The Junior Gold tournament (formerly known as "Junior Olympic Gold" or "JOG") is an American national youth singles bowling tournament which showcases youth bowlers who have qualified in leagues qualifiers. Bowlers must have a 175 average for boys and a 165 for girls and purchase a Gold membership. Started in 1998, the tournament has grown to become one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in the world.
History
Jr. Gold was started in 1998, headed by David Dahms, manager of the Young American Bowling Allicance USA Junior Olympic Bowling Program. The first tournament was held in 1998 in Reno, Nevada, at the National Bowling Stadium.
There were 538 bowlers in the inaugural championships, with Rory Kalanquin of Davison, Michigan, and Melissa Bellinder of Fullerton, California as the first national champions. Since then, that number has steadily grown with 2,100 spots open to bowlers for the 2009 tournament in Indianapolis. A few bowlers who excelled in the tournament's earlier years have grown to be recognizable faces, such as Sean Rash, Shannon Pluhowsky, Andrew Cain, Stefanie Nation and Diandra Asbaty.