The USBC Queens is an annual

ten-pin bowling Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...

event for amateur and professional female bowlers, sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress. The event is one of four women's professional majors since the PWBA tour returned in 2015 and the female equivalent of the

USBC Masters The USBC Masters is a championship ten-pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 20 ...

, now one of the four majors on the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Membe ...

(PBA) Tour. The format for the USBC Queens tournament is similar to the

. All entrants bowl 15 games of qualifying over three days. The top 63 qualifiers plus the previous year's champion are then seeded for match play. Match play consists of three-game, total-pinfall matches in a double-elimination format. First-time losers during the match play rounds are not eliminated, but are instead placed into an elimination bracket, where they must survive all subsequent three-game matches to have a chance at making the championship finals. The last five remaining players with either one or zero match play losses are seeded for the televised finals, which is a single-game stepladder format.

USBC Queens history

The USBC Queens made its debut in 1961, as a companion to the

Women's International Bowling Congress The Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was an organization for women bowlers who played ten-pin bowling and was formed in 1916 as a counterpart to the American Bowling Congress (ABC). The WIBC was initially called the " Woman's Nation ...

(WIBC) National Tournament. It was known as the WIBC Queens from 1961–2004, until the WIBC became a part of the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) on January 1, 2005. The tournament is part of the World Bowling Tour, annually attracting a field of hundreds of the top bowlers from around the world.Official Queens website
/ref> Ten bowlers have won at least two USBC Queens titles, with only two winning three times: Millie Ignizio (Martorella) (1967, 1970, 1971) and Wendy Macpherson (1988, 2000, 2003). Both bowlers are now in the USBC Hall of Fame.

USBC Queens champions

2022 Event

The 2022 USBC Queens tournament was held May 18–24 at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois. The tournament had 204 total entries and a $358,000 prize fund, with a $60,000 top prize. A five-player stepladder format was used for the live televised finals on May 24.

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

's Birgit Noreiks won from the #2 seed position, defeating top seed Clara Guerrero of Colombia in the final match for her third PWBA title and first major. {{5TeamBracket-Stepladder , RD1=Match #1 , RD2=Match #2 , RD3=Match #3 , RD4=Championship Match , RD1-seed1=4 , RD1-team1= Danielle McEwan , RD1-score1=213 , RD1-seed2=5 , RD1-team2=Hope Gramley , RD1-score2=180 , RD2-seed1=3 , RD2-team1=Laura Plazas , RD2-score1=181 , RD2-seed2=4 , RD2-team2=Danielle McEwan , RD2-score2=179 , RD3-seed1=2 , RD3-team1=Birgit Noreiks , RD3-score1=233 , RD3-seed2=3 , RD3-team2=Laura Plazas , RD3-score2=214 , RD4-seed1=1 , RD4-team1= Clara Guerrero , RD4-score1=158 , RD4-seed2=2 , RD4-team2=Birgit Noreiks , RD4-score2=187 Final Standings:
1. Birgit Noreiks (

) – $60,000
2. Clara Guerrero ( Colombia) – $30,000
3. Laura Plazas (Colombia) – $22,500
4. Danielle McEwan (

Stony Point, NY Stony Point is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. The town is located north of the town of Haverstraw, east and south of Orange County, and west of the Hudson River and W ...

) – $17,500
5. Hope Gramley ( Aubrey, TX) – $12,500
''denotes amateur.''

List of champions

*2022: Birgit Noreiks *2021: Julia Bond *2020: ''Not held due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

'' *2019: Dasha Kovalova *2018: Shannon O'Keefe *2017: Diana Zavjalova *2016: Bernice Lim *2015: Liz Johnson *2014: Maria Jose Rodriguez *2013: Diana Zavjalova *2012: Diandra Asbaty *2011: Missy Parkin *2010: Kelly Kulick *2009: Liz Johnson *2008: Lynda Barnes *2007: Kelly Kulick *2006: Shannon Pluhowsky *2005: Tennelle Milligan *2004: Marianne DiRupo *2003: Wendy Macpherson *2002: Kim Terrell *2001: Carolyn Dorin-Ballard *2000: Wendy Macpherson *1999: Leanne Barrette *1998: Lynda Norry *1997: Sandra Jo Shiery-Odom *1996: Lisa Wagner *1995: Sandy Postma *1994: Anne Marie Duggan *1993: Jan Schmidt *1992: Cindy Coburn-Carroll *1991: Dede Davidson *1990: Patty Ann *1989:

Carol Gianotti Carol Gianotti of Perth is a female Australian ten-pin bowler. She was inducted into the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Hall of Fame in 2020, the Tenpin Bowling Australia Hall of Fame in 2016 and the United States Bowling Con ...

*1988: Wendy Macpherson (largest-ever women's-only sporting event in history, some 88,000 participants) *1987: Cathy Almeida *1986: Cora Fiebig *1985:

Aleta Sill :''This name should not be confused with the name Aelita.'' Aleta may refer to: Fictional characters * Queen Aleta, wife of Prince Valiant, Queen of the Misty Isles in the comic strip ''Prince Valiant'' * Princess Aleta in the television serie ...

*1984:

Kazue Inahashi Kazue (written: 一恵, 一枝, 和恵, 和枝, 和永, 良恵 or かずえ in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actress *, Japanese gymnast *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese voice actress ...

*1983: Aleta Rzepecki *1982:

Katsuko Sugimoto Katsuko (written: 克子 or 勝子) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese volleyball player *, Japanese politician *, Japanese scientist {{given name Japanese feminine given names ...

*1981:

*1980:

Donna Adamek Donna Adamek (born February 1, 1957 in Duarte, California is an American tenpin bowler who was named WIBC Bowler of the Year four times (1978–1981). She competed nationally on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour. Adamek g ...

*1979:

*1978: Loa Boxberger *1977: Dana Stewart *1976: Pamela Buckner *1975: Cindy Powell *1974: Judy Soutar *1973: Dorothy Fothergill *1972: Dorothy Fothergill *1971: Mildred Martorella *1970: Mildred Martorella *1969: Ann Feigel *1968: Phyllis Massey *1967: Mildred Martorella *1966: Judy Lee *1965: Betty Kuczynski *1964: D.D. Jacobson *1963:

Irene Monterosso Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

*1962:

Dorothy Wilkinson Dorothy may refer to: * Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters * Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character pla ...

*1961:

Janet Harman Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French p ...

References

Ten-pin bowling competitions in the United States