| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 22 February 1995 (age 29) Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Lawn bowls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Burnside Bowling Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National finals | Singles champion (2022) Pairs champion (2023) Fours champion (2017, 2020) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tayla Bruce (born 22 February 1995) is a New Zealand international lawn bowls player.
Born in Christchurch in 1995, Bruce plays for the Burnside Bowling Club.[1] She won the 2017 national women's fours title, in a team with Jo Edwards, Val Smith, and Kirsten Edwards.[2][3] At the annual Canterbury awards, she was named as sportswoman of the year and young player of the year.[4]
She was selected as part of the New Zealand team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland.[5]
A second national fours title was secured in 2020, playing alongside Sandra Keith, Clare Hendra, and Selina Smith.[6] During the same year she was selected for the 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
In 2022, she won her third national title after securing the singles crown.[8] Also in 2022, she competed in the women's triples and the women's fours at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[9] She won double bronze; in the triples playing with Nicole Toomey and Val Smith and in the fours, playing with Selina Goddard, Toomey and Smith.[10] In November 2022, she won the gold medal at the World Singles Champion of Champions in Wellington, New Zealand.[11]
In January 2023, Bruce won the New Zealand National Bowls Championships women's pairs title with Clare Hendra.[12]
Also in 2023, she was selected again as part of the team to represent New Zealand at the 2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship.[13] She participated in the women's singles and the women's triples events.[14][15] 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.[16] 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.
