BRIGHAM CITY, Utah – Storm Products is proud to announce that that there will be nine Storm Youth Championships (SYC) events in 2023.
“The intent of the SYC remains to create youth bowling events that welcome all youth athletes, celebrate making new friendships, give back to the bowling community by raising money and awareness for charity, and educate youth bowlers and their parents along the way,” Gary Hulsenberg, VP of Marketing said.
The first SYC took place in 2017 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. Since that event we have awarded $575,116 in scholarship funds. In 2023, the SYC schedule will have nine events featuring five new host bowling centers. We intentionally take the SYC events to new cities each year in a quest to bring national events closer to home for more families.
2023 SYC Schedule:
February 18-19, 2023 – SYC Las Vegas – South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas, NV
March 18-19, 2023 – SYC Baton Rouge – All Star Lanes, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
April 15-16, 2023 – SYC Rochester – ABC Gates Bowl, Rochester, New York
May 27-28, 2023 – SYC Louisville – Kingpin Lanes, Jeffersontown, Kentucky
June 16-18, 2023 – SYC INDY 300 – Woodland, Expo, and Western, Indianapolis, Indiana
August 19-20, 2023 – SYC Green Bay – Aswabuenon Bowling Alley, Green Bay, Wisconsin
September 16-17, 2023 – SYC Reno – National Bowling Stadium, Reno, Nevada
October 14-15, 2023 – SYC Rhode Island – East Providence Lanes, Rhode Island
November 4-5, 2023– SYC Coastal Classic– Planet Fun, Shallotte, NC & Little River Lanes, Little River, SC
THE EVENTS
Our SYC Team continues to strive to create events that include a welcoming environment where youth bowlers and their families are invited to visit great bowling communities, meet new friends, and learn by competing on challenging conditions developed by KEGEL. In addition to the tournament, each event includes optional activities that are available for bowlers who wish to participate in the popular activities. These include seminars focused on educating athletes and their families led by one of our Team Storm members and a practice session on the patterns. In 2022, we were able to bring back our popular SYC social activities that allow the SYC families to get to know each other off the lanes. We plan to include these optional activities on our schedule in 2023 as well.
“Our team of volunteers have years of experience in the sport of bowling, and we are excited to not only share our experiences with these athletes but learn from the families as well,” Hulsenberg said. “Our focus is always to connect the athletes and family members to opportunities in the sport through experiences at the SYC. Since 2017, we’ve been honored to watch youth athletes learn, champions grow, and friendships begin between youth athletes and their families.”
At each event, the top three bowlers in each gender and age-based division are awarded with bronze, silver and gold medals. In addition to the scholarship funds awarded to participants, at the conclusion of the tournament the overall champions receive a special SYC trophy, medal, and earn a SYC banner that will be hung at each SYC event until they age-out of competition.
In addition, each season includes one “major” event where we award the top two overall youth bowlers in each division with a spot on the Storm SYC All-American Team. In 2023, the Storm All-American Team will be named at the SYC Indy 300. This will be a three-day event during the summer when youth athletes are not in school and will be competed at Woodland, Expo and Western in Indianapolis.
GIVING BACK AND DOING GOOD FOR OTHERS
Champions being crowned is a highlight of each event, but perhaps the biggest champions are the cancer patients that benefit from the money raised by linking the SYC with Ballard vs the Big “C” (BVBC), a non-profit founded by bowling Hall-of-Famers, Del and Carolyn Ballard. Each event supports BVBC in numerous ways. Every entry includes a $10 donation to BVBC. On-site at each SYC, Carolyn and Del Ballard bring silent auction items for the SYC families to bid on. Since 2017, we have raised $61,000 in entries alone to support continued research in cancer treatment, specifically in head, neck, and throat cancer through the sport of bowling. BVBC also raises money for nutritional supplements and treatments for those going through the cancer journey.
CHOOSING THE HOST BOWLING CENTERS
Since the first event in Reno sold out almost immediately, we have added to the schedule consistently. We have taken the SYC to various cities all over the United States. The demand from centers across the country wanting to host an SYC has increased, and we have built a list of future sites that are interested. The bowling proprietors who agree to host an SYC share our passion to grow the sport of bowling and desire to give back. Although we would love to say yes to every request we receive to host an event, balancing our schedule with other youth opportunities that we support is integral to the success of the program. The core team that runs the SYC do so to give back to the sport of bowling and are not paid for their volunteer time.
Storm Bowling Products funds the SYC events and other youth events across the country because fundamentally, Storm is dedicated to fostering, developing, and encouraging new bowlers. The hope is this principle will encourage more youth athletes to stay in the sport for a longer time ultimately increasing the number of athletes participating in the sport of bowling.
THE CHAMPIONS
SYC Champions continue to demonstrate their dedication to the sport of bowling after the event concludes. Many continue to find ways to give back to their local communities and encourage other youth athletes to participate in competitive activities or even find ways to start their own youth tournaments to grow the sport.
Past champions have continued to excel at the youth level earning national titles and representing the United States on Jr. Team USA. Some of the athletes have also used what they learn to compete collegiately and even on the PBA and PWBA Tours. Their dedication to the sport is evident but SYC athletes also learn to be dedicated to giving back and staying committed to their education. Through scholarship and the opportunities to learn about college bowling, athletes develop a desire to continue to learn at a higher level and discover their passions. The opportunities available to these bowlers through the sport of bowling are endless. The SYC builds connections for these families that can last a lifetime.
The current record for SYC titles is held by Spencer Robarge at 12 SYC titles. Robarge who now attends Wichita State University finished third at the 2021 USBC Masters. On the girl’s side, Jillian Martin holds the record of 11 SYC titles. Martin notably became the youngest PWBA Champion at 17 years old, earning the 2021 PWBA BowlTV Classic title.
“The SYC was created and continues to be conducted with a pure heart and clear vision that youth are the future of the sport,” Gary Hulsenberg said. “If you have bowled or plan to bowl an SYC, we thank you. We are committed to growing the sport together and continuing to do good along the way.
ENTERING AN SYC
The demand for the SYC events is high and each event sells out quickly, but we do maintain a waiting list for each event. We’ve found that the only fair way to accept entries is to allow those to register on a first-come, first-serve basis on the Storm Bowling website. Entries for each event will open individually. A tournament guide about each event will be provided on the Storm Bowling website as the tournament date approaches.
Entries for the first event in 2023 which will take place in Las Vegas will open December 19 at Noon Mountain Time.
We’re proud to partner with great companies to enhance the SYC experience at events including Storm, IAM Bowling, Kegel, Turbo 2-n-1 Grips, PBA Jr., 3G Shoes, Ballard’s Bowling Academy and Master Industries. Scores are also uploaded live through the official scoring system of the SYC, BowlMetrix.
If you are interested in becoming a supporting sponsor of the Storm Youth Championships or would like more information, please contact our SYC Team at syc@stormbowling.com.