Commonwealth Games 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 organization 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 1978. 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 (unlike at the Olympic Games, where the United Kingdom sends a single team), 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 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. From 1934, women also competed in some Athletics events.
The next edition is going to held in 2010 in Delhi, India. In 2014 the Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. 2010 Commonwealth Games {draw:a} The 2010 Commonwealth Games are the nineteenth edition of the Commonwealth Games, and the ninth to be held under that name.The Games are scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India between 3 October and 14 October 2010. The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India generally, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi.
It will also be the first time the Commonwealth Games will be held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998). In addition to the Commonwealth Games, the city of Pune, India hosted the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games between October 12 and 18, 2008.The Youth Games offered nine sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. BENEFITS: Infrastructure Delhi already has many international features of a modern and well-planned city. However, to get ready for the huge influx of tourists visiting Delhi during the Games, the Government of India has taken many steps to improve the city. This includes city beautification, transportation development, upgrading of many old structures etc.
Transport Delhi proposed a four-lane, 2. km underground stretch from Lodhi Road to trans-Yamuna, linking the Games Village to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and reducing traveling time for athletes traveling between the Village and the Stadium. In response to concerns over the large number of trains that pass by the Delhi metropolitan region daily, construction of road under-bridges and over-bridges along railway lines has been started. To expand road infrastructure, flyovers, cloverleaf flyovers, and bridges have been planned to provide connectivity to the Games Village, to sports venues, to hospitals, and for intra-city connectivity.Road-widening projects have been under process, with an emphasis being placed on expanding national highways. To improve traffic flow on existing road, plans are underway to make both the inner and outer Ring roads signal free.
To support its commitment to mass transport, nine corridors have been identified and are being constructed as High Capacity Bus Systems. Additionally, the Delhi Metro will be expanded to accommodate more people and boost the use of public transport during the 2010 games.By then it will have the second longest network in the world and later the longest, which will be more than 420 km. To further support air travel, the Indira Gandhi International Airport is being modernized, expanded, and upgraded.
By the 2010 games, a new terminal (Terminal 3) will have been constructed at a cost of nearly US$ 1. 94 billion, with the capability to cater to more than 37 million passengers a year by 2010 and the planned expansion program will increase its capacity to handle 100 million passengers by 2030.Terminal 3 will be a two tier building, with the bottom floor being the arrivals area, and the top being a departures area. This terminal will have over 130 check in counters, 55 aerobridges, 30 parking bays, 72 immigration counters, 15 X-ray screening areas, duty free shops, and much more. The airport will also have a new runway to cater more than 75 plus flights an hour; the runway will be more than 4400 meters long and one of Asia's longest.
The entire airport will be connected to the city via a 6 lane highway (National Highway 8) and the Delhi Metro.Tourism The true impact of the Commonwealth Games on tourism, scheduled for October 2010, can be judged better if one is to look at the various possibilities for marketing, advertising, educating and introducing a new India for the sportspersons, their entourage and other global visitors to the country. Knowing this definite time frame for the CWG taking place, the tourism and other related ministries get a chance to develop some public-private demonstration projects as a show-case for domestic, regional and international cities.What makes the CWG so important in sporting events and a coup for Indian economy and hospitality sector and its sister branch, tourism segment, is that the Olympic and Commonwealth Games are the second largest sports events held in modern times. Other cities that have hosted the CWG have recorded major spurt in tourism since their chance at this excellent reason for global travelers to come together in a spirit of competition, learning and life experiences while also giving the countries a chance to present a newer, vibrant youth-appeal to their land.The examples for this kind of cultural showcasing and effective gift-wrapping of sectors of interest like tourism-be it adventure, spa or spirituality- can be seen from the earlier hosts of world sporting events: Beijing, China and Barcelona, Spain benefited from hosting the Olympics while Manchester, UK and Melbourne, Australia received greater tourist inflow during and after playing host to CWG 2002 and 2006, respectively.
State-of-art technology deployments will help in ensuring world-class management of Delhi city during the event and also leave a sure, culturally strong imprint as aluable legacy of classy Indian hospitality on visitors to the CWG Delhi, 2010 while major economic boost from the CWG will raise tourism opportunities for our country, if basic amenities and modern tourist needs are kept in mind while formulating and promoting specialized tourism sectors. The CWG Delhi, 2010 can well prove to be a catalyst for major investment in the country's sporting, social and environmental fabric since it will effect the tourism sector directly as well as indirectly.Eco-tourism and total wellness packages including ancient exercise and relaxation, toning, breathing and strengthening routines are likely choices that guarantee global tourist interest and are bound to be crowd-pullers during CWG. While earlier host nations of CWG directed their tourism budget towards raising standards of basic and luxury amenities, including novelty factor for tourists and sportspersons, other areas of redevelopment covered bridge and road links to and from the host city to neighboring regions and specialty tourism spots.These can be developed as mini-villages offering bountiful shopping, eating, local customs, drama and theatre, music, dance and associated learning and living experiences that are essentially Indian, therefore attractive to outsiders. Planting of trees, arranging meetings with trained-up volunteers assisting local community/youth/social service and cultural awareness groups and events and such like are likely to generate almost 13,600 full time equivalent jobs created from the Games.
Naturally then, the expected economic return will be higher than before thanks to the impact of the Common Wealth Games on Tourism and the higher number of international tourists. Other benefits In addition to physical preparation, India and Delhi will be offering a myriad of amenities to all athletes. These include traditional Commonwealth Games services, such as free accommodation for all athletes, a modern, comfortable Games Village, cutting-edge health facilities, security, a pollution-free environment, entertainment for non-competition times, transportation, and other, unique amenities as well.Delhi will also be offering all athletes a free trip to the famed Taj Mahal and will provide a reserved lane for participants on selected highways.
