{"id":401,"date":"2010-09-23T05:54:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-23T12:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=401"},"modified":"2010-09-23T05:54:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-23T12:54:00","slug":"why-are-the-commonwealth-games-and-other-games-being-held","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=401","title":{"rendered":"Why Are The Commonwealth Games, and Other \u201cGames\u201d Being Held?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/news\/incident-weightlifting\/image\/9831349?term=commonwealth+games\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9831349\/incident-weightlifting\/incident-weightlifting.jpg?resize=380%2C253\" border=\"0\" width=\"380\" title=\"Incident At Weightlifting Arena Casts Further Doubt Over Commonwealth Games\" height=\"253\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\" ondrag=\"return false;\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" alt=\"NEW DELHI, INDIA - SEPTEMBER 22: An Indian labourers work outside of the main stadium for the approaching 19th Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on September 22, 2010 in New Delhi, India. Pieces of a false roof inside of the weightlifting complex collapsed today following yesterday's collapse of a footbridge under construction that injured 27 workers at the main stadium for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak\/Getty Images)\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:left;height:0px;overflow: hidden;\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>All year long there have been questions raised about the staging of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Everything from questions regarding whether or not the facilities would be ready in time, to complaints this week from England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, Australia and Canada over the condition of the team accommodations \u2013 said to be unsafe and uninhabitable. A majority of the top level athletes have pulled out for various reasons, with Jamaica sending but a shell of what would normally be considered a national team. <\/p>\n<p>All of which makes me question why these Games are being held. At what point do the sport\u2019s ruling bodies step in and say that a competition is in essence being cancelled? But even more to the point, is this and other \u201csecondary\u201d Games necessary? Which to me is really at the heart of the matter. <\/p>\n<p>Most of these competitions have origins that go back to a time when the sport\u2019s major highlight \u2013 the Olympic Games \u2013 occurred only once every four years. At that time it made sense to have a Commonwealth Games, or a Pan Am Games, or a European Championships. Having other \u201cchampionship\u201d meets to aim for during the three years between the Olympics helped give purpose to the training and competition of the athletes. It gave them something else to shoot for \u2013 something else to attain. But with each passing Commonwealth Games or Pan Am Games, among others, we see fewer and fewer top level athletes participating. <\/p>\n<p>In track and field, for example,with the advent of multiple World Championships to go with the Olympics, competing in \u201cminor\u201d championships has seemingly become a burden for the truly elite athletes who would prefer to rest tired bodies, and mend injuries in preparation of making an attempt at winning a \u201creal\u201d championship medal! And I can\u2019t say that I blame them. After all, would you rather be in possession of a gold medal from the Commonwealth Games or in possession of one from the Olympics or World Championships? I\u2019m sure I already know the answer to that question. Because in the world of trying to market one\u2019s name or brand, it is the attainment of medals in the Majors that earns the pay day. <\/p>\n<p>Similarly in other sports, these sorts of Games have become less and less a stage in which the best in sport take part, as most of the amateur based sports \u2013 track and field, swimming and diving, gymnastics, etc \u2013 have their own World Championships to go along with the Olympic Games. More than enough to serve as the focus for their elite athletes. If the top athletes are not attending, then what kind of \u201cchampionships\u201d are being funded? Why are we putting nations through the cost and expense to put together championship facilities for competitions that aren\u2019t even \u201csecondary\u201d in the grand scheme of things? Because in track and field, next in importance to the Majors are the Grand Prix, Super Grand Prix and Diamond League level meets. So at best these secondary majors rank third on a scale of perhaps four levels for our athletes. A lot of money being spent on competitions that mean very little when all is said and done. <\/p>\n<p>Would India, and the sport, have been better served by making a bid for the Olympics and planning and utilizing it\u2019s resources to serve as host to the world. Creating a facility that in effect would also be able to host a World Championships in Track and Field. Because, no offense to Europe, but it\u2019s time we did a better job of branching out to other areas of the world. Same for the Pan Am Games. I would much rather see cities like Havana, Caracas, or Santo Domingo hosting a Worlds than a Pan Am Games. It would truly broaden the reach of the sport globally and could begin the process for Olympic bids \u2013 because the Olympics could stand to broaden it\u2019s global reach as well.