A Future For The Sport - 2025 recap, 2026 preview
January 15, 2026
By Chad Murphy, USBC Executive Director
Hello, we hope everyone enjoyed a happy and healthy 2025 as we set our sights on 2026. When we review 2025, we saw another outstanding year for our sport and USBC. Participation trends in our tournaments continue at a tremendous pace, membership is holding steady and engagement and enthusiasm at all levels of the association remain high. This is all due to the work, passion and determination of our association volunteers and proprietors across the country, for whom we are extremely thankful.
USBC’s membership totals continue to remain steadfast. The 2024-2025 season finished slightly down from the prior two seasons, but above where we were as recently as the 2021-2022 season. Here are the numbers:
The national tournaments had a fantastic year, highlighted by the 2025 Open Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, flooring more than 11,600 teams. This was the highest total in the last 13 years! The 2025 Women’s Championships returned to South Point in Las Vegas (site of the 2023 event) and eclipsed the 4,000-team mark once again in that city. That’s more than 58,000 bowlers at the Open Championships and 16,000 at the Women’s. Here are the four-year trends:
USBC Open Championships:
Some major participation milestones took place at these two events:
At the Open Championships, Clinton Zavakos of Henderson, Nevada, became only the fifth bowler in tournament history to reach 70 years of participation. USBC Hall of Famer Jamie Brooks of Fairview, Texas, became the 17th bowler to reach 65 years of participation.
The ladies celebrated impressive participation milestones as well. Joyce Dixon of Mesa, Arizona, Theresa Fellows of Bozeman, Montana, and Marilyn Smith of Prairieville, Louisiana, all made their 50th tournament appearance in 2025.
On the competition side in these events, Marc McDowell proved that age is just a number as the 62-year-old PBA champion from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, claimed his third Eagle at the USBC Open Championships – and second win in Baton Rouge – after his incredible performance in Regular Singles, rolling games of 299, 196 and 300 to finish with the top score by two pins with a 795 series.
At the Women’s Championships, Sterner Strong 1 won Diamond Team AND the first Team All-Events title in tournament history, while Kayla Pashina of Otsego, Minnesota, rolled the highest series in tournament history – 836 – during her doubles event.
These milestones and performances show amazing commitment from the bowlers at the Championships.
It is worth repeating that membership dues and these two tournaments make up more than 90% of USBC’s revenue. Success in these areas means financial success for the organization. We thank the nearly 75,000 bowlers who supported the Championships in 2025!
Looking ahead, early registration numbers for both the OC and WC look strong for 2026 and there will be even more fun at each event with the addition of The Forty Frame Game. Additionally, we’re excited for the upcoming East Coast stops for the Championships. In 2028, the Open Championships will be heading to Greenville, South Carolina, for the first time in the tournament’s history, while the Women’s Championships will be in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2027.
On the professional side, the PWBA Tour, which continues to be jointly supported and funded by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and the USBC, celebrated its 10th anniversary (since the relaunch) season in 2025.
Several 2025 events were sold out with a pre-tournament-qualifier before the event. The tour also had some firsts this year:
Beyond the PWBA Tour, competitive tournaments continue to be success story for USBC. There were several highlights on the USBC tournament side:
We also celebrate the champions of 2025:
The success of USBC tournaments starts with proper governance and, as the National Governing Body for the sport of bowling, USBC was busy once again in 2025.
In 2025, USBC took a deeper dive into the subject of urethane bowling balls and their implications on lane pattern integrity, competitive fairness, athlete development and governance challenges. Conducting expert working groups, on-the-lane testing and analysis of the trends in urethane use led to new equipment regulations.
USBC adopted new tournament rules at nationally conducted events to either eliminate the use of slow oil-absorbing high-performance (urethane) bowling balls or require them to be manufactured at a minimum 78D hardness. We know these changes caused some controversy and disruption, but they are positive steps for the sport. The data supports this being a move in the right direction for our highest-level events.
String pinsetters continue to be a topic of discussion in some parts of the country and USBC’s approval work continues as overseas companies are submitting their machines for the USBC stamp of approval. The approved string pinsetter list has grown to 10 machines, and we have published a new scoring report that details bowler averages in centers with string pinsetters. The overall scoring difference is within what we expected from our 2023 scoring research, with a little bit more impact on the highest average bowlers. You can read more here.
On the center certification side, 2025 marked a major achievement for our center certification staff. Shortly, we will be able to say for the first time, a professional inspection has been conducted using state-of-the-art tools in every USBC-certified bowling center in the country. Our dedicated team measured more than 3,400 centers and 73,000 lanes, an impressive accomplishment made possible by continued investment in efficient inspection tools (ACE Tool) and processes. USBC has now captured more than 3.5 million data points from lanes nationwide. This impressive data set has provided centers with the most accurate measurements of their lanes in history. In 2026 and beyond, the inspection cycle is moving from once every three years to once every five years while still servicing additional inspections when major work is done at the centers.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) finished its audit of USBC in 2025 and confirmed USBC as the National Governing Body for bowling through 2028. Many hours were committed to this audit by USBC’s staff led by the Rules and Compliance team. Being a part of USOPC allows USBC to send athletes to the PANAM Games and keeps Team USA competing on the world stage.
