The 2014 Junior Gold Championships presented by Ebonite, Columbia 300, Track and Hammer are officially underway in the Buffalo, N.Y., area.

The youth bowlers are competing at six bowling centers in the suburban Buffalo area. The girls will compete at Classic Lanes in Kenmore, N.Y., Tonawanda Bowling Center in Tonawanda, N.Y., and AMF Lancaster Lanes in Depew, N.Y. Competition in the boys division will take place at AMF Thruway Lanes and AMF Airport Lanes in Cheektowaga, N.Y. and at Transit Lanes in Williamsville, N.Y. AMF Airport Lanes will host the final rounds of competition for all bowlers.

Bowlers are competing in six divisions this year - 20-and-under boys and girls, 15-and-under boys and girls and 12-and-under boys and girls. The U20 and U15 divisions will bowl 15 games of qualifying over three days before the first cut is made. The U12 division will bowl 12 games of qualifying.

A total of 2,416 bowlers had checked in as of Monday morning, and the first projected cut positions have been announced but are subject to change. Making the first cut to the advancers round is projected to be 154 bowlers in the U20 boys, 86 in U20 girls, 50 in U15 boys and 30 in U15 girls.

The final advancers round will feature 64 in U20 boys, 48 in U20 girls, 24 in U15 boys, 20 in U15 girls, 18 in U12 boys and 12 in U12 girls.

The fields will eventually narrow to the final 16 in the U20 and U15 divisions and the final eight in the U12 divisions for the double-elimination match-play bracket. Winners will be determined Friday afternoon.

BOWL.com's BowlTV will have live streaming of the event starting July 16 at 7 p.m. Eastern with the U15 advancers round and continuing until the champions are crowned the afternoon of July 18.

Automatic Junior Team USA spots will be awarded to the top two boys and top two girls in the U20 division after 25 games of qualifying. Additional automatic spots will be given to the winner and runner-up after bracket play in the U20 division. If one or both of the finalists in the bracket already earned a spot through qualifying, the automatic spot becomes an at-large selection.

The National Selection Committee will select two boys and two girls from the match-play field with all bowlers, including U15, eligible for at-large selection. The final eight spots - four boys and four girls - on Junior Team USA will be determined at the USBC Team USA Trials in January.