Oak Brook, IL – The DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) and Stardust Bowl Group (SBG) are excited to announce that the USBC Youth Open Championships and Junior Gold Championships are just a few weeks away. These national events, being held between July 9 – 26, are open to the public. The Junior Gold Championships feature the top youth bowlers in the country competing for national titles in six divisions: U12 boys; U12 girls; U15 boys; U15 girls; U20 boys; and U20 girls.

It will be held July 11 – 17 and taped to air as a three-telecast series on CBS Sports Network on Aug. 4, 11 and 18 at 10:00 p.m. The Youth Open Championships take place July 9-26, and are open to all USBC Youth members. This tournament has four age-based divisions (U8, U12, U15 and U20). Each participant bowls a maximum of nine games - three games each of singles, doubles and four-player team. Three Stardust Bowl Group (SBG) venues – Stardust Bowl in Addison, Hillside Bowl in Hillside, and Classic Bowl in Morton Grove – will be sites for tournament play, as will Orland Bowl in Orland Park and Brunswick Zone in River Grove.

The Doubletree by Hilton Chicago Oak Brook is acting as host hotel, with 28 other DuPage County hotels also housing participants, their families and VIPs. “This is the largest youth bowling tournament DuPage County has ever hosted, with roughly 3500 athletes with family members—equaling over 10,000 guest rooms,” stated Lisa Landers, CMP, director of sales for the CVB. “We wish to thank our friends Jim Saffold and Henry Barber at Stardust Bowl for helping to bring this tournament to DuPage!” “The DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau is thrilled to be hosting the Youth Open Championships and Junior Gold Championships,” added Beth Marchetti, DuPage CVB executive director.

“This will represent an estimated economic of over $17 million for the county. These families are known to plan their vacations around this tournament, and we anticipate many of them will stay to experience DuPage County and the Chicago area.” Contact Director of Sales Lisa Landers, CMP, at the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau for more information about these events and DuPage County’s involvement. She can be reached at (800) 232- 0502, extension 207, or lisa@discoverdupage.com.

About DuPage County DuPage County is the second most populous county in Illinois after Cook County, which borders it to the north and east. Together, the two counties account for half of the state’s population. One of the nation’s wealthiest counties, DuPage is rich in many types of commerce and is second only to Cook in tourism revenue. With its well-developed highway and mass transit systems, DuPage is easily accessible from O’Hare and Midway Airports, as well as the City of Chicago. (more)