USBC also was audited by the U.S. Center for SafeSport at one of our USA Bowling competitions. We are happy to announce USBC also passed this audit.
We know adhering to USOPC and SafeSport standards requires extra attention and effort from our members at all levels. We appreciate the continued focus and hope everyone will find USBC’s updated Athlete Safety and RVP Handbook a valuable resource. This handbook has been updated to help those members who run competitions where minor athletes are present meet U.S. Center for SafeSport requirements. You can find this publication here.
After bringing SMART back into USBC’s governance a few years ago, the program keeps giving back to the kids in record numbers. Here is some data from 2025:
USBC’s Coaching Department continues to train a new set of coaches to help teach the sport. In 2025, USBC hosted more than 40 Bronze and Silver classes and with our online Level I course, we trained more than 1,000 coaches nationwide.
Our Coach+ program increased its membership to more than 250. These are Bronze- and Silver-level coaches who are available for a coaching lesson. You can find these individuals in our Find-a-Coach feature on BOWL.com. Those who have joined the program have a Coach+ logo next to their name and you can click to obtain contact and other coaching information.
The 2025 USBC Convention, held in early May at South Point in Las Vegas, was once again a hit with attendees. We continue to get great feedback from delegates about the education and seminars offered during the event. We were thrilled to welcome former MLB pitcher and inspirational speaker Jim Morris, star of “The Rookie,” and our delegates participated in networking and educational sessions focused on “Share the Vision” – a theme centered on improving technology across the services of our associations.
We’re already preparing for Convention 2026 in Reno, Nevada, where the theme will transition to “Sparking Momentum” – emphasizing action, innovation and service enhancements that benefit our members and partners.
The Association Leadership Academy (ALA) continues to grow, with five more academies and 156 new attendees in 2025. Since its inception, ALA has now educated more than 1,500 volunteer leaders, strengthening local and state associations across the country.
Our Field Services Manager team has expanded to seven team members (previously four), and we’re excited to have them in the field more often in 2026 as they focus on assisting associations and centers with their programming, specifically working with centers to kick start or enhance their youth bowling offerings.
Back on the competition side, Team USA began and ended its 2025 campaign in Hong Kong, China, with team gold medals for our women in both competitions. The team of Bryanna Coté, Shannon Pluhowsky, Lauren Pate and Jillian Martin earned the IBF World Cup in January and then returned with fellow teammates Julia Bond and Breanna Clemmer to win the IBF World Championship. Both final matches saw Team USA triumph over Malaysia in the gold medal match.
In total, Team USA won 16 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 13 bronze medals in 2025.
The energy and enthusiasm around youth bowling continued to build in 2025, with USBC focused on growing participation, enhancing the athlete experience and laying the foundation for long-term success.
The Junior Gold Championships were held for the first time in Green Bay, Wisconsin, drawing thousands of youth athletes for a week of elite competition, national recognition and college exposure. A historic moment capped off the week as the PWBA hosted a televised live finals event during the Junior Gold Opening Ceremony, giving Junior Gold participants the rare opportunity to witness professional-level bowling on center stage.
USA Bowling saw a 22% increase in team entries, reinforcing the rising popularity of team-based formats across the country.
At the collegiate level, USBC celebrated a record-high number of memberships, another clear sign that the athlete pipeline is both strong and expanding.
A major milestone came with the announcement of the USBC Youth Scratch Championships, bringing fresh energy and identity to this grassroots initiative by replacing the long-standing Pepsi Youth Championships. Backed by SMART and designed for league-level engagement, the YSC offers a more unified and rewarding competition experience for youth bowlers nationwide.
Resources to support leagues and education remained a top priority. The Youth League Resource Guide was updated based on feedback from coaches and volunteers and distributed at events and state meetings throughout the year. In schools, the Bowler’s Ed program continued to introduce students to bowling fundamentals. While development of a new video series is ongoing, bowling was officially added to the PTO Today Marketplace, helping educators discover and implement the program in their schools.
On the marketing and media side . . .
The USBC distributed more than 400 press releases and game stories over the course of 2025, including comprehensive coverage of USBC and PWBA events.
In 2025, USBC’s marketing and technology teams worked hand in hand to enhance the visibility, accessibility and storytelling power of the sport. BowlTV experienced strong subscriber growth, peaking near 11,000 active subscribers during the year. Through more fan-focused programming, enhanced commentary, and a steady stream of original content, BowlTV continued to establish itself as the home for PBA, PWBA and USBC championship bowling. The digitization of archival video content was completed, unlocking decades of historical footage now available on both BowlTV.com and YouTube, bringing nostalgia and education to the forefront for fans new and old.
USBC also delivered on a grassroots promise by embracing a new social strategy centered around the everyday bowling community. We spotlighted youth athletes, local centers and inspiring stories from across the country, amplifying the voices that make up the sport’s foundation.
Another major milestone came with the launch of the new BOWL.com mobile app. Designed for smoother access to scores, rankings and membership tools, the update laid important groundwork as we prepare for more mobile-first solutions in 2026.
