TV bowling bonanza begins

Press, 29 January 1988, Page 15

TV bowling bonanza begins

The 1988 World Bowls Championships will be staged from January 30 to February 14 at the Henderson Bowling Club in Auckland, and Television New Zealand will be giving more than four hours coverage to every day’s play, plus an hour of highlights each evening. Triples and pairs will be played in the first week of the tournament, followed by the fours and singles in the second week, culminating in the singles final on the last day. The intention is to cover two matches each session; one basically for the domestic audience, the other for an international audience, thus fulfilling the role of host broadcaster. There will be three signals in continuous use

between Henderson and the Auckland studios in Shortland Street so that television can tell the full story of World Bowls. The all-up cost of staging the world event is a staggering $l.B million. It is estimated that accommodation and travel costs (the host country meets half) will exceed $420,000, while on-site facilities could cost as much as $750,000. The main commentators for the series will be Doug Armstrong and lan Birch, with assistance from the 8.8.C.’s David Rhys Jones, and comments from the coach of the English Bowling Association, Jimmy Davidson. Brendan Telfer, as frontperson, will introduce other guests and visitors involved in the event.