GAMES HISTORY INTRODUCTION In past centuries, the British Empire’s power and influence stretched all over the world. It started at the time of Elizabeth 1 when Sir Francis Drake and other explorers started to challenge the Portuguese and Spanish domination of the world. The modern Commonwealth was formed in 1949, with ‘British’ dropped from the name and with Logo of the Commonwealth many countries becoming independent, but Games Federation choosing to remain part of the group of nations called the Commonwealth. The first recorded Games between British Empire athletes were part of the celebrations for the Coronation of His Majesty King George V in 1911. The Games were called the 'Festival of Empire' and included Athletics, Boxing, Wrestling and Swimming events. At the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, the friendliness between the Empire athletes revived the idea of the Festival of Empire. Canadian, Bobby Robinson, called a meeting of British Empire sports representatives, who agreed to his proposal to hold the first Games in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. From 1930 to 1950 the Games were called the British Empire Games, and until 1962 were called the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. From 1966 to 1974 they became the British Commonwealth Games and from 1978 onwards they have been known as the Commonwealth Games. HISTORY OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES 1930 British Empire Games Hamilton, Canada 16-23 August The first official Commonwealth Games, held in Hamilton, Canada in 1930 were called the British Empire Games. Competing Countries (11) Australia, Bermuda, British Guiana (now Guyana), Canada, England, Newfoundland (now part of Canada), New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. STARTING BLOCKS © State of Victoria, 2004 1 GAMES HISTORY Competitors Officials 400 50 Sports There were six sports: Athletics, Boxing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Swimming and Diving. Did you know? The first Games were very basic. The athletes’ village was at a nearby school, where twenty-four competitors slept in each classroom. The competitors rated the Games very highly. Women competed in only the Swimming events. Since 1930, the Games have been conducted every four years, except for 1942 and 1946, due to World War II 1934 British Empire Games London, England 4-11 August The 1934 Games were first awarded to Johannesburg, South Africa, but were changed to London to prevent a possible political crisis concerning the way South Africa might treat black and Asian Commonwealth athletes. Competing Countries (16) Australia, Bermuda, British Guiana (now Guyana), Canada, England, Newfoundland (now part of Canada), New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Wales, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Trinidad. The eleven countries which had competed at the 1930 Hamilton Games also competed at London. In addition, new countries which competed were Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Trinidad. Competitors Officials 500 100 Sports There were six sports: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Lawn Bowls, Swimming and Diving, and Wrestling. STARTING BLOCKS © State of Victoria, 2004 2 GAMES HISTORY Did you know? Women were included in Athletics for the first time, although the running events were restricted to the short sprints and a shortened 4 x 220 -yard relay. Phil Edwards from British Guiana became the first black gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games when he won the 880 -yard run. Canadian Harold Webster won the marathon. He listed his age as thirty-two, but his friends and team officials believed that he was close to fifty at the time! 1938 British Empire Games Sydney, Australia 5 - 12 February The opening ceremony for the 1938 Games took place at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of 40 000 spectators who were keen to see Australia and New Zealand excel, particularly against England. Competing Countries (15) Australia, Bermuda, British Guiana (now Guyana), Canada, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), England, Fiji, India, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Scotland, South Africa, Trinidad and Wales. It was the first Games for Fiji and Ceylon. Competitors Officials 464 43 Sports There were seven sports: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Swimming and Diving, and Wrestling. Did you know? The British competitors were away from home for four months. They spent three of the four months on board ships. Every time the ship stopped at a port they would rush off to find a suitable location to prepare and train for their sport. The Sydney Games were part of Australia's 150th anniversary celebrations. Decima Norman, nicknamed ‘Dashing Dess’, from Albany in Western Australia, won five gold medals. She won the 100-yard dash (in 11.1 seconds), the 220- yard dash, the long jump and two relay races. STARTING BLOCKS © State of Victoria, 2004 3 GAMES HISTORY 1950 British Empire Games Auckland, New Zealand 4-11 February The opening ceremony at Eden Park was attended by 40 000 spectators, whilst