I was pretty much born at the club: Argent-Bowden

by Val Febbo on December 15, 2021

Newly crowned Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year, Kate Argent-Bowden, has spent most of her life at the bowls club, with the sport being a long-standing family tradition.

Speaking on Bowls Australia’s (BA) ‘The Right Line’ podcast, the teenage sensation revealed that her parents spent an enormous amount of time at bowls clubs, and helped her find love for bowls early on in her childhood.

“I’ve been playing pennant since I was about nine, but I was pretty much born at the club, mum played a pairs game two days before I was born,” Argent-Bowden said.

“I’ve grown up around the club, when I was younger I wouldn’t really have anywhere to go because mum, dad and nanna were all at the bowls club.

“I’d just sit around, climbing trees and trying to entertain myself for five hours, but one day I thought I might as well take it up if I’m going to be there for so long and now here we are.”

The 16-year-old has enjoyed a sensational year on the green, claiming the South Australian open singles championship and the Australian Open under-18 girls’ singles title with her results culminating in her accolade at BA’s Awards Night at the beginning of the month.

Argent-Bowden reflects fondly on the state title, feeling as though she had little to lose after progressing beyond the sectional rounds.

“With the state singles, I’d never actually passed the sectionals, I’d always get beaten in one of those games which happened again but I ended up getting through on shots-up,” she said.

“Once I’d passed there I thought, ‘this is a personal best so let’s see how far I can go.’

“Then I got to the last 16, which was nice, and ended up making it through to the last day and told mum that I’d be happy to win at least one game for the day, then I got through to the final.

“Through the game I definitely started off struggling but ended up changing the lengths and hands and it worked out for me which is nice!”

Catch up on all of ‘The Right Line’ episodes via AppleSpotifyGoogle or Anchor.