Meet the National Training Squad – Sue Cassell
By Tenpin Bowling Australia
As Tenpin Bowling Australia (TBA) celebrates International Women’s Day 2022 this week, we are excited to introduce a legend of the sport in our Meet the National Training Squad series – Sue Cassell.
Fast facts
Squad: NTS 50
Home State/Territory: Queensland
Home Centre: Caboolture
Personal coach: Doesn’t have one. Paul Delany or Andrew Frawley for advice
Bowling style: One-handed, right hand
How many 300 games? Once
Bowler Bio
Cassell’s introduction to bowling came early on in her life. Her mother worked at a bowling centre while her grandmother worked in the nursery within the centre so it’s not a surprise Cassel started bowling in her first league at just three years old.
One of her earliest memories of bowling came when she would do jobs around the bowling centre in return for free bowling. At the age of 14, the Sydney-born bowler became the youngest player to be selected for the Australian team to compete at the 4th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships in 1976, where she would win gold in the team’s event.
Just five years later at the 1981 Asian Youth Championships, Cassell took home gold in the singles, trios and all events along with a silver in the doubles.
Since rising through the junior ranks, Cassell has gone on to participate in a staggering 22 Walter Rachuig Trophy Tournaments, taking home 17 women’s Rachuig team titles which saw her named into the National All-Stars team ten times. She also has a swag of achievements from World Championships and Asian Adult Championships medals to multiple South Pacific Classic, NSW Open and Australia Masters titles.
In 1990, she was named the World Bowler of the Year by the World Bowling Writers Association which was followed by induction in the TBA Hall of Fame in 2012.
In a career that has spanned over five decades, Cassell has made life-long friendships from her involvement in the sport.
Today, Cassell is a corrections officer in Queensland, who loves scuba diving, yoga and gardening in her spare time.
