Hopton event's TV boost


24 November 2009 07:00

The Norfolk-based World Indoor Bowls Championships received a further boost when the BBC unveiled plans to increase coverage of next year's Hopton event.

The event is broadcast live around the globe as 75 players from around the world - including the UK, South Africa, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and the USA do battle.

The BBC has confirmed that coverage of the championships, hosted and sponsored by Potters Leisure Resort, will be extended to a full week (Monday, 18 to Sunday, January, 24).

It will be the 12th year that Potters has hosted the championship, which is organised by World Bowls Tour. Recognised as the most prestigious event within the sport of bowls, the three-week festival - featuring the World Singles and World Pairs (both open to men and women) and the World Mixed Pairs Matchplay and Ladies World Matchplay - is set to be more exciting than ever before.

Brian Potter, chairman of Potters Leisure Resort, who was responsible for turning the venue into the Wimbledon of the bowls world, said: "The BBC's decision to extend its coverage of the championship is fantastic news for us and for bowls fans, who will be able to see many more games from the comfort of their living rooms.

"We've invested heavily in our facilities over recent years in order to ensure our international arena can compete with the best sporting venues in the world. We're proud that players enjoy coming here and that we have been able to work with the World Bowls Tour to make the World Indoor Championships an event which attracts top professional bowlers from all over the world."

Another change for the 2009/2010 bowls season is the introduction of the UK Tourcard by the Professional Bowls Association. Since the launch of the World Bowls Tour in 1997, automatic entry to its events has been limited to the world's top ranked players with individual qualifying competitions for each event staged for PBA members all over the world.

The new initiative, introduced in the UK this year, gives winners of each event qualifier the chance to compete for two Tourcard places in all three World Bowls Tour rankings events in the forthcoming season. The first two players to secure their Tourcard places were Nick Brett, from Ely, and Scottish teenager Jamie Hanlan.

The Potters event highlight is the singles championship, the blue riband WBT event.

The field includes the world's top 20 bowlers, of which the top 16 are seeded, who will be joined by 28 qualifiers.

Last year's winner, Billy Jackson, will be hoping to repeat his 2009 victory but he will face stiff competition from a strong East Anglian contingent including Mark Royal (Stowmarket), Greg Harlow (Ely) and Mervyn King (Fakenham). Norfolk's Tim Stone (Acle) will also be back at Potters as a qualifier. And for the first time in World Indoor Bowls history, two female players will be competing in the Open event - Ruthy Gilor from Israel and Dee McSparran from the USA.

Ü Day tickets for the event start at £5 and can be ordered by calling 01502 730345. Short breaks are also available during the competition starting at £129 per person.

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