Insights from the 2026 World Youth Championships

I recently coached Team Canada at the World Youth Championships in Malaysia. Just like I did two years ago after the World Youth Championships in Korea, I wanted to share some insights from spending two weeks with some of the best young bowlers on the planet, and the state of the international game.

New 78D hardness rule

I want to start by addressing one of the big changes for this year’s event: new rules banning balls below the 78D hardness threshold, following the USBC’s list of acceptable slow-absorbing equipment. Even with the harder shells, urethane dominated on the boys’ side, with some urethane being used on the girls’ side as well.

Before the rule change, the original Hammer Purple Pearl Urethane dominated every event. Given that ball’s dominance, there was very much an “If you can’t beat them, join them” mentality, essentially leaving staffers from other companies in the dust.

This was the first World Bowling event with new rules, and here’s what we saw: actual bowling ball variety. Yes, the racks were still filled with urethane (more on that next), but at least now it wasn’t just a single dominant ball. Some bowlers preferred the new, harder Purple Hammer 78D, others used the Black Hammer 78D, and you also got to see the IQ 78/U and Motiv Tanks in the mix. Non-urethane options like the Storm Concept were also in play.

However, what’s most interesting, particularly for most of BTM’s readers based in North America, is how urethane gets used internationally.

North American urethane strategy

To better understand this, I think we need to look at the history of urethane balls, and particularly the strategy in using them.

The North American style of play is still very much based on what old urethane balls could and couldn’t do. When urethane balls first started regaining traction in elite competition in the early 2000s, it was because shorter oil was being applied. You’d see patterns of ...