Youth Bowling Canada - YBC at Your Local Bowling Center

YBC At Your Local Bowling Center

YBC is offered at most bowling centers who are members of the Bowling Proprietors Association of Canada.

The YBC offers three core divisions:

• Bantams - up to 10 years old.
• Juniors - up to 14 years old.
• Seniors - up to 19 years old (21 years old for tenpin).

There is also a pee-wee division - formerly called the "Smurf" division but is currently referred to as the "Bowlasaurus" division, which usually serves children up to 7 years of age. At this young of an age, some bowlers may use two hands to roll the ball. Bowlers in this division usually bowl fewer weekly games than Bantams, but may qualify for tournaments in the Bantam division. Some bowling centers and provinces offer special tournaments for the pee-wee division.

Furthermore, some bowling centers with extremely large programs, such as Echo Bowl in Brantford Ontario, expand the divisions even more. For example, Echo Bowl offers the following age divisions:

• Bowlasaurus - up to 5 years old.
• PeeWees - up to 7 years old.
• Bantams - up to 10 years old.
• Juniors - up to 13 years old.
• Seniors - up to 19 years old.

The operation of YBC varies by bowling center. The bowling center's manager or proprietor oversees the entire league and determines what time of the week YBC will bowl. One of the coaches is usually appointed by the proprietor as "Program Director" and coaches are also selected to serve as directors for each of the divisions. Coaches in the YBC require Level I coaching certification and the provinces require YBC coaches to be members in good standing of the provincial Master Bowler's Association. The proprietor may encourage bowlers in his adult league base to become coaches.

Some bowling centers have a YBC committee. This committee is composed of coaches and parents of YBC bowlers at the center. The committee takes the responsibility for events such as local fundraising, additional prizes, special events, addressing issues in the league, and planning the year-end windup.

The YBC runs a national fundraising chocolate sale. The campaign usually starts at the end of September. The cornerstone product is chocolate coated almonds, however the YBC has also introduced items such as chocolate bars and nuggets of chocolate coated mint or caramel.