“In 2017, our team embarked on a mission to create world class experiences for youth athletes and their families in their own backyards,” Gary Hulsenberg, VP of Marketing said. “Since that first event, the SYC has welcomed thousands of youth athletes and their parents to celebrate the best parts of bowling. At every SYC, we encourage every person in attendance to make a new friend, learn a few things, and give back to the bowling community by raising money and awareness for the chosen charities.”
The first SYC took place in 2017 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. Since that event, we have visited new cities each year, returned to some fan favorite cities, met nearly 7,000 youth athletes and their families, and we have awarded $708,916 in scholarship funds.
In 2024, our schedule will include nine events. We intentionally take the SYC events to new cities each year in a quest to bring national events closer to home for more families.
2024 SYC Schedule
- February 17-18, 2024 – SYC Texas – Cityview Lanes, Fort Worth, TX
- March 16-17, 2024 – SYC Florida – Boardwalk Bowl, Orlando, FL
- April 20-21, 2024 – SYC Michigan – Royal Scot Golf & Bowl, Lansing, MI
- May 25-26, 2024 – SYC Kentucky – Kingpin Lanes, Jeffersontown, KY
- June 21-23, 2024 – SYC Super Slam Ohio – Columbus Square Bowling Palace, Columbus, OH
- August 17-18, 2024 – SYC New York – ABC Gates Bowl, Gates, NY
- September 14-15, 2024 – SYC Idaho – Westy’s Garden Lanes, Boise, ID
- October 12-13, 2024 – SYC Coastal Classic – Planet Fun, Shallotte, NC & Little River Lanes, Little River, SC
- November 16-17, 2024 – SYC Louisiana – All Star Lanes, Baton Rouge, LA
THE EVENTS
Our SYC Team continues to strive to create events that include a welcoming environment where youth bowlers and their families are invited to visit great bowling communities, meet new friends, and learn by competing on challenging conditions developed by KEGEL. In addition to the tournament, each event includes optional activities that are available for bowlers who wish to participate in the popular activities. These include seminars focused on educating athletes and their families led by one of our Team Storm members and a practice session on the patterns. In addition, we host social activities that allow the SYC families to get to know each other off the lanes when our schedule allows.
“The focus at the SYC is never “us”, it’s always the guest,” Hulsenberg said. “Our team of volunteers is dedicated to each family in attendance. Beyond the tournament, our goal is to connect the athletes and family members to opportunities in the sport through experiences and education. We’ve been honored to watch youth athletes learn, champions grow, and friendships begin between youth athletes and their families. As these youth embark on to college opportunities and careers, we enjoy watching the friendships they built as youth athletes continue as they travel through their journey in the sport.”
At each event, the top three bowlers in each gender and age-based division are awarded with bronze, silver and gold medals. In addition to the scholarship funds awarded to participants, at the conclusion of the tournament the overall champions receive a special SYC trophy, medal, and earn a SYC banner that will be hung at each SYC event until they age-out of competition.
In addition, each season includes one “major” event where we award the top two overall youth bowlers in each division with a spot on the Storm SYC All-American Team. In 2024, the Storm All-American Team will be named at the SYC Super Slam in Columbus, OH.
In 2022, we partnered with PBA Jr. to sponsor a Never Give Up Scholarship at each of the Storm Youth Championships. $100 is awarded in each age division to the youth bowler with the highest five game total during the final round of the tournament. In 2023, the SYC was designated a PBA Jr. affiliate event and partnered to host a PBA Jr. Affiliate Major. We’re excited to continue these opportunities through this partnership in 2024 and host another PBA Jr. Affiliate Major in Columbus, Ohio. Those who are members will receive a PBA Jr. Title, Tier 2 PBA Jr. Points, and a PBA Jr. Banner.
IAM Bowling has been the official merchandiser of the SYC since 2017. They donate $15 from the SYC bowling jersey to BVBC and attend all the SYC events to set up a retail area with a variety of exclusive SYC gear to purchase. A portion of all the SYC merchandise sold is donated to the scholarship fund. In addition, one random scholarship in each division are awarded to bowlers on the final day of the event.
GIVING BACK AND DOING GOOD FOR OTHERS
Charitable giving has long been a focus at Storm Products Inc. When the SYC was created in 2017, Storm immediately chose to align these events with a way for youth bowlers to learn the importance of giving back to others.
The SYC has aligned with two charitable giving initiatives. A portion of every entry will be shared between Ballard vs the Big “C” (BVBC) and Make-A-Wish Utah.
At each event, $5 of every entry is given to Make-A-Wish® Utah. Make-A-Wish grants life-changing wishes for children going through critical illnesses. According to their website, “For wish kids, just the act of making their wish come true can give them the courage to comply with their medical treatments. Parents might finally feel like they can be optimistic. And still others might realize all they have to offer the world through volunteer work or philanthropy.”
