Tayla Bruce (born 22 February 1995) is a New Zealand international

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

player.

Bowls career

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

in 1995, Bruce plays for the Burnside Bowling Club. She won the 2017 national women's fours title, in a team with

Jo Edwards Joanna Edwards (born 5 February 1970) is a New Zealand international lawn bowls competitor. She has won two world titles and three Commonwealth Games gold medals. Bowls career Outdoors At the 2002 Commonwealth Games she won a gold medal along w ...

Val Smith Valerie Christine Smith (born 29 July 1965) is an international bowls, lawn bowler from New Zealand. Bowls career World Championships Smith won a bronze medal at the 2004 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Leamington Spa before winning three ...

, and Kirsten Edwards. At the annual Canterbury awards, she was named as sportswoman of the year and young player of the year. She was selected as part of the New Zealand team for the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. A second national fours title was secured in 2020, playing alongside Sandra Keith, Clare Hendra, and

Selina Smith Selina () is a feminine given name, considered either a variant of Selene, the goddess and personification of the Moon in Greek mythology and religion, or a spelling variation of the name Celina, which is derived from the Roman name Cecilia, refe ...

. During the same year she was selected for the

2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship was to be the 14th edition of the World Championships to be held at the Broadbeach Bowls Club, Musgrave Hill Bowls Club and Club Helensvale on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. There were to be ei ...

in Australia but the event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2022, she won her third national title after securing the singles crown. Also in 2022, she competed in the women's triples and the women's fours at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

. She won double bronze; in the triples playing with Nicole Toomey and Val Smith and in the fours, playing with

Selina Goddard Selina Goddard (sometimes called Selina Smith; born 23 July 1994) is a New Zealand international lawn bowls player, playing out of Takapuna Bowling Club. Bowls career Goddard was introduced to the sport at a young age through her parents, who ...

, Toomey and Smith. In November 2022, she won the gold medal at the

World Singles Champion of Champions The World Singles Champion of Champions is an event inaugurated in 2003 that is contested annually between bowlers who have won their respective national singles title. The event was first held in 2003 at the Moama Bowling Club in Moama, Australia. ...

in Wellington, New Zealand. In January 2023, Bruce won the

New Zealand National Bowls Championships The New Zealand National Bowls Championships is organised by Bowls New Zealand. Bowls was introduced in New Zealand in 1861 but the first national championships were not held until 1914. Men's singles champions Men's pairs champions Men's fou ...

women's pairs title with Clare Hendra. Also in 2023, she was selected again as part of the team to represent New Zealand at the

2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. She participated in the women's singles and the women's triples events. In the singles, Bruce won her group undefeated before reaching the semi-final, where she beat Ellen Ryan to set up a final against Kelly McKerihen. In the final, Bruce defeated McKerihen, 21–18. In the triples (partnering Val Smith and Leeane Poulson), the team won the group undefeated before winning a tense quarter final against Malaysia and a semi final against Canada. In the final they met Australia, losing 16–9 but claiming the silver medal.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Tayla 1995 births Living people New Zealand female bowls players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Bowls players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century New Zealand women 21st-century New Zealand people Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Bowls World Champions Sportspeople from Christchurch