Davidson Competes in 2012 Junior Gold Championships
Local bowler makes first cut against 2,000 bowlers, just misses the second 

With a record number of participants, huge scholarships on the line and a new format, the 2012 North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick was poised to become the most memorable in the event’s 15-year history. Youth participants are from all around the USA, Canada and Europe. Automatic Junior Team USA spots will be awarded to the top two boys and top two girls in the 20-and-under division after 25 games of qualifying. Additional automatic spots will be given to the winner and runner-up after bracket play in the 20-and-under division. 

The Junior Gold Championships has a history that dates back to 1998, when the event was held at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev. That event drew 538 participants. This year drew 2,102 participants. 

The event began Saturday, July 14th in Indianapolis with more than 2,100 United States Bowling Congress youth members that earned spots in regional qualifiers throughout the year. The youth bowlers will compete for a record $250,000 in scholarships and spots on Junior Team USA. There were 4 divisions. 15 and under for boys and girls and 20 and under for boys and girls 

The event began with practice rounds on the 3 different World Tenpin Bowling Association Sport Lane patterns on Saturday and Sunday. The oil patterns were 33 feet, 40 feet and 45 feet in length. The tournament patterns were USBC “Sport Compliant” and would reward the bowlers with repeated shotmaking and the ability to convert spares on much tougher lane patterns than what most of the kids are accustomed to. 

Competition began with 15 games of qualifying from July 16-18 for all participants. One out of every seven bowlers advanced to the next round, where an additional five games were bowled July 19. After 20 games, as many as 64 bowlers in each division will advance to five final qualifying games the evening of July 19 before the field is cut to the top 16 in each division for the double-elimination match-play bracket July 20. 

Michael Davidson started on the short Sydney 33 foot pattern. This would be a big test as this is not a lane pattern that is bowled on very often. Players normally need to play the outside portion of the lane near the gutter due to the lanes being very dry and unforgiving. Spare shooting is also very difficult as well. Davidson struggled (mainly on his spare game) and recorded scores of 160, 194, 169, 184 and 179 for a total pinfall of 886. This put him in 375th place out of 1,050 bowlers in his division. 

The second day was the 40 foot Athens oil pattern. “Although the pattern was still not going to be easy, I thought Michael would make a move on the field as this is a more popular length pattern that he is used to.” He started slow with a 154 game but kept grinding away and rolled games of 190, 184 and 219. After moving to the next pair as they do every game, the correct adjustments were not made and spare shooting was his nemesis again. His 10th game ended at 146 for a 10 game total of 1,779. This moved him up a bit to 370th place. 

With one more day of qualifying to go, he really needed to post a good score as the cut was the top 150 bowlers. “You now have 10 games under your belt against some of the best competition in the country. You and I both know you have it in you, focus more on your spares and finish qualifying strong.” The pattern was now the 45 foot Paris oil pattern. Michael came out strong by rolling games of 192, 217 and 233. The 4th game was looking very bleak until a ball and line change in the 8th frame. He was able to roll 5 strikes to finish the game with a 179. 

“Based on my estimation of the cut, he needed to roll a 240 or 250 game to be close.” He stuck with the same ball and line on the next pair and started with the 1st 6 strikes. He then left a weak 10 pin in the 7th. He covered the spare and got a great break in the 8th crossing over on the Brooklyn side. Michael took advantage of this break and struck out for a great 279 game. After the remaining two squads bowled that day Davidson ended up making the cut and was sitting in 109th place, just 58 pins out of 64th which was the cut after the next days round. “To finish with 16 out of his last 17 strikes in a tournament and a lane pattern like this was incredible. Then to make the cut after being way out of it, made it that much sweeter!” 

Day 4 was the top 150 bowlers rolling 5 more games. As warmups started, this lane pattern was definitely the easiest of the week. So, it was time to post some high scores. Michael bowled well by rolling 178, 210, 224, 164 and 212. However, it was not quite enough as he ended up placing 108th just 125 pins out of the 64th cut spot. “For his 1st ever Junior Gold event, he should be extremely proud of his accomplishment. The majority of the bowlers that made the top 64 are collegiate bowlers that have been bowling on patterns like these in practice and matches.” 

AJ Johnson, current Team USA member and collegiate bowler ended up this years champion. For complete results, visit http://bowl.com/Junior_Gold/Tournament_Extras/2012_Results/