Current flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation
The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. Attendance at the Commonwealth Games is typically around 5,000 athletes. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is the organisation that is responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games.
The first such event, then known as the British Empire Games, was held in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1974.
As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball.
There are currently 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and 71 teams participate in the Games. The four constituent countries of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from the British Crown dependencies—Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man—and many of the British overseas territories. The Australian external territory of Norfolk Island also sends its own team, as do the Cook Islands and Niue, two non-sovereign states in free association with New Zealand.
Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest scoring team for ten games, England for seven and Canada for one.
At the 1930 games, women competed in Swimming and Diving only. In 1934 women competed in some Athletics events also.
Origins
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. The name of the event was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the flag was retired as a result.
A sporting competition bringing together the members of the British Empire was first proposed by the 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, Melville Marks (Bobby) Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games. These were held in Hamilton, Ontario two years later.
Opening ceremony traditions
- From 1930 through 1950, the parade of nations was led by a single flagbearer carrying the Union Flag, symbolising 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.
- All other nations march in English alphabetical order, except that the first nation marching in the Parade of Athletes is the host nation of the previous games, and the host nation of the current games marches last. In 2006 countries marched in alphabetical order in geographical regions.
- 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.
Boycotts
The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympic Games, has also suffered from political boycotts. Nigeria boycotted the 1978 Games in protest of New Zealand's sporting contacts with apartheid-era South Africa, and 32 of 59 nations from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean boycotted the 1986 Commonwealth Games due to the Thatcher government's attitude towards South African sporting contacts. Boycotts were also threatened in 1974, 1982, and 1990 because of South Africa.
Editions
British Empire Games
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
British Commonwealth Games
Flag of the
British Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
 1978 Commonwealth Games - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 1982 Commonwealth Games - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 1986 Commonwealth Games - Edinburgh, Scotland,  United Kingdom 1990 Commonwealth Games - Auckland, New Zealand- 1994 Commonwealth Games - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
 1998 Commonwealth Games - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2002 Commonwealth Games - Manchester, England, United Kingdom- 2006 Commonwealth Games - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
 2010 Commonwealth Games - Delhi, India- 2014 Commonwealth Games - Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
- 2018 Commonwealth Games - Host city to be announced in 2011.
List of nations/dependencies to compete
Nations/dependencies that have competed
 Aden1 1962 Anguilla 1982, 1998— Antigua and Barbuda 1966–1970, 1978, 1994—- Australia 1930—
 Bahamas 1954–1970, 1978–1982, 1990— Bangladesh 1978, 1990— Barbados 1954–1966, 1970–1982, 1990— Belize 1978, 1994— Bermuda 1930–1938, 1954–1982, 1990— Botswana 1974, 1982— British Guiana² 1930–1938, 1954–1962 British Honduras³ 1962–1966 British Virgin Islands 1990— Brunei Darussalam 1958, 1990— Cameroon 1998—- Canada 1930—
 Cayman Islands 1978— Ceylon4 1938–1950, 1958–1970 Cook Islands 1974–1978, 1986— Cyprus 1978–1982, 1990— Dominica 1958–1962, 1970, 1994—- England 1930—
 Falkland Islands 1982— Fiji 1938, 1954–1986, 1998— The Gambia 1970–1982, 1990— Ghana 1958–1982, 1990— Gibraltar 1958— Gold Coast5 1954 Grenada 1970–1974, 1994— Guernsey 1970— Guyana 1966–1970, 1978–1982, 1990— Hong Kong6 1934, 1954–1962, 1970–1994- India 1934–1938, 1954–1958, 1966–1982, 1990—
