Junior Olympic Gold
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.
National Champions (1998-2011)
Year Tournament Location Male Champion Hometown 1998 Reno, Nevada Rory Kalanquin Davison, Michigan 1999 Orlando, Florida Scott Norton Cypress, California 2000 Las Vegas, Nevada Nathan Bohr Austin, Texas 2001 Reno, Nevada Mike Remaklus Florissant, Missouri 2002 Winter Haven, Florida Sean Rash Anchorage, Alaska 2003 St. Louis, Missouri Erik Vermilyea Maplewood, Minnesota 2004 Dallas, Texas Clay Herrbach Naperville, Illinois 2005 Indianapolis, Indiana Chris Bolosan Newport News, Virginia 2006 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Matthew O'Grady South Amboy, New Jersey 2007 Buffalo, New York Adam Martinez San Antonio, Texas 2008 Detroit, Michigan Geoffrey Young Denton, Texas 2009 Indianapolis, Indiana Mike Conn Crestwood, Kentucky 2010 Indianapolis, Indiana Marshal Kent Yakima, Washington 2011 Las Vegas, Nevada Gary Faulkner Memphis, Tennessee Year Tournament Location Female Champion Hometown 1998 Reno, Nevada Melissa Bellinder Fullerton, California 1999 Orlando, Florida Shannon Pluhowsky Phoenix, Arizona 2000 Las Vegas, Nevada Shannon Pluhowsky Phoenix, Arizona 2001 Reno, Nevada Shannon Pluhowsky Phoenix, Arizona 2002 Winter Haven, Florida Olivia Sandham Boulder, Colorado 2003 St. Louis, Missouri Stefanie Nation Miami, Florida 2004 Dallas, Texas Stefanie Nation Miami, Florida 2005 Indianapolis, Indiana Stefanie Nation Miami, Florida 2006 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Jennifer Wright West Columbia, South Carolina 2007 Buffalo, New York Jenny Brown DeLand, Florida 2008 Detroit, Michigan Kristie Petravich West Palm Beach, Florida 2009 Indianapolis, Indiana Maggie Zakrzewski Palatine, Illinois 2010 Indianapolis, Indiana Brittni Hamilton Webster, New York 2011 Las Vegas, Nevada Natalie Jimenez Rowland, California 2012 Indianapolis Aj Johnson