Not only is she one of the country’s brightest up and coming stars in the game, Tayla Bruce is also paving the way for other up and coming players in the Canterbury region.

Bruce and fellow Blackjack member Katelyn Inch (who is now based in the Gold Coast), co-created the Canterbury Youth Bowls Academy (CYBA) with the assistance of Bowls Canterbury at the beginning of the 2016/17 bowling season to provide a pathway for younger players in the Canterbury region.

CYBA is a volunteer based initiative designed to assist young players who are looking to further develop their skills and abilities with sessions that focus on team building, mental skills, nutrition, fitness, as well as on green skills and drills.

When starting up CYBA, she saw this as an opportunity to mix her passion for youth bowls and high performance sport so that there will be a group of talented young bowlers within Canterbury in the near future.

The 22 year-old has quite the resume of achievements and believes a big part of her successes is due to the opportunities she has been given as a younger player herself – “Throughout my nine years of bowling I have played for Canterbury and in the NZ Under 18, Development and Blackjacks team”.

Some of Bruce’s more recent achievements worth noting include being part of the recent Blackjacks team that was victorious in the Trans-Tasman Series across the ditch at the Broadbeach Bowling Club against Australia last month. Last season Bruce also won the National Club Championship Open Singles in Dunedin and was part of the winning fours team at the Heartland Bank National Open Championships held in New Plymouth at the beginning of this year.

If anyone in the Canterbury region is keen to come along or wants to find out more information about CYBA, feel free to contact Tayla through Bowls Canterbury on (03) 351 2050 or via email at admin@bowlscanterbury.co.nz