There's a real buzz at Christchurch's Burnside Bowling Club and it's all centred around Tayla Bruce — the recently crowned women's singles world champion.
"The members here have seen me from a very shy not-so-trendy 13-year-old, not that I'm even trendy now," Bruce joked.
"I can tell they're proud of what I've achieved and they know they've had a part to play in that too."
For Bruce, bowls has largely been a hobby she's had to fit in around being a full-time primary school teacher.
Now 16 years on, she's been forced to cut back in order to pursure her sporting career.
"As athletes we always have choices we have to make along the way.
"I've tried a bit of everything at this point — full-time, relieving, release work, part-time — and I'm just finding out what works best for me," she said.
Post the World Championships on the Gold Coast, Bruce has made the decision to relief teach — allowing her the freedom to train and compete, but still earn a living.
"We are essentially a minority sport and we do have medal quotas we have to meet in order to maintain our funding.
"I don't think it'll ever increase which would be amazing (if it did) given how much our sport has grown," Bruce said.
Right now though, her focus is on preparing for the Kiwi summer season and with it, the next World Champs campaign. The goal is to defend her title in 2025, and hopefully compete at the 2026 Commonwealth games — though a venue is still yet to be decided.
"I hope there's a solution out there cause it's an opportunity for the Black Jacks to play as part of a New Zealand team which is really special," she said.
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