The Delhi High Court is also set to implement a series of "mobile courts" to be dispatched throughout Delhi to relocate migrant beggars from Delhi streets. The mobile courts would consider each beggar on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the beggar should be sent back to his/her state of residence, or be permitted to remain in government-shelters.In preparation for a rush of English-speaking tourists for the Games, the Delhi government is implementing a program to teach English to low-income individuals who will have a high-frequency of contact with tourists. This subset includes city cab drivers, waiters, gatemen, and service staff. Over the past two years, the city has successfully taught 2,000 drivers English, and is continuing the program to reach as many as possible before the Games. The city plans to teach 1,000 people English per month, and hopes to reach everyone necessary by March 2009.
In addition to Delhi, the Indian Government plans to expand the program to teach people in local tourist destinations, including Agra and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Gaya in Bihar and Puri in Orissa. October, 2010 will see the Commonwealth Games take place in New Delhi. It surely would be a spectacular event with very grand openning and closing ceremonies and dazzling sporting action . But the big question is whether our country can afford such an extravagant venture and how the event is going to affect the sporting scene of the country. In 1982, we proudly hosted the Asian Games.The event was considered by many as a huge success.
Huge money was spent on sporting infra structure and other facilities. Does the average sporting loving Indian have access to any of those facilities? Have the Sport Authority of India done anything to maximise the utility of the facilities? Did the holding of the events throw up fresh enthusiasm for athletics and other such sporting disciplines? We have had a few great sporting icons like Milkha Singh, P T Usha, Shiny Abraham Anju Bobby George, Prakash Padukone, Gopichand and more recently Abhinav Bindra and the boxers .All these champions have come through inspite of the system. Sad to say that Milkha Singh's record of the1960 still stands for the 400 meters. While World Records are tumbling all the time, Indian athletics records have not changed very much. DELHI IS UNFIT FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES Delhi, which is to host the games in October, next year, is a complete mess.
Almost every major road is dug up or blocked, either for Metro or flyover construction, and others that are not affected by games-related construction can thank substandard material used in road building for giving the entire city a uniform experience.Even calling it a disgrace is an understatement. And this is just the roads and other networks that are basically required to get to the venues where the events would take place, but what about the venues themselves? By all available reports (CGF says 13 of 19 venues are between 30% and 50% behind schedule), they are so far behind schedule that some of them may be a disaster in the making if rushed through. A lot of people have argued that it was the same in 1982, prior to the Asian Games, but things still turned out remarkably well.Because there was a gentleman called Rajiv Gandhi, who had involved himself fully in the project and the famous Indian babudom and red tape was made ineffective. And in the 27 years since then, our love for mediocrity, and corruption, has only increased, so the quality of these structures being created is best left unsaid.
And in the 27 years since then, our love for mediocrity, and corruption, has only increased, so the quality of these structures built for Asian games being is best left unsaid. COMMONWEALTH GAMES: IS IT POISED TO SHAME INDIA??Commonwealth officials are panicking over the slow pace of work and wondering aloud whether the games will take off. A smug Indian official in charge says there is nothing to worry about. All will be fine, he says, and the games will be among the finest ever. The subtext of his message: this is the Indian way of doing things, silly. The stadiums will be eventually built, and we will have a jolly good Games.
We are like this only. And sab chalta hain (everything goes), another of our favourite alibis.But this time the bluff may be called sooner. There is little doubt that India has approached its first major international sports event in nearly three decades with characteristic lack of planning. A report by the federal government's own auditing arm says work on 13 of the 19 sports venues is behind schedule.
There aren't enough hotel rooms yet to house guests - another government estimate reckon that only 35% of the additional hotel rooms planned for the games will be completed in time.Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell is skittish: he wants to meet the PM now for an assurance that the games will held in time. In an internal note, the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada says in desperation: "Verbal assurances [from Indian officials] are no longer sufficient. " A telling comment comes from a foreign engineer who is working at an unfinished stadium site.
"The people over here are very careless and the mentality is very lazy," he says. "If one person works, the other five want to just stand around him and watch.They all waste time. " The games village is being built on a controversial environmentally sensitive site - the banks of a dying river which skirts the capital. The less said about the infrastructure, the better. The games, according to its website, will leave behind "a city much more beautiful and charming that it currently is".
It talks about how a colonial city centre has been "given a new facade and is experiencing a resurgence", and how the city's monuments are being "cleaned and revitalized".But the facts are that if it rains during the event, Delhi's roads will overflow with water and sewage or cave in. If there is a gale, electricity lines will snap, trees will fall and block the roads, and roofs will fly. The organisers must have been delusional to award the games to a city with such utterly shambolic infrastructure.
Also, since there will be no separate lanes for the venues-bound traffic, I see huge gridlocks, and traffic being stopped to let the games traffic pass.Slums are expected to fenced off with bamboo, and beggars are to be rounded up. The 12-day, 17-discipline sporting event is all set to become the biggest nightmare for Delhi's denizens. It also could turn out be India's biggest shame. Already workers have died at the construction sites, and human rights groups are up in arms about how workers at venues are being underpaid and have flimsy security.
I spotted a picture where women workers wore tatty rubber sandals at a site where the signage indicates they should be wearing boots.It's the same old story - apart from a few shining exceptions like the Delhi Metro- of brazen disregard for basic safety norms, woeful planning and exploitative contractors. And we have revulsion for real change. We remember how an indoor stadium roof leaked in the monsoon rains and players quit wet tables when the world table tennis championship opened in Calcutta decades ago. We remember how we sat on drying paint at an upgraded cricket stadium and endured its stinking, overflowing rest rooms to watch an international game.
