Record 50 countries are expected to compete in the 2012 World Youth Championships, which will take place through July 3 at the Blu-O Paragon Bowling Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

Maximum four boys and four girls from each country who must not have reached their 21st birthday on January 1, 2012, will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in five events - Singles, Doubles, Team, All Events and Masters match play.

The Championships gets underway today with the official practice and the Opening Ceremonies scheduled for 7.30 p.m. local time. Real action starts with the Boys and Girls Singles preliminaries on Sunday, June 24th. The Singles champions will be determined in single-game playoffs which will be held on Tuesday.

23 federations are coming from the European Zone ETBF (European Tenpin Bowling Federation), 18 from the Asian Zone ABF (Asian Bowling Federation) and nine from the American Zone PABCON (Pan American Bowling Confederation).

European Zone (ETBF) - (23) Bulgaria, Catalonia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Asian Zone (ABF) - (18) Australia, Bahrain, China, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Korea (South), Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand and UAE.

American Zone (PABCON) - (9) Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela.

The World Youth Championships are contested every other year, with the first event held in Manila, Philippines in 1990. Other host cities were 1992 Caracas, Venezuela; 1994 Monterrey, Mexico; 1996 Hong Kong; 1998 Inchon, South Korea; 2000 Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic; 2002 Pattaya, Thailand; 2004 Tamuning, Guam; 2006 Berlin, Germany; 2008 Orlando, Fla., United States; and 2010 Helsinki, Finland.

South Korea dominated the last World Youth Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in 2010 by winning total 13 medals - six gold, two silver and five bronze medals. Junior Team USA was second with two gold and three silver with England third (1-1-1) and Colombia fourth (1-1-0).

 

Schedule at a glance

Friday, June 22, 2012 - Last day of arrival, ball registration, team managers meeting
Saturday, June 23, 2012 - Official practice and Opening Ceremonies
Sunday, June 24, 2012 - Girls Singles Preliminaries (Squad A and B), Boys Singles Preliminaries (Squad A)
Monday, June 25, 2012 - Boys Singles Preliminaries (Squad B, C and D)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - Girls and Boys Singles Semifinals and Finals; Girls Doubles Preliminaries (Squad A and B)
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - Boys Doubles Preliminaries (Squad A, B and C)
Thursday, June 28, 2012 - Boys Doubles Preliminaries (Squad D); Girls and Boys Doubles Semifinals and Finals
Friday, June 29, 2012 - Girls Team Preliminaries first block (one squad); Boys Team Preliminaries first block (Squad A and B)
Saturday, June 30, 2012 - Girls Team Preliminaries second block; Boys Team Preliminaries second block (Squad A and B)
Sunday, July 1, 2012 - Girls and Boys Teams Semifinals and Finals
Monday, July 2, 2012 - Girls and Boys Masters - Top 24 (six games, pins carried forward)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 - Girls and Boys Masters - Top 8 Round Robin (seven games with bonus), Semifinals and Finals; Victory Banquet

 

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