1.
Hamilton, Ontario
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Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Residents of the old city are known as Hamiltonians, since 1981, the metropolitan area has been listed as the ninth largest in Canada and the third largest in Ontario. Hamilton is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, McMaster University is ranked 4th in Canada and 94th in the world by Times Higher Education Rankings 2015-16 and has a well-known medical school. Possibly because of its environment, numerous TV and film productions have been filmed in Hamilton, regulated by the Hamilton Film. A growing arts and culture community garnered media attention in 2006 when the Globe and Mail published an article called Go West, the article highlighted local art galleries, recording studios and independent film production. In pre-colonial times, the Neutral Indians used much of the land but were driven out by the Five Nations who were allied with the British against the Huron. A member of the Iroquois Confederacy provided the route and name for Mohawk Road, which originally included King Street in the lower city. In 1784, about 10,000 United Empire Loyalists settled in Upper Canada, chiefly in Niagara, around the Bay of Quinte, and along the St. Lawrence River between Lake Ontario and Montreal. They were soon followed by many more Americans, some of not so much ardent loyalists but attracted nonetheless by the availability of inexpensive. At the same time, large numbers of Iroquois loyal to Britain arrived from the United States and were settled on reserves west of Lake Ontario. The town of Hamilton was conceived by George Hamilton, when he purchased farm holdings of James Durand, nathaniel Hughson, a property owner to the north, cooperated with George Hamilton to prepare a proposal for a courthouse and jail on Hamiltons property. Hamilton offered the land to the crown for the future site, Durand was empowered by Hughson and Hamilton to sell property holdings which later became the site of the town. As he had instructed, Durand circulated the offers at York during a session of the Legislative Assembly. Initially, this town was not the most important centre of the Gore District, a permanent jail was not constructed until 1832 when a cut-stone design was completed on one of the two squares created in 1816, Princes Square. Subsequently, the first police board and the limits were defined by statute on February 13,1833. Official City status was achieved on June 9,1846, by an act of Parliament,9 Victoria Chapter 73, the city had several interurban electric street railways and two inclines, all powered by the Cataract Power Co. Though suffering through the Hamilton Street Railway strike of 1906, with industrial businesses expanding, allan Skyway in 1958, and the first Tim Hortons store in 1964. Since then, many of the industries have moved or shut down operations and the economy has shifted more toward the service sector, such as transportation, education
2.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
3.
Opening ceremony
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A grand opening is a publicized event at which a new establishment announces its official opening to the public. Depending on the nature of the establishment, a party atmosphere may be promoted by use of food, music, prizes, balloons, giveaways, festive signs, searchlights, a ribbon cutting ceremony is a common ritual, symbolically opening the facility to the public. Before the grand opening there are usually media previews, such openings may be by invitation only, or may welcome visitors made aware of it by word of mouth. Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, fans Not Customers, How to create growth companies in a no growth world
4.
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon
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Freeman-Thomas was born in England and educated at Eton College and then the University of Cambridge before serving for 15 years in the Sussex Artillery. He then entered the diplomatic and political fields, acting as aide-de-camp to his father-in-law when the latter was Governor of Victoria, and in 1900 was elected to the British House of Commons. He thereafter occupied a variety of government posts, including secretary to the British prime minister and, after being raised to the peerage as Lord Willingdon, as Lord-in-Waiting to King George V. After the end of his tenure, Willingdon was installed as the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and was elevated in the peerage as the Marquess of Willingdon. After representing Britain at a number of organisations and celebrations, Willingdon died in 1941 at his home in London, and his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey. Freeman Thomas was born the son of Freeman Frederick Thomas, an officer in the rifle brigade of Ratton and Yapton, and his wife, Mabel. By the age of two, Thomas father had died and he was raised thereafter by his mother, who sent him to Eton College. There, he acted as President of the Eton Society and was for three years a member of the cricket team, serving as captain of the playing eleven during his final year. His father had played for Sussex. Upon his general admission from university, Freeman-Thomas then volunteered for fifteen years for the Sussex Artillery, in 1892, Freeman-Thomas assumed the additional surname of Freeman by deed poll and married Lady Marie Brassey, the daughter of the 1st Earl Brassey. Freeman-Thomas often cited her as a source of support, stating once, My wife has been a constant inspiration, the couple had two sons, Gerard, born 3 May 1893, and Inigo, born 25 July 1899. Gerard was killed in World War I on 14 September 1914, Freeman-Thomas political career began in 1897 with his appointment as aide-de-camp to his father-in-law, who was then the Governor of Victoria, Australia. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Freeman-Thomas joined the Liberal Party and he then served as a junior lord of the Treasury in the Liberal Cabinet that sat from 1905 to 1906. Within a year, however, the First World War had erupted, Lord Willingdon strove to serve the Allied cause, taking responsibility for treating the wounded from the Mesopotamian campaign. This was the first meeting Willingdon had with Gandhi and he described the Indian spiritual leader as honest. Still, the government insisted that tax not only be paid, the people under Gandhis influence then rallied together and sent a petition to Willingdon, asking that he cancel the taxes for that year. For his actions there, in relation to governance and the war effort, Willingdon returned to the United Kingdom from Bombay only briefly before he was appointed on 10 April 1919 as the Governor of Madras. This posting came shortly after the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1918 were formalised by the Government of India Act, Willingdon appointed A. Subbarayalu Reddiar as his premier and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn opened the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly
5.
