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The Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, is the 19th of its type. It is a great event for the athletes, but really is the event worth the time and effort it takes to get started, let alone the finances behind it? Possibly not.
Debuting under the title of the British Empire Games in Hamilton, Canada (1930), and then after changes moving purely to its current form, the “Commonwealth Games”, from competition in Edmonton, Canada (1978), the event has been a success on many an occasion.
However, when you wipe the gloss off, there are many reasons why the event may not deserve a place on the sporting calendar every four years.
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Firstly, the XIX Commonwealth Games in 2010 are only covering 17 sports. While there are a total of 31 approved sports by the Commonwealth Games federation, only a selection are chosen.
Only a selection has always been the case in the past, yet it produces a problem. Infrastructure is always going to limit the number available to be competed in, but having limited sports really places the competition on the back seat for not only athletes but also sports fans who are looking to watch.
Aquatics (Swimming), Athletics and Tennis are all in, for example, yet the best aren’t always in show. Stars missing from Commonwealth Games competition in 2010 include: Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, Australian swimmer and Olympic 200m and 400m medley champion Stephanie Rice, reigning 800m world champion Caster Semenya, the Olympic 100m champion Shelly Ann-Fraser, Dani Samuels (world discus champion) and Victoria Pendleton (Olympic track cycling champion).
Lots of these athletes have different reasons for not competing; most either injury or for safety reasons and having lesser of the stars makes such a competition less appealing.
Host nations come at big financial burdens and India is a fine example. Originally an initial budget estimated by the Indian Olympic Association for hosting the games was at US$358 million, but it has escalated to an official total budget estimation of US$2.5 billion.
Not only was the country pummeled by global media for their lateness in having games venues ready and not in livable conditions for athletes, but now they are paying the price in a big way for an event which only lasts a mere 12 days.
Yes, India will benefit with new sports and city infrastructure and the staging will create more jobs. A study from Price Waterhouse Coopers said India’s GDP will benefit by $4500 million over four-years from 2008-2012 due to the new projects created, but really is it all worth it?
India’s Commonwealth Games will be the most expensive in the Games’ history and with even stadiums left bare with a total population of more than one billion, how does this happen? Can’t such a big population at least pack half a stadium? Not at this stage.
Another big problem of the Commonwealth Games is an on-going medal dominance by Australia, England and Canada. While such events can always bring forth such results, for the big nations, their is little real competition after about the top six countries on the final medal tally.
Without the United States, audiences can turn off with no real threat in competition to our Australian athletes.
Many say the Commonwealth Games are a fair page in the book of the sporting calendar away from the Olympic Games. Each sport has their own competitions, but really do they need another big competition? For all the effort by the host nation – there are rewards – Olympic hosts are always remembered but few Commonwealth Games hosts are.
While India will make back their losses through four streams of revenue – those being the sale of broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticket and merchandise sales – really is it worth the time continuing the event? Many of us might watch it because it is sport on television, but while others think it is worthwhile, a number think it has lost its real meaning.
Do the Commonwealth Games deserve a place on the sporting calendar? Maybe, but time might have finally run its course for the competition.