Where I Come From & How Bowling Changed My Life 🎳

Where I Come From & How Bowling Changed My Life 🎳

Hey guys!

I wanted to share a little bit about where I grew up and how I ended up here in the U.S. doing what I love.

I’m originally from Cairns, which is in North Queensland, Australia. It’s a beautiful place — hot, tropical, and chill — but when it comes to bowling, it’s pretty small. We only had one bowling alley in my whole town! While places like Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney had multiple centers you could drive to in 30–45 minutes, my next nearest center was 1.5 hours away. So I stuck to my home center and made it work. I was lucky enough to be sponsored by my local bowling alley, which meant I could practice for free — and in return, I’d advertise for them (I even made the local news twice, which was wild!).

In Australia, if you want to make Team Australia, you have to be ranked. That means competing in around 7 out of 9–10 national tournaments a year. The higher your points, the better your ranking — and the closer you are to being selected for the National Training Squad (NTS).

Selection wasn’t just based on performance, though — we also had to do a skills test. Someone from NTS would come to your home center and test your spare shooting. You had to hit at least 80% on each spare to pass. Once you made it, you’d be invited to training camps all over the country throughout the year.

I worked so hard for this. I went to school, held down a part-time job (which honestly felt full-time — I was working 30–40 hours a week), and used everything I earned to fund bowling trips. Flying, hotels, food, entry fees — it added up quick. My goal at every event was to win just enough to cover the trip I was on. There wasn’t much profit, but the passion kept me going.

My mum was my rock. She hustled just as hard to find sponsors and get funding where she could. We sold chocolates, ran sausage sizzles in front of Bunnings (Aussies, you know what’s up 😂), and did whatever we could to raise the money.

Eventually, I made Team Australia — not just once, but seven times across juniors, youth, and adult teams. I got to travel the world, bowl against some of the best (shoutout to Verity Crawley and Jesper Svensson who were at the same World Youth as me!), and experience so many different cultures. Some places were tough to visit — definitely eye-opening — but it was all so humbling and worth it. Representing your country is a feeling I’ll never forget.

Then… I got noticed. And it led to a full-ride scholarship to college in the U.S. That still blows my mind.

Now that I’m here, it’s crazy to see how different bowling is in the U.S. — the opportunities, the tournaments, the community — it’s amazing, but also a bit overwhelming as I try to navigate it all. I really wish my mum could be here with me to see it. She was always my number one supporter and I carry her belief in me everywhere I go.

More than anything, I hope this journey helps me make lifelong friends and keeps opening doors for new experiences. I know I’ve got big dreams — from bowling professionally to hosting women’s and mixed tournaments — and I’m just so excited (and a little nervous!) to see where it all takes me.

So if you're chasing something, just know this: hard work really does pay off, even when it doesn’t feel like it. And sometimes, the wildest dreams you have as a kid in a small town with one bowling alley… actually do come true.

Thanks for reading 🫶
Let’s keep being baddies, on and off the lanes 💖🎳