WBT & PBANews Howard Harding rounds up the latest news and goings-on from the game’s two top associations
The Scottish International Open saw the launch of a WBT Facebook page
WBT unveils first-ever App
for iPhone The World Bowls Tour has launched a new ‘app’, which can be downloaded for the iPhone and iPad. The app, priced at just 69p, allows users around the world to picture themselves with one of the WBT’s trophies.
WBT CEO Richard Maddieson said: “In joint collaboration with our newest commercial partner, Rosetta Apps, we have already seen 250 downloads of our app, which is encouraging. This is currently just a bit of inexpensive fun and feedback from those that have downloaded it seems to be good.
WBT arrives on Facebook T
he 2011 Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish International Open - the
curtain-raising event for the current World Bowls Tour season - included the launch of the new WBT Facebook page, with some incredible results.
The page launched on the first day of the tournament and scores were posted at the end of set of the opening matches. However, it soon became apparent from immediate responses and feedback that users wanted even more.
With people logging-on from Australia, USA, Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, The Bahamas, Papua New Guinea and even the Falkland Islands, it became rapidly fun and interesting. Towards the end of the
tournament, the site had proved so popular and demand for up-to-the- minute news had become so high
that results were being posted on an end-by-end basis, World Bowls Tour CEO Richard Maddieson explains: “By the end of the week, we had logged in over 1,118 requests and, on my return to my little office on Monday morning, I found I had over 240 emails with questions that needed answers from right around the globe. “It is my hope that we can continue with this service in January at the World Championships and that we can build a huge worldwide following.
“I have been asked why we are doing it. Well, apart from a simple scores service, we hope to develop this as part of our marketing for the sport of bowls.
“Over the last 18 months, when I have been out there pounding the doors to look for new sponsorship, one of the first questions most corporate bodies ask these days is,
Tour’s social networking launch proves to be a massive success
‘Are you on Facebook and Twitter?’ and, soon after that, ‘How many followers have you got?’. Up until the Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish International Open, the answers to these questions were always ‘no’ and ‘none’. “The large corporate entities seem to place a large value on these social networking tools as, up to this year when we launched it, WBT did not have Facebook or Twitter and this appeared to be a problem. It is my hope that, with all the bowlers we have out there, we can build upon this and, hopefully, look to develop more sponsors with the aim of staging more tournaments, not just in the UK, but also abroad. “Twitter will follow but we need to get Facebook going first. I am quite excited about bringing bowls onto the internet and other electronic media over the next 12 months.”
“Over the next few months, this app will hopefully be extended to also link into internet card shops, such as
Moonpig.com and other sites. We will also then extend this into the Android phone market.
“Longer term, we will look at streaming and downloads direct to your phone. These are exciting times and bowls needs to embrace this new world of media with both hands.” You can check out the app on the World Bowls Tour website, www.worldbowls
tour.com
NationwideBowler 79
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