The 10th World Youth Championships started on Friday morning 11.30 a.m. with the girls official practice at Boardwalk Entertainment Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. The boys took on the lanes at 3.00 p.m. followed by the Opening Ceremonies which ended at 7 p.m.

After the march in from the 340 athletes, Kevin Dornberger, WTBA President and COO of the host federation, the United States Bowling Congress, welcomed the participants, coaches, officials, reporters and guests and Jose Guandique, Pan American Bowling Confederation (PABCON) president administered the players' oath.
The Opening Ceremonies ended with the performance of the "Percustodians" which catered to the youth bowlers as the picture proves.

The World Youth Championships, currently for national junior team members age 23 or younger, is contested every other year. Maximum four girls and four boys per country will compete in Singles, Doubles, 4-player Team event, All Events and Masters in the 6-day competition (July 19-24).

Championship Preview - Final Schedule, Bulletins No. 1-3, Oil Pattern and more.

The 10th installment of this great biennial tournament will be staged at Boardwalk Entertainment Center, an 80-lane, split house bowling center that has hosted numerous championships as well as serving as the home center for the University of Central Florida college bowling program.

The 2008 World Youth Championships are the biggest championship of the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) world wide in regard to participating countries and players since bowling's governing body has decided to split the men's and women's world championships in 2003.

After Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had to withdraw due to visa problems, the 10th World Youth Championships drew 56 countries, easily breaking the record from 2006 (Berlin, 46).

The participating countries are (in alphabetical order):

Aruba
Australia
Austria
Brazil
Bulgaria



Canada
Catalonia
Chile
China
Chinese Taipei



Colombia
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Dominican Republic
Ecuador



Egypt
England
Estonia
Finland
France



Germany
Guam
Guatemala
Hong Kong
Hungary



Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Japan



Kazakhstan
Korea
Latvia
Macau
Malaysia



Mexico
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
Northern Ireland
Norway



Philippines
Poland
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Russia



Scotland
Singapore
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland



Ukraine
U.S. Virgin Islands
Venezuela
Wales



and the host country, the United States of America.

Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Fla., an 80-lane, split house bowling center with lanes 1-48 on one side and lnaes 49-80 on the other. The picture shows lanes 49-80. Click on the image to enlarge it.



The main entrance of Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Fla., Click on the image to enlarge it.



Welcome to the 10th World Youth Championships hosted by United States Bowling Congress. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Official Practice

Girls Official Practice. Click on the image to enlarge it.



Girls Official Practice. Click on the image to enlarge it.



Boys Official Practice. Click on the image to enlarge it.



Boys Official Practice. Click on the image to enlarge it.



L-R Stephen Padilla, WYC Scoring Manager; David Garber, WYC Host Tournament Manager; and Bryan O'Keefe, WYC Scoring Manager.



Daniel Falconi, the Mexican standout and USBC Silver level coach is the WYC Technical Delegate, and Junior Team USA member Brigitte Harrelson.



Just to prove it: Boardwalk Bowl with its 80 lanes is one of the biggest bowling centers in the world.



The Boardwalk Bowl logo



The place where all of the players from 56 countries want to be during the six-day competition: the podium for the award ceremonies of the 10th World Youth Championships.



Almost sold out: The tournament shirts and jackets are selling like hotcakes.



Not every snapshot can be found IN the bowling center. Click on the image to enlarge it.