You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Saskatchewan with a more impressive bowling resume then Lonny Akers.
Akers was inducted into the PA Sports Hall of Fame earlier this month in the athlete category at the 33rd annual induction banquet at the Ches Leach Lounge.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, Akers says he was humbled to hear the news of his induction.
“Just to have somebody nominate me is flattering, but then for them to actually choose you as one of PA’s best athletes is pretty overwhelming. It’s not something you really think about. When Barry (Mihilewicz) first called me and said your name had been put on our radar and we’re choosing you as, I was at a loss for words. I really didn’t know what to say. I was kind of taken back, it’s pretty special because you do realize how many great athletes have come out of the city and just to be a part of it is really great.”
Akers is not the first member of his family to receive the call to the PA Sports Hall of Fame. His grandfather Ted and father Wayne have also been inducted for their contributions to the sport of bowling.
Akers says it was pretty special when he learned he was the third generation of his family to be inducted into the PA Sports Hall of Fame.
“It was not something I even knew about going in but after it was discovered afterwards kind of thing, it was pretty special to be in there with them. From what I understand, there’s nobody else who has three generations in the PA Sports Hall of Fame. It was pretty special to be a part of it.”
Akers first major win in bowling came when he was just 14 years of age as he took home the Pepsi Youth Challenge title. During his teenage years, Akers was a common sight at Minto Bowl as he honed his craft after his days at school.
“It probably didn’t help my schoolwork at all being that passionate about getting better in a sport.” Akers explained. “First and foremost, the most I can take away from it is how thankful I am to Don and Ethel (Hlewka) who were the owners. They always let me go practice for free and always let me bowl for free. Most days, if I stayed there past supper time, they would make sure I was fed. I’m grateful for them to do that while they’re also trying to run a business. I would practice from four until six or six-thirty then the leagues would start coming in and there would be no lanes for me so I would try and sub on somebody’s team that didn’t have a bowler show up and then I would continue on at nine o’clock. It was a lot of bowling, but it kept me out of trouble.”
Akers would make a name for himself on the provincial and national stage. His list of accomplishments includes capturing the CBC National Championships in 2005, gold in the 2010 singles national championships, the 2011 Masters National title and gold at the Western Canadian Bowling Tour events in 2013 and 2018.
Akers says the experience of getting to bowl on a national stage was quite nerve wracking due to the competition he had to face on his way there.
“It’s pretty special. At that time when you got to be on TV, it was quite the process to get there. You had to be first out of your own zone and then from there you went to provincials and then you had to come first out of the provincial part of it. You had to bowl really well to get there and then when you get there, you’re bowling against the 12 best bowlers in the country.”
“It’s a different atmosphere altogether and it takes a little bit of visualization. The first time I was on TSN, it didn’t didn’t go so well for me. It was a lot of nerves and a lot of feeling out the process kind of thing and a little bit of the distractions get to you. The second time, it was on CBC and that was the big one where I won $20,000 for first place but I played solid pretty much the whole way through.”
Akers has received several other awards including being named the Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year, an induction into the Riverside Community School Wall of Fame and receiving the Ted Akers Memorial Award for his efforts in the sport of bowling.
Akers also currently serves as a coach for the Young Bowling Council helping to mentor young bowlers.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
