The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Friday 31 March 2006

The Friendly Games: Bigger-Stronger-Relevant

Two years ago this month Geraldine so kindly published the very first Court Jester column. This makes this one my 24^th edition. For some of you this may be a cause for rejoicing. For others it may be 23 too many. Regardless, I�m still having fun. Past subjects have included opinion pieces, biographies of royal families- no longer reigning and current, that readers have requested information about, other research subjects people have asked for, and personal observations. But nowhere in that mighty lexicon is a sports story. So on the second birthday of the Court Jester column the drought is over. Gentle reader-herein we present a sports story.

As I write these words the 18th version of the Commonwealth Games is half way through. Already the host country, Australia, has an enormous lead in the medal count that runner-up nations England and Canada cannot hope to catch up to. And probably for the 18th time the question is yet again asked, are the Commonwealth Games still relevant, or should they be scrapped along with all the other trappings of colonialism some people vilify? Well, if you ask the athletes, the host cities, the sponsors and the would-be hosts, the answer is a very firm-you bet they are!

The very first British Empire Games were held in Vancouver, Canada in 1954, where Roger Bannister�s one-minute mile record was established. Fifty years later, in 1994, the Games returned to Victoria, the capital of the province of British Columbia. During the intervening years they have been hosted by Kuala Lumpur; Manchester, UK; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Brisbane, Australia. Melbourne, Australia has them this year; New Delhi got the nod for 2010, and Halifax, Nova Scotia is bidding against Glasgow, Scotland and Abuja, Nigeria for the 2014 Games.

So what�s the big attraction? For one thing being Summer games, they usually take place in warm climes, or at least at times of the year when countries in the Northern Hemisphere are having summer. That�s always a plus.

Secondly, the 71 participating countries have much in common. As former colonies of England they have similar cultural, language and historical links, and similar attitudes to why they are there. Some have never been out of their own countries to compete before.

Third, and probably most important, they occur midway between Summer Olympics, and are used by the athletes to gauge their standings in their respective sports. As well as they do at these Games it is used as a precursor to how they may do two years on.

The connections between Commonwealth nations remain strong. The Queen remains Head of State of many of them, and this is still important to them too. At the close of the 2002 Games in Manchester, a Caribbean entertainer rose up, put his hand over his heart, and asked for a minute of silence to honour the Queen�s Golden Jubilee, and to remember why they were there and what was really important here.

To the athletes reaching the podium at these Games is every bit as important to them as an Olympic medal, maybe more so. If you looked at the stands during the Turin Olympics you would have noted vast swathes of empty seats. Not so at Melbourne venues. Not so in Canada, or Manchester, or Kuala Lumpur either. Pins are traded in the thousands. Groups of fans that follow the circuits all year meet to catch up. There is an atmosphere of support for every athlete, whether they win or come in last. I can tell you from experience that when the Games were held in the Jester�s hometown, the last event was the marathon. Although it took until well after dark before the last competitor crossed the finish line, hundreds of people remained in their seats to cheer him when he finally staggered in. Not for nothing are they called the Friendly Games.

Some sports, like field hockey, are given few major prime showcases, and the Games is one of the biggest. With only two years until the Beijing Games the major hockey nations of Australia, New Zealand, India, England, Pakistan and Canada (because it has so many immigrants from these countries) are all there to compete against each other and size each other up for 2008.

These Games are hosting, nearly twice the number of athletes that competed at Turin. Unlike the Olympics there are athletes who started their careers at a Commonwealth Games, and fully intend to end them at one. Here they will test themselves against the best in the world in swimming, diving, gymnastics, track and field, shooting, boxing, bowls, cycling, wrestling and weightlifting, and many more.

The dramas haven�t all been on the field of battle though. Many have played out behind the scenes. Take the 1994 Games again for example. Australian Aboriginal Cathy Freeman decided to carry both flags on her victory laps after winning both the 200m and 400m races. She took a lot of flak from her government but, all forgiven, carried the torch that lit the Olympic flame at the 2000 Sydney Games.

