Gymbrooke Sports News

Canada is out of the race for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as Halifax abandoned its bid Thursday, saying the $1.7-billion cost was too high.

“To say that I am disappointed, to say that I am astonished would be to bring understatement to a new level,” said Andrew Pipe, president of Commonwealth Games Canada.

The event, he said, was “eminently winnable.”

Municipal and provincial politicians said once inflation is factored in, the bid budget is close to $1.7 billion — almost $1 billion higher than originally stated — and the risks associated with pursuing the Games are too high.

“I am very sorry that we have not been able to move forward with this,” said Barry Barnet, Nova Scotia’s minister of health promotion.

“But you know I have to be responsible. We are $700 million short in terms of our ability to meet our obligations to host these Games.”

With Halifax out of the race, the competition for the 2014 event is among Glasgow, Scotland and Abuja, Nigeria. The winner will be announced in November.

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HALIFAX / OTTAWA – The Halifax 2014 bid committee today, Feb. 16, announced which sports it will include in its bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. One of the most important components in the overall bid, the sport program will maximize legacy and benefits for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and the Commonwealth.

If Canada is successful in the international competition, the Halifax 2014 sports program will include: aquatics, athletics, basketball, boxing (men), badminton, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball (women), rugby 7s (men), shooting, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.

“Our sport program is based on hosting a Games that reflects what’s important to all 71 Commonwealth nations and territories while developing legacy programs,” said Fred MacGillivray, Halifax 2014 chair and president. “These programs will contribute to the development of sport throughout Nova Scotia and across the country long after the 2014 Games have been played.”

Today’s announcement is consistent with the formal guidelines provided by the Commonwealth Games Federation and is the result of extensive consultation and planning. In building the program, the bid committee has incorporated advice from the sports community as well as feedback from Commonwealth nations and territories.

“Halifax 2014 has chosen individual and team sports that are operationally feasible, will generate spectator interest, and provide opportunities for post-Games use and legacy in Nova Scotia,” added Mr. MacGillivray.

Based on Commonwealth Games Federation guidelines, other determining factors included:
– levels of participation within the Commonwealth;
– standards of performance by Commonwealth athletes;
– gender equity; — marketing appeal; and,
– cost to the host city and participating countries.

“The release of the Halifax 2014 sport program marks a critical milestone on the road to the final vote in Sri Lanka in November,” said Thomas Jones, CEO of Commonwealth Games Canada. “It also demonstrates our commitment to delivering a Games experience that will fully meet the needs and expectations of our Commonwealth partners.”

“Bringing the Games to Halifax will mean more than just 10 days of spectacular sport in 2014,” said Scott Logan, Halifax 2014 CEO. “It means improved infrastructure, capacity, and experience to become a world-class training centre for summer sports in Canada.”

The Commonwealth Games is an international sport and cultural event held every four years in which athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and territories compete. In December 2005, Halifax won the right to be Canada’s candidate city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Halifax 2014′s primary partners include Commonwealth Games Canada, the government of Canada, the province of Nova Scotia and Halifax Regional Municipality. The bid’s corporate founding partners include Alexander Keith’s and The Daily News/Transcontinental Media.

In competition with Glasgow, Scotland and Abuja, Nigeria, the Halifax 2014 Bid Committee is focused on developing and winning the bid, which will be awarded by the Commonwealth Games Federation on Nov. 9, 2007.

Canada is out of the race for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

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HISTORY OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES

The Commonwealth Games, the Games was first proposed by Englishman, Astley Cooper in 1891 as a festival. Cooper was responsible for the concept of a sporting contest amongst the countries of the British Commonwealth. He wrote an article in 1891 for the magazine Greater Britain, suggesting a festival combining sporting, military and literary events that would draw closer the ties and increase the goodwill and understanding of the Empire.

The holding of the first recorded Games between Empire athletes coincided with the celebrations in connection with the Coronation of His Majesty King George the Fifth in 1911, and was known as the ‘Festival of Empire’.

The program consisted of track and field athletics, boxing, wrestling and swimming events, and a trophy in the form of a silver cup, 2ft 6in high and weighing 340oz, the gift of Lord Lonsdale, was presented to the winning country, which was Canada.

No further development took place until 1928, when the Olympic Games were in progress in Amsterdam. The splendid feelings of friendliness between the Empire athletes at that Olympiad re-vitalised the idea for the revival of Empire meetings.

The initiative of a Canadian, M M Robinson, led to the first official Commonwealth Games in 1930.

Support was forthcoming from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with the result that strong teams were sent to Canada. Teams also came from Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, British Guiana, Newfoundland and South Africa. The events at this meeting comprised track and field athletics, swimming, rowing, boxing and wrestling, and lawn bowls. While no points were allotted, it was fitting that Great Britain filled the premier position.

The success of the first Games at Hamilton in 1930 provided enough incentive to make them regular.When teams throughout the Empire were gathered together at the tenth Olympiad at Los Angeles in 1932, the formation of the British Empire Games Federation was further discussed and the Federation was subsequently constituted. In 1952 the Federation was retitled “British Empire and Commonwealth Games Federation”. In Jamaica 1966 it became the “British Commonwealth Games Federation and in 1974 at Christchurch the title was again changed to the “Commonwealth Games Federation”.

Source: 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi || Official Site of Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games

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