nearly 250 000 people overall attended the Games as spectators. This was a huge audience for such a small country which was so far away from most other Commonwealth nations. Competing Countries (12) Australia, Canada, Ceylon, England, Fiji, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Malaysia and Nigeria were at their first Games. Competitors Officials 590 73 Sports There were nine sports: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Fencing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Swimming and Diving, Weightlifting and Wrestling. Did you know? Marjory Jackson, the ‘Blue Streak’ from Melbourne, won the two women's sprints in world-record times, as well as two relay gold medals. She also won the two sprints at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1954 Vancouver Games. Jack Holden, a forty-three-year -old Englishman, pointed to his backside before the start of the marathon and told the other competitors to take a good look, as that would be all they would see of him! Racing in No. 13, he won easily, despite having to run through fifteen centimetres of water after a heavy rainstorm. He was almost tripped by a dog which nipped at his ankles as he tried to shoo it away. STARTING BLOCKS © State of Victoria, 2004 4 GAMES HISTORY 1954 British Empire & Commonwealth Games Vancouver, Canada 30 July – 7 August The V Commonwealth Games made Vancouver famous , and featured memorable sporting moments , as well as outstanding entertainment, technical innovation and cultural events. Competing Countries (24) Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Guiana (now Guyana), Canada, England, Fiji, Gold Coast (now Ghana), Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and, Wales. Competitors Officials 662 127 Sports There were nine sports: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Fencing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Swimming and Diving, Weightlifting and Wrestling. Did you know? New Zealander Yvette Williams won gold in the discus, shot put and long jump. Emmanuel Ifeajuna, a Nigerian medical student, was the first black African to win a gold medal when he won the high jump. The final of the mile was the first international sports event to be televised live in North America. The race was called ‘The Miracle Mile’ and featured Englishman Roger Bannister and Australian John Landy. They had become the first two men to run the mile in less than four minutes only a few months earlier. This was the first time they had competed against each other since their record - breaking races. Bannister won narrowly in an exciting race and both men again broke the four -minute time. STARTING BLOCKS © State of Victoria, 2004 5 GAMES HISTORY 1958 British Empire & Commonwealth Games Cardiff, Wales 18-26 July The VI Games marked the largest sporting event ever held in Wales, which was the smallest country ever to host a British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Cardiff had to wait twelve years longer than originally scheduled to become host of the Games, as the 1946 event was cancelled because of World War II. Competing countries (35) Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Guiana (now Guyana), Canada, Ceylon, Dominica, England, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ), Sarawak (now Malaysia), Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Vincent, Trinidad, Uganda and Wales. Twenty-three countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya and the Isle of Man. Competitors Officials 1130 228 Sports There were nine sports: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Fencing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Swimming and Diving, Weightlifting and Wrestling. Did you know? South African Gert Potgier won the 440 -yards hurdles in world -record time just twelve months after being paralysed by breaking his neck in a rugby match. Dick McTaggart of Scotland won gold in the lightweight division Boxing. He was a professional rat and mouse killer for the City of Glasgow. Dawn Fraser won two gold and two silver medals for Australia in Swimming. STARTING BLOCKS © State of Victoria, 2004 6 GAMES HISTORY 1962 British Empire & Commonwealth Games Perth, Australia 21 November – 1 December The VII Commonwealth Games are remembered for their ‘heat, dust and glory’. The day before the Perth Games opened, the temperature was 27 degrees Celsius, but had risen to around 40 degrees at the Opening Ceremony the next day, and remained almost as hot for the rest of the Games. Competing countries (33) Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Guiana (now Guyana), British Honduras (now Belize), Canada, Ceylon, England, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, North Borneo (now Malaysia), Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Sarawak (now Malaysia), Scotland, Singapore, St Lucia, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Trinidad, Uganda and Wales. Competitors Officials 890 178 Sports There were nine sports: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Fencing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Swimming and Diving, Weightlifting and Wrestling.