A Nigerian wrestler on his way back to the Athletes� Village after his event told his unsuspecting driver he wanted to stay in Canada. He got his wish and at the 2000 Olympics he won the Gold Medal, and danced for joy around the Canadian flag he�d draped over the mat he won it on.

No one who watched the end of the 800m race will forget the look of pure joy and disbelief on the face of the first black athlete to win a medal for South Africa. A Northern Ireland weightlifter was so moved by his gold medal podium experience that he grabbed the microphone and warbled a spontaneous but lovely rendition of Danny Boy to the thrilled arena.

A Sierra Leone runner who won Silver in the 100m behind defending Olympic champ Linford Christie of England, had been too embarrassed to participate in the opening ceremonies because his country could not afford to provide him with a track suit. Locals rallied to buy him clothes. Then he tested positive for steroids and was kicked out. Can�t win them all. Several small African and Caribbean nations� athletes arrived without proper track shoes and gear, and local sportswear stores came to the rescue on numerous occasions.

Which brings us to the benefits to the communities that host the Games. As they may not always be the capital cities, like Manchester, Glasgow and Abuja, the influx of tourists, sponsors, and thousands more has a profound effect on local trades, builders, designers, tourism operators, accommodation providers, volunteers, police and fire departments, security businesses and traffic flow, for years before and after. The Queen comes to open them and close them. Politicians and leaders of all nations come to watch their athletes in action in a spirit of camaraderie and good cheer-most of the time.

To the countries, the athletes, the cities which compete to hold them in future years, the people of the host cities and vicinities, the venues, their business communities, the thousands of dedicated volunteers, media, TV broadcasters, sponsors and officials the Commonwealth Games still have great relevance. The ticket prices are reasonable, the weather is comfortable and, the people are welcoming. Records met, established or broken are celebrated by all. Even the losers are made to feel like winners just for being there.

Bigger than the Olympics as better attended. The Melbourne Cricket Ground holds 80,000. During the Opening Ceremonies all these seats were filled. They will be again when Her Majesty declares them closed.

Stronger in participation with 4,500 athletes compared to just over 2,600 at Turin. The athletes of 71 nations are taking part. Turin boasted 80, but this was padded up by tokens like Ethiopia to cover for those not invited to take part. The strains of the Aussie national anthem will play close to 200 times before the Games end as the sports powerhouse they have become continues to steamroll over all competitors-a legacy from Brisbane where they began their dominance in the pool.

Relevant-absolutely. When you look back so many historical sports moments took place at these Games. From 1930 when the first Commonwealth Games were held in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada), to the Miracle Mile in 1954, leading to previously unheard-of running heroes from Kenya and Jamaica. Today there is the dominance of Australia in nearly every discipline, and the world stage that provides poor kids from Belfast, Kingstown or Johannesburg a place to shine.

Now that the Games are over for another session, and the baton has been passed over to the mayor of New Delhi, the images of their flag raised, medals kissed, crowds cheering, home countries in ecstasy or despair, will all remain indelibly etched on the hearts and minds of these athletes for the rest of their lives. Whether they are veterans or first-timers, New Delhi here they come.

Game On!

By the way, and I know nobody will forget, but Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 80th birthday on April 21. The Jester belongs to an international organization called the Monarchist League, and our local branch is throwing a birthday party for the whole community to take part in. We want to publicly acknowledge this milestone in the life of not only a great sovereign but personally a lovely lady, So please give a few minutes thought to the life of dedication, unstinting commitment and pleasure in her work which she has exhibited over the last 54 years of her reign. Her family may have given her grief, and oftentimes these days some governments, if not the people, give her role and her office short shrift. Through it all she goes smiling. She knows that over 1000 years of history of the institution she represents will carry on, in one form or another, while republics and military dictatorships fall around it. So it has been, so it will remain.

Happy Birthday Ma�am, and see you in New Delhi in 2010 (after the winter Olympics in Vancouver of course)

Anon!

- The Court Jester