While several major 2025 initiatives were successfully executed, a few key programs will carry over into the new year. These include the rollout of a chatbot system on BOWL.com to improve user support and navigation, and the launch of USBC’s first Diversity Grant Program, which is being finalized to provide direct funding to organizations championing inclusion in bowling.
USBC continues to invest heavily in technology to better serve members, proprietors and associations.
So, where does all this leave us financially? At the 2025 USBC Convention, we shared that we would not need a dues increase until 2029 at the earliest and maybe even further down the line. Instead, USBC would use investment reserves to cover losses, as costs to operate continue to go up with inflation. Well, thanks to overperformance of the tournaments and steady membership revenue, USBC continues to perform better financially than expected.
We will continue our practice of giving a detailed update at Convention, but know that things again look strong for USBC financially as we start 2026.
2026 and Beyond
We will continue to make quality service a priority for USBC. Quality service to our members, associations, centers and industry partners is an everyday commitment. Great customer service drives USBC’s success in our major areas of focus (see below).
Membership
The trends are solid. As of Jan. 1, USBC membership is forecasting to be down less than 1%. Considering the overall consumer economy, we feel good about this number. The majority of USBC-certified centers are doing extremely well with leagues. We are seeing most proprietors holding steady with their league base.
We will have more info by the time we get to USBC Convention and will have updates there. Special thanks to the people who manage our membership success at the local level – the centers, league coordinators, league officers and associations are doing amazing work, and we can’t thank them enough. Their commitment to servicing our league base is an ongoing key to our success.
Tournaments
The outlook for our 2026 Open Championships in Reno, Nevada, looks fantastic. As of January 2026, we have nearly 11,000 teams registered for the event. This will be our best turnout in Reno since 2011. Our partners in Reno have special offers with lower hotel and food prices for our bowlers. We expect a great event experience for Reno in 2026.
Moving forward, we head back to South Point in Las Vegas for 2027 and then to the eastern part of the country in 2028 for the aforementioned event in Greenville, South Carolina.
All of this is very positive for USBC’s Championships and the association overall.
As for the USBC Women’s Championships, after back-to-back years at South Point in Las Vegas in 2025 and 2026, where the expectation is to have more than 4,000 teams again this year, we head east to the Charlotte area of North Carolina (Mooresville) in 2027.
Speaking of momentum, the 2026 PWBA schedule is out following a landmark season in 2025 that saw the celebration of the tour’s 10th anniversary since the relaunch. There are some new cities and venues in 2026, along with some familiar places, as the best women bowlers in the world compete for titles and prestige.
The 2026 USBC Masters sold out in mere minutes, and capacity fields are expected for other major events like the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. In its third year of existence, the 2026 U22 Masters and Queens will head outside the Detroit area for the first time as the event moves to Orlando, Florida.
With the flip of the calendar to 2026, USBC continues to see unprecedented excitement for our tournaments.
Youth Program Development
Building on this momentum, 2026 will be a pivotal year for USBC Youth programming, with multiple major initiatives moving from development to deployment.
The Youth Athlete Ranking System will launch on BOWL.com, giving bowlers and their families new ways to track competitive progress, benchmark development and engage more deeply with the sport. The system will also serve as a key tool for identifying talent and providing broader visibility across divisions and regions.
USBC will also debut the Youth Jersey League program, a turnkey initiative that allows centers to run structured leagues featuring branded jerseys, built-in resources and a connected national identity. This program is designed to make youth leagues more accessible and exciting for new bowlers, while giving local centers a consistent and engaging way to grow participation.
The Junior Gold Championships will be hosted in Minneapolis for the first time, with the addition of new competition divisions (U18, U16, U14 and U12) to better align bowlers by age and skill level. These changes will further enhance the competitive experience and create more opportunities for success for our youth athletes.
The Youth Scratch Championships will benefit from a significant increase in scholarship support, with funding doubling from $150,000 to $300,000 in 2026, thanks to continued investment from USBC and SMART. This underscores our commitment to educational opportunity through bowling achievement.
USBC also will launch a new Youth Ambassador program to formally recognize young leaders making an impact both on and off the lanes. A companion storytelling campaign will highlight inspiring stories from across the country, further reinforcing the value of character, commitment and community within the sport.
Bowler’s Ed outreach will continue with the distribution of additional curriculum kits and continued promotion through educator networks, supported by the program’s presence in the PTO Today Marketplace.
Together, these efforts reflect USBC’s commitment to delivering meaningful opportunities for youth athletes and their families. With the groundwork laid in 2025, the coming year will mark a new chapter in growth, engagement and visibility for youth bowling nationwide.
Marketing/Media
Exposure for competitive bowling will be terrific again in 2026. USBC and the PBA will continue our partnership for the U.S. Open and USBC Masters as part of the PBA Tour on its new CW television package. CBS Sports Network will continue to be the home for the PWBA, USBC Collegiate and Junior Gold.
As we look to 2026, USBC is committed to deepening its digital transformation while focusing on member experience, recognition and growth. The next evolution of the BOWL.com app is already underway, with a targeted release that will make membership renewal and account access easier than ever.
In alignment with our values of honoring the sport’s legacy, we will launch a major redesign of the USBC Hall of Fame experience on BOWL.com. This new platform will showcase inductees by category and year and introduce a way to connect to state and local association halls of fame, building a cohesive Hall of Fame network.
Additionally, a redesign of the USBC Records is planned. This update will reorganize the way national records
are presented, making it easier for users to search, sort and celebrate significant achievements across youth, adult, senior and team-based events.
Bowlers Journal will continue to deliver on its mission to tell in-depth stories about people impacting our sport. The magazine’s circulation includes more than 250,000 copies a year and uniquely captures bowling’s history and celebrates its champions.
USBC also will continue our partnerships with BPAA and Strike Ten Entertainment that delivers the Go Bowling brand to raise top-of-mind awareness for the sport outside of our own channels. You may have seen the Go Bowling brand with floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day Rose Parade or maybe National Bowling Day on Fox and Friends, the Go Bowling Military Bowl or Go Bowling-sponsored NASCAR events. Go Bowling’s media reach hits tens of millions of people, and we’re excited to see what they have planned for 2026.
When you combine these digital, streaming, broadcast and traditional print offerings, USBC and its partnerships are providing coverage of bowling from all angles.
Technology
A focus for 2026 will be continuing to improve our member’s technology experience. For years, nearly all USBC memberships were purchased by filling out paper forms the first night of league. USBC local associations still spend a lot of time manually processing memberships, but in recent seasons we have offered better tools for individuals to buy membership online. As a result, the number of memberships purchased online has grown from 40,000 to more than 100,000 in the past two years. We know that renewing memberships online is efficient, fast and the best experience. Look for new marketing efforts to encourage continued growth for next season. USBC also will continue to offer options for centers to manage and purchase USBC memberships if interested. Our vision is for the continued growth of the use of these tools so USBC members can more easily join the organization.
Equipment Specifications
In 2026, the Equipment Specifications team will continue to look ahead and stay on the leading edge of research for the sport. With new tournament rules governing bowling balls announced in 2025, our focus in this area will turn toward collaborating with tournament staff on implementing quality testing at national tournaments. These checks will be used primarily for research and data collection while also serving as a tool to identify bowling balls suspected of tampering. Meanwhile, in the lab we plan to work on developing additional processes to evaluate to what extent different products and variables impact scoring pace.
Summary
Our National Governing Body had a wonderful 2025 and continues moving forward and improving. We should all be proud of the accomplishments.
Thank you to the current USBC Board of Directors in addition to all the committees for their leadership, support and strategic direction. The continuity of USBC’s direction and vision at the board level has been the driving force in our success.
Having strong volunteer leadership has never been more important. In that light, a huge thanks to the thousands of association volunteers who dedicate countless hours in support of bowling.
Finally, thank you to our entire staff here at the International Bowling Campus for their efforts and passion.
I will close with a friendly reminder as to the mission and promise of USBC. It is certainly an honor and a privilege to serve as your executive director.
USBC is the National Governing Body for the sport.
Our mission is to provide services, resources and standards for the sport.
Our promise is to celebrate the past, be mindful of the present and ensure bowling’s future through thoughtful research, planning and delivery. We will protect and nurture the sport with a mutual admiration and respect for all who enjoy bowling.
Hello, we hope everyone enjoyed a happy and healthy 2025 as we set our sights on 2026. When we review 2025, we saw another outstanding year for our sport and USBC. Participation trends in our tournaments continue at a tremendous pace, membership is holding steady and engagement and enthusiasm at all levels of the association remain high. This is all due to the work, passion and determination of our association volunteers and proprietors across the country, for whom we are extremely thankful.
USBC’s membership totals continue to remain steadfast. The 2024-2025 season finished slightly down from the prior two seasons, but above where we were as recently as the 2021-2022 season. Here are the numbers:
- 2021-2022 – 1,053,129
- 2022-2023 – 1,093,909
- 2023-2024 – 1,093,000
- 2024-2025 – 1,075,194
The national tournaments had a fantastic year, highlighted by the 2025 Open Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, flooring more than 11,600 teams. This was the highest total in the last 13 years! The 2025 Women’s Championships returned to South Point in Las Vegas (site of the 2023 event) and eclipsed the 4,000-team mark once again in that city. That’s more than 58,000 bowlers at the Open Championships and 16,000 at the Women’s. Here are the four-year trends:
USBC Open Championships:
- 2022 – 9,317 teams
- 2023 – 9,565 teams
- 2024 – 11,012 teams
- 2025 – 11,684 teams
- 2022 – 3,155 teams
- 2023 – 4,148 teams
- 2024 – 3,668 teams
- 2025 – 4,099 teams
Some major participation milestones took place at these two events:
At the Open Championships, Clinton Zavakos of Henderson, Nevada, became only the fifth bowler in tournament history to reach 70 years of participation. USBC Hall of Famer Jamie Brooks of Fairview, Texas, became the 17th bowler to reach 65 years of participation.
The ladies celebrated impressive participation milestones as well. Joyce Dixon of Mesa, Arizona, Theresa Fellows of Bozeman, Montana, and Marilyn Smith of Prairieville, Louisiana, all made their 50th tournament appearance in 2025.
On the competition side in these events, Marc McDowell proved that age is just a number as the 62-year-old PBA champion from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, claimed his third Eagle at the USBC Open Championships – and second win in Baton Rouge – after his incredible performance in Regular Singles, rolling games of 299, 196 and 300 to finish with the top score by two pins with a 795 series.
At the Women’s Championships, Sterner Strong 1 won Diamond Team AND the first Team All-Events title in tournament history, while Kayla Pashina of Otsego, Minnesota, rolled the highest series in tournament history – 836 – during her doubles event.
These milestones and performances show amazing commitment from the bowlers at the Championships.
It is worth repeating that membership dues and these two tournaments make up more than 90% of USBC’s revenue. Success in these areas means financial success for the organization. We thank the nearly 75,000 bowlers who supported the Championships in 2025!
Looking ahead, early registration numbers for both the OC and WC look strong for 2026 and there will be even more fun at each event with the addition of The Forty Frame Game. Additionally, we’re excited for the upcoming East Coast stops for the Championships. In 2028, the Open Championships will be heading to Greenville, South Carolina, for the first time in the tournament’s history, while the Women’s Championships will be in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2027.On the professional side, the PWBA Tour, which continues to be jointly supported and funded by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and the USBC, celebrated its 10th anniversary (since the relaunch) season in 2025.
Several 2025 events were sold out with a pre-tournament-qualifier before the event. The tour also had some firsts this year:
- Thousands of fans attended the TV finals of the PWBA Anniversary Open in an arena setting at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Josie Barnes was the champion of this extraordinary event. Barnes added this win to her major victory at the USBC Queens earlier in the year.
- New Hui Fen became the first bowler from Singapore to win PWBA Player of the Year honors. New won three times in 2025, including a major championship at the U.S. Women’s Open.
- Gillian Lim became the first Malaysian to win PWBA Rooke of the Year honors.
- Another strong PWBA Regional season ended with the 2025 Regional Showdown where Karsyn Lukosius earned her fifth PWBA regional title, the most in the relaunched era. Lukosius has been a terror on the PWBA Regional circuit, having bowled for the title in eight of the last 10 PWBA Regionals she has entered.
Beyond the PWBA Tour, competitive tournaments continue to be success story for USBC. There were several highlights on the USBC tournament side:
- Team USA Trials saw another impressive turnout with 182 men and 99 women competing the event contested at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada (the first time the event was contested outside Las Vegas since 2007).
- The USBC Masters sold out in less than 15 minutes with 390 entries.
- Both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open had impressive participation, with the U.S. Open PTQ hitting full capacity for three years straight at 108 entries.
- The USBC Senior Queens attracted 92 participants, just one less than 2024, which was the most since 2011.
- USBC once again successfully conducted the U22 Masters (159 competitors) and U22 Queens (82 competitors) in the Detroit area, marking the second year of these events.
- The USBC Senior Championships drew nearly 400 competitors to Fort Worth, Texas. The event was highlighted by Viola Forrest winning her second Senior Championships title at the age of 93.
We also celebrate the champions of 2025:
- Crystal Elliott and Ryan Barnes claimed victory at the Team USA Trials, while C.J. Petrin and Katelyn Abigania were crowned U.S. Amateur champions.
- At the USBC Masters, Gary Haines won his first major and PBA title.
- In the U.S. Open, EJ Tackett continued his dominance on the PBA Tour by claiming the title, while New Hui Fen claimed her second career major at the U.S. Women’s Open.
- Josie Barnes claimed her first USBC Queens title, while Liz Johnson added to her hall of fame legacy with a win in her USBC Senior Queens debut, making her just the third person to win both the USBC Queens and Senior Queens titles in her career.
- In the USBC Senior Masters, Tom Daugherty won his first Senior Masters, and James Campbell secured his first senior major title with a win in the USBC Super Senior Classic.
- The U22 Masters saw Brandon Bohn successfully defend this title, while Aleesha Oden took home the title in the U22 Queens.
The success of USBC tournaments starts with proper governance and, as the National Governing Body for the sport of bowling, USBC was busy once again in 2025.In 2025, USBC took a deeper dive into the subject of urethane bowling balls and their implications on lane pattern integrity, competitive fairness, athlete development and governance challenges. Conducting expert working groups, on-the-lane testing and analysis of the trends in urethane use led to new equipment regulations.
USBC adopted new tournament rules at nationally conducted events to either eliminate the use of slow oil-absorbing high-performance (urethane) bowling balls or require them to be manufactured at a minimum 78D hardness. We know these changes caused some controversy and disruption, but they are positive steps for the sport. The data supports this being a move in the right direction for our highest-level events.
String pinsetters continue to be a topic of discussion in some parts of the country and USBC’s approval work continues as overseas companies are submitting their machines for the USBC stamp of approval. The approved string pinsetter list has grown to 10 machines, and we have published a new scoring report that details bowler averages in centers with string pinsetters. The overall scoring difference is within what we expected from our 2023 scoring research, with a little bit more impact on the highest average bowlers. You can read more here.
On the center certification side, 2025 marked a major achievement for our center certification staff. Shortly, we will be able to say for the first time, a professional inspection has been conducted using state-of-the-art tools in every USBC-certified bowling center in the country. Our dedicated team measured more than 3,400 centers and 73,000 lanes, an impressive accomplishment made possible by continued investment in efficient inspection tools (ACE Tool) and processes. USBC has now captured more than 3.5 million data points from lanes nationwide. This impressive data set has provided centers with the most accurate measurements of their lanes in history. In 2026 and beyond, the inspection cycle is moving from once every three years to once every five years while still servicing additional inspections when major work is done at the centers.The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) finished its audit of USBC in 2025 and confirmed USBC as the National Governing Body for bowling through 2028. Many hours were committed to this audit by USBC’s staff led by the Rules and Compliance team. Being a part of USOPC allows USBC to send athletes to the PANAM Games and keeps Team USA competing on the world stage.
USBC also was audited by the U.S. Center for SafeSport at one of our USA Bowling competitions. We are happy to announce USBC also passed this audit.
We know adhering to USOPC and SafeSport standards requires extra attention and effort from our members at all levels. We appreciate the continued focus and hope everyone will find USBC’s updated Athlete Safety and RVP Handbook a valuable resource. This handbook has been updated to help those members who run competitions where minor athletes are present meet U.S. Center for SafeSport requirements. You can find this publication here.
After bringing SMART back into USBC’s governance a few years ago, the program keeps giving back to the kids in record numbers. Here is some data from 2025:
- In 2025, USBC disbursed more than $15 million of recipient funds for their use. More than $3 million was used to help offset the additional costs of higher education by paying for books, computers and other course-specific necessities.
- The SMART Pell Grant Match awarded more than $4 million in the 2024-2025 school year and has already matched more than $2 million this year. This program matches the amount a recipient receives from the government’s Pell Grant program thereby giving those who are in need extra funds to continue and finish their higher education.
- SMART also deposited funds into both recipient and provider accounts in 2025, depositing $365 to more than 7,000 students for their education and splitting $1.8M into providers accounts in new unassigned funds for them to enhance their competitions.
USBC’s Coaching Department continues to train a new set of coaches to help teach the sport. In 2025, USBC hosted more than 40 Bronze and Silver classes and with our online Level I course, we trained more than 1,000 coaches nationwide.
Our Coach+ program increased its membership to more than 250. These are Bronze- and Silver-level coaches who are available for a coaching lesson. You can find these individuals in our Find-a-Coach feature on BOWL.com. Those who have joined the program have a Coach+ logo next to their name and you can click to obtain contact and other coaching information.The 2025 USBC Convention, held in early May at South Point in Las Vegas, was once again a hit with attendees. We continue to get great feedback from delegates about the education and seminars offered during the event. We were thrilled to welcome former MLB pitcher and inspirational speaker Jim Morris, star of “The Rookie,” and our delegates participated in networking and educational sessions focused on “Share the Vision” – a theme centered on improving technology across the services of our associations.
We’re already preparing for Convention 2026 in Reno, Nevada, where the theme will transition to “Sparking Momentum” – emphasizing action, innovation and service enhancements that benefit our members and partners.
The Association Leadership Academy (ALA) continues to grow, with five more academies and 156 new attendees in 2025. Since its inception, ALA has now educated more than 1,500 volunteer leaders, strengthening local and state associations across the country.
Our Field Services Manager team has expanded to seven team members (previously four), and we’re excited to have them in the field more often in 2026 as they focus on assisting associations and centers with their programming, specifically working with centers to kick start or enhance their youth bowling offerings.
Back on the competition side, Team USA began and ended its 2025 campaign in Hong Kong, China, with team gold medals for our women in both competitions. The team of Bryanna Coté, Shannon Pluhowsky, Lauren Pate and Jillian Martin earned the IBF World Cup in January and then returned with fellow teammates Julia Bond and Breanna Clemmer to win the IBF World Championship. Both final matches saw Team USA triumph over Malaysia in the gold medal match.
In total, Team USA won 16 gold medals, 12 silver medals and 13 bronze medals in 2025.
The energy and enthusiasm around youth bowling continued to build in 2025, with USBC focused on growing participation, enhancing the athlete experience and laying the foundation for long-term success.
The Junior Gold Championships were held for the first time in Green Bay, Wisconsin, drawing thousands of youth athletes for a week of elite competition, national recognition and college exposure. A historic moment capped off the week as the PWBA hosted a televised live finals event during the Junior Gold Opening Ceremony, giving Junior Gold participants the rare opportunity to witness professional-level bowling on center stage.
USA Bowling saw a 22% increase in team entries, reinforcing the rising popularity of team-based formats across the country.At the collegiate level, USBC celebrated a record-high number of memberships, another clear sign that the athlete pipeline is both strong and expanding.
A major milestone came with the announcement of the USBC Youth Scratch Championships, bringing fresh energy and identity to this grassroots initiative by replacing the long-standing Pepsi Youth Championships. Backed by SMART and designed for league-level engagement, the YSC offers a more unified and rewarding competition experience for youth bowlers nationwide.
Resources to support leagues and education remained a top priority. The Youth League Resource Guide was updated based on feedback from coaches and volunteers and distributed at events and state meetings throughout the year. In schools, the Bowler’s Ed program continued to introduce students to bowling fundamentals. While development of a new video series is ongoing, bowling was officially added to the PTO Today Marketplace, helping educators discover and implement the program in their schools.
On the marketing and media side . . .
The USBC distributed more than 400 press releases and game stories over the course of 2025, including comprehensive coverage of USBC and PWBA events.
In 2025, USBC’s marketing and technology teams worked hand in hand to enhance the visibility, accessibility and storytelling power of the sport. BowlTV experienced strong subscriber growth, peaking near 11,000 active subscribers during the year. Through more fan-focused programming, enhanced commentary, and a steady stream of original content, BowlTV continued to establish itself as the home for PBA, PWBA and USBC championship bowling. The digitization of archival video content was completed, unlocking decades of historical footage now available on both BowlTV.com and YouTube, bringing nostalgia and education to the forefront for fans new and old.
USBC also delivered on a grassroots promise by embracing a new social strategy centered around the everyday bowling community. We spotlighted youth athletes, local centers and inspiring stories from across the country, amplifying the voices that make up the sport’s foundation.
Another major milestone came with the launch of the new BOWL.com mobile app. Designed for smoother access to scores, rankings and membership tools, the update laid important groundwork as we prepare for more mobile-first solutions in 2026.
While several major 2025 initiatives were successfully executed, a few key programs will carry over into the new year. These include the rollout of a chatbot system on BOWL.com to improve user support and navigation, and the launch of USBC’s first Diversity Grant Program, which is being finalized to provide direct funding to organizations championing inclusion in bowling.
USBC continues to invest heavily in technology to better serve members, proprietors and associations.
- Online membership activations increased by 14%, driven by the streamlined BOWL.com interface, and online Join was expanded to allow for purchasing multiple memberships in a single transaction. Promotional efforts will expand next season as we strongly encourage all members to join through BOWL.com to get ahead of their league season.
- Technology tools for Associations and Centers expanded through USBC’s Partner Hub. This allowed more options for processing memberships, ordering supplies and management of leagues. We look forward to adding more tools to this online experience in the future.
- Online tournament registration within our state associations continues to grow, with new adoption in Colorado, South Carolina and South Dakota. We project a 10% year-over-year increase in online tournament registrations.
- Also in the tournament space, the use of the registration system was expanded to support more than 500 tournaments nationwide with more than 75,000 registrants. And we were proud to see The Forty Frame Game introduced at the Women's Championships!
So, where does all this leave us financially? At the 2025 USBC Convention, we shared that we would not need a dues increase until 2029 at the earliest and maybe even further down the line. Instead, USBC would use investment reserves to cover losses, as costs to operate continue to go up with inflation. Well, thanks to overperformance of the tournaments and steady membership revenue, USBC continues to perform better financially than expected.
We will continue our practice of giving a detailed update at Convention, but know that things again look strong for USBC financially as we start 2026.
2026 and Beyond
We will continue to make quality service a priority for USBC. Quality service to our members, associations, centers and industry partners is an everyday commitment. Great customer service drives USBC’s success in our major areas of focus (see below).
Membership
The trends are solid. As of Jan. 1, USBC membership is forecasting to be down less than 1%. Considering the overall consumer economy, we feel good about this number. The majority of USBC-certified centers are doing extremely well with leagues. We are seeing most proprietors holding steady with their league base.
We will have more info by the time we get to USBC Convention and will have updates there. Special thanks to the people who manage our membership success at the local level – the centers, league coordinators, league officers and associations are doing amazing work, and we can’t thank them enough. Their commitment to servicing our league base is an ongoing key to our success.
Tournaments
The outlook for our 2026 Open Championships in Reno, Nevada, looks fantastic. As of January 2026, we have nearly 11,000 teams registered for the event. This will be our best turnout in Reno since 2011. Our partners in Reno have special offers with lower hotel and food prices for our bowlers. We expect a great event experience for Reno in 2026.
Moving forward, we head back to South Point in Las Vegas for 2027 and then to the eastern part of the country in 2028 for the aforementioned event in Greenville, South Carolina.
All of this is very positive for USBC’s Championships and the association overall.
As for the USBC Women’s Championships, after back-to-back years at South Point in Las Vegas in 2025 and 2026, where the expectation is to have more than 4,000 teams again this year, we head east to the Charlotte area of North Carolina (Mooresville) in 2027.
Speaking of momentum, the 2026 PWBA schedule is out following a landmark season in 2025 that saw the celebration of the tour’s 10th anniversary since the relaunch. There are some new cities and venues in 2026, along with some familiar places, as the best women bowlers in the world compete for titles and prestige.
The 2026 USBC Masters sold out in mere minutes, and capacity fields are expected for other major events like the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. In its third year of existence, the 2026 U22 Masters and Queens will head outside the Detroit area for the first time as the event moves to Orlando, Florida.
With the flip of the calendar to 2026, USBC continues to see unprecedented excitement for our tournaments.
Youth Program Development
Building on this momentum, 2026 will be a pivotal year for USBC Youth programming, with multiple major initiatives moving from development to deployment.The Youth Athlete Ranking System will launch on BOWL.com, giving bowlers and their families new ways to track competitive progress, benchmark development and engage more deeply with the sport. The system will also serve as a key tool for identifying talent and providing broader visibility across divisions and regions.
USBC will also debut the Youth Jersey League program, a turnkey initiative that allows centers to run structured leagues featuring branded jerseys, built-in resources and a connected national identity. This program is designed to make youth leagues more accessible and exciting for new bowlers, while giving local centers a consistent and engaging way to grow participation.
The Junior Gold Championships will be hosted in Minneapolis for the first time, with the addition of new competition divisions (U18, U16, U14 and U12) to better align bowlers by age and skill level. These changes will further enhance the competitive experience and create more opportunities for success for our youth athletes.
The Youth Scratch Championships will benefit from a significant increase in scholarship support, with funding doubling from $150,000 to $300,000 in 2026, thanks to continued investment from USBC and SMART. This underscores our commitment to educational opportunity through bowling achievement.
USBC also will launch a new Youth Ambassador program to formally recognize young leaders making an impact both on and off the lanes. A companion storytelling campaign will highlight inspiring stories from across the country, further reinforcing the value of character, commitment and community within the sport.
Bowler’s Ed outreach will continue with the distribution of additional curriculum kits and continued promotion through educator networks, supported by the program’s presence in the PTO Today Marketplace.
Together, these efforts reflect USBC’s commitment to delivering meaningful opportunities for youth athletes and their families. With the groundwork laid in 2025, the coming year will mark a new chapter in growth, engagement and visibility for youth bowling nationwide.
Marketing/Media
Exposure for competitive bowling will be terrific again in 2026. USBC and the PBA will continue our partnership for the U.S. Open and USBC Masters as part of the PBA Tour on its new CW television package. CBS Sports Network will continue to be the home for the PWBA, USBC Collegiate and Junior Gold.
As we look to 2026, USBC is committed to deepening its digital transformation while focusing on member experience, recognition and growth. The next evolution of the BOWL.com app is already underway, with a targeted release that will make membership renewal and account access easier than ever.
In alignment with our values of honoring the sport’s legacy, we will launch a major redesign of the USBC Hall of Fame experience on BOWL.com. This new platform will showcase inductees by category and year and introduce a way to connect to state and local association halls of fame, building a cohesive Hall of Fame network.
Additionally, a redesign of the USBC Records is planned. This update will reorganize the way national records
are presented, making it easier for users to search, sort and celebrate significant achievements across youth, adult, senior and team-based events.Bowlers Journal will continue to deliver on its mission to tell in-depth stories about people impacting our sport. The magazine’s circulation includes more than 250,000 copies a year and uniquely captures bowling’s history and celebrates its champions.
USBC also will continue our partnerships with BPAA and Strike Ten Entertainment that delivers the Go Bowling brand to raise top-of-mind awareness for the sport outside of our own channels. You may have seen the Go Bowling brand with floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day Rose Parade or maybe National Bowling Day on Fox and Friends, the Go Bowling Military Bowl or Go Bowling-sponsored NASCAR events. Go Bowling’s media reach hits tens of millions of people, and we’re excited to see what they have planned for 2026.
When you combine these digital, streaming, broadcast and traditional print offerings, USBC and its partnerships are providing coverage of bowling from all angles.
Technology
A focus for 2026 will be continuing to improve our member’s technology experience. For years, nearly all USBC memberships were purchased by filling out paper forms the first night of league. USBC local associations still spend a lot of time manually processing memberships, but in recent seasons we have offered better tools for individuals to buy membership online. As a result, the number of memberships purchased online has grown from 40,000 to more than 100,000 in the past two years. We know that renewing memberships online is efficient, fast and the best experience. Look for new marketing efforts to encourage continued growth for next season. USBC also will continue to offer options for centers to manage and purchase USBC memberships if interested. Our vision is for the continued growth of the use of these tools so USBC members can more easily join the organization.
Equipment Specifications
In 2026, the Equipment Specifications team will continue to look ahead and stay on the leading edge of research for the sport. With new tournament rules governing bowling balls announced in 2025, our focus in this area will turn toward collaborating with tournament staff on implementing quality testing at national tournaments. These checks will be used primarily for research and data collection while also serving as a tool to identify bowling balls suspected of tampering. Meanwhile, in the lab we plan to work on developing additional processes to evaluate to what extent different products and variables impact scoring pace.
Summary
Our National Governing Body had a wonderful 2025 and continues moving forward and improving. We should all be proud of the accomplishments.
Thank you to the current USBC Board of Directors in addition to all the committees for their leadership, support and strategic direction. The continuity of USBC’s direction and vision at the board level has been the driving force in our success.
Having strong volunteer leadership has never been more important. In that light, a huge thanks to the thousands of association volunteers who dedicate countless hours in support of bowling.
Finally, thank you to our entire staff here at the International Bowling Campus for their efforts and passion.
I will close with a friendly reminder as to the mission and promise of USBC. It is certainly an honor and a privilege to serve as your executive director.
USBC is the National Governing Body for the sport.
Our mission is to provide services, resources and standards for the sport.
Our promise is to celebrate the past, be mindful of the present and ensure bowling’s future through thoughtful research, planning and delivery. We will protect and nurture the sport with a mutual admiration and respect for all who enjoy bowling.