onefrombills
06-19-2009, 07:19 PM
A new sport has been added to the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games, to be held July 27 through Aug. 8 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Bowling will makes its debut at the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States. In its inaugural event in 1967, the AAU Junior Olympic Games contested national championships in three events but this year the AAU will award medals to champions in 24 sports.
The bowling event will be held at Plaza Lanes Family Sport Complex from Aug. 1-3. The competition is open to any USBC Youth Member who meets the AAU age requirements since qualifying for the Junior Olympic Bowling Event is not required this year.
There will be divisions for Middle School (ages 12-14) and High School (ages 15-18), and each of the divisions will compete in team, singles and doubles.
"Next year we are almost certain to have qualifying tournaments," said Randy Thompson, proprietor of Plaza Lanes. "This year is open entry so kids might want to get on board."
Thompson's center also will host a unique event called the AAU Bowling Challenge. The event, open to all AAU participants, will challenge athletes from other sports, such as swimming and basketball, to trade in their suits and sneakers for bowling balls.
In the Bowling Challenge, athletes will compete for bragging rights against other athletes from their native sport. This means basketball players will take on other basketball players, baseball players will take on other baseball players, and so on. Girls' basketball players will take to the lanes first on July 30.
Thompson said the Bowling Challenge is geared toward attracting AAU athletes from other sports to compete in bowling. And with the AAU having 600,000 members, this is a perfect opportunity to create new interest in youth bowling.
Entry deadline is July 17. For additional information and entry forms, click here.
"We are excited to see AAU add bowling to its list of sports," said Brian Graham, United States Bowling Congress Director of Youth Development. "We support any effort to expand competitive opportunities in the sport of bowling for our youth members."
James Parker, Director of Sports for AAU, said the AAU is approached all the time about adding new sports but that bowling "was a good fit" for the organization, whose motto is Sports For All Forever.
"We like sports that all athletes can play," Parker said. "No matter how short or tall, big or small, you can bowl. I think a lot of our athletes already do it on a fun level, bowling with their families on the weekends."
And now, AAU athletes can find out what competitive bowling is all about.
Bowling will makes its debut at the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States. In its inaugural event in 1967, the AAU Junior Olympic Games contested national championships in three events but this year the AAU will award medals to champions in 24 sports.
The bowling event will be held at Plaza Lanes Family Sport Complex from Aug. 1-3. The competition is open to any USBC Youth Member who meets the AAU age requirements since qualifying for the Junior Olympic Bowling Event is not required this year.
There will be divisions for Middle School (ages 12-14) and High School (ages 15-18), and each of the divisions will compete in team, singles and doubles.
"Next year we are almost certain to have qualifying tournaments," said Randy Thompson, proprietor of Plaza Lanes. "This year is open entry so kids might want to get on board."
Thompson's center also will host a unique event called the AAU Bowling Challenge. The event, open to all AAU participants, will challenge athletes from other sports, such as swimming and basketball, to trade in their suits and sneakers for bowling balls.
In the Bowling Challenge, athletes will compete for bragging rights against other athletes from their native sport. This means basketball players will take on other basketball players, baseball players will take on other baseball players, and so on. Girls' basketball players will take to the lanes first on July 30.
Thompson said the Bowling Challenge is geared toward attracting AAU athletes from other sports to compete in bowling. And with the AAU having 600,000 members, this is a perfect opportunity to create new interest in youth bowling.
Entry deadline is July 17. For additional information and entry forms, click here.
"We are excited to see AAU add bowling to its list of sports," said Brian Graham, United States Bowling Congress Director of Youth Development. "We support any effort to expand competitive opportunities in the sport of bowling for our youth members."
James Parker, Director of Sports for AAU, said the AAU is approached all the time about adding new sports but that bowling "was a good fit" for the organization, whose motto is Sports For All Forever.
"We like sports that all athletes can play," Parker said. "No matter how short or tall, big or small, you can bowl. I think a lot of our athletes already do it on a fun level, bowling with their families on the weekends."
And now, AAU athletes can find out what competitive bowling is all about.