Lake Macquarie lays claim to having the country’s youngest person to bowl a perfect tenpin game.
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Thomas Mitchell, aged 11 and nine months, entered the Australian record books on Sunday with 12 straight strikes for the perfect 300 score.
The feat was achieved at Warners Bay SuperStrike and eclipsed the previous national record of 13 years and four months which had stood since 2009.
The youngster admitted nerves nearly got the better of him as he lined up the last frame in front of a strong local crowd.
“When I was doing my last shot it was really scary because I thought I was going to stuff it up,” Thomas said.
“But when I finished it was really awesome.”
The year six Valentine Public School student has been bowling for six years but only took it up seriously less than two years ago.
His coach Peter Zambelis, who was the first person to ever bowl a perfect 300 game in Newcastle in 1980, said the transition to a modern two-handed grip had changed the young gun’s game.
“We decided to bowl two-handed and he’s done quite well with it,” Zambelis said. “He has improved his average considerably and he has got very good prospects if he keeps at it.”
