70 hours bowls coverage on TV

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 31

70 hours bowls coverage on TV

PA Auckland One of the intriguing questions attached to the the sixth world lawn bowls championships begining today is whether Aucklanders will throng to fill the 5000 bucket-type seats which have been put up around the Henderson club’s 4.x 120 feet greens. After the official opening by the Governor-General, Sir Paul Reeves, at midday, competition from television will be severe and sustained. More than 70 hours of live coverage will be provided by Television One on each playing afternoon until the end of the tournament on February 14. Apart from rest days on February 3 and 10, the cameras will be grinding

each day, usually from I p.m. until 6 p.m. On the last two days, when the championships in the singles and fours will be contested, television coverage will begin at 11 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. One of the largest sponsorships in New Zealand sporting history, $680,000, has been pledged by the Bank of New Zealand. In return, the tournament is to be known as the B.N.Z. 1988 World Bowls Championships. The association, or rather its appointed representative, World Bowls NZ (1988) Ltd, has been required to fund all travel and half the accommodation costs of the record number of twenty-three teams in the tournament.