Percy Williams (sprinter)
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Percy Alfred Williams, OC was a Canadian athlete, winner of the 100 m and 200 m races at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a former world record holder for the 100 metres sprint. At the age of 15 Williams suffered from fever and was advised to avoid strenuous physical activities. However, as his high school required participation in competitions, he started training in sprint in 1924. At the 1928 Olympic trials he won the 100 m and 200 m races, at the Olympics Williams won both the 100 m and 200 m races. He was also part of the Canadian team which was disqualified in the final of the 4×100 metre relay contest and he suffered a pulled thigh muscle at the British Empire Games and never made a full comeback. At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 metre event, with the Canadian team he finished fourth in the 4×100 metre relay competition. Subsequently, Williams stopped running and became an insurance agent and he donated two gold medals from the 1928 Olympics to the BC Sports Hall of Fame, saying that he wanted them to be seen and remembered. It was said at the time that Williams simply shrugged off the loss, in 1979, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Williams stayed with his mother until she died in 1977, after that, he lived alone and suffered from arthritic pain. A keen collector of guns, Williams shot himself in the head with a gun he had been awarded in 1928 as a prize for his Olympic feat and his suicide was a surprise to everyone and no note was left. He was interred at Masonic Cemetery of British Columbia, Burnaby, in 1950, a Canadian press poll proclaimed Williams Canadas greatest track athlete of the first half of the century. They updated that in 1972 to declare him Canadas all-time greatest Olympic athlete
6.
Ivor Wynne Stadium
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Ivor Wynne Stadium was a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood Avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The stadium was the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from 1950 until it closed on October 27,2012, the clubs previous home was the Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds. The stadium was replaced by Tim Hortons Field, with a capacity of 24,000. The stadium had a track where the Cap Cornelius secondary-school relays were held. The stadium, called simply the civic stadium, was built in 1928 to host the 1930 British Empire Games. However, playing fields had stood on the site since the city bought the land from a farmer in 1913. The stadium was rebuilt in 1970-71. In 1971, it was renamed for Ivor Wynne, a chairman of the city Parks Board who was Athletic Director. He was considered to be responsible for creating McMasters physical education course. From 1971 to 1975, Ivor Wynne was the largest stadium in the CFL with 34,500 seats, Ivor Wynne was the second facility in Canada to use Astroturf, after Empire Stadium in Vancouver. In the 1980s, the west endzone bleachers were removed so that a new scoreboard could be added and that dropped capacity to about 29,500. A later retrofit of the north stands lower east section for handicapped access in the 1990s dropped capacity further to just under 29,000. The stadium was renovated again after the 2002 football season and had a new second-generation AstroTurf playing surface installed, shortly after the 2003 season, a new scoreboard was erected in the west end of the stadium, owing to sponsorship, it is known as Dofasco TigerVision. Dofasco was bought out by Arcelor Steel in 2006 who was out by Mittal Steel now known as ArcelorMittal. In 2011, plans were announced to renovate the stadium again in 2012, with a date in 2014. On February 25,2011, the Toronto 2015 Pan Am board of directors approved stadium plans which would see the side stands demolished and rebuilt. However, that plan was not used and it would be a multi-function stadium, hosting concerts and football, soccer, and hockey games. In the 1996 game, temporary west and east end zone seating raised capacity to 40,000
7.
1934 British Empire Games
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The 1934 British Empire Games were the second of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the venue at Wembley Park. Seventeen national teams took part, including the Irish Free State, the 1934 Games had originally been awarded to Johannesburg, South Africa, but were changed to London because of concerns about the way South Africa would treat black and Asian athletes. Womens events in athletics were held, the games had womens events only in swimming. All events were for men only, all events were for men only
8.
