Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games is a
multi-sport event held every four years involving the elite athletes of
The Commonwealth. The first such event, then known as the
British Empire Games, was held in
1930. The name changed to
British Empire and Commonwealth Games in
1954, to
British Commonwealth Games in
1970 and assumed the current name in
1978.
As well as many
Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as
lawn bowls and
netball.
Unlike other regional games of this type (i.e.,
Pan-American Games,
Asian Games,
All-Africa Games) which usually attract second-tier athletes, the Commonwealth Games attracts the top athletes of member nations of the Commonwealth, thus making this competition world-rate in the true sense of the word (second only to the
Olympic Games). Attendance is typically around 5,000 athletes, which puts these games in third place behind the Olympics and the
World Police & Fire Games.
Despite this, the Commonwealth games have still not been free from criticism. Medal counts in the Commonwealth Games tend to be heavily slanted towards the largest, industralized nations such as
Canada and
Australia. It is thus been claimed that the Commonwealth Games are quite one-sided and serve as little more than an easy ego-stroking victory for these nations. Much like the Commonwealth itself, the games also face increasing questions of justifying their contemporary relevance in changing world.
The constituent parts of the
United Kingdom —
England,
Scotland,
Wales and
Northern Ireland — send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from
crown dependencies such as the
Isle of Man and
Jersey.
Only six nations have attended every Commonwealth Games:
Australia,
Canada,
England,
New Zealand,
Scotland and
Wales.
The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympic Games, has also suffered the spectre of political
boycotts.
Nigeria boycotted the
1978 Commonwealth Games because of New Zealand's sporting contacts with
South Africa, and in the biggest political threat to the future of the games, 32 nations from
Africa,
Asia, and the
Caribbean boycotted the
1986 Commonwealth Games because of England's attitude to South African sporting contacts, thus reducing the number of competing nations to 27. Boycott threats also hung over the Games in
1974,
1982, and
1990, because of South Africa.
On a smaller scale, a lot of people dislike the idea of the Games because of their imperialistic, and hence essentially, some say,
racist background. However, most people eventually get caught up in the enthusiasm of the event, and athletes themselves are overall pleased to have another big event on their calendars, and hence another chance to win medals.
A sporting competition bringing together the members of the
British Empire was first proposed by Reverend Astley Cooper in
1891 when he wrote an article in
The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing the goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire".
In
1911, the
Festival of the Empire was held in
London to celebrate the
coronation of King
George V. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championships was held in which teams from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom competed in events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming and athletics.
In
1928, Bobby Robinson of Canada was asked to organize the first British Empire Games. These were held in Hamilton two years later.
*From
1930 through
1950, the parade of nations was lead by a single flagbearer carrying the
Union Jack, symbolizing Britain's leading role in the British Empire.
*Since
1958, there has been a relay of athletes carrying a baton from
Buckingham Palace to the Opening Ceremony. This baton has within it the Queen's Message of Greeting to the athletes. The baton's final bearer is usually a famous sporting personage of the host nation.
*The first nation marching in the
Parade of Athletes is the host nation of the previous games. The host nation of the current games marches last. All other nations march in alphabetical order.
*Three national flags fly from the stadium on the poles that are used for medal ceremonies: Previous Host nation, Current Host nation, Next Host nation.
*The
Military is more active in the Opening Ceremony than in the
Olympic Games. This is to honour the British Military traditions of the Old Empire.
 |
The Empire Games flag was donated in 1930 by the British Empire Games Association of Canada the year and location of subsequent games were added until the 1950 games after which the name of the event was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the flag retired. |
 |
British Commonwealth Games seal |
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Commonwealth Games Federation seal, adopted in 2001 |
British Empire Games
*
1930 British Empire Games Hamilton,
Ontario,
Canada
*
1934 British Empire Games London, England
*
1938 British Empire Games Sydney, Australia
*
1950 British Empire Games Auckland, New Zealand
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
*
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada
*
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Cardiff, Wales
*
1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Perth, Australia
*
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Kingston, Jamaica
British Commonwealth Games
*
1970 British Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland
*
1974 British Commonwealth Games Christchurch, New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
*
1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton,
Alberta,
Canada
*
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia
*
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland
*
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand
*
1994 Commonwealth Games Victoria,
British Columbia, ,
Canada
*
1998 Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, England
*
2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia
*
2010 Commonwealth Games New Delhi, India
Years in brackets show when the sports appeared at the games.
2006 Commonwealth Games
*
Aquatics (1930-)
**
Swimming
**
Synchronised Swimming
**
Diving
**
Water Polo
*
Athletics (Men: 1930-, Women: 1934-)
*
Badminton (1966-)
*
Basketball (2006-)
*
Boxing (1930-)
*
Cycling (1934-)
*
Gymnastics (1978, 1990-)
*
Hockey (1998-)
*
Lawn Bowls (1930-, but not 1966)
*
Netball (1998-)
*
Rugby Sevens (1998-)
*
Shooting (1966, 1974-)
*
Squash (1998-)
*
Table Tennis (2002-)
*
Triathlon (2002-)
*
Weightlifting (1950-, but not 1998)
*Events for Athletes with a Disability - EAD (2002-)
**
Athletics
**
Swimming
**
Table Tennis
**
Powerlifting
Discontinued events
*
Archery (1982)
*
Cricket (1998)
*
Fencing (1950-1970)
*
Judo (1990, 2002)
*
Rowing (1930, 1938-1962, 1986)
*
Tenpin Bowling (1998)
*
Jeux de la Francophonie
*
Commonwealth Games Official Site
*
Melbourne 2006 Official Site
*
Manchester 2002 Official Site
*
Flags and Emblems of the Commonwealth Games Evolution of the emblems of the Games
*
The Empire Strikes Back 2002 Australian radio programme (with transcript) on the history and future of the "friendly games".