“Kids helping kids is such a powerful and influential message,” Leanne Hulsenberg, Tournament and Events Manager at Storm Products said. “We’re so excited to be able to share the vision and mission of Make-A-Wish Utah with our SYC families and help grant a few more life-changing wishes.”
“BVBC and the Ballard Family have been a special part of the SYC since the very first event,” Hulsenberg said. “We’ve watched our friend, Del Ballard, Jr. who was diagnosed in May of 2010 with tonsil cancer fight every day on his cancer journey. We’re proud to support BVBC as they bring the bowling community together to support those who are fighting through their own cancer journey.”
When a family chooses to spend the weekend at a SYC in 2024, they can do so knowing they will help someone else along the way.
CHOOSING THE HOST BOWLING CENTERS
Since the first event in Reno sold out almost immediately, we have added to the schedule consistently. We have taken the SYC to various cities all over the United States. The demand from centers across the country wanting to host an SYC has increased, and we have built a list of future sites that are interested. The bowling proprietors who agree to host an SYC share our passion to grow the sport of bowling and desire to give back. Many of our host centers support the SYC by making generous donations to the scholarship fund for the event in their local community. Although we would love to say yes to every request, we receive to host an event, balancing our schedule with other youth opportunities that we support is integral to the success of the program. The core team that runs the SYC do so to give back to the sport of bowling and are not paid for their volunteer time.
The 2024 Season proved to be exceptionally tricky for those who live on the west coast. With many large events taking place in Las Vegas and few bowling centers with adequate capacity, the options for scheduling became more and more difficult. We are looking forward to returning to South Point Bowling Plaza in 2025.
Storm Bowling Products funds the SYC events and other youth events across the country because fundamentally, Storm is dedicated to fostering, developing, and encouraging new bowlers. The hope is this principle will encourage more youth athletes to stay in the sport for a longer time ultimately increasing the number of athletes participating in the sport of bowling.
THE CHAMPIONS
SYC Champions continue to demonstrate their dedication to the sport of bowling after the event concludes. Many continue to find ways to give back to their local communities and encourage other youth athletes to participate in competitive activities or even find ways to start their own youth tournaments to grow the sport.
Past champions have continued to excel at the youth level earning national titles and representing the United States on Jr. Team USA. Some of the athletes have also used what they learn to compete collegiately and even on the PBA and PWBA Tours. Their dedication to the sport is evident but SYC athletes also learn to be dedicated to giving back and staying committed to their education. Through scholarship and the opportunities to learn about college bowling, athletes develop a desire to continue to learn at a higher level and discover their passions. The opportunities available to these bowlers through the sport of bowling are endless. The SYC builds connections for these families that can last a lifetime.
The current record for SYC titles is held by Spencer Robarge and Jillian Martin at 12 SYC titles each. Robarge who now attends Wichita State University finished third at the 2021 USBC Masters. He was named the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) Rookie of the Year in 2022. In 2023, he was named NCBCA Most Valuable Player and NCBCA Player of the Year. Jillian Martin notably became the youngest PWBA Champion at 17 years old, earning the 2021 PWBA BowlTV Classic title. She was named NTCA Rookie of the Year in 2023 and earned the U.S. Amateur Title in 2023 and made two stepladder finals on the 2023 PWBA Tour. They both are currently members of Team USA.
Junior Team USA member, Gianna Brandolino, age 16, is currently chasing the all-time SYC record with a vengeance. Brandolino earned her first SYC title at the first event she bowled in Smyrna in 2019. Since 2022, she has bowled just 10 events and won 7 titles. In total, she has won 11 of 18 events. The Brandolino family have been supportive of the SYC events and their fellow competitors since Gianna was in the U12 division. As of September 1, she currently has 11 SYC titles and we are excited to see her continue chasing the record books.
“The SYC was created and continues to be conducted with a pure heart and clear vision that youth are the future of the sport,” Hulsenberg said. “If you have bowled or plan to bowl an SYC, we thank you. We are committed to growing the sport together and continuing to do good along the way.”
ENTERING AN SYC
The demand for the SYC events is high and each event sells out quickly, but we do maintain a waiting list for each event. We've found that the only fair way to accept entries is to allow those to register on a first-come, first-serve basis on the Storm Bowling website. Entries for each event will open individually. A tournament guide about each event will be provided on the Storm Bowling website as the tournament date approaches.
Entries for the first event in 2024 which will take place in Texas will open in late December. This event will be presented by Platinum Ford.
We’re proud to partner with great companies to enhance the SYC experience at events including Storm, IAM Bowling, PBA Junior, Kegel, Turbo 2-n-1 Grips, 3G Shoes, Ballard’s Bowling Academy, T&D Transportation, Cloverleaf Family Bowl, Sea Bowl, Quality Respite and Home Care Inc., Master Industries, and Raze Eyewear. Scores are also uploaded live through the official scoring system of the SYC, BowlMetrix.
If you are interested in becoming a supporting sponsor of the Storm Youth Championships or would like more information, please contact our SYC Team at syc@stormbowling.com.