Senior Bowling Tournaments: USBC Open Championships, USBC Senior Championships, and Regional Senior Tours

Senior bowling tournaments are a popular way to extend bowling beyond the local weekly league. The United States Bowling Congress hosts two major national tournaments every year that welcome senior bowlers, and dozens of regional senior tours run multi-day events across the country. Tournament bowling adds new friends, new bowling centers, and a chance to compete at a higher level, all in a friendly, age-appropriate format. A senior bowler in a regular league with a 130 average can be competitive at most senior tournaments thanks to the USBC handicap system.

The USBC Open Championships is the largest annual bowling tournament in the world. The event runs from late February through early July each year at a host city's bowling stadium. Past hosts include Reno, Las Vegas, Syracuse, and the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. The Open is open to any USBC member regardless of average and includes Team, Doubles, Singles, and All Events competitions. Senior bowlers compete in standard divisions, but a Senior Bowler division exists for bowlers 50 and older. Entry fees are roughly 130 dollars per bowler for all four events. Tens of thousands of bowlers attend each year, making the Open the largest bowling event of the year.

The USBC Senior Championships is a smaller, age-restricted national tournament for bowlers 50 and older. The event runs for two to three weeks each summer and rotates host cities. Recent hosts include Las Vegas, Houston, and Albuquerque. Entry costs are around 120 dollars for Team, Doubles, Singles, and All Events. Average-based divisions make sure fair competition. The Senior Championships is a less crowded, friendlier alternative to the Open, with a strong social atmosphere and many bowlers returning year after year as a vacation tradition.

Regional senior tours run shorter events at bowling centers across multi-state regions. The Senior Bowlers Tour Association at sbtatour.com runs events throughout the South and Southeast. The Northern California Senior Tour, the Florida Senior Bowlers Association, the Midwest Senior Tour, and dozens of state-level senior bowlers associations host weekend tournaments with entry fees in the 40 to 80 dollar range and cash prizes. Regional events are a good first step into tournament bowling because they are local, short, and friendly. Source pages include bowl.com on the Open Championships, bowl.com/seniorchampionships, sbtatour.com, and the Bowlers Journal at bowlersjournal.com for tournament news.