Victoria leads the way for live scoring
For those familiar with BVTV, last week’s nail-biting final end draw in the Premier Division clash between Clayton and Melbourne will have been something you’d come to expect in recent years. The high standard and tightness between the Metro Premier clubs is well known.
But last Friday was different – the ‘Classic at Clayton’ wasn’t the only game being eagerly followed online during the regular Friday night timeslot.
Altona and Yarraville fought it out to the final ends also, with Altona finally pipping their local rivals. Then there was last season’s Premiers, Deer Park, who hadn’t lost a Premier League game since November 5th, 2022, competing in an all-time classic against newcomers Moonee Valley.
For spectators right across the country, the ability to follow the three epic games, end-by-end across all rinks, was a welcome addition to live bowls.
This season, across both Weekend Metro Premier and Premier Reserve divisions, all rinks are being live scored, in real time, by the players.
Bundoora Side Manager, Damon Di Florio said of live scoring, “preparation is the key, and we used pre-season matches to trial the app scoring system”. He also mentioned benefits such as, “once each rink has concluded and the scorers have finalised their individual rinks, the game is finalised automatically, and the ladder populated”. This reduces the burden on managers logging into Bowlslink after the game, and additionally, a full digital scorecard of the game is kept on Bowlslink and can be used for analysis anytime in the future.
Pennant is not the first time you might have seen live scoring, BV used the system during the recent VBL2, where players scored all formats of the 5-a-side competition, as well as State Championship matches. Geelong Bowls Region have jumped on board and have the system a go during their pennant competitions.
We’d love to see more use of live scoring across Victoria, and we actively encourage Regions and Clubs to get in touch with the BV team so we can assist. It’s as simple as the second in each rink needing a phone and some quick training prior to a game. We’ve even put together a short how-to video to assist.
Much easier on your club and competition administrators, very easy for the players, and means your friends and clubmates can keep up with all the scores wherever they are. And it’s free!