If not for 12 stubborn pins, Barnes would have called it a career. But those 12 pins - the amount Team USA missed team gold by at the Women's World Championships - are ultimately the reason Barnes has decided to compete in the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Championships from Jan. 9-13 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.

"If I could add 12 pins to our team score at the Women's World Championships, I would definitely say the shoes are coming off," Barnes said. "Winning the team gold at the World Championships will always be that carrot dangling in front of me."

Even though the next Women's World Championships won't be held until 2007 in Monterrey, Mexico, Barnes is ready to start working toward that goal now. And a change in the selection of Team USA could let Barnes secure a spot for the 2007 Women's World Championships.

For the first time, the U.S Amateur champion will earn a two-year spot on Team USA. In addition, the National Selection Committee will select three additional players who will receive two-year spots on the men's and women's teams.

The process for determining Team USA 2006 will remain the same as years past. The top five finishers on the men's and women's side in the USBC Team USA Championships will automatically earn spots. Three more players for each team will be selected from the pool of players who advance to match play.

Among those players scheduled to compete are all but one of the 16 Team USA members from 2005. On the men's side, Rhino Page of San Diego will look to defend his title and will be joined by teammates Andrew Cain of Phoenix, David Haynes of Las Vegas, Dan Patterson of Phoenix, Derek Sapp of Keokuk, Iowa, Cory Simmons of Wichita, Kan., Erik Vermilyea of Maplewood, Minn., and Steve Weber of Chalmette, La.

For the women, Barnes will be joined by teammates Diandra Asbaty of Chicago, Amanda Burgoyne of Newport, Minn., Stefanie Nation of Miami, Shannon O'Keefe of Rochester, N.Y., Jennifer Petrick of Canton, Ohio, and Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix.

Nearly 200 of the best amateur bowlers in the United States will compete for spots on Team USA next week. Players will bowl 24 games of qualifying before cutting to the top 32 men and 24 women for round-robin match play.

Team USA 2006 members will participate in events such as the World Tenpin Bowling Association Men's World Championships, Tournament of the Americas and QubicaAMF World Cup.