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 players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

player. She reached a career high ranking of world number 2 in August 2024.

Bowls career

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

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

Val Smith Valerie Christine Smith (born 29 July 1965) is an international 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 medals ...

, 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, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

on the Gold Coast in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. A second national fours title was secured in 2020, playing alongside

Sandra Keith Sandra Keith (born 11 December 1980) is an Olympic Games biathlete for Team Canada. She was part of Canada's team in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Keith retired after the 2009–10 season. Personal life Sandra Keith was one of about 20 ...

, Clare Hendra, and Selina Smith. 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 e ...

in Australia but the event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. 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. She reached a career high ranking of world number 6 in September 2024. Bowls career Godda ...

, 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, Austra ...

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 Men's pairs Men's fours Women ...

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 The 2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship is the 14th edition of the World Bowls Championship, held on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia from 29 August to 10 September. The event was long-awaited by the sport because the 2020 World Out ...

. 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. After winning the 2024 New Zealand national indoor singles she subsequently won the bronze medal at the 2025 World Bowls Indoor Championships in Aberdeen.

References

External links

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