The 2003 AAU Junior Olympics will be remembered for the international flair that the World Championships brought to the Junior Olympics. In 2003 the AAU Junior Olympics had had for the first time the 19u All-Girls Divisions which were used to evaluate the players for spots at the 2004 Team USA selection camp. The number of teams broke another AAU record as 170 teams from 8 countries competed for the Gold.

In the 6u Elite Division the Tour Jaguars (Deptford, NJ) come back from their 2002 Silver Medal to take the Gold over the Columbus Bandits (Columbus, OH) 6-0. The Bronze Medal went to IHC Black Biscuit Red as they defeated IHC Black Biscuit Blue 4-3. 

The 8u Elite Division had the #1 ranked team in the Nation (Team Nexed Detroit 94) versus the USA Champions and #4 ranked team (Hyper Rattlers 94) and the Gold Medal game gave the fans everything they could ask for as with 30 seconds left Nathan Talman scored to give the Hyper Rattlers a 4-3 win and their second Gold Medal of the year. Tucker Murphy (Hyper Rattlers) was named MVP.

The 8u Competitive Division Gold went to the 94 Ice Cats (Detroit, MI) defeated Columbus Cardinals (Columbus, OH) 7-2 and the Bronze Medal went to the Cincinnati Swords (Cincinnati, OH) as they defeated the Firebirds (Detroit, MI) 7-6.

The 10u Elite Division gave us one of the biggest upsets of the Junior Olympics, not in who won but how the game went,  as everyone expected a close game but Team Hyper 92 (Detroit, MI) scored :47 seconds into the game and never looked back as they defeated Belle Tire 92 (Detroit, MI) 6-2. Charles Williams (Team Hyper 92) was named MVP.

The 10u Competitive Division had the Columbus Cardinals (Columbus, OH) defeating Team Nexed Detroit (Detroit, MI) 6-1 to claim their first Gold Medal. The Bronze Medal was taken by Long Island Raptors (Long Island, NY) as they beat Team Mol-Son (Detroit, MI) 8-5.

The 12u Girls Division pulled another upset as Gear Mid America (Spencer, WV) upended the undefeated Miss Behavin (Detroit, MI) 3-2 to take the organizations first Gold Medal in years of trying. The Bronze Medal went to the Black Widows (Detroit, MI).

The 12u Elite Division was hands down the toughest division at this years Junior Olympics as many ranked teams such as #1 Team Mission Detroit (Detroit, MI), #2 and 2003 USA Champions Team Xtreme (Cleveland, OH), #3 Rolling Hogs (Detroit, MI), #7 CPH Velocity (Irvine, CA), #8 Mission Cobra Elites (St Louis, MO), #9 and 2003 USA Championships Runner-Up High Rollers (Chicago, IL), #10 Tour Jaguars (Deptford, NJ) as well as former Gold Medal winner Long Island Patriots (Long Island, NY) and one of Canada's top teams Sudden Death (Toronto) all having to beat up on each other to get into the medal rounds. It came down to the survival of the fittest as Team Mission Detroit claimed the Gold as they defeated the Tour Jaguars 8-5 and the Bronze Medal went to the Long Island Patriots as they beat the High Rollers 6-3. Kevin Osborne (Team Mission Detroit) was named MVP.

The 12u Competitive Division came down to two undefeated teams as the Hyper Hawks (Detroit, MI) took down the Motor City Moose (Detroit, MI) 9-1 for the Gold. In the Bronze Medal game the Mile High Mayhem (Denver, CO) whose only loss came to the Hyper Hawks in the Semi's beat Team Nexed Detroit 91 (Detroit, MI) 5-3.

The 14u Elite Division was another of those divisions were many great teams were entered but because of the strength of the division many top teams did not even place including the 2002 Gold Medalist Detroit Mission Bulldogs couldn't get their hands on a medal. The Gold Medal game did come down to a couple of heavyweights as the Hyper Falcons (Detroit, MI) beat the 2003 USA Champions Cincinnati Swords (Cincinnati, OH) 4-1 to take their first Gold. The Long Island Raptors (Long Island, NY) had a great run thru the playoffs to claim the Bronze Medal as they defeated the Firebirds Blue (Detroit, MI) 9-5. 

The 14u Competitive Division Gold Medal went to the Mullet Hunters (Detroit, MI) as they defeated the Roller Rebels (Pittsburgh, PA) and handed them their only loss 7-2. The Bronze Medal game saw 6 lead changes before Team Mission Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo, MI) tie it up with 4:39 left in the game and win it 5:00 minutes into overtime 9-8 over the Mission Cobras (St Louis, MO).

The 16u Girls Division saw a re-match of the 2002 Gold Medal game but with different results as the Tour Jaguars (Deptford, NJ) defeated the undefeated Lady Scorpions (Detroit, MI) 4-2. The Bronze Medal went to Gear Mid America (Spencer, WV) and Maxie Weisz (Tour Jaguars) was named MVP.

The new 17u Division proved to be one of the strangest divisions at the Junior Olympics as seeded and ranked teams fell by the wayside as one by one they were upset and knocked out but in the end the NYC Nightmare (New York, NY) fulfilled their dream from the beginning of the season as they took home the Gold 7-3 over Hyper High Velocity (Detroit, MI) The Bronze Medal was shared by the Columbus Bandits (Columbus, OH) and Detroit Mission Bulldogs (Detroit, MI) because of scheduling conflicts with the 20u Division the two teams decided to share 3rd place. David Drummond (NYC Nightmare) was named MVP.

The 17u Competitive Division was another of those divisions where upsets ruled the playoffs as the #16 seeded Team Face Off (Detroit, MI) knocked off almost everyone on the way to Bronze Medal but it was the Mile High Mayhem (Denver, CO) in their first Junior Olympics taking the Gold as they defeated the ISCA Grizzlies (Monroe, NY) 6-2. Team Face Off took the Bronze as they beat the Sharks (Chicago, IL) 6-5.

The 19u Girls Division was another Gold for the Tour Jaguars (Deptford, NJ) as they defeated the Lady Scorpions (Detroit, MI) -3-2 in a see-saw game as the Jaguars scored the first 2 goals then the Scorpions came back to tie it with 3:49 left in the game but it was Catherine Santo's goal in with 1:34 left gave the Gold to the Jaguars. The Bronze Medal game saw the Michigan Storm (Detroit, MI) defeat the Eagles (Dayton, OH) 3-1. Maxie Weisz (Toru Jaguars) took home her 2nd MVP award.

As always one of the toughest divisions was the 20u Division were 20 of the countries top teams came to meet for the Gold and it was anyone's to take. At the end it was the Center Circle Titans (Rahway, NJ) taking home their first Gold as they defeated the Labeda Xtreme (Cleveland, OH) 7-2 and the Motown Thunder (Detroit, MI) claimed the Bronze Medal defeating Crescent City Hockey (New Orleans, LA) 7-0. Eric Namowicz (Center Circle Titans ) was named MVP

The first ever High School Division Gold Medal was claimed by the Trinity Trojans (Garfield Hts, OH) as they defeated the Walled Lake Warriors (Detroit, MI) 6-5. The Bronze Medal went to Novi HS (Novi, MI) as they beat Henry Ford II (Detroit, MI) 8-2. The MVP went to James Unger (Trinity).

For more about the XXXVI AAU Junior Olympic Games and photos, stats, and the All-American team selections click below: