Commonwealth Games

For the latest event, see 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games Federation

Seal of the Commonwealth Games Federation Commonwealth Games Federation Flag
Abbreviation	CG
Motto	Humanity—Equality—Destiny
First event	1930
Headquarters	London, England
President	HRH Prince Tunku Imran
Website	www.thecgf.com

The Commonwealth Games (known as the British Empire Games from 1930–1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954–1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970–1974) is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, which were cancelled due to World War II, has taken place every four years since then.

The games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. A host city is selected for each edition. 18 cities in seven countries have hosted the event. Apart from many Olympic sports, the games also include some sports that are played predominantly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls and netball.

Although there are 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 71 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games, as a number of dependent territories compete under their own flag. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—also send separate teams. Only six countries have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. Australia has been the highest achieving team for twelve games, England for seven, and Canada for one.

History of the Games

A sporting competition bringing together the members of the British Empire was first proposed by the John 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 goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire". The John Astley Cooper Committees worldwide (e.g. Australia) helped Pierre de Coubertin to get his international Olympic Games off the ground fast. In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace 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 Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games; these were held in 1930, in Hamilton, Ontario, and women competed in the swimming events only. From 1934, women also competed in some athletics events.

The first Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were held alongside the Commonwealth Games from 1962 to 1974. Athletes with a disability were then first included in exhibition events at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, and, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, they were included as full members of their national teams, making them the first fully inclusive international multi-sport games. This meant that results were included in the medal count.

The Empire Games flag was donated in 1931 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.

Editions of the Games

      Countries that have hosted, or plan to host, the event
      Other countries that enter the games
      Countries that have entered the games but no longer do so
0•0 Host cities and year of games

The first edition of the event was the 1930 British Empire Games in which 11 nations participated. The quadrennial schedule of the games was interrupted by the Second World War and the 1942 Games (set to be held in Montreal) and the 1946 Games were abandoned. The games were revived in 1950 and underwent a name change four years later with the first British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954. Over 1,000 athletes participated in the 1958 Games as over thirty teams took part for the first time.

The Edmonton event marked a new high as almost 1,500 athletes from 46 countries took part.

Nigeria was the first country to boycott the Commonwealth Games in 1978 in protest over New Zealand's sporting contacts with South Africa. Participation at the 1986 Games was affected by a boycott by 32 African and Caribbean nations in protest to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's refusal to condemn sporting contacts of Apartheid era South Africa in 1985, but the Games rebounded and continued to grow thereafter. The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia saw the sporting programme grow from 10 to 15 sports as team sports were allowed for the first time. Participation also reached new levels as over 3500 athletes represented 70 teams at the event. At the Games in Melbourne in 2006, over 4000 athletes took part in sporting competitions.

The three nations to have hosted the games the most times are Australia (5), Canada (4) and New Zealand (3). Furthermore, six editions have taken place in the countries within the United Kingdom (Scotland 3, England 2 and Wales 1), twice in Asia (Malaysia 1 and India 1) and once in the Caribbean (Jamaica 1). Two cities have held the games on multiple occasions: Auckland (1950 and 1990), and Edinburgh (1970, 1986 and some events in 2014).

Edition	Year	Host City	Host Nation	Start Date	End Date	Sports	Events	Nations	Competitors	Top Placed Team
Inter-Empire Championships
I	1911	London	Great Britain	12 May	1 June	4	9	4	Unknown	Canada
British Empire Games
I	1930	Hamilton	Canada	16 August	23 August	6	59	11	400	England
II	1934	London	England	4 August	11 August	6	68	16	500	England
III	1938	Sydney	Australia	5 February	12 February	7	71	15	464	Australia
IV	1950	Auckland	New Zealand	4 February	11 February	9	88	12	590	Australia
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
V	1954	Vancouver	Canada	30 July	7 August	9	91	24	662	England
VI	1958	Cardiff	Wales	18 July	26 July	9	94	36	1122	England
VII	1962	Perth	Australia	22 November	1 December	9	104	35	863	Australia
VIII	1966	Kingston	Jamaica	4 August	13 August	9	110	34	1050	England
British Commonwealth Games
IX	1970	Edinburgh	Scotland	16 July	25 July	9	121	42	1383	Australia
X	1974	Christchurch	New Zealand	24 January	2 February	9	121	38	1276	Australia
Commonwealth Games
XI	1978	Edmonton	Canada	3 August	12 August	10	128	46	1474	Canada
XII	1982	Brisbane	Australia	30 September	9 October	10	142	46	1583	Australia
XIII	1986	Edinburgh	Scotland	24 July	2 August	10	163	26	1662	England
XIV	1990	Auckland	New Zealand	24 January	3 February	10	204	55	2073	Australia
XV	1994	Victoria	Canada	18 August	28 August	10	217	63	2557	Australia
XVI	1998	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	11 September	21 September	152	213	70	3633	Australia
XVII	2002	Manchester	England	25 July	4 August	171	281	72	3679	Australia
XVIII	2006	Melbourne	Australia	15 March	26 March	162	245	71	4049	Australia*
XIX	2010	Delhi	India	3 October	14 October	171	272	71	6081	Australia
XX	2014	Glasgow	Scotland	23 July	3 August	171	261	71	4947	England
XXI	2018	Gold Coast	Australia	4 April	15 April
XXII	2022	Durban	South Africa	18 July	31 July
XXIII	2026	TBA	TBA
XXIV	2030	TBA	TBA

Notes

¹Includes 3 team sports ²Includes 4 team sports

Total Commonwealth Games by country

Place	Country	Continent	No. of times	Years hosted
1	Australia	Oceania	5	1938, 1962, 1982, 2006, 2018
2	Canada	Americas	4	1930, 1954, 1978, 1994
3	New Zealand	Oceania	3	1950, 1974, 1990
	Scotland**	Europe	3	1970, 1986, 2014
5	England**	Europe	2	(1911*), 1934, 2002
7	India	Asia	1	2010
	Malaysia	Asia	1	1998
	Jamaica	Americas	1	1966
	Wales**	Europe	1	1958
	South Africa	Africa	1	2022

• Record (*)

Notes

* The 1911 Inter-Empire Championships held in London is seen as a precursor to the modern Commonwealth Games, but is not normally considered an official edition of the Games themselves.

**The United Kingdom competes as its separate Home Nations, Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies and has held the games 6 times, 7 including the precursor 1911 Inter-Empire Championships in London.

Approved sports

Further information: Commonwealth Games sports and Commonwealth Games records

There are a total of 22 sports (with two multi-disciplinary sports) and a further seven para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. They are categorised into three types. Core sports must be included on each programme. A number of optional sports may be picked by the host nation, which may include some team sports such as basketball. Recognised sports are sports which have been approved by the CGF but which are deemed to need expansion; host nations may not pick these sports for their programme until the CGF's requirements are fulfilled.

Sport	Type	Years
Archery	Optional	1982, 2010
Athletics	Core	1911–present
Badminton	Core	1966–present
Basketball	Optional	2006, 2018
Billiards	Recognised	Never
Boxing	Core	1911–present
Canoeing	Recognised	Never
Cricket	Recognised	1998
Cycling	Optional	1934–present
Diving	Optional	1930–present
Fencing	Recognised	1950–1970
Field hockey	Core	1998–present
Football	Recognised	Never
Golf	Recognised	Never
Gymnastics (Artistic)	Optional	1978, 1990–present
Gymnastics (Rhythmic)	Optional	1978, 1990–present
Handball	Recognised	1930
Judo	Optional	1990, 2002, 2014
Lawn bowls	Core	1930–present (except 1966)
Life saving	Recognised	Never
Netball	Core	1998–present
Rowing	Optional	1930, 1938–1962, 1986
Rugby league	Recognised	Never
Rugby sevens	Core	1998–present
Sailing	Recognised	Never
Shooting	Optional	1966, 1974–present
Softball	Recognised	Never
Squash	Core	1998–present
Swimming	Core	1911–present
Synchronized swimming	Optional	1986-2006
Table tennis	Optional	2002–present
Taekwondo	Optional	Never
Tennis	Optional	2010
Ten-Pin Bowling	Recognised	1998
Triathlon	Optional	2002, 2006, 2014
Volleyball	Recognised	Never
Water Polo	Recognised	1950
Weightlifting	Core	1950–present
Wrestling	Optional	1911–1986, 1994, 2002, 2010-present

Participation

Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest scoring team for twelve games, England for seven and Canada for one.

Table of Team Participation by Commonwealth Games Edition
Team Edition I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI Year 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Host Flag Host City Hamilton London Sydney Auckland Vancouver Cardiff Perth Kingston Edinburgh Christchurch Edmonton Brisbane Edinburgh Auckland Victoria Kuala Lumpur Manchester Melbourne Delhi Glasgow Gold Coast Participation \\ Host nation Canada England Australia New Zealand Canada Wales Australia Jamaica Scotland New Zealand Canada Australia Scotland New Zealand Canada Malaysia England Australia India Scotland Australia Aden 1962 N/A Anguilla 1998– Antigua and Barbuda 1966–1970, 1978, 1994– Australia 1930– Bahamas 1954–1970, 1978–1982, 1990– N/A Bangladesh 1978, 1990– Barbados 1954–1982, 1990– Belize 1978, 1994– Bermuda 1930–1938, 1954–1982, 1990– Botswana 1974, 1982– British Guiana 1930–1938, 1954–1962 British Honduras 1962–1966 British Virgin Islands 1990– Brunei Darussalam 1990– Cameroon 1998– Canada 1930– Cayman Islands 1978– Ceylon 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, 1998–2006, 2014- Gambia 1970–1982, 1990–2010 Ghana 1958–1982, 1990– Gibraltar 1958– Gold Coast 1954 Grenada 1970–1982, 1998– Guernsey 1970– Guyana 1966–1970, 1978–1982, 1990– Hong Kong 1934, 1954–1962, 1970–1994 India 1934–1938, 1954–1958, 1966–1982, 1990– Ireland 1930 Irish Free State 1934 Isle of Man 1958– Jamaica 1934, 1954–1982, 1990– Jersey 1958– Kenya 1954–1982, 1990– Kiribati 1998– Lesotho 1974– Malawi 1970– Malaya 1950, 1958–1962 Malaysia 1966–1982, 1990– Maldives 1986– Malta 1958–1962, 1970, 1982– Mauritius 1958, 1966–1982, 1990– Montserrat 1994– Mozambique 1998– Namibia 1994– Nauru 1990– Newfoundland 1930–1934 New Zealand 1930– Nigeria 1950–1958, 1966–1974, 1982, 1990–1994, 2002– Niue 2002– Norfolk Island 1986– North Borneo 1958–1962 Northern Ireland 1934–1938, 1954– Northern Rhodesia 1954-1958 Pakistan 1954–1970, 1990– Papua New Guinea 1962–1982, 1990– Rhodesia 1934–1950 Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1962 Rwanda 2010– Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla 1978 Saint Helena (with Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha) 1982, 1998– Saint Kitts and Nevis 1990– Saint Lucia 1962, 1970, 1978, 1994– Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1958, 1966–1978, 1994– Samoa 1998– Sarawak 1958–1962 Scotland 1930– Seychelles 1990– Sierra Leone 1958, 1966–1970, 1978, 1990– Singapore 1958– Solomon Islands 1982, 1990– South Africa 1930–1958, 1994– South Arabia 1966 Southern Rhodesia 1954-1958 Sri Lanka 1974–1982, 1990– Swaziland 1970– Tanganyika 1962 Tanzania 1966–1982, 1990– Tonga 1974, 1982, 1990– Trinidad and Tobago 1934–1982, 1990– Turks and Caicos Islands 1978, 1998– Tuvalu 1998– Uganda 1954–1974, 1982, 1990– Vanuatu 1982– Wales 1930– Western Samoa 1974–1994 Zambia 1970–1982, 1990– Zimbabwe 1982, 1990–2002
Legend
Participated       Withdrew for political reason       Not eligible to participate       To be determined

Aden 1962 Anguilla 1998– Australasia 1911 Antigua and Barbuda 1966–1970, 1978, 1994– Australia 1930– Bahamas 1954–1970, 1978–1982, 1990– Bangladesh 1978, 1990– Barbados 1954–1982, 1990– Belize 1978, 1994– Bermuda 1930–1938, 1954–1982, 1990– Botswana 1974, 1982– British Guiana 1930–1938, 1954–1962 British Honduras 1962–1966 British Virgin Islands 1990– Brunei Darussalam 1990– Cameroon 1998– Canada 1911– Cayman Islands 1978– Ceylon 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, 1998–2006, 2014- Gambia 1970–1982, 1990–2010 Ghana 1958–1982, 1990– Gibraltar 1958– Gold Coast 1954 Grenada 1970–1982, 1998– Guernsey 1970– Guyana 1966–1970, 1978–1982, 1990– Hong Kong 1934, 1954–1962, 1970–1994 India 1934–1938, 1954–1958, 1966–1982, 1990– Ireland 1930 Irish Free State 1934 Isle of Man 1958– Jamaica 1934, 1954–1982, 1990– Jersey 1958– Kenya 1954–1982, 1990– Kiribati 1998– Lesotho 1974– Malawi 1970– Malaya 1950, 1958–1962 Malaysia 1966–1982, 1990– Maldives 1986– Malta 1958–1962, 1970, 1982– Mauritius 1958–1982, 1990–

Montserrat 1994– Mozambique 1998– Namibia 1994– Nauru 1990– Newfoundland 1930–1934 New Zealand 1930– Nigeria 1950–1958, 1966–1974, 1982, 1990–1994, 2002– Niue 2002– Norfolk Island 1986– North Borneo 1958–1962 Northern Ireland 1934–1938, 1954– Northern Rhodesia 1954-1958 Pakistan 1954–1970, 1990– Papua New Guinea 1962–1982, 1990– Rhodesia 1934–1950 Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1962 Rwanda 2010– Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla 1978 Saint Helena (with Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha) 1982, 1998– Saint Kitts and Nevis 1990– Saint Lucia 1962, 1970, 1978, 1994– Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1958, 1966–1978, 1994– Samoa 1998– Sarawak 1958–1962 Scotland 1930– Seychelles 1990– Sierra Leone 1958, 1966–1970, 1978, 1990– Singapore 1958– Solomon Islands 1982, 1990– South Africa 1911–1958, 1994– South Arabia 1966 Southern Rhodesia 1954-1958 Sri Lanka 1974–1982, 1990– Swaziland 1970– Tanganyika 1962 Tanzania 1966–1982, 1990– Tonga 1974, 1982, 1990– Trinidad and Tobago 1934–1982, 1990– Turks and Caicos Islands 1978, 1998– Tuvalu 1998– Uganda 1954–1974, 1982, 1990– Vanuatu 1982– Wales 1930– Western Samoa 1974–1994 Zambia 1970–1982, 1990– Zimbabwe 1982, 1990–2002

Notes:

1. ^ Aden later joined South Arabia in 1963 and departed the Commonwealth in 1968.
2. ^ Anguilla was completely separated from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla in 1980 and remaining Saint Kitts and Nevis became independent from the United Kingdom in 1983.
3. ^ British Guiana was renamed Guyana in 1966.
4. ^ British Honduras was renamed Belize in 1973.
5. ^ Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka in 1972.
6. ^ Fiji was re-suspended from the Commonwealth and Games in 2009. The suspension from the Commonwealth on Fiji was lifted in time for the 2014 Games following Democratic Elections in March, 2014.
7. ^ Gambia withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2013
8. ^ Gold Coast (British colony) was renamed Ghana in 1957.
9. ^ Including neighbouring Islands.
10. ^ Hong Kong was never a Commonwealth member but was a territory of a Commonwealth country; it ceased to be in the Commonwealth when the territory was handed over to China in 1997.
11. ^ Ireland was represented as a team from the whole of the island in 1930, and from both parts, the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland in 1934. The Irish Free State was renamed Ireland in 1937 (but also known by its name in Irish Éire), did not participate in the 1938 Games, and was formally excluded from the Commonwealth when it declared that it was a Republic on 18 April 1949.
12. ^ Contemporary illustrations show Green Flag used for the Irish team.
13. ^ Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe competed in 1962 as part of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
14. ^ Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore federated as Malaysia in 1963. Singapore left the federation in 1965.
15. ^ Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.
16. ^ The Ulster Banner was the flag of the former Government of Northern Ireland only between 1953 and 1972, but the flag has been regarded as flag of Northern Ireland since 1924 among unionists and loyalists. In the Commonwealth Games, it is used also as flag of Northern Ireland.
17. ^ Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia federated with Nyasaland in 1953 as Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which dissolved at the end of 1963.
18. ^ Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia competed separately in 1954 and 1958.
19. ^ Under the name of "Saint Helena" in the Commonwealth Games. Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha were dependencies of Saint Helena, so the territory was officially called "Saint Helena and Dependencies" until 2009. Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha became equal parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in 2009.
20. ^ Western Samoa was renamed Samoa in 1997.
21. ^ Zanzibar and Tanganyika federated to form Tanzania in 1964.
22. ^ Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003.

Commonwealth nations/dependencies/disputed territories yet to send teams

Very few Commonwealth dependencies and nations have yet to take part:

• Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, former dependencies of Saint Helena and current parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, has never formed their own teams independent from the Saint Helena team.
• Other states, territories and territorial autonomies with native populations within the Commonwealth that may be eligible include Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (territories of Australia), Nevis (a federal entity of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis), Rodrigues (outer islands of Mauritius), and Zanzibar (a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania).
• Cornwall, represented by the Cornwall Commonwealth Games Association (CCGA), sent a bid for participation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, however, their application was rejected by the CGF, who stated that the constitutional status of Cornwall was not an issue that should be resolved through this medium. However, in 2010, the CCGA sought to launch a legal challenge to the decision of the CGF, stating that the Cornish bid of 2006 fulfilled the entire criterion of the CGF, and by rejecting the bid, the CGF had violated their own code, failing to follow their own criteria for participation. The Cornwall team will therefore seek competition in the 2014 games.
• The British Indian Ocean Territory currently has no permanent population although there is a sizeable population who were born in the BIOT but currently live in Mauritius and the United Kingdom and so would be eligible to compete on birth criteria.
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has made applications to the CGF to send teams.
• It is also conceivable that any future members of the Commonwealth such as applicants (for example South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen) may participate in future games. The Colony of Aden and Federation of South Arabia, precursors to modern Yemen, participated before in 1962 and in 1966. Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian protectorate until independence in 1956.
• The Pitcairn Islands' tiny population (currently 50 to 60 people) would appear to prevent this British overseas territory from competing.
• Tokelau was expected to take part in the 2010 Games in Delhi but did not do so.
• The lack of a permanent population would seem to prevent the British overseas territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory, the New Zealand territory of Ross Dependency and the Australian external territories of Australian Antarctic Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands and Heard Island and McDonald Islands from competing.

Notable competitors

Lawn bowler Willie Wood from Scotland was the first competitor to have competed in seven Commonwealth Games, from 1974 to 2002, a record equalled in 2014 by Isle of Man cyclist Andrew Roche. Also, Greg Yelavich, a sports shooter from New Zealand, has won 12 medals in seven games from 1986 to 2010.

Nauruan weightlifter Marcus Stephen won twelve medals at the Games between 1990 and 2002, of which seven gold, and was elected President of Nauru in 2007. His performance has helped place Nauru (the smallest independent state in the Commonwealth, at 21 km² and with a population of fewer than 9,400 in 2011) in nineteenth place on the all-time Commonwealth Games medal table.

See also

• All-time medal tally of Commonwealth Games
• All-Africa Games
• Asian Games
• Commonwealth Mountain and Ultradistance Running Championships
• Indian Empire Games
• Jeux de la Francophonie
• Kingdom Games
• Lusophony Games
• Mediterranean Games
• Olympic Games
• Pan American Games
• Universiade
• World Games

External links

• Commonwealth Games Federation Official Website