GAMES

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Tom Degun

Welsh boxer Sean McGoldrick will finally be awarded the gold medal in the men's bantamweight division from the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games at a special ceremony at the Sport Wales National Centre at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff tomorrow evening.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) made the announcement - confirming last week's exclusive report on insidethegames - following the removal of Manju Wanniarachchi from the results, after the Sri Lankan boxer was found guilty of an anti-doping violation at the Delhi Games.

The Commonwealth Games Council for Wales has organised the special ceremony in Cardiff for McGoldrick to pay homage to the achievement of the 19-year-old.

"Sean is a very deserving gold medallist," said Mike Hooper, the chief executive of the CGF, who is due to present the medal to McGoldrick.

"It has been unfortunate that Sean has had to wait so long for a medal that is rightly his.

"He showed great sportsmanship during the Games at Delhi and this has continued throughout the months that followed so I will be delighted to present the gold medal to him tomorrow."

The opportunity for Wanniarachchi to appeal lapsed without the athlete taking any further action and the disqualification of the Sri Lankan from all results in Delhi has led to a re-awarding of medals from the event.

McGoldrick, who at 18 was the youngest member of Wales' boxing team and lost the 56kg weight-division final on count back, now takes the gold.

The silver medal has been awarded to Tirafalo Seoko from Botswana, who lost to Wanniarachchi at the semi-finals.

The man who lost to McGoldrick in the semi-finals, Louis Julie from Mauritius, retains his bronze, while the second bronze medal has gone to Nicholas Okoth from Kenya, who was defeated by Wanniarachchi in the quarterfinals.

Wanniarachchi's gold medal has been returned to the CGF but, as it is not in top condition, McGoldrick will be presented with a brand new official Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Chris Jenkins, Chef de Mission of Team Wales in Delhi said: "Sean must be commended for not only his fantastic performance in Delhi but also for how he's handled himself since this all came to light.

"He's proved himself to be the model professional and it couldn't happen to anyone more deserving."

"It's also a time for Wales to celebrate as we've seen our position in the overall standing rise by two, we now feature in 13th position, equal to Melbourne 2006.

"With Glasgow just over three years off and the [Commonwealth] Youth Games just a matter of months away, this gives our athletes yet another boost in their preparations."

Hooper continued that all medallists from the event had a right to feel proud of their achievements.

"Congratulations from the Commonwealth Games Federation go to all the medallists as they now stand," he said.

"We will get the silver to Tirafalo Seoko and the bronze to Nicholas Okoth immediately.

"Their names, along with Sean's and the other bronze medallist, Louis Julie, will be enshrined in the Commonwealth Games records as the medallists for the men's boxing 56kg division from Delhi 2010 forever."

Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Duncan Mackay

June 2 - South Africa are planning to launch a campaign to host the 2022 Commonweatlh Games after the disappointment of being forced to drop plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics because of lack of Government support, they announced today.

The event has been never staged in Africa and a bid from South Africa will be welcomed by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), keen to take it to new markets.

"Immediately after the announcement of where the 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held, we will go in for 2022," said Gideon Sam, the President of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASOC),

"It has never been to Africa and so we want to put in a bid."

The host city for the 2018 Commonwealth Games is due to be chosen by the CGF at its annual meeting in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11 where the candidates will be the Gold Coast and Hambantota.

South Africa was widely expected to bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics following the success of last year's FIFA World Cup but Jacob Zuma's Government decided not to back a bid, saying it wanted to focus on delivering basic services such as water and electricity to all its citizens.

But Sam said there was nothing to stop the country bidding for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Sam did not specify which city South Africa proposed to put forward but Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth had all hoped to bid for the Olympics while Cape Town had also initially expressed interest before withdrawing because of the costs involved.

He told reporters at the 30-day countdown to the 123rd International Olympic Committee Session to be held in Durban in July that South Africa had previously stepped back to allow other countries to bid for the Commonwealth Games.

"In the past we stood back for Nigeria [Abuja] but they lost out to Glasgow [for the right to host the 2014 Games]," he said.

"This time we have said there will be no horse-trading, we will put up our hand and see how we go."

Sam added that a bid for the Commonwealth Games would not be hampered by the same issues that affected a possible Olympics bid.

"The scale of the Commonwealth Games is a lot smaller than the Olympics," he said.

"We will have to have buy-in from a host city and from Government, because of security issues, but we are not talking about the expense of an Olympics."

South Africa's decision to bid for the Games will be a blow to several cities in Britain, including Birmingham and Cardiff, who have both expressed an interest in bidding for 2022.

The CGF are due to choose the host city for 2022 at its meeting in 2015.

Sam hopes that by successfully hosting the Commonwealth Games it could be the platform for a bid for the Olympics and Paralympics.

But he warned that the Government must be fully behind it.

"Remember when we started this whole process, we said that this is Government, they can host it and not the National Olympic Committee," Sam said.

"So we were always cautious about running ahead of the whole process.

"That's what we said, once Government shows appetite for the games, we will then be able to."

