Values
The Commonwealth Games Federation has three core values - humanity, equality and destiny.
Humanity
The CGF embraces all Commonwealth nations and territories, as well as athletes, communities and citizens.
Seventy-two countries and territories currently compete at the Commonwealth Games, with the event bringing people and cultures together through sport in one place every four years.
Commonwealth Games Associations, in line with the humanity value of the CGF, have created their own initiatives to support developing Commonwealth nations, such as Commonwealth Sport Canada’s SportWORKS programme.
Equality
The CGF promotes fairness, non-discrimination and inclusion through its work.
Areas such as racial and gender equality have been given importance by the CGF through new initiatives, in areas including officiating and the Commonwealth Games sport programme.
At Gold Coast 2018, there were an equal number of medal events for male and female athletes.
Female participation in coaching is being encouraged through the CGF’s internship programme for the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games.
The Commonwealth Games also provides a platform for Para-sport, alongside able-bodied sport, creating an inclusive competition environment.
Destiny
The CGF looks to combine high-performance sport with performances that have impact, helping Commonwealth athletes, citizens and communities realise their aspirations and ambitions.
These ambitions can be realised through the hosting of its major events - the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games.
Strategies are in place to make the Games attractive competitions to host.
Summary
These three core values of the CGF uphold what has been part of the Commonwealth Charter since March 2013.
They underpin the governing body’s strategic partnerships and collaborations with organisations, institutions and agencies in both the public and private sectors.
The values are implemented within the CGF’s decision-making, including in its Transformation 2022 strategy.
Equality and diversity
Across the 72 Commonwealth Games nations and territories, there are six regions: Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Americas, Europe and Oceania.
The Commonwealth of Nations displays ethnic and cultural diversity across all habitable continents.
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Women's Coaching Internship Programme
As part of the CGF’s Gender Equality Strategy, it implemented a coaching programme for women at Gold Coast 2018. Commonwealth Games Associations were encouraged to add an aspiring female coach to their team for the Games.
Twenty quota positions were reserved and travel grants were provided for those involved. Interns from Botswana, Canada, England, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, New Zealand, Northern Ireland and South Africa all attended the 2018 Games across a variety of sports.
The Gender Equality Strategy also focused on the representation of women in sports media, marketing, volunteering and governance, both at the 2018 Games and into the future.
Future Aims
The CGF will include gender equality requirements in its host city contracts for future Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, setting standards at all levels of governance and management.
Minimum representational requirements for men and women will be set at 40 per cent, with a maximum of 60 per cent. These thresholds will also exist for internship programmes established through the CGF and the Commonwealth Sports Foundation.
Equality of participation will be guaranteed in future by allocating 50 per cent of quota positions and travel grants to women.
The Commonwealth Sport Foundation will seek to deliver a coaching certification programme for female athletes as part of a pathway following their retirement from sport.
It will allocate funding to proposals made by Commonwealth Games Associations that target the development of female coaches.
Para-sport
The Commonwealth Games is one of the only major multi-sport events to include Para-sport events alongside able-bodied competition.
Disability sport was first part of the Commonwealth Games at the Victoria 1994 Games, and initially was included as exhibition events.
This was the reintroduction of Commonwealth Para-sport following the discontinuation of the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games after the 1974 edition in Dunedin in New Zealand.
The Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games was the first edition to include Para-athletes as full members of the national teams. It made the Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event.
For the first time, Para-sport was part of the total medal tally. Twenty countries sent both male and female disabled athletes to compete in 10 events across athletics, lawn bowls, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting.
The five sports returned for the Melbourne 2006 Games, where 189 athletes from 25 nations competed in 12 events.
At the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, 300 Para-athletes participated in a record 38 events, with triathlon included for the first time. Athlete participation increased at Gold Coast 2018 by 45 per cent, and seven Para-sports were represented at the Games.
Seventy-three per cent more medals were on the line when compared to the Glasgow 2014 Games, which also broke records at time.
Athletics, cycling, swimming, triathlon, powerlifting, table tennis and lawn bowls were all part of the programme for disabled athletes as the Australian Games.
As part of the Transformation 2022 strategy, the CGF ensured that CGAs were supported and subsidised to send larger Para-sport teams than ever before to Gold Coast 2018, and there is now a focus on future Games.
Birmingham 2022 will be the first Commonwealth Games to introduce core sports for disabled athletes, with the four staple Para-sports confirmed as athletics, lawn bowls, swimming and powerlifting. Optional sports available are 3x3 wheelchair basketball, cycling, table tennis and triathlon.
Commonwealth Sport
Part of the Commonwealth Games’ appeal is its universal reach through its sporting programme.
Sixty-three current and former Commonwealth nations and territories have won a medal at the Games and only 14 current members have yet to do so.
Aside from top sporting nations such as Australia, England and Canada, different countries and territories across the Games excel in different sports which is a clear sign of the event’s diversity.
In athletics, African nations Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda have excelled in recent years, as well as Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.
