Signal (29), a groundsman with the Wellington City Council, often finds work commitments conflict with his ambition to represent New Zealand at bowls.
His job in the summer months is to prepare pitches for Wellington cricket and these duties sometimes clash with competitive bowls.
Signal put his job first three years ago when he thought he would be overseeing the Karori Park pitch for the first-class cricket match between Wellington and Central Districts.
"But Wellington Cricket switched the game to another venue because the ground was not up to standard," Signal said.
It enabled him to get a late entry for the Eastbourne Invitation Fours and win the final 23-22 against a star-studded international team comprising Canadian representative Ryan Bester, New Zealand World Bowls champions Gary Lawson and Andrew Todd, and former New Zealand team manager Peter Kean 23-22.
It marked an important breakthrough in Signal's bowls career and thrust him into the radar of the New Zealand selection panel.
Signal is a loyal member of the Stokes Valley Bowling Club and likes to play in the Wellington interclub competition on Saturday mornings.
"It means I have to get another colleague to work on Saturday mornings to look after the cricket pitches," he said.
"The Wellington City Council are very good about my bowls and let me go to the Asia and Pacific mixed triples championships in Malaysia during the Rugby World Cup."
The New Zealand team of Chris le Lievre, Raelene Peters and Signal won the bronze medal.
His work as a groundsman has made Signal more aware of the small changes that occur on bowling greens during a game.
"I did a lot of study of bowling greens during my training and it's made me more attuned and better able to adjust to what happens during a game," he said.
Signal was introduced to bowls at 17 by his father, Brian Signal.
"Dad taught me the basics and has given me a passion for the game," he said. "He still has a passion for bowls after 35 years and I'm following in his footsteps."
He showed talent from the start and finished runner-up to Raika Gregory in the New Zealand under-19 singles in his second year in the sport.
He was a member of the New Zealand under-25 team that competed against Australia in the transtasman test series on two occasions.
The highlight of his bowls career was to win his first New Zealand open title in the fours in Wellington last year.
"It meant a lot to me because I was playing at home," he said.
"I was also playing with my good friends Alvin Gardiner and Clint Carroll."