<\/p>\n<p>It just seems to me that we are wasting valuable resources on events that no longer merit the time and money that is being afforded them. That in a world where the global economy has changed dramatically over the years that sport can no longer afford to fund secondary championship meets that require the development of the equivalent of a small town in order to be held. <\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t speak for other sports, but I think it\u2019s time for track and field to take a look at the fact that the whole \u201cchampionships\u201d scene was forever changed with a move towards professionalism (because I still don\u2019t think we\u2019ve truly arrived) and the addition of World Championships to the schedule. If anything we need to drop all of the regional and continental meets \u2013 Asian Games, Pan Ams, Commonwealth, European Championships, Continental Cup and others \u2013 and institute an additional World Championships in what is now the off year. Major sports have championships every year and track and field needs to move in that direction. <\/p>\n<p>Whatever activities we are spending our resources on should be highly visible and part of an overall marketing scheme that is designed to put us in the public eye in a big way. Sports fans today pay little to no attention to anything that does not have the words \u201cWorld\u201d or \u201cOlympics\u201d associated with them. Spending money on anything less is a waste of resources. Because if we are to be a truly professional sport, then our \u201cchampionships\u201d must be of the highest quality and bring together our BEST athletes. If it doesn\u2019t attract our best performers then we need to rethink if it needs to be held at all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All year long there have been questions raised about the staging of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Everything from questions regarding whether or not the facilities would be ready in time, to complaints this week from England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, Australia and Canada over the condition of the team accommodations \u2013 said to be unsafe and uninhabitable. A majority of the top level athletes have pulled out for various reasons, with Jamaica sending but a shell of what would normally be considered a national team. All of which makes me question why these Games are being held. At what point do the sport\u2019s ruling bodies step in and say that a competition is in essence being cancelled? But even more to the point, is this and other \u201csecondary\u201d Games necessary? Which to me is really at the heart of the matter. Most of these competitions have origins that go back to a time when the sport\u2019s major highlight \u2013 the Olympic Games \u2013 occurred only once every four years. At that time it made sense to have a Commonwealth Games, or a Pan Am Games, or a European Championships. Having other \u201cchampionship\u201d meets to aim for during the three years between the Olympics helped give purpose to the training and competition of the athletes. It gave them something else to shoot for \u2013 something else to attain. But with each passing Commonwealth Games or Pan Am Games, among others, we see fewer and fewer top level athletes participating. In track and field, for example,with the advent of multiple World Championships to go with the Olympics, competing in \u201cminor\u201d championships has seemingly become a burden for the truly elite athletes who would prefer to rest tired bodies, and mend injuries in preparation of making an attempt at winning a \u201creal\u201d championship medal! And I can\u2019t say that I blame them. After all, would you rather be in possession of a gold medal from the Commonwealth Games or in possession of one from the Olympics or World Championships? I\u2019m sure I already know the answer to that question. Because in the world of trying to market one\u2019s name or brand, it is the attainment of medals in the Majors that earns the pay day. Similarly in other sports, these sorts of Games have become less and less a stage in which the best in sport take part, as most of the amateur based sports \u2013 track and field, swimming and diving, gymnastics, etc \u2013 have their own World Championships to go along with the Olympic Games. More than enough to serve as the focus for their elite athletes. If the top athletes are not attending, then what kind of \u201cchampionships\u201d are being funded? Why are we putting nations through the cost and expense to put together championship facilities for competitions that aren\u2019t even \u201csecondary\u201d in the grand scheme of things? Because in track and field, next in importance to the Majors are the Grand Prix, Super Grand Prix and Diamond League level meets. So at best these secondary majors rank third on a scale of perhaps four levels for our athletes. A lot of money being spent on competitions that mean very little when all is said and done. Would India, and the sport, have been better served by making a bid for the Olympics and planning and utilizing it\u2019s resources to serve as host to the world. Creating a facility that in effect would also be able to host a World Championships in Track and Field. Because, no offense to Europe, but it\u2019s time we did a better job of branching out to other areas of the world. Same for the Pan Am Games. I would much rather see cities like Havana, Caracas, or Santo Domingo hosting a Worlds than a Pan Am Games. It would truly broaden the reach of the sport globally and could begin the process for Olympic bids \u2013 because the Olympics could stand to broaden it\u2019s global reach as well. It just seems to me that we are wasting valuable resources on events that no longer merit the time and money that is being afforded them. That in a world where the global economy has changed dramatically over the years that sport can no longer afford to fund secondary championship meets that require the development of the equivalent of a small town in order to be held. I can\u2019t speak for other sports, but I think it\u2019s time for track and field to take a look at the fact that the whole \u201cchampionships\u201d scene was forever changed with a move towards professionalism (because I still don\u2019t think we\u2019ve truly arrived) and the addition of World Championships to the schedule. If anything we need to drop all of the regional and continental meets \u2013 Asian Games, Pan Ams, Commonwealth, European