Tayla Bruce is interviewed after winning the World Bowls Champion of Champion Singles Women’s final. Photo / www.photosport.nz
Tayla Bruce is interviewed after winning the World Bowls Champion of Champion Singles Women’s final. Photo / www.photosport.nz
Tayla Bruce was just 12 years old when she fell instantly in love with bowls and set her sights on becoming a world champion.
The 28-year-old from Christchurch fulfilled her dream this month when she won the world singles title on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the third Kiwi woman to reachthat pinnacle.
Bruce was a shy kid with a sporting passion who has blossomed over her bowls career and lets nothing get in her way. Bruce’s journey even included having to quit her job as a teacher this year, when she was denied the leave she needed to take part in the world championships.
This is very much a dream come true. I had a taste of this when I won the World Champion of Champions title last year, which I qualified for by winning the New Zealand singles title.
Tayla Bruce competes against Fiji in the women's fours bronze medal match at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Photo / www.photosport.nz
But this is the true pinnacle of our sport because you are selected to represent your country.
Being the person I am, there is always something more you can look forward to.
Have you always been a driven person?
I’ve always wanted to be the best version of myself, in my personal life and career.
Bowls has definitely helped me grow. As a kid, I was very shy. Now here I am, travelling the world with a team, not even thinking twice about it.
I even enjoy the challenge of putting myself out there for things like interviews.
It all started when you went with your dad to the World Bowls championships at Burnside in 2008…
The minute I walked through those gates I wanted to be like those players, even though I didn’t know much about the event itself.
It was literally that moment – I thought, ‘Wow, how cool is this? I’d love to do this one day’, even though I’d never picked up a bowl before.
All the flags, different countries, uniforms… and young players like Kelsey Cottrell particularly got my attention. She was a 17-year-old playing for Australia, and I found that inspirational. I never looked back.
I apparently had a very natural delivery and instinct for the game, and I guess that was fortunate given I was so interested in the sport.
Teenage heroes?
Female youth bowlers… someone like Mandy Boyd comes to mind. She showed us a pathway from age group teams to the Blackjacks. She was an inspiration for a lot of us. You come across many people who are inspiring in different ways. I enjoy looking up to other people, in bowls and other sports.
Has bowls been a leader in terms of sporting equality for women?
I’m not too sure about that… I do know that many years ago, the clubs were separated into men and women.
At these world championships, it wasn’t just the genders together. We had vision-impaired and para-athletes in our team.
Leading up to the event, we were under the same head coach. Sometimes we had games together and had meetings as a whole group. We were one big unit here to play our best and support each other. That’s what is so awesome about bowls - it is so inclusive.
I was very inspired by Teri Blackbourn and Julie O’Connell winning that gold in the para pairs. Overcoming the challenges, they facelifted our whole team.
I just think bowls is an incredible game for anyone. You can make it social, or a bit competitive; you can be a para-athlete, deaf or blind. It is all there for us.
I understand that going to these world championships had a significant impact on your employment as a primary school teacher…
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get leave for this event, so I resigned from my fulltime teaching position.
The three weeks of leave I applied for were declined by the board, and there was no way I was not going to the world championships.
Luckily, there are options for relieving teaching at the same school, but technically, I’m unemployed at the moment.
It is hard juggling sport and a career, especially in a sport where we are not professionals. We are constantly looking for that work-life-personal balance.
Things happen in life that are unexpected - all I can do is accept the situation and make it work from there.
How do the kids you teach respond to your success?
I’ve had something sent through from them and I think they are super-excited. I teach 9 and 10-year-olds, and a lot of them play sports themselves. They seem pretty proud when I am out representing New Zealand, which is lovely.
One kid once showed me his football medal and said, ‘It’s like yours’ - that connection is really nice. I hope that it inspires them to pursue their dreams.
Top bowlers have a strong connection to lower levels of the sport…
Bowls is such a tight-knit community. The clubs are key parts of the community, and bring people together.
We feel really connected… I play with and against club members. When I was growing up, I could play against Val Smith at the nationals - there are not many sports where you can play against your country’s best in a normal event.
Bowls is very connected to the community, and it helps us to succeed because we know that support is behind us, which is really special.
Do you have any special interests?
I really enjoy drawing, and last year I was doing some commissioned portraits of pets, in charcoal. Quite a few were for people from the bowling community, plus family and friends, and also people I don’t know.
Art is something I’ve always loved. Bowlers were quite surprised that I could draw, but art is something I have been able to do since I was young. To me, it’s weirder that I can play bowls.
Back to bowls - there must have been times when that world title dream felt very elusive.
You always question whether you are good enough to achieve something like that.
Sport is hard. There are so many highs and lows. I’ve played something like nine national finals and won only four.
There are times when you want to quit because it is so challenging. You make all these choices with your career and life - it is all worth it when you overcome those barriers and have a taste of reaching that pinnacle. That’s something I’m super proud of.
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
