Why the Games are still relevant for NZ
OPINION: The Commonwealth is an unwanted, outmoded relic.
The Commonwealth Games? That, we can still find relevance and use for.
The 2018 version began on Wednesday night on the Gold Coast. Will it be a successful event?
Plenty rests on it for politicians and organisers. One billion dollars have been spent on new transport infrastructure to deal with the influx of teams and spectators.
Will that play a big part in fans flocking to watch? Games organisers believe so – 1.24 million tickets have been put on sale and we’ve been told ‘just’ 140,000 tickets remain, chiefly for events like track and field preliminaries, basketball, table tennis and squash.
It’s impossible to miss the Games’ location in part of Australia dedicated to sun, fun, surf and sand. Public transport is plastered with advertising, Games lanes for traffic are frustrating locals and accommodation rates have soared like the skyscrapers that dot the strip.
Should the weather hold – rain would be a big dampener – the GC games should be a success. Australia will top the medal table, jingoism will reign and ‘‘Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi’’ will once again ring painfully in our ears.
How about us? Every four years, the question arises as to why the Games still plays a prominent part in the New Zealand sporting calendar. Why should we care about a sporting event held only for members of a distasteful union formed when England ruled the waves?
The first gathering of Commonwealth athletes was in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1930 under the banner of the British Empire Games. Six sports were contested – athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming/diving and wrestling – and the event cost less than $100,000.
The 1958 Games in Wales hold a special place in my heart, as my grandfather Bill Hampton was part of the New Zealand team that went to Cardiff as a lawn bowler. I still have his blazer.
Those who see little worth in the 12-day competition will point to the lack of interest in NZ prior to the Games. In our sporting landscape, it currently sits behind Joseph Parker, the Black Caps, the Warriors and Super Rugby as a matter of interest.
But having lived through 11 Games – and been at a few of them – I know that once the athletes start running, swimming, cycling, jumping and beating each other up, our interest will be piqued. The 2018 event will benefit greatly from being televised free-to-ai and the minimal two-hour time difference.
That’s partly because New Zealand athletes will be in medal contention daily – at the previous Games in Glasgow, Kiwis claimed 45 medals, 14 of which were gold.
The presence of sporting superpowers Australia and England will ensure Kiwis face stiff competition in sports we excel at – netball, track cycling, hockey – while the Carribean crews will give the sprints electricity and the Kenyans will load the middle and long-distance races with history and potency.
Gold Coast 2018 will provide us Kiwis with a set of stars – some established, like Tom Walsh and Eliza McCartney, and it’ll also unveil new names and faces with captivating stories behind their unexpected successes.
For those reasons, the Commonwealth Games will continue to feature as a legitimate sporting event for Kiwi success and Kiwi followers.