Contact the writer of this story at duncan.mackay@insidethegames.biz

By Duncan Mackay in Kuala Lumpur

Mike Fennell is set to end his 17-year reign as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) after promising Malyasia's Prince Tunku Imran (pictured) that he will not stand against him in the elections later this year.

The Jamaican has held the position since first being elected at Victoria in Canada in 1994 but will step down in November at the Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis when Tunku, who has been the CGF's vice-president since 2003, is expected to be the only candidate.

Fennell told Tunku that he would not seek another term during a telephone call earlier this week.

Fennell had been forced to miss this week's Executive Board meeting of the CGF because he is currently recovering in Jamaica from triple heart bypass surgery he underwent recently.

"I was in contact with Mike Fennell to let him know that I'd like to announce my candidancy during the time of the EB, particularly as so many [CGF] regional vice-presidents were here," 63-year-old Tunku told insidethegames.

"I did announce to the Board that I would be standing.

"Mike Fennell (pictured) said to me, 'If you are standing then I won't'.

"He's said he is going to stand down."

Tunku, whose late father Tuanku Jaafar was Malaysia's King between 1994 and 1999, has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2006 and President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia since 1998, the year that Kuala Lumpur became the first country in Asia to host the Commonwealth Games.

That event is widely credited with helping reinvigorate the Games.

"Since Kuala Lumpur the Federation has gone...to something that is much bigger," Tunku said.

"Our vision was that the Games should represent what the Commonwealth is best at.

"We made it happen."

Tunku now wants to carry on that philosophy when he is elected as President.

One of the first things he plans to do is to arrange a strategic review early next year involving the GCF, Commonwealth Games Associations and sports to discuss the future direction of the events, including how to get the top athletes like Usain Bolt to compete.

"I'm keen not to change direction but to strengthen the Federation in so many ways," he said.

"We need to be better known.

"We have to try establish the desire of top athletes to want to be part of the Games, without obviously getting into the payment of monies because we can't go down that route.

"We've got to change the perception of the top athletes.

"That's to do with how we market the Games and position the Games."

Tunku also wants to continue encouraging more countries from around the Commonwealth to bid for the Games following last year's event in New Delhi and the candidature from Hambantota in Sri Lanka for 2018.

"We really want to get Commonwealth countries who have never had the Games that are capable of doing a good Games really to start bidding," he said.

"Singapore is a classic case [and] South Africa has three cities which could do the Games very well."

Contact the writer of this story at duncan.mackay@insidethegames.biz.

Source: CGF Newsletter

Kuala Lumpur, May 11, 2011

The Gold Coast and Hambantota have formally started the race to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games after lodging their bids with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today.

Speaking at the ceremony, CGF Vice President, HRH Tunku Imran thanked both candidate cities for their commitment to the Commonwealth Games movement.

“Over the last two years we have seen both the Gold Coast and Hambantota work towards this day and develop not only their bid books but also an understanding of what responsibilities lay ahead for them and what the Commonwealth Games mean to the people of the Commonwealth.

“The race for the 2018 Games presents an intriguing choice for our members.

“Each city would make a worthy host and would continue to build the international profile and brand of the Commonwealth Games as one of the most popular and enduring world-class events on the international sporting calendar.

“Today’s presentations mark only the start of the selection process for 2018. Now that the candidature files have been formally lodged with the CGF, an extensive evaluation process will get underway, beginning with an analysis of the technical aspects of each city’s bid documents.

“This will include site visits to each city by our Evaluation Committee with the final decision to be taken by our member nations at the CGF’s General Assembly in St Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean on 11th November later this year, when responsibility for both upholding the great traditions of the ‘Friendly Games’ as well as taking the movement into the future will be passed on to either the Gold Coast or Hambantota.”

“It is not just about what each candidate city will offer over 11 days on and off the field of play in 2018, it is also about ensuring that we continue to celebrate the diversities within the Commonwealth, making sure that sport offers our youth a chance for betterment, and its about all stakeholders working together, with the Games as a catalyst, for a better understanding of each other and for peace.”

The CGF Executive Board, chaired by HRH Tunku Imran in the absence of President Michael Fennell who is recovering from heart surgery, appointed Ms Louise Martin CBE, Honorary Secretary of the CGF, as the Chair of the Evaluation Committee.

Other members appointed are Mr Gideon Sam, President South Africa Sports Confederation and National Olympic Committee, Mr Erskine Simmons, Secretary General Barbados Olympic Committee, Mr Andrew Ryan, Executive Director, ASOIF, and Mr Mike Hooper, CGF CEO.

Their work begins next month and the Final Evaluation report will be completed in September.

A draw conducted during the lodgment ceremony determined that Hambantota will be the first city to present to the General Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11.


Additional Quotes

HAMBANTOTA

Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Hambantota 2018 Organising Committee Co-Chairman and Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

“A Hambantota 2018 Games will secure long term and sustainable social and economic benefits and drive sustainable development throughout our country.  But it will also bring about a major and exciting change in Commonwealth & world sport – mostly for your sports and competitors.”

