2026 Junior Gold Championships set to begin in Minneapolis
July 06, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS – Thousands of the nation’s top youth bowlers are headed to Minneapolis for the 2026 Junior Gold Championships, which starts with official practice sessions on Saturday and will conclude July 18 with the stepladder finals in each of the four age-based divisions for both boys and girls, which are U12, U14, U16 and U18.
This year marks the first time the Junior Gold Championships has come to the Minneapolis area and its hallowed center, Cedarvale Lanes.
Cedarvale won’t be the only venue in use, however, as, nine additional bowling centers will help play host to nearly 3,500 athletes competing in the Minneapolis area during the weeklong tournament for a part of the event’s nearly $500,000 scholarship fund.
Junior Team USA and Futures Team USA 2027 also will have spots up for grabs through qualifying and the stepladder finals at this year’s Junior Gold Championships.
BowlTV will provide livestream coverage of all rounds of competition at the 2026 Junior Gold Championships. Junior Gold coverage will be limited to five of the 10 centers during the qualifying rounds in all four divisions, with each center offering 16 lanes of coverage. Additional lanes will be added at Cedarvale Lanes and Mermaid Entertainment during the advancers rounds and match play.
Qualifying and match play at the USA Bowling National Championships will be streamed live on BowlTV with viewers being able to watch competition pairs at Lucky Strike Lakeville.
The stepladder finals at both the USA Bowling National Championships and Junior Gold Championships will be streamed live on BowlTV and on Bowling TV, the new 24-hour channel dedicated entirely to bowling, which can be found on Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, DISH TV, Bonusview, Sling Freestream, Plex, Free Live Sports and Bowling TV’s Roku app.
The USA Bowling National Championships finals will stream live on both platforms on July 9 at 5 p.m. Eastern (U12) and 7:30 p.m. Eastern (U15). Live Junior Gold streams will follow on July 18 at noon Eastern (U12), 3 p.m. Eastern (U14), 6 p.m. Eastern (U16) and 9 p.m. Eastern (U18).
In addition to Cedarvale Lanes, the centers being used for the 2026 Junior Gold Championships include AMF Saxon Lanes, AMF Southtown Lanes, Concord Lanes, Drkula’s 32 Bowl, Lucky Strike Blaine, Lucky Strike Brooklyn Park, Lucky Strike Eden Prairie, Lucky Strike Lakeville and Mermaid Entertainment.
Each division’s stepladder finals will take place at Cedarvale.
The 2026 Junior Gold Championships will run for one week with bowlers having their official practice sessions on July 11-12.
Junior Gold bowlers will start competition with four four-game qualifying blocks from July 13-16 to determine competitors moving on to the advancers round. U12 advancers will bowl another four-game block before the top eight head into match play, while U14, U16 and U18 advancers will bowl a five-game block. A second cut is made for U14, U16 and U18 for the final advancers round with an additional five games before the top 16 advance to match play.
Match play will be a double-elimination bracket, with each match being two games and highest pinfall determining who advances. The final two in the Winners Bracket will bowl for the No. 1 seed in the stepladder finals, while the winner in the Elimination Bracket will be the No. 3 seed on the show.
Because this year’s stepladder finals will not be under live national television time constraints, each top seed will have to be beaten twice during stepladder competition in order to be denied their division’s title.
The Junior Gold Product Showcase, Trade Show and registration for all athletes will take place July 9-11.
The product showcase will take place at AMF Southtown Lanes from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern both days. Space is limited with required registration (first come, first served) available if you CLICK HERE.
Tournament registration and the 2026 Junior Gold Trade Show will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Merchandise sales and spectator pass pickup will kick things off on July 10 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern with the full trade show to follow on July 11 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern.
This year's trade show will feature official Junior Gold merchandise, concessions, autograph stations featuring numerous professional bowlers and more than 65 collegiate experience vendors.
The 2026 Junior Gold Championships Opening Ceremony will take place July 12 at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center and will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern with the athlete state walk, awards and entertainment.
This year’s opening ceremonies headline act will be Funkanometry, a Canadian dance duo known for their high-energy, comedic performances that blend hip-hop, animation and storytelling while incorporating popular TikTok trends. The duo was finalists on America's Got Talent and runners-up on Canada's Got Talent.
In addition to the Junior Gold Championships and USA Bowling National Championships, the Bowling.com Youth Open Championships and Survivor Tournament also will be taking place in Minneapolis.
The Youth Open Championships, a non-qualifying tournament open to all USBC Youth bowlers, has competition in singles, doubles and four-person team. Squads will be held at Lucky Strike Blaine in Blaine, Minnesota, July 8-10, 17-19 and 25-26.
The 2026 USA Bowling National Championships will bring together the top youth teams from throughout the country to compete for a national championship and scholarship prizes.
USA Bowling Regional events determined the field for the USA Bowling National Championships. There were two divisions at each regional event – Under 12 (born Aug. 1, 2013, or later) and Under 15 (born between Aug. 1, 2010, to July 31, 2013). Each regional champion advanced to the national event in Minneapolis.
Those teams will compete in qualifying rounds at Lucky Strike Lakeville on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Match play will commence at Lakeville on Thursday at 9 a.m. Eastern with the finals to follow at 5 p.m. Eastern in the U12 division and 7:30 p.m. Eastern in the U15 division.
The Survivor Tournament will be contested on July 17 and 18 at Lucky Strike Brooklyn Park with squads taking place each day at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern. Competitors will bowl five games across 10 lanes with one-in-five participants winning entries into the 2027 Junior Gold Championships.
