Australian Premier League reins in new era for the sport of bowls
The conventional perception of lawn bowls will be turned on its head when the inaugural $100,000 Australian Premier League is unveiled at Brisbane’s Club Pine Rivers tomorrow (19/11). The innovative format of competition makes no apologies for drawing comparison to cricket’s T20 Big Bash League, with lightning fast matches, impactful results, and an electrifying atmosphere culminating in product that aims to win over a new audience of sports loving spectators while also appealing to a generation of youth encapsulated with the barefoot bowls phenomenon. Staged from Tuesday through to Friday, November 22, the city versus city competition brings together teams from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and across-the‐ditch rivals New Zealand, whilst signaling in a new era of unprecedented media exposure. Over 30 hours of APL content will be televised across the four days of play, with prime-time live coverage on Fox Sports 2 nationwide and Sky TV NZ, in addition to replays repeated the following day, marking only the second occasion in the sport’s rich history to venture in to live broadcasts. Boasting nearly a million regular participants throughout Australia each year, the innovative event will also help propel a new fast‐paced format of bowls into club‐land, called Jack Attack, aspiring to bridge the gap between non‐competitive forms like barefoot bowls and traditional pennant matches. Entry to the Australian Premier League at Club Pine Rivers is free of charge, and broadcast live on Fox Sports 2 from 5.00‐9.30pm AEST from November 19 to 22. To keep up-to-date with all the action from the inaugural Australian Premier League, visit www.australianpremierleague.com.au, follow @APLbowls on Twitter and ‘like’ www.facebook.com/AustralianPremierLeague
