Billie Wallace kneels down to bowl her first bowl.

She’s not only concentrating on the line, but she’s also trying extra hard to keep her balance.

That’s because her left arm is in a sling.

The 12-year-old indoor bowler broke her arm just a week before her first Zespri AIMS Games competition.

She did it while playing with friends and was accidentally pushed over.

But it hasn’t stopped her taking part in the intermediate-age sporting tournament with her Mount Maunganui Intermediate School team.

“I kind of just had to learn how to do it properly without balancing myself with the other arm,” she said.

It’s her first year at AIMS and her first time learning indoor bowls.

“I just wanted to be part of a team.”

It is pairs day at indoor bowls in the Mercury Baypark Stadium Lounge and Wallace is about to take the mat with fellow Mount Maunganui Intermediate pupil Lola Mann, 11.

Wallace bowls first and her ball stops right next to the jack. She looks up at her bowling partner Mann who gives her a clap.

The next bowl doesn’t go so well, but the pair shake it off and have a giggle at themselves. They’re having fun and working as a team.

“Our goal was to keep talking to each other,” Mann said. “It’s been really fun.”

The Mount Intermediate indoor bowls team has been practising for a few months and had 24 pupils taking part in the AIMS Games competition.

Layla Downey, 12, said she had loved being part of the week-long event.

“It’s been cool meeting new people from other schools, hanging out with my friends, and watching them play.”

-Zoe Hunter, AIMS Games Media