Survivor Tournament competitors have the option of paying an additional $75 to receive a high-performance bowling ball from Motiv (Evoke Mayhem) or Storm (Next Factor) along with their tournament entry.
CLICK HERE for more information on the 2026 Junior Gold Championships.
This year marks the first time the Junior Gold Championships has come to the Minneapolis area and its hallowed center, Cedarvale Lanes.
Cedarvale won’t be the only venue in use, however, as, nine additional bowling centers will help play host to nearly 3,500 athletes competing in the Minneapolis area during the weeklong tournament for a part of the event’s nearly $500,000 scholarship fund.
Junior Team USA and Futures Team USA 2027 also will have spots up for grabs through qualifying and the stepladder finals at this year’s Junior Gold Championships.
BowlTV will provide livestream coverage of all rounds of competition at the 2026 Junior Gold Championships. Junior Gold coverage will be limited to five of the 10 centers during the qualifying rounds in all four divisions, with each center offering 16 lanes of coverage. Additional lanes will be added at Cedarvale Lanes and Mermaid Entertainment during the advancers rounds and match play.
Qualifying and match play at the USA Bowling National Championships will be streamed live on BowlTV with viewers being able to watch competition pairs at Lucky Strike Lakeville.
The stepladder finals at both the USA Bowling National Championships and Junior Gold Championships will be streamed live on BowlTV and on Bowling TV, the new 24-hour channel dedicated entirely to bowling, which can be found on Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, DISH TV, Bonusview, Sling Freestream, Plex, Free Live Sports and Bowling TV’s Roku app.
The USA Bowling National Championships finals will stream live on both platforms on July 9 at 5 p.m. Eastern (U12) and 7:30 p.m. Eastern (U15). Live Junior Gold streams will follow on July 18 at noon Eastern (U12), 3 p.m. Eastern (U14), 6 p.m. Eastern (U16) and 9 p.m. Eastern (U18).
In addition to Cedarvale Lanes, the centers being used for the 2026 Junior Gold Championships include AMF Saxon Lanes, AMF Southtown Lanes, Concord Lanes, Drkula’s 32 Bowl, Lucky Strike Blaine, Lucky Strike Brooklyn Park, Lucky Strike Eden Prairie, Lucky Strike Lakeville and Mermaid Entertainment.
Each division’s stepladder finals will take place at Cedarvale.
The 2026 Junior Gold Championships will run for one week with bowlers having their official practice sessions on July 11-12.
Junior Gold bowlers will start competition with four four-game qualifying blocks from July 13-16 to determine competitors moving on to the advancers round. U12 advancers will bowl another four-game block before the top eight head into match play, while U14, U16 and U18 advancers will bowl a five-game block. A second cut is made for U14, U16 and U18 for the final advancers round with an additional five games before the top 16 advance to match play.
Match play will be a double-elimination bracket, with each match being two games and highest pinfall determining who advances. The final two in the Winners Bracket will bowl for the No. 1 seed in the stepladder finals, while the winner in the Elimination Bracket will be the No. 3 seed on the show.
Because this year’s stepladder finals will not be under live national television time constraints, each top seed will have to be beaten twice during stepladder competition in order to be denied their division’s title.
The Junior Gold Product Showcase, Trade Show and registration for all athletes will take place July 9-11.
The product showcase will take place at AMF Southtown Lanes from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern both days. Space is limited with required registration (first come, first served) available if you CLICK HERE.
Tournament registration and the 2026 Junior Gold Trade Show will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Merchandise sales and spectator pass pickup will kick things off on July 10 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern with the full trade show to follow on July 11 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern.
This year's trade show will feature official Junior Gold merchandise, concessions, autograph stations featuring numerous professional bowlers and more than 65 collegiate experience vendors.
The 2026 Junior Gold Championships Opening Ceremony will take place July 12 at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center and will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern with the athlete state walk, awards and entertainment.
This year’s opening ceremonies headline act will be Funkanometry, a Canadian dance duo known for their high-energy, comedic performances that blend hip-hop, animation and storytelling while incorporating popular TikTok trends. The duo was finalists on America's Got Talent and runners-up on Canada's Got Talent.
In addition to the Junior Gold Championships and USA Bowling National Championships, the Bowling.com Youth Open Championships and Survivor Tournament also will be taking place in Minneapolis.
The Youth Open Championships, a non-qualifying tournament open to all USBC Youth bowlers, has competition in singles, doubles and four-person team. Squads will be held at Lucky Strike Blaine in Blaine, Minnesota, July 8-10, 17-19 and 25-26.
The 2026 USA Bowling National Championships will bring together the top youth teams from throughout the country to compete for a national championship and scholarship prizes.
USA Bowling Regional events determined the field for the USA Bowling National Championships. There were two divisions at each regional event – Under 12 (born Aug. 1, 2013, or later) and Under 15 (born between Aug. 1, 2010, to July 31, 2013). Each regional champion advanced to the national event in Minneapolis.
Those teams will compete in qualifying rounds at Lucky Strike Lakeville on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Match play will commence at Lakeville on Thursday at 9 a.m. Eastern with the finals to follow at 5 p.m. Eastern in the U12 division and 7:30 p.m. Eastern in the U15 division.
The Survivor Tournament will be contested on July 17 and 18 at Lucky Strike Brooklyn Park with squads taking place each day at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern. Competitors will bowl five games across 10 lanes with one-in-five participants winning entries into the 2027 Junior Gold Championships.
Survivor Tournament competitors have the option of paying an additional $75 to receive a high-performance bowling ball from Motiv (Evoke Mayhem) or Storm (Next Factor) along with their tournament entry.
CLICK HERE for more information on the 2026 Junior Gold Championships.