, Mr. Simonsen has bowled two sanctioned 300 games in a single day and held a 218 average for 56 games of league play during the 2008-2009 season. He plans to bowl both the Jr. Gold and Teen Masters events in 2009, and his favorite Lumber Liquidator’s
PBA Tour player is Mika Koivuniemi. “He can actually say Mika’s last name,” his mother says. But another thing that Simonsen can say is that he and Mika have hung out together. “The last time the pros came near our area, he got to be a ball boy,” Teresa says, “He loved it! He got to hang out with all of them.”Read More
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JuniorGoldSubmit@bowl.comThank you for your nomination! While we are unable to respond to each individual submission due to the volume of submissions we receive, we will be contacting you if your nominee is chosen to be featured on bowl.com.Read More
About2010 USBC Junior Gold Championships Presented by Brunswick
Jessica EarnestHometown:
Vandalia, Ill.
Anthony SimonsenStats
