Welcome to Bowling program has special offers for new members
The leading brands in the bowling industry have teamed with USBC to create an aggressive new program designed to engage and retain first-time league bowlers.

The new USBC Welcome to Bowling program launches this fall and new USBC members, or those who have not been members the last three years, will receive an invitation to take advantage of special offers designed to hook them on the sport.

Key elements of the program include a USBC Welcome to Bowling Ball Offer, Welcome to Bowling Coaching Offer, and Welcome to Bowling Coaching Tips and Video Series.

To find out more information about each of the packages, please click here.

Top youth events merge to create $250,000 scholarship tournament
The two largest youth scholarship tournaments in the nation have joined to create the $250,000 North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick.

The North Pointe Junior Gold Championships is made possible by the merger of the USBC Junior Gold Championships and the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America's (BPAA) North Pointe High School Singles Championships into one event.

The new North Pointe Junior Gold Championships will feature some significant changes for the tournament and USBC Junior Gold membership including:

• USBC Junior Gold membership no longer will have a minimum average requirement
  
• The North Pointe Junior Gold Championships will have two age divisions - 20 and under, 15 and under - for both boys and girls.

North Pointe Insurance is the nation's largest insurer of independent bowling centers. In addition to its sponsorship of the Junior Gold Championships, North Pointe has made a multi-year commitment to the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund and will be recognized as a YES Fund founding partner.

The North Pointe Junior Gold Championships will continue to be open to youth bowlers who qualify throughout the season at regional Junior Gold events around country and will feature automatic bids to Junior Team USA as part of the competition. The event will be held in Indianapolis in July 2012, in conjunction with the USBC Youth Open.

For more information on the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships, click here.

USA Bowling - A fresh look into youth development
A major transformation in youth bowling will begin this fall in bowling centers with the launch of the new USA Bowling Youth Sports System. The initiative is geared toward developing the skills of young bowlers - to grow the sport by teaching the sport.

The USA Bowling system is a mainstream sports model for youth bowling developed by the International Bowling Campus (IBC) Youth Development team. It shares many of the characteristics of team-based programs in other youth sports, such as soccer, baseball and basketball. That includes having practices that are separate from competition to help with proper skill development as well as featuring one coach per team.

The USA Bowling system has several features that distinguish it from traditional youth bowling leagues:

• Instruction and regular practice with a dedicated coach to each team
• A short schedule of 8-12 weeks
• Kids of the same age and abilities competing together
• Teaching important life skills such as sportsmanship and teamwork
• Easy to implement with instruction books and marketing tools provided
• Seminars to teach parents and volunteers basic bowling coaching skills

For information on USA Bowling, including an introductory video, please go to BOWL.com/usabowling.

Two high school grants awarded through YES Fund
Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station, N.Y., and the Lee County, Fla., school district each have been selected to receive $2,500 grants through the High School Grant Program of the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund.

To read more about the schools selected for the grants, please click here.

First Bowling Combine wraps up at ITRC
While participants said they were able to learn more about their games, coaches attending the first Bowling Combine for College Prospects at the International Training and Research Center said they enjoyed the chance to evaluate many players in one location.

More than 70 youth bowlers took part in the two-day program that concluded August 11. They were put through tests that measured sport-specific skills and overall athleticism, including vertical leap and balance tests. They also took the "It Factor" test which looked at their bowling IQs and problem-solving abilities.

To read more about the Bowling Combine, please click here.

Bowl TV videos and coaching tips are now available to go
With the 2011-12 season underway, bowlers everywhere can make the return to the lanes a smooth one with help from Bowl TV, both at home and on the go.

Bowl TV is the video library of BOWL.com and features easy access to a collection of informative coaching tips that will help bowlers get back into the swing of things this fall right from the settee area of their local bowling centers.

An optimized mobile version of Bowl TV is available to iPhone and Android users, who can type bowl.com/tv into their browsers and get the latest advice from their favorite USBC coaches without even leaving the lanes.

Go to bowl.com/tv or click here to check out Bowl TV.

USBC Rules offers online certification program for league officers
USBC Rules is offering online training programs so bowlers can learn the duties and responsibilities of a bowling league officer. The programs not only are for those who want to become league officers, but also may help those who might already be league officers.

Currently, two courses are available - Basic Bowling Knowledge, which is a prerequisite to any officer course, and League Secretary Certification. The League Treasurer Certification course is expected to be released in November 2011, and the League President Certification course is scheduled for August 2012.

There is a one-time $25 registration fee required to take the online courses. Upon payment of the $25, you will be able to take any of the courses USBC Rules provides.

Go to BOWL.com/rules and click on the Officer Certification tab to learn more about the online courses and how to register.

USBC Hall of Famer Roger Tessman dies at age 84
Roger Tessman, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer, died August 14 after a brief illness. He was 84.

Tessman, of Plymouth, Wis., was elected to the USBC Hall of Fame for meritorious service in 1994 after more than 30 years in the bowling industry.