As the world was plunged into a global pandemic, sporting events worldwide were halted or postponed to protect the athletes, staff, and spectator. Fortunately, the Commonwealth Games, having last been hosted in 2018 were not effected.Â
This created a unique situation in that the Olympics were postponed by a single year, meaning that the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, which would usually alternate every two years, are now being held back to back.Â
Not only is this great for spectators as we get to see more of our favourite athletes competing to the best of their ability, but it also presents a unique challenge for athletes who now have to accommodate another major games in already busy schedule.
‘Will this affect the overall standards or performance of the athletes competing?’ I hear you ask in the comments section… In short, no, it won’t. The reality is that these people are less human than they are machines, and are more than capable of managing multiple events every year
Let’s get into the meat and potatoes of this year’s Commonwealth Games. Firstly, the events.
Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Bowls, Boxing, Cricket (women’s), Cycling, Gymnastics, Judo, Hockey, Netball, Rugby 7s, Squash, Table tennis, Triathlon, Weightlifting and Wrestling will all feature with multiple events available in most sports for both men, women, and para-athletes meaning that this Commonwealth Games is the most inclusive international sporting event ever!
Going into Birmingham 2022, you will be happy to hear that Judo and Cricket have returned, however, unfortunately, shooting has been dropped which brings our roster to a total of 19 disciplines this year.
And for those wondering- Ten Pin Bowling does not look like it will make its triumphant return after being featured for the first and last time in Kuala Lumpur, 1998.
But I digress… Let’s dive into the full list of sports and break it down into how many events are planned to be held under each discipline!
The largest category this year is the aquatic events. The brand new Sandwell Aquatics Centre will be hosting 66 events ranging from diving to swimming. What’s interesting about this is that the venue for the aquatic events has been purposely built for the games and it looks amazing, and university students attending the University of Wolverhampton will be allowed to study and train at the state-of-the-art facility completely free as part of a 10-year agreement starting from 2023.