Championships, Continental Cup and others \u2013 and institute an additional World Championships in what is now the off year. Major sports have championships every year and track and field needs to move in that direction. Whatever activities we are spending our resources on should be highly visible and part of an overall marketing scheme that is designed to put us in the public eye in a big way. Sports fans today pay little to no attention to anything that does not have the words \u201cWorld\u201d or \u201cOlympics\u201d associated with them. Spending money on anything less is a waste of resources. Because if we are to be a truly professional sport, then our \u201cchampionships\u201d must be of the highest quality and bring together our BEST athletes. If it doesn\u2019t attract our best performers then we need to rethink if it needs to be held at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-6t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2685,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2685","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":0},"title":"What&#8217;s Next?","author":"CHill","date":"July 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a different kind of season with the World Championships being held in the middle of July. Usually the championship meet is at the end of the season. September, maybe late August in an early year. Leaving a lot of track season out there left to be run. So,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Commonwealth Games\"","block_context":{"text":"Commonwealth Games","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=commonwealth-games"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/6B8E235B-830F-4861-93D3-7B66B5A82440-150x150.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":406,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=406","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":1},"title":"My Vision For the World Championships","author":"CHill","date":"October 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, I know it\u2019s October and we just had the opening ceremonies for the Commonwealth Games.\u00a0 But with the majority of top line athletes missing from the Commonwealth, my mind can\u2019t help but fast forward to the next gathering of the world\u2019s best athletes \u2013 the World Championships in Daegu.\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=406#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"BERLIN - AUGUST 23:  South Korean dancers perform during the Closing Ceremony during day nine of the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium on August 23, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.  (Photo by Martin Rose\/Bongarts\/Getty Images)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view1.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/6136639\/12th-iaaf-world-athletics\/12th-iaaf-world-athletics.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":238,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=238","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":2},"title":"My Choice To Host the 2016 Games","author":"CHill","date":"October 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday will be a special day for one of the four cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympic Games as Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, and Tokyo all await the vote that will make one of them the Game's host city.Everyone has their favorite, the place they hope will win\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1979,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1979","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":3},"title":"Tokyo to Host 2020 Games &ndash; Who Next","author":"CHill","date":"September 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The choice has been made and the IOC had chosen Tokyo as the Host city for the 2020 Olympics. I actually have lots of notes on the topic as I had originally intended to give my thoughts on who should be selected. But the more I looked, the more I\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1979#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Placeholder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Placeholder_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1463,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1463","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":4},"title":"Televising the Games &ndash; #NBCFail","author":"CHill","date":"August 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Olympic Games, the ultimate sporting event. Citius, Altius, Fortius - Faster, Higher, Stronger. The Games are about the athletes, and the people of the world sharing in their attempt at the ultimate in achievements. Or at least that was the original intent of the Olympic Games - to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"NBC\"","block_context":{"text":"NBC","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=nbc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn3.google.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTamxTDLM-RaVXQFu7nX4eRJyRatkhuoTZZwUKDjdbQPeJ5iXbuPQ","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2445,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2445","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":5},"title":"Let Them Speak","author":"CHill","date":"August 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Olympic Charter calls on the IOC \u201cto oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes\u201d. This is the basis for \u201cbanning\u201d athletes protests during the Olympics. I feel however, that using this statement as the reason to ban the peaceful protests of athletes is itself an abuse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Olympics\"","block_context":{"text":"Olympics","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=olympics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Placeholder_thumb-150x141.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}