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The Friendly Games

First of all they are called the Friendly Games because the competition is against individual sportsmen and women, but not between countries. The first ever Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. There are always athletics swimming, playing the rugby sevens, netball, lawn bowls and even more events you can imagine. In the Commonwealth Games there are 71 countries altogether. The Commonwealth Games are held every four years. Most recently, the 2010   games took place in New Delhi, India, and during 2006 the games were in Melbourne, Australia. The 2014 Commonwealth Games will be hosted by Glasgow, Scotland.

What sports are in the Commonwealth?

Some of the sports in the Commonwealth Games are…...

Shotput, Lawn bowls, Shooting, Sprinting, Swimming, Gymnastics Artistic, Heptathlon, High Jump, Netball, Rugby Sevens, Table Tennis, Squash, Weightlifting, Hockey, Judo, Wrestling, Boxing, Gymnastics Rhythmic, Triathlon, Powerlifting, Cycling Track, Cycling Mountain Bike, Badminton and Athletics.

What are the Commonwealth of Nations?

The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat, and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation.

The Commonwealth dates back to the mid 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the member states as "free and equal". The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth realms. The other members of the Commonwealth have different persons as head of state: 32 members are republicans and five members are monarchies with a different monarch.

What are the Commonwealth of Values?

The Commonwealth values, which include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace, emerged in independence movements and the struggles for self-government.

In the immediate post-war period, the Commonwealth served as a kind of facilitator and forum for decolonisation, helping independence to be achieved in the former British colonies in a comparatively peaceful and friendly manner. As a result, most of the newly independent states opted to join the association. The first Commonwealth Secretary-General, Mr Arnold Smith, described this decision as at once pragmatic and forward-looking.