Silvio Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Organizers dump soccer, basketball from 2010 Games; But sports list will include synchronized swimming Publication: HS - Hamilton Spectator Oct 01 05:26 John Kernaghan There were hurrahs and heartache yesterday as Hamilton 2010 announced the final sports program in its bid for the Commonwealth Games. Reaction ranged from stunned to thrilled as federations learned if they had made the cut. Track cycling, diving, shooting and synchronized swimming are in, basketball, soccer, triathlon and rowing are out. The decision to meet the limit of 15 sports cost the bid corporation many late nights and long debates. "This has been a very difficult decision," said Hamilton 2010 president Jagoda Pike. "We are proud of the extensive process that was undertaken to determine the best possible sport program for the 2010 Games." Pike, publisher of The Hamilton Spectator, said the list arose from extensive consultations with members of both the Canadian and international Commonwealth sport community. "This ensures we are putting forward the best possible sport program to win these Games." Mandatory core sports are aquatics, which covers diving, synchronized swimming and competitive swimming, as well as athletics, lawn bowls, netball and rugby 7's. Hamilton 2010 chose another 10 in badminton, boxing, cycling (including road, track and Mountain biking disciplines), field hockey, gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), shooting, squash, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. Sports for elite athletes with a disability (EAD) include athletics, lawn bowls, swimming, table tennis, shooting and weightlifting. "There's a high degree of disappointment," said Basketball Canada executive director Leslie Dal Cin of the list. "It would have been great for our program and for the basketball community in Hamilton, which is a national hotbed. We also feel some embarrassment in that Canada spawned the man (Dr. James Naismith) who invented the game.)" The COO of the Canadian Soccer Association was stunned and saddened by rejection of his offer of a competition with the senior women's team for 2010. "I was shocked that a sport that spans the Commonwealth and has such a strong following wasn't included," said Kevan Pipe. He pointed to the huge live crowds and record TV audience Canadian women's teams have drawn this year. "I feel badly for the Hamilton bid group that they have missed a chance to fill the new stadium they plan to build." Synchro Canada CEO Scott Stevenson, meantime, was "thrilled that the bid committee worked on the program and were able to include synchronized swimming." He said his organization will be pushing hard for Hamilton to win the Nov. 13 vote for host city. The Canadian Cycling Association's competition co-ordinator, Sean O'Donnell, said getting track cycling confirmed for the program could mean a stronger cycling centre for Hamilton in the future. David Adames, general manager of Hamilton 2010, noted it was apparent in talking to delegates from 57 of the Commonwealth members that the sports program might not win the bid, but it could be a factor in losing it. "It was hard to not include some sports like basketball, considering that Hamilton is a hotbed, but we were limited compared to Manchester (last year) and Melbourne for 2006. They had 12 sports beyond the five compulsory ones." Before this, I was really hoping they'd win because it would necessitate the building of a large capacity stadium in southern Ontario that would be suitable for soccer. Looks like a really bad move not including both soccer and basketball, two of the most popular sports in the world. I don't see how it can help their bid at all ... I know New Delhi's bid will definitely feature soccer and most likely basketball too. Pretty sad when soccer and basketball are considered less important than lawn bowling, ping pong and rhythmic gymastics. No offence to the rhythmic gymnasts on the board...i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 would they still build the new soccer/football stadium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Alas, the New Delhi bid will not include the fan favourite, cow chip tossing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarrek Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Why would they not include soccer, the worlds most popular sport is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulV Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Jarrek Why would they not include soccer, the worlds most popular sport is beyond me. You'd think it would be a shoe-in considering the countries involved, but I don't believe soccer has traditionally been part of the Commonwealth Games. They have tended away from team sports in general, perhaps to cut down on numbers of athletes and expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC supporter Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 This story lacks some context. Traditionally, the Commonwealth Games have been about individual athletes and have not included team sports. Only at Malaysia in 1998 did they enter in any significance. Soccer, to the best of my knowledge, has NEVER been part of the Commonwealth Games -- and that includes Manchester in 2002, where the inclusion of soccer would have seemed a no-brainer. Frankly, I think there are probably enough other international soccer competitions that you can make a case for using the Commonwealth Games to profile smaller sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I agree. Soccer is lost at the Olympics and similiar "general games". There are enough FIFA and Confederation competitions for National teams. A nice idea would be to have a Men's U 23 and Woman's Commonwealth soccer tournament in Canada the next time we host the Commonwealth summit. Then , it would be something special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew W Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 They still have the Commonwealth Games? [}] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 do you think they would still build the soccer/ football field? If the Ti cats wants more fans then need a new stadium(and more then 1 win) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Well, it says in the article that they'll be playing Rugby 7's, although I'm not sure if 7's is played on a full sized field. If so, they'll need a stadium to hold it. Of course, they could always just use the athletics stadium, but hopefully a seperate facility will be built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 For the Rugby 7's competiton, I believed they use City of Manchester Stadium. The game is played on a full-sized field. It's more wide open than the normal 15-a-side version. It's also a way to introduce the sport to developing nations and as a proving ground for future 15-a-side players. The Commonwealth Games has been more of an individual games competition. They're starting to move more to team events common in the Commonwealth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 For the Rugby 7's competiton, I believed they use City of Manchester Stadium. The game is played on a full-sized field. It's more wide open than the normal 15-a-side version. It's also a way to introduce the sport to developing nations and as a proving ground for future 15-a-side players. The Commonwealth Games has been more of an individual games competition. They're starting to move more to team events common in the Commonwealth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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