And she is is still only 16 years of age.

Lauren is a champion junior lawn bowler.

The Katherine High School student is representing the NT in the Under 18s National Lawn Bowls Championships this week.

Because there are so few of her quality, the small NT team is combining with the Western Australian team to take part in the championships being held in Adelaide.

Lauren says because of her age, and if she keeps her form up, she could potentially take part in her sixth consecutive titles in 2017.

Lauren admits some of her friends and school mates questioned her determination to take up the sport when she was just 10 years old.

“I was encouraged by a friend to go along to have a go at the Katherine bowls club and I was hooked,” she said.

Within a year, she was representing the NT.

“It was, and I suppose it still is, seen as an old person’s sport,” she said.

“But it is not as easy as people think.

“There is a lot of strategy and a lot of skill that goes into each game.”

Lauren said when she began in the sport some of her mates “thought it was a bit weird” but now they respect her achievements in the sport.

She likes to play pairs as her favourite event, and has often teamed up successfully with Katherine star Bronwyn Chandler.

“She has been very encouraging and patient as a teacher,” Lauren said.

Lauren hopes to keep improving to first keep her spot in the NT squad and then progress her ultimate aim of secure a hard-to-get spot in the Australian junior squad.

“There’s about 50 of us in the state squads and they only take about 10 in the national squad so the competition is pretty hot,” she said.

Lauren trains almost every night at the Katherine Lawn Bowls Club.

Most nights Lauren is at the club for at least several hours which can be heavy commitment on a young athlete who must also keep up with increasingly heavy academic studies.

“It can get a bit hot when competing some weekends and when it rains it’s a real challenge but I hope to be able to keep going.”