The United States Bowling Congress has announced several changes for the Pepsi Youth Championships for the 2012-13 season, including adding new divisions and the elimination of handicap.
For 2012-13, the PYC will feature five divisions for both boys and girls — U6, U8, U12, U15 and U20, with the numbers signifying ages, according to this USBC news release.
The PYC previously had a scratch division for ages 12 and over, and handicap divisions for 12 and over, and 11 and under.
“Moving toward aged-based divisions and scratch competition is important for the growth of youth bowling,” International Bowling Campus Managing Director of Youth Development Chad Murphy said in the release. “Nearly all mainstream sports use age-based divisions without score adjustment or handicap. While this is a significant change, it is important to align the Pepsi Youth Championships with the same format as scholastic competition, North Pointe Junior Gold, and USA Bowling.”
The older divisions are the same as those used in the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships, and USBC said that starting in 2012-13 the top qualifier from each state in the PYC U15 and U20 divisions will receive a spot in the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships.
Previously, the top two boys and top two girls in the 12 and over scratch division earned spots in the Junior Gold national tournament.
“Based on the research, everyone agreed this was the right plan for the Pepsi Youth Championships moving forward,” Murphy said. “It is another example of this industry working together for the betterment of the sport.”
The scholarship pool for the 2012-13 PYC will remain at $150,000, with $36,750 marked for the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships spots, USBC said.
States will receive a percentage of the scholarship pool based on membership and each state will receive a $500 scholarship.
The Pepsi Youth Championships home page is here.
