Tuesday May 15, 2007
Live badminton action via the Net
BY NG WEI LOON
AUCKLAND: This season's KLRC New Zealand Open has not only received a timely boost from title sponsor KLRC Bhd for the US$50,000 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Grand Prix status tournament.
In a bid to create greater awareness and a larger following for the tournament scheduled at the Auckland Badminton Hall in Gillies Avenue from tomorrow to Sunday, the organisers have embraced state-of-art technology to reach out to badminton enthusiasts worldwide.
Via the Internet, fans can get live coverage of the biggest shuttling event hosted in the Oceania region for the season.
"We are always looking into new ways to promote the game here," said Badminton NZ executive director Peter Dunne.
While the first couple fo days is free, the subscription fee for the three-day live screening connection from Friday to Sunday is US$10.
Three cameras will be set up at the three-court arena to capture the proceedings.
"Besides free viewing on Thursday, it will be also be available for free on Wednesday provided that the system is up and running by then. Our aim is to generate more exposure for the game," said Z-Cam managing director Aaron Crabb, adding that the idea is on trial for badminton as a build-up to the World Junior Championships to be hosted in Auckland, New Zealand from Oct 28 to Nov 4.
Dunne added that they are still finalising details with Sky Sport to show the delay telecast of the finals on Sunday.
For more details, visit
www.klrcnzopen.com or
www.planetstream.tv.