 Irish Free State7 1934 Isle of Man 1958— Jamaica 1934, 1954–1982, 1990— Jersey 1958— Kenya 1954–1982, 1990— Kiribati 1998— Lesotho 1974— Malawi12 1970— Malaya8 1950, 1958–1962- Malaysia 1966–1982, 1990—
 Maldives 1986— Malta 1958–1962, 1970, 1982—
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 Mauritius 1958, 1966–1982, 1990— Montserrat 1994— Mozambique 1998— Namibia 1994— Nauru 1990— Newfoundland9 1930–1934- New Zealand 1930—
 Nigeria 1950–1958, 1966–1974, 1982, 1990–1994, 2002— Niue 2002— Norfolk Island 1986— North Borneo8 1958–1962 Northern Ireland7 1930–1938, 1954— Northern Rhodesia10 1954 Pakistan 1954–1970, 1990— Papua New Guinea 1962–1982, 1990— Rhodesia11 1934–1950 Rhodesia and Nyasaland10 1958–1962 Saint Helena 1982, 1998— Saint Kitts and Nevis (Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla 1978), 1990— Saint Lucia 1962, 1970, 1978, 1994— Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1958, 1966–1978, 1994— Samoa and Western Samoa 1974—- Scotland 1930—
 Seychelles 1990— Sierra Leone 1966–1970, 1978, 1990— Singapore8 1958— Solomon Islands 1982, 1990— South Africa 1930–1958, 1994— South Arabia1 1966 Southern Rhodesia10 1954 Sri Lanka 1974–1982, 1990— Swaziland 1970— Tanganyika13 1962 Tanzania 1966–1982, 1990— Tonga 1974, 1982, 1990— Trinidad and Tobago 1934–1982, 1990— Turks and Caicos Islands 1978, 1998— Tuvalu 1998— Uganda 1954–1982, 1990— Vanuatu 1982— Wales 1930— Zambia12 1970–1982, 1990— Zimbabwe12,14 1982, 1990–2002
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Notes:
1: Aden became South Arabia which left the Commonwealth in 1968.
2: Became Guyana in 1966.
3: Became Belize in 1973.
4: Became Sri Lanka in 1972.
5: Became Ghana in 1957.
6: Left the Commonwealth when handed over to China in 1997.
7: Ireland was represented as the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland in 1934. The Irish Free State , subsequently known as Eire (1937 to 1948), left the Commonwealth as the Republic of Ireland on January 1 1949.
8: Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore federated as Malaysia in 1963. Singapore left the federation in 1965.
9: Joined Canada in 1949.
10: Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia federated with Nyasaland from 1953 as Rhodesia and Nyasaland which lasted till 1963.
11: Divided into Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia in 1953.
12: Competed from 1958–1962 as part of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
13: Zanzibar and Tanganyika federated to form Tanzania in 1964.
14: Withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003.
Commonwealth nations/dependencies yet to send teams
Very few Commonwealth dependencies and nations have yet to take part.
 Tokelau is expected to take part in the 2010 Games in Delhi.
 The Pitcairn Islands' tiny population (50 as of July 2007) would appear to prevent the country from competing.
- It is also conceivable that any future members of the Commonwealth such as applicants
 Rwanda and  Yemen may participate in future games.
List of sports at the Commonwealth Games
The current regulations state that a minimum of ten and no more than fifteen sports must be included in a Commonwealth Games schedule. There is a list of core sports, which must be included, and a further list of approved sports from which the host nation may choose to include. The host nation may also apply for the inclusion of other team sports to the CGF General Assembly, as the Melbourne organising committee did with basketball for the 2006 Games.
The current core sports consist of athletics, aquatics (swimming, diving and synchronised swimming), lawn bowls, netball (for women) and rugby sevens (for men). These will all remain core sports until at least the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The approved list of sports also includes archery, badminton, billiards and snooker, boxing, canoeing, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, ten-pin bowling, triathlon, weightlifting, and wrestling. Some of these are often included in the programme, while others, like billiards and sailing, have not yet been approved.
In 2002, the CGF introduced the David Dixon Award for the outstanding athlete of the Games.
There is also a requirement to include some events for Elite Athletes with a Disability (EAD). This was introduced in the 2002 Games.citation needed
On November 18, 2006, tennis and archery were added to the list of disciplines for the 2010 games in New Delhi, bringing the total number of sports to 17. Billiards and snooker were considered but not accepted.
Sports currently included
The years, in brackets, show when the sports have appeared at the games.
Events on hiatus
Events which have not yet been held
See also
External links
Official games sites
Countries
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