- Target:
- United States Bowling Congress
- Region:
- United States of America
On Friday, February 13, 2009, the United States Bowling Congress announced several new rules for the youth program's 2009-2010 bowling season, which begins August 1, 2009.
One of these new rules includes a change in the age limit from 22 to 20 years of age. Therefore, anyone who has had their 20th birthday before August 1, 2009 is not eligible to bowl the 2009-2010 season as a youth bowler; the same rule would apply each year following.
This means that many youth bowlers are being stripped of either one or two years of eligibility that they have already planned on having, many of whom have just been informed of this rule with only six months left in what would be their last year as a youth bowler.
However, due to the fact that many youth bowlers are in college until they are at least 22, and that the scholarships they earn while in the youth league are not renewable, it is unjust to not allow them to continue to earn scholarship until they are 22 (a reasonable age to have graduated college).
Another aspect of youth bowling that is beneficial for students away at college during the week is that they can bowl in a weekend league. With classes, activities, studying, and part time jobs, bowling in an adult league, which are almost all in the middle of the week, could prove to be a difficult task for most college students. Therefore, by implementing this new age limit, many college students may be forced to choose between 1) a probable, negative effect on their grades and/or school involvement and 2) dropping bowling all together.
The above mentioned scenarios are just a few of the negative effects this rule could have on today’s youth bowlers and those to join in the future. While some youth bowlers that choose to move up to the adult leagues before they “age out” of the youth program, there are many youth bowlers that would like to continue bowling as a youth bowler until they have graduated from college or are the age of a college graduate. Now the only question remaining is whether or not the USBC will strip these youth bowlers’ of their last year (for those turning 21 between August 1, 2008 and August 1, 2009) or two years (for anyone born after August 1, 1988) of their eligibility under the old rule.
We, the undersigned USBC youth and adult bowlers, wish to express our concern with the new rule for the age limit on USBC youth bowlers.
We feel that the previous limit of 22 was an adequate age that a youth bowler should be ineligible to rejoin the youth program, because that is a reasonable age to have graduated college and become an “adult.”
We are therefore asking that the new 20 years of age limit be rescinded and the original age limit of 22 be reestablished.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Against Change of the USBC Youth Age Limit petition to United States Bowling Congress was written by CJ Owensby and is in the category Sports at GoPetition.