Co-operative Funeralcare bowls the "Waterloo Handicap" back onto TV
The Co-operative Funeralcare has agreed a sponsorship deal to bring the much loved Waterloo Crown Green Bowls Tournament back to TV screens across the UK
As a result of The Co-operative Funeralcare's sponsorship, this year's handicap finals will receive live uninterrupted TV coverage on free to view channel ITV4 from 10am to 5pm on September 15th and 16th. ITV4 will also air a series of highlight programmes summarising the day's events.
A firm part of the UK's heritage, the Waterloo Crown Green Bowls tournament has been in existence since 1907. Crown Green Bowls remains a much loved sporting tradition in communities throughout the UK, watched and played by over 150,000 officially registered members of The British Crown Green Bowling Association (BCGBA) across over 2,540 affiliated clubs.
Speaking of the £50,000 sponsorship deal, John Taylor, Community Engagement Manager for The Co-operative Funeralcare, said: "We've long supported the bowls as a sporting tradition at the heart of thousands of communities across the UK. We hope that this new sponsorship will come as a further boost not just to bowling but also to local communities by encouraging thousands of viewers to also get directly involved with their local bowls club."
Mel Evans, BCGBA Commercial Officer, feels this is exactly what the sport needs. Mel said
"This is the best news Crown Green Bowling has received for many years. We have been in discussion with ITV4 and The Co-operative Funeralcare for some time and are delighted that the sponsorship is now in place." Mel added "It's been 26 years since the sport has been on terrestrial television and hopefully this will attract newcomers to Crown Green Bowls."
Mark Audin, Waterloo Bowls Manager, said "Crown Green Bowls needed television coverage to bring it back into the public eye so this is fantastic news." He added "We now need the Crown Green fraternity to come along and support the Waterloo - let's get a big crowd in the stadium to show the public what a unique atmosphere Crown Green Bowls can generate."
The last "32 rounds" of the competition start on Monday 14th September and will be streamed live by Globegig Media TV on www.globegig.com/live-event-room with the site also featuring the Finals draw live on Friday August 28th at 7.30pm.
Pitchcare have been assisting the famous Waterloo green with product provision in advance of the Waterloo Handicap Championship.