“Given the opportunity to host the Games will make such a difference to Commonwealth sport, to its athletes and to the young people in Sri Lanka, South Asia and around the Commonwealth who aspire to excite and thrill us with their performances in 2018.  We are not adapting existing facilities but creating brand new state of the art venues, built around the Athletes’ Village that puts athletes at its heart.  We have already started work on our wonderful new host venue, the adjacent international airport and new road system.  And we are on time and on budget to complete in 2016 so we can host CGA training camps in the 18 months before the Games.”

GOLD COAST

Sam Coffa AM,JP, President, Australian Commonwealth Games Association

"As a country, Australia loves the Games and the stands will be full of cheering spectators supporting both the winners and those who participate."

"The ACGA was very pleased to submit the Gold Coast 2018 Candidature File to the Commonwealth Games Federation and has no doubt the city can host a world class event.

Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh MP

"The submission of the Gold Coast Candidature File is a milestone in the bidding process marked very enthusiastically by a community on the Gold Coast, throughout Queensland and Australia who really want to host the Games in 2018."

"The Games will elaborate our sense of pride for the country we live in and evoke a shared passion that will leave a long term social and cultural legacy for the City."

Mark Stockwell, Chairman, 2018 Gold Coast Bid Committee

"We were pleased with the enthusiasm shown at the lodgement ceremony for the Gold Coast City Candidature and this reflects an Australia wide enthusiasm for the Gold Coast hosting the 2018 Games."

"It has been thus far an amazing process to be involved in – I have enjoyed competing in the Commonwealth and Olympic Games and have now turned my passion to developing a Bid to host the Games in my home country.

“Australia is a nation that embraces sport on all levels across multiple disciplines and we understand the significance and benefits sport and sporting events bring to international peace and goodwill among the family of Commonwealth nations. Gold Coast City is honoured and proud to be Australia’s candidate City and we look forward to the next phase of the Bid and welcoming Commonwealth Games Association representatives to Gold Coast City.

Source: CGF Newsletter

Kuala Lumpur, May 10, 2011

Two cities, Gold Coast in Australia and Hambantota in Sri Lanka, are gearing up for the lodgment of their official bids to host to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (May 11).

Both cities have taken along high-powered delegations for the presentation to the Commonwealth Games Federation Executive Board.


The Co-Chairmen of the Hambantota bid committee, the Minister of Sports Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, and the Governor of the Sri Lankan Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, along with parliamentarian Hon Namal Rajapaksa, former athlete Sriyani Kulawansa, and the bid Chief Executive Nalin Attygalle, will represent the harbour city.

Another 22 members of bid committee from the public and private sectors and the Armed forces will support them.

The Gold Coast team will be headed by Queensland Premier, Hon Anna Bligh MP, Gold Coast City Mayor, Ron Clarke MBE, Australian Commonwealth Games Association President, Sam Coffa, AM, JP, Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Bid Company Chairman, Mark Stockwell, Australian Commonwealth Games Association, CEO, Perry Crosswhite AM, and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Bid Company, CEO, Mark Peters.

Hambantota organisers have said their presentation we will depict Sri Lanka's culture through music and dance, show what they have to offer the Commonwealth’s 71 countries, and highlight that children are the future who will participate in 2018 if the city is successful in its bid.

Commonwealth Games hurdler, silver medalist, Sriyani Kulawansa, who will speak at the bid ceremony, said:

“I won my medal in KL and I am delighted to be back in my medal winning venue to officially lodge the 2018 Bid.”

Hambantota Bid Co-Chairman, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, said:

“The key motivation to host a Commonwealth Games is intrinsically linked with plans for the long-term development of the district of Hambantota and the southern province of Sri Lanka

“Our promise to athletes and guests hoping to visit Hambantota and our beautiful country in 2018, would be that we would provide them with an experience of a lifetime, offering diversity, beauty and charm of our heritage, coupled with exciting festivals and fun.”

Hambantota Bid Committee CEO, Nalin Attygalle, said:

“His Excellency, the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, appointed a high powered committee to head our bid. Fifteen team leaders were appointed to lead 15 themes of the bid books.

“A great deal of effort has gone into producing the bid documents.”

Gold Coast organisers have said that their presentation will have a component that illustrates Australia’s passion for the Games and the event readiness of the Gold Coast and Australia to host another successful Games.

Gold Coast Bid Chairman Mark Stockwell said:

"Our vision is to present the Gold Coast as the best place to conduct a world class Games with excellent competition in a relaxed and friendly environment. As an athlete I understand and appreciate the focus that is needed to ensure athletes can compete at their very best."

Australian Commonwealth Games Association President, Sam Coffa said:

"The Gold Coast is a city that we confidently endorse as a worthy candidate to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games – where sport and indeed athletes are already very much a focus of the community’s attention. Australians consider the opportunity to host the Games as an honour and a privilege and to that end the ACGA is sure Gold Coast City will uphold Australia’s track record in providing a memorable experience for athletes, officials, volunteers, and spectators."

Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke said:

"Gold Coast City will not only provide an atmosphere that encourages great athletic performance, but also nurtures new friendships for those involved. It will be a Games that will forge special memories that last a lifetime… like those I have carried with me for more than 50 years."


Note: The formal bid lodgement ceremony is at 12 noon Kuala Lumpur time at the city’s Le Meridien Hotel.