Commonwealth Games
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The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, the games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation, which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. A host city is selected for each edition,18 cities in seven countries have hosted the event. Apart from many Olympic sports, the also include some sports that are played predominantly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls. Although there are 52 members of the Commonwealth of Nations,70 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games, the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—also send separate teams. Only six countries have attended every Commonwealth Games, Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, Australia has been the highest achieving team for twelve games, England for seven, and Canada for one. The John Astley Cooper Committees worldwide helped Pierre de Coubertin to get his international Olympic Games off the ground, in 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London to celebrate the coronation of George V. In 1928, Melville Marks Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games, eleven national teams and four hundred competitors took part in six sports. Women competed in the events only. The opening and closing ceremonies as well as took place at Civic Stadium. The 1934 Games had originally been awarded to Johannesburg, but were given to London instead because of the potential for prejudiced treatment of black, seventeen national teams took part, including the Irish Free State. Once again, only six sports were featured in these particular Games, athletics took place at White City and three sports took place at Wembley, at the well established venue of the Empire Pool in Wembley Park, which later became Wembley Arena. The Empire Games flag was donated in 1931 by the British Empire Games Association of Canada, the year and location of subsequent games were added until the 1950 games. The name of the event was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. The first edition of the event was the 1930 British Empire Games in which 11 nations participated, the quadrennial schedule of the games was interrupted by the Second World War and the 1942 Games and the 1946 Games were abandoned. The games were revived in 1950 and underwent a name change four years later with the first British Empire, over 1,000 athletes participated in the 1958 Games as over thirty teams took part for the first time. The 1978 Games in Edmonton marked a new high as almost 1,500 athletes from 46 countries took part, the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia saw the sporting programme grow from 10 to 15 sports as team sports were allowed for the first time. Participation also reached new levels as over 3500 athletes represented 70 teams at the event, at the Games in Melbourne in 2006, over 4000 athletes took part in sporting competitions
9.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
10.
The Hamilton Spectator
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The Hamilton Spectator, founded in 1846, is a newspaper published every day but Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Hamilton Spectator was first published July 15,1846, as The Hamilton Spectator, founded by Robert Smiley and a partner, the paper was sold in 1877 to William Southam, who founded the Southam newspaper chain and made the Spectator the first of the chain. The Southam chain was sold in 1998 to Conrad Black, who in turn sold off The Hamilton Spectator to Sun Media, in 1999 the Spectator was sold for a third time to Torstar Corporation. The Hamilton Spectator is currently published 6 days a week by Metroland Media Group, the Spectator also serves Halton Region, as far east as Oakville. List of newspapers in Canada Hamilton Spectator official website Democracy at War, Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War - Canadian Museum of Civilization
11.
1928 Summer Olympics
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The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to wartorn Antwerp, Belgium, the only other candidate city for the 1928 Games was Los Angeles, which would host the Olympics four years later. The United States Olympic Committee measured the costs and revenue of the 1928 Games in preparation for the 1932 Summer Olympics. The committee reported a total cost of US$1.183 million with receipts of US$1.165 million for a loss of US$18 and these Olympics were the first to be organised under the IOC presidency of Henri de Baillet-Latour. For the first time, the Olympic Flame was lit during the Olympics, the torch relay, however, would not occur until the 1936 Summer Olympics. For the first time, the parade of nations started with Greece, which holds the origins of the Olympics, and ended with the host country, the Games were officially opened by Prince Hendrik, consort of Queen Wilhelmina, who had authorized him to deputise for her. This was the time a head of state had not personally officiated at an Olympic opening ceremony. The first at the games of 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, in opposition he had refused offers by heads of state to do this, whereas the Queen refused as she was on holiday in Norway and did not want to disrupt her trip. The Queen was furious at the committee for not consulting with her about the opening date. Athletics events were held on a 400-meter track, later becoming the standard for athletics tracks and these games were the first to feature a standard schedule of 16 days, which is still followed. Previously, competition had been stretched out several months. Johnny Weissmuller, who appeared in several Tarzan movies, won two gold medals in swimming. Paavo Nurmi of Finland won his ninth and final medal in the 10,000 m race. Canadas Percy Williams surprised everyone by winning both the 100 m and 200 m sprint events, south American football made a definite breakthrough, as Uruguay retained its title by defeating Argentina. India took its first ever gold in the sport of field hockey, mikio Oda of Japan won the triple jump event with a result of 15.21 meters, becoming the first gold medalist from an Asian country. The then Crown Prince Olav, later King of Norway, was amongst the participants and he won a gold medal in sailing. Pat OCallaghan won newly independent Irelands first ever medal, taking gold in the hammer throw, the first appearance of the sponsor Coca-Cola at the Olympic Games. These games were the first to bear the name Summer Olympic Games, germany returned to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1912, after being banned from the 1920 and 1924 Games
12.
British Guiana
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British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, since 1966 known as the independent nation of Guyana. Its indigenous people are the Arawak-speaking Lucayan, part of the Taino people, the first European to discover Guiana was Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle there, starting in the early 17th century, in 1796, Great Britain took over these three colonies during hostilities with the French, who had occupied the Netherlands. Britain returned control to the Batavian Republic in 1802, but captured the colonies a year later during the Napoleonic Wars, the colonies were officially ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814, and consolidated into a single colony in 1831. The colonys capital was at Georgetown, as the British developed the colony for sugