Team USA Trials early deadline Dec. 14

ARLINGTON, Texas - Players from across the country will put their bowling skills to the test Jan. 2-7 when the 2013 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials takes place in suburban Las Vegas.

2012 Masters practiceThe event allows any USBC member the chance to earn a spot on Team USA with spots also available on Junior Team USA. The early entry deadline closes on Dec. 14 with players entering on or before that date paying $350. After Dec. 14, the entry fee rises to $395.

The Team USA Trials will take place at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nev., and will feature some changes from last year but will keep the same points system used for the 2012 event.

With a longer qualifying format of five rounds, players will now face five lane conditions over the course of the week. The final three men and final three women in the points standings will take part in the stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.

The top three men and top three women after qualifying will already be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2013 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money. Two more men and two more women will be selected to join Team USA.

For the second consecutive year, the standings at the Team USA Trials will be based on a points system. The unique system rewards consistency and versatility by ranking players in the field so performance on each lane condition has equal significance.

In each of the five rounds, players will be given points based on their finishing position in that day's round. For example, if a bowler finishes first, they will receive one point. Second place receives two points, third place receives three points and so forth down the standings. The three men's players and three women's players with the lowest number of points will advance to the stepladder finals.

A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also will be available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships held in July 2012. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2013 are eligible for Junior Team USA.

All USBC members are eligible to compete in the Team USA Trials and entry information for the event can be found at BOWL.com/TeamUSATrials.