Introduction
In the below entry I take a look at the Gold Coast being awarded the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast
LATEST: Australia’s Gold Coast has been chosen to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the event’s governing body said in St Kitts and Nevis today.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) opted for Gold Coast by a 43-27 margin over its only rival, the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota.
The subtropical beachside region of Queensland will bring the Games to Australia for a fifth time, after Sydney in 1938, Perth (1962), Brisbane (1982) and Melbourne (2006).
“We’ve done a lot of hard work and it was very clear earlier in the week that there were a lot delegates wanting to support Hambantota,” a jubilant Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said. “It’s been a very, very close vote.
“There was a good chance that we weren’t going to make it. We had seven (presentation) rehearsals, we’ve lobbied everybody, people have had jet-lag all week.
Well this is a positive thing having a Commonwealth Games so close to New Zealand backyard. New Zealand is never going to host the Commonwealth Games again. The country lacks the infrastructure to cope with the number of visitors that would come. Auckland commuter train network couldn’t even cope with the opening of the Rugby World Cup . The overflow of events means that to many venues would have to be built that would only see one time use. Some kind of temporary stadium construction would be worth looking into , if the country had better under lying infrastructure.
So a Commonwealth Games held in Australia is about as good as it is going to get for Kiwi sports fans. From a purely netball point of view the Australian Diamonds will enjoy home ground advantage at both the next world champs at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. On another note there is a push to get Beach Volleyball ball as a Commonwealth Games sport. I think it would be great for future top level Kiwi Beach Volleyball players to have more opportunities in there chosen sport. If your of the school of thought that thinks that the number of sports at the Commonwealth Games should be culled you may be unhappy. Seeing the number of Commonwealth Games sports culled would allow a wider number of countries to host the games. The nature of the world tour makes it hard for the likes of Jason Lochhead and co to qualify for the Olympics. So I can why those who follow the sport of beach volleyball in New Zealand may think its a good idea.
