Parent's Guide to USBC Youth League Under 12 Bowling 2026-27

USBC sets a maximum of 16.00 pounds and no minimum weight, so light youth balls are fine in certified competition.

Other ball rules that apply to youth and adults alike:

• House balls may be used in league play even though they aren't on USBC's Approved Ball List.
• A ball can't be used if it has a crack in the bowler's track area or a fissure (a split 3 inches or longer, or 1/8 inch or wider) anywhere.
• Nothing may be put on the ball's surface (powder, rosin, marker, paint). Once league play starts (the first ball thrown for score), the surface can't be sanded, polished or cleaned with a cleaner. Wiping it with a dry towel is fine.
• From January 1, 2027, a ball's identification markings (brand name/logo, ball name and serial number) may not be re-engraved. Balls with re-engraved or unreadable serial numbers aren't allowed in certified competition.

Yes. USBC recognizes two two-handed styles:

• Two-handed delivery: both hands push the ball down the lane, usually swinging it between the legs or pushing from the chest. This is the most common way young bowlers start.
• Two-handed approach: both hands stay on the ball through the swing, with one dominant hand releasing it.

Rules to know:

• In a youth league, a child who bowls with a two-handed delivery establishes their average two-handed. If they switch to a one-handed delivery, they must establish a new average with that hand.
• A bowler can't switch styles or hands partway through, for example rolling between the legs just for spares. Changing delivery without the league's permission can mean the game is forfeited.
• Any finger holes drilled in the ball must be used on every delivery, by the same hand.

A USBC league average = total pins in that league ÷ number of games bowled in that league this season, with fractions dropped. Substitute games count too.

• Starting out: a bowler with no entering average gets an average from their first league session (total pins ÷ games that night), until they've bowled the number of games the league rule requires.
• Partial games (for example, leaving mid-game) don't count toward the average unless the league tracks averages frame by frame.
• Bumper games don't count toward an average used in standard (non-bumper) competition.
• If a bowler can't finish their very first game, those frames don't count and a vacancy score is used.

Each league sets how many games are needed to establish an average and which entering average (for example, last season's) it accepts.

Handicap adds pins to a bowler's score so bowlers of different skill can compete fairly. It's used only in handicap leagues; in a scratch league, actual scores decide the result.

USBC defaults, unless the league adopts its own rule:

• Percentage: 100%, applied to the difference between the bowler's average and a base figure the league sets. USBC recommends a base higher than any bowler's average in the league.
• Not limited and not capped.
• First session: handicap is figured once your child has established a current average that day. After that, it's based on the current average each week.
• Fractions are dropped when figuring averages and handicap.

Example: base figure 200, 100% handicap, average 112. Handicap = 200 − 112 = 88 pins per game.

When it adopts its rules, the league decides whether to handicap individuals or teams. USBC recommends the individual method.

These are the USBC defaults. A league can adopt different rules for absentee scores.

Bowl ahead (pre-bowl) or make it up later: in youth leagues, an individual bowler may bowl unopposed before or after the scheduled date unless league rules say otherwise. Ask before the scheduled time. The league supervisor or league official (or a committee they appoint) decides requests. Bad weather that stops a team fielding a legal lineup counts as an emergency.

If no substitute bowls: the team gets an absentee score for your child:

• each game = your child's current average minus 10 pins
• if your child has no established average yet, the absentee score is 120
• in a handicap league, handicap is based on the actual current average (or on 120)

A vacancy score is different: it's used when a team doesn't have enough bowlers on its roster. In youth leagues it equals the average of the lowest-average bowler on the opposing team's roster (the next-lowest for a second vacancy).

A foul happens when any part of the bowler's body (including shoes and clothing) goes on or past the foul line and touches the lane, equipment or building, during or after a delivery.

• The delivery still counts as a ball, but the bowler gets zero pins for it.
• The foul line extends indefinitely, including across walls, posts and ball returns.
• It's not a foul if the bowler crosses the line while still holding the ball (no delivery was made), if only the ball rolls over the line, or if something like a coin or jewelry falls past the line.
• A wheelchair, walker or other aid that crosses the line and touches the lane is a foul.
• Ask permission before stepping past the line to pick something up.

Fouls are called by the automatic foul detector if there is one. Without it, the opposing team captains or an appointed foul judge call them.

To keep USBC Youth membership (Rule 400), a youth bowler may not bowl, substitute or pace in any event that offers:

• cash or bonds, or
• merchandise worth more than $500.

Exception for singles events: a youth may bowl in a singles event offering such prizes (including side brackets) if, before bowling:

• the youth and a parent/legal guardian sign the USBC Consent Form, and
• either the event agrees to pay the youth's prize as a scholarship, or the youth waives the right to the prize.

This exception doesn't cover doubles or team events with cash prizes.

In youth leagues, scholarship prizes are managed through USBC SMART. Side brackets in youth competition are allowed only if 100% of entries are returned as scholarships. Buying or selling earned prizes is prohibited, and a violation can cost a child their youth membership.

A USBC youth league is run by two adults, unless the league votes to have a board made up of youth members:

• League supervisor: the adult president.
• League official: the adult secretary.

Requirements for adults:

• All league officers 18 or older must be USBC Registered Volunteers. That means U.S. Center for SafeSport training plus a background screening (through NCSI).
• Any bowler aged 18 when the league starts must complete SafeSport training before competing. A 17-year-old who turns 18 during the season must complete it before bowling after their birthday.
• In an adult/youth league (youth bowling alongside adults), every member 18 or older must complete SafeSport training for the current season, and the league can't be certified until they have.

Registered Volunteer status is also required for youth and adult/youth tournament managers.

Adult leaders (Registered Volunteers acting in an official role, such as league supervisors, league officials, coaches and youth directors) can be charged with improper conduct during youth activities for:

• using tobacco, e-cigarettes, illegal drugs or alcohol
• foul language or gestures, or clothing showing them
• breaking the Registered Volunteer Program Code of Conduct or policies

Youth bowlers can be removed from competition and have membership suspended or denied for, in connection with youth bowling:

• using tobacco, e-cigarettes, illegal drugs or alcohol
• foul language or gestures, or clothing showing them

Other adults bowling in an adult/youth league aren't bound by the tobacco and alcohol rule (only officers are), though the bowling center may set its own policy.

To report an abuse or misconduct concern, use USBC's Athlete Safety "Report a Concern" page at BOWL.com/athlete-safety-rvp/report-a-concern.

At the lanes: if the two team captains can't agree on a foul, pinfall or dead ball call, the bowler bowls a provisional ball (or frame) so both possible scores are recorded. The league then decides which one stands.

After the session: a protest must be in writing, filed with a league officer:

• within 15 days of the series being bowled, or
• within 72 hours if it's from the final two weeks of the schedule (or the end of a split-season segment), or from a roll-off or playoff.

Unless the protest is confirmed in writing, the result stands. In youth leagues without a board, the league official/supervisor decides protests. That decision can be appealed in writing to the local association or USBC Headquarters.