Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games are a sports competition that is held every four years, following the model of the Olympic Games. The participants must be amateurs (meaning they are not paid to play), and they must be from a Commonwealth country. The Commonwealth is a group of countries, most of which were once associated with the British Empire.

More than 50 countries send athletes to participate in the Commonwealth games. The sports include archery, athletics (track and field), badminton, basketball, boxing, cricket, cycling, diving, fencing, gymnastics, field hockey, judo, rugby, rowing, squash, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting, and wrestling. Most of the sports have both men’s and women’s events.

The Commonwealth Games started in 1930 as the British Empire Games. The games have been held every four years since then, except for the years 1942 and 1946. However, the games have gone through many changes since that time. In 2000 the games started a new tradition of Youth Games for athletes under 18 years old which are also held every four years. In the 2002 games held in Manchester, England, athletes with a disability were able to compete for the first time in certain sports.

Adapted from: Britannica Kids