Racket sports such as badminton and squash have a high success rate for Asian countries like India and Malaysia, as well as Australia, England and New Zealand.
Lawn bowls is one of the most diverse sports on the Commonwealth Games programme - both in terms of countries and age. England’s Doreen Flanders was the previous oldest athlete at the Games when she competed at Glasgow 2014 just after her 79th birthday.
Flanders held this record until Canadian sport shooter Robert Pitcairn, also 79, competed at Gold Coast 2018.
Scotland and England have both won 20 gold medals in the sport, and all but one Commonwealth region is on the medal table. South Africa has flown the flag for its continent, while Pacific territories Norfolk Island and the Cook Islands have both won medals.
India and Pakistan are powerhouses in wrestling, and India is also well-established in shooting and weightlifting. Singapore is another Asian nation with an excellent record, and is currently the top nation in table tennis on the all-time medal table.
Cyprus had its best Games to date at Gold Coast 2018, winning eight gold medals in shooting and gymnastics - its two best sports. Cyprus sits only behind Canada, England and Australia in the gymnastics all-time medal table, despite having a population of less than a million people.
Weightlifting is one of a few sports to feature gold medals from all Commonwealth regions, with notable large hauls for Pacific island nation Nauru and African country Cameroon, which both have 10 gold medals to date respectively.
Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Barbados have also enjoyed sizeable hauls in the sport, while Kiribati won its first and only gold medal to date at Glasgow 2014 in weightlifting thanks to the efforts of David Katoatau.
Away from the Commonwealth Games programme, the CGF has signed agreements with other sporting organisations. This includes the Global Esports Federation, which looks to develop esports in Commonwealth nations and territories, diversifying its partnerships with sports that are growing in popularity.
With esports particular popular among younger people, the CGF has noted that approximately 65 per cent of the Commonwealth of Nations’ two billion citizens are under 30-years-old. By 2022, everyone who is online in the Commonwealth will have a smartphone and access to sufficient bandwidth to stream videos.
Transformation 2022
The Commonwealth Games Federation Strategic Plan for 2015 to 2022 is better known as Transformation 2022.
It has been in effect since March 2015 after it was approved unanimously by all 71 Commonwealth Games Associations present at the General Assembly in Auckland. It outlines the mission and priorities of the CGF until 2022.
Transformation 2022 requires key actions to be taken across the Commonwealth Sports Movement, which includes:
- The Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs)
- The CGF Executive Board
- The CGF Management Team
- Stakeholders in the CGF
It also provides a framework for planning and collaboration between different groups within the Commonwealth Sports Movement.
The CGF said the plan “aims to establish the ideals of our Movement and how we plan to transform them into strategic priorities that result in tangible actions with impact”.
Four priority areas make up the plan: innovative and inspirational Games, good governance and management, strong partnerships and a valued brand.
Mission of the Commonwealth Sports Movement
The CGF works to be athlete-centered and sport-focused, while delivering both integrity and global impact to communities. It aims to accomplish the following:
- Delivering inspirational Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games built on friendships and heritage
- Developing the CGF and the Commonwealth Sports Movement
- Attracting and building on public, private and social partnerships that benefit Commonwealth athletes, sports and communities
- Championing athletes, citizens and communities
Transformation 2022 Refresh
In 2019, the CGF published a refresh of the Transformation 2022 strategy for the final four years.
It highlighted that it must reassure potential bidders that hosting the Commonwealth Games is a financially viable plan. It also recognised the challenges related to poverty, conflict, climate change, economic uncertainty, health and inclusivity.
The refresh has four key mission points:
- Delivering inspirational sporting moments
- Nurturing a powerful sporting movement
- Activating transformational partnerships
- Realising collective impact
Social change
The Commonwealth Sports Movement continues to push for change in its nations and territories.
It recognises minority groups through its Commonwealth Games Associations and its charity, the Commonwealth Sport Foundation (CSF). This is part of the Transformation 2022 initiative.
The Commonwealth Sports Movement pushes for social change in a variety of areas, including:
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Indigenous populations
Countries such as Australia and New Zealand have notable indigenous populations and the Commonwealth Sports Movement has worked towards better social inclusion for these groups.
The Commonwealth Games’ history includes moments of activism and expressing diversity - most notably Australian Cathy Freeman’s Aboriginal flag. The sprinter wrapped herself in the flag of her indigenous community at the Victoria 1994 Games following wins in the 200 metres and 400m.
At the time, Australia did not recognise the Aboriginal flag, with it only recognised a year later as an official flag of the country.
This paved the way for Freeman to become one of the country’s most recognisable athletes, leading up to her famous 400m victory at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Freeman was first given a senior competition platform at the Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games, where she won 4x100m relay gold at the age of 16. This made her the first-ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Australia
In the lead-up to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, event organisers implemented a Reconciliation Action Plan, which was co-created and supported by an Indigenous Working Group and the local Yugambeh Elders Advisory Group.
This Reconciliation Action Plan was highlighted at the Opening Ceremony which focused heavily on indigenous cultures across Australia.
The plan required partners of the 2018 Games to deliver legacy outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in cooperation with the Queensland Government. The Government introduced culturally appropriate and inclusive measures for indigenous people and held workshops and awareness programmes for staff.
Job opportunities and training were also part of the agenda for the indigenous groups.
Since then, Commonwealth Games Australia has adopted its own Reconciliation Action Plan, and has partnered with a consultancy company with more than 20 years’ experience of working with indigenous communities.
The CSF donated funding to this project, which looks to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture into the governing body and connect with these communities in Australia.
New Zealand
The New Zealand Olympic Committee, the Commonwealth Games Association for New Zealand, continues to work closely with the indigenous community in the nation and has created the Māori Advisory Committee.
This Committee provides advice on Tikanga Māori, a concept that incorporates practices and values of the community into society and culture in general. It also ensures that the community has inclusion within the organisation and its activities.
In 2020, as part of Māori Language Week, NZOC created a Māori language film on Olympic success.
The Prince’s Trust partnership
In 2020, the CGF announced a strategic partnership with The Prince’s Trust, which aims to leave a lasting impact for young people following the hosting of a Commonwealth Games or Commonwealth Youth Games.
This partnership is set to start at the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and will enable young people in the city and the surrounding West Midlands to access a range of volunteering, training and employment opportunities generated by the Games.
There will also be three youth summits before the 2022 Games, which will look to increase enthusiasm among young people and unlock their potential. Particular focus will be given to lower socio-economic young people who have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Prince’s Trust was founded in 1976 and has supported more than 950,000 young people. Since 2015, the organisation has expanded its youth support into education, employment and self-employment in Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Barbados, Canada, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.
Key projects between the two organisations will be channelled through the Commonwealth Sport Foundation in future.
LGBT rights
After lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) organisation Pride House International launched at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, it soon became present at the Commonwealth Games and debuted at Glasgow 2014.
It started with consultations in 2011, and events were run at Pride Glasgow before the opening for the Commonwealth Games.
Pride House is a space for athletes, fans, workers and others to be made welcome at sporting events, whether they are part of the LGBT+ community or not. It seeks to advance their rights and combat homophobia and transphobia.
People from 23 Commonwealth nations and territories and 16 from non-Commonwealth nations visited the Glasgow 2014 Pride House. Part of Pride House’s objective is to improve the rights of LGBT+ people across the Commonwealth nations.
During the Glasgow 2014 Opening Ceremony, Scottish actor John Barrowman shared a same-sex kiss - an Opening Ceremony first in the history of the Games. Former CGF chief executive David Grevemberg called the moment a “confident” move.
Grevemberg and Sydney 2000 Olympic beach volleyball gold medallist Natalie Cook attended the launch of the Gold Coast 2018 Pride House, the second at a Commonwealth Games.
Thirteen athletes at Gold Coast 2018 were openly LGBT+, including South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya and English diver Tom Daley.
Birmingham 2022 is set to open its Pride House in the lead-up to its hosting of the Commonwealth Games.
Commonwealth Sport Foundation
As part of the Commonwealth Sport Movement, the CSF was founded as a charitable foundation in the United Kingdom, and seeks to address challenges globally through the power of sport.
Its formation was part of Transformation 2022 objectives, which look to expand the work of the Commonwealth Games beyond the quadrennial event.
“Through the Commonwealth Sport Foundation, and inspired by our engaged athletes and communities, our aim is to shape a more peaceful, sustainable and prosperous future across the Commonwealth,” said Dame Louise Martin, the CGF President, during the CSF launch in August 2020.
Currently, the CSF is in the early stages of creating partnerships, projects and fundraising strategies. Work has started on a £3.5 million development fund, which will ensure a vision and legacy from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is felt in the host city and across the 72 nations and territories.
The CSF’s development model has five pillars, encompassing how it hopes to improve the lives of those in Commonwealth Games nations. These are:
- Youth Empowerment
- Equal Rights
- Historical Injustice
- Small States and Island States
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
The pillars will see the CSF focus its efforts on areas such as equality for men and women and providing assistance for smaller Commonwealth Games nations to develop athletes.
Through events, it is hoped to develop cities which can create a social impact and maintain infrastructure in the long-term.
Commonwealth Sport Impact Framework
The pillars are supported by the Commonwealth Sport Impact Framework, which looks to define, assess, communicate and drive positive impact through the Commonwealth Games and the CGF’s efforts elsewhere.
It includes campaigns and development programmes associated with Commonwealth sport, which seek positive change to the economies of nations and territories and their physical environments.
Peace, sustainability and prosperity are the three key themes of the Impact Framework, with peace as a priority.
The CGF state that once peace can be established, sustainability can then be delivered through an approach which integrates economic, social and environmental development. This can lead to prosperity as measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Better Life Initiative.
By hosting major sporting events like the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games, the CGF looks to introduce the Impact Framework to maximise short, medium and long-term returns on investments.
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