By Tara Murray
Club Sunbury’s Akasha Fortune finished her junior bowls career on the perfect note, named as the under-18 female bowler of the year for 2023-24.
Fortune, who had been named one of two finalists for the award along with Maddie Jones, was named the winner at a ceremony in May.
The teenager said it was a really cool award to win.
“I had hoped and I was relatively confident that I might win it after such a big year,” she said. “I didn’t think too much about it until I won it and it was really nice recognition for my last 18 months of my junior career.”
Having started playing bowls when she was eight, as her father played, Fortune has risen up the ranks.
She said she could have never imagined having so much success in a short period of time.
“It was always a distant hope that it would happen, but I never thought it would happen with rapid succession as it has happened.”
Fortune said the under-18 girls single tile last year at nationals was the standout moment in the past 18 months.
She had competed in the titles a number of times before breaking through. She had been runner-up in 2022.
She said she was happy with how she had been playing and felt that the extra work that she had put in had paid off.
“I wanted to get those achievements when I was still in juniors,” she said. “I had a lot of support from my family and the bowls club and everyone in juniors.”
With her junior career finished, Fortune, who was part of Sunbury’s top side the past couple of seasons, will move into senior bowls at state and national level.
She’s hoping to continue moving through the state and national ranks.
“I’m more nervous than excited,” she said. “I’ve had selection in a couple of city versus country games for the open age, which have been good.”
Fortune said she was hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Club Sunbury bowlers Carla Krizanic and Sophie Kurzman, who have both represented Australia.
She said making the Emerging Jackaroos squad was something that she wanted to achieve along with some other honours in the near future.
“I’m part of the state based academy,” she said. “I want to try and break into through into the state open team next.”
