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Entries increase with new divisions for 2026 Junior Gold Championships as competition begins Monday
JEFF RICHGELS | Posted: Monday, July 13, 2026 11:30 pm
The 2026 Junior Gold Championships are the first held in Minnesota, and many players from the state on Monday wore jerseys emblazoned with the state’s outline, abbreviation and colorful artwork depicting notable features of Minnesota’s beautiful landscape. Photo by USBC.
One of the obvious questions with the 2026 Junior Gold Championships is what entries would be with the new division format.
In 2021, the divisions changed from U20, U17, U15 and U12 to U20, U18, U15 and U12, as USBC youth membership moved to a maximum age of 18, with a player required to be 17 or younger at the Aug. 1 start of a season, as I detailed in this story.
With U20 held a week before the other three divisions, 2021 Junior Gold drew 3,135 players, 2022 Junior Gold 3,273, and 2023 Junior...