Successfully conquering a dreaded 7-10 split on the tenpin lanes is a hard enough task for anyone, but for local bowler Donna Holland, there is an added challenge.

"I'm vision-impaired," says Donna, who can still make out shapes and determine length in her central vision, but these days bowls with the assistance of a 'spotter'.

"They have all got numbers," says Donna, explaining that the position of each tenpin in a frame can be identified by a number one to ten. "So, if I've bowled the first bowl and need to come back and get whatever pins are left, my spotter tells me what numbers it is, like 4-7... So then I just go try and get them. That's what I've been doing since NDIS, but before that, I had to do it myself. This is much better, and I like having somebody there."

Growing up with a significant vision impairment, Donna Holland says she had never really considered that playing sport was an option for her. Attending a Blind Society camp at Narrabeen some 33 years ago, Donna was introduced to tenpin bowling and she was immediately hooked.

"As soon as we came back, I went and saw Aldo and Marissa (at Orange Tenpin) and that's how it started!" she says.

Donna has since become one of the best bowlers in her class in Australia and, over the past 30 years, has brought home a haul of medals from events all over Australia and the world.

"I've won 13 medals this year!" says Donna, running through her recent winning record at local events and competitions in Sydney, Canberra and even in Western Australia.

But tenpin bowling has taken Donna much further than she ever expected, having competed in and won at international events including the World Blind Games in Helsinki (Finland), Orlando (Florida, USA), and in South Korea.

"No, I never thought that it would take me around the world, and it's nearly taken me all around Australia," says Donna, who celebrated her 63rd birthday on Monday.

"I've played in Western Australia four times, South Australia, Tasmania, Canberra, all around NSW, Queensland... so nearly all around Australia! But I love it and I love the competition!"