GoBowling.com, Brunswick Bowling And XBowling Combine To Bring The Experience Of Real-Time Bowling To The 2014 CMA Music Festival

ARLINGTON, Texas, June 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GoBowling.com is teaming up with Brunswick Bowling and XBowling to bring the sport of bowling to the 2014 CMA Music Festival in Nashville from June 5 to June 8. With a partnership between Country Music Association (CMA) and Sports Challenge Network, LLC (SCN), bowling lanes will be set up inside the AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X where celebrities and fans will have an opportunity to polish up on their bowling skills during the 4-day event.

"We are so excited for bowling to be a part of the 2014 CMA Music Festival and to bring together two of America's great passions," said Frank DeSocio, president of Strike Ten Entertainment (STE). STE is the centralized sponsor-activation arm for bowling and the creator of GoBowling.com, the top online destination for bowling fans.  "It brings the number one participatory sport in America to an audience of millions of bowling enthusiasts and country music fans in an interactive and exciting way."

Through the XBowling mobile platform, country music and bowling fans had their chance to vote for Country Music stars to bowl live inside AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X at the CMA Music Festival. Prior to the CMA Music Festival, fans had a chance to participate in the CMA XBowling Celebrity Challenge, a unique bowling experience featured on the XBowling app, through which fans had an opportunity to win a VIP Trip to the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, TN. In addition to the VIP Trip, fans had a chance to win four day passes to the CMA Music Festival and other prizes through entering sweepstakes and participating in skill-based bowling competitions.  

"Having the chance to set up bowling lanes at the festival will provide attendees the chance to knock down some pins while enjoying their favorite country music in a fun setting," added DeSocio. "Additionally, we are excited that a number of country music stars will be participating in a few rounds of bowling alongside fans throughout the festival."

Tim Minard, Founder and CEO of XBowling, went on to say, "Our partnerships with the bowling industry and now as a partner of the 2014 CMA Music Festival gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the unique engagement of the XBowling platform and recreate an actual bowling center experience for artists, fans and the industry at large." He later noted, "We are proud to be a part of a ground-breaking activation. We are revolutionizing the traditional bowling experience to keep up in the advanced technological world we are living in."

Brent Perrier, Brunswick Bowling Products' President commented, "Brunswick is proud to partner with XBowling and GoBowling.com to present bowling at Fan Fair X.  We hope our lane and pinsetter installation will show a completely new potential customer just how fun bowling can be."

Musicians set to make appearances inside the Fan Fair X to play against select winners include multi-platinum artists, Lonestar, Natalie Stovall & The Drive, George Ducas, David Shelby, The Henningsons, Trent Tomlinson, Lindsay Ell and Mark Wills. A portion of all proceeds from the 2014 CMA Music Festival provide support to the CMA Foundation

Detailed rules of the CMA Celebrity Challenge are available on XBowling's Facebook page and www.XBowling.com. To learn more about bowling and the 2,100+ bowling centers around the country, please visit www.GoBowling.com.

About GoBowling.com
GoBowling.com is the destination for bowling fans and enthusiasts seeking news and information about one of America's favorite pastimes and the nation's number one participatory sport.  With more than 69 million people taking to the lanes every year, GoBowling.com is a one-stop location where people of all ages can go to satisfy their love of bowling.  Consumers turn to GoBowling.com every day to find bowling fun – discovering new bowling centers, tips and tricks to use on the lanes, event news and great deals at more than 2,100+ family-friendly bowling centers across the country.

About Strike Ten Entertainment
Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, Strike Ten Entertainment is the centralized sponsor-activation arm of the bowling industry. Strike Ten Entertainment serves all organizations of bowling by coordinating the industry's sales and marketing efforts. Strike Ten Entertainment's mission is to increase national awareness of bowling and to assist the bowling industry in developing new bowlers and increasing the frequency of existing bowlers each year through promotions, publicity and industry-wide marketing initiatives.

About The CMA Music Festival
The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience began in 1972 as Fan Fair®, bringing 5,000 fans to Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. More than 40 years later, the now legendary festival has become the city's signature music event. In 2013, CMA Music Festival attracted more than 80,000 daily visitors from every state and two dozen foreign countries. CMA Music Festival is organized and produced by the Country Music Association. Fan Fair® is a registered trademark of CMA.

About XBowling
XBowling is a social mobile application that offers bowlers an opportunity to engage in new types of gaming experiences at bowling centers around the world.  Players can compete against each other in live Head to Head Challenges while bowling in the same center or different centers around the country and the world. They can also compete against games previously bowled and "posted" on the XBowling network.  Players can also enter "solo" Challenges, such as XBowl Mania, Lotto Bowl, or Beat Your Average, competing to achieve a certain game or frame result.  Players can win points every time they play through gameplay, skill, and social interactions that allow them to build their XBowling leaderboard status and redeem their accumulated points for great merchandise and sports gear through the app or the web.  Players can also use the XBowling platform to engage with celebrities through the VIB ("Very Important Bowler") section of the app, bowling in special Challenges for the right to participate in live celebrity events, such as celebrity bowling tournaments, or for the right to attend unique athletic and sporting events.

Over the last two years, the XBowling platform has recorded close to 1 billion balls thrown at XBowling-enabled centers. XBowling is currently available on Apple IoS and Google Android devices, via free downloads from the App Store and Google Play.

Bowling is the largest recreational sport in the world with over 130 million annual participants globally.  In the US alone, 70 million people bowl at least once a year, 10 million people bowl at least once a month, and millions of people bowl 7 million games each day.

About Sports Challenge Network 
Sports Challenge Network, LLC ("SCN") was established in 2010 with the goal of increasing participation and creating new types of experiences and competition within recreational sports by harnessing the power of mobile and social technology. SCN apps offer players and fans new game experiences through personalization, challenges and contests, rewards, and social connections. SCN will be the primary destination in the app universe, and on the Web, for fans, players, and other participants who want to compete and have fun with their favorite sports in new ways. More information can be found at XBowling.com, Twitter and Facebook.

About Brunswick Bowling & Billiards
Headquartered in Muskegon, Mich., Brunswick Bowling is a division of Brunswick Corporation, a leader in the recreation industry for more than 165 years. Founded in 1845 to make billiards tables, Brunswick Corporation is focused on bringing Genuine Ingenuity™ to everything it makes. Brunswick Bowling is a full-line supplier of bowling center equipment, supplies and consumer bowling products. Brunswick provides industry expertise, products, installation and maintenance for the development and renovation of new and existing centers as well as mixed-use facilities across the entertainment industry. For more information, visit http://www.brunswickbowling.com.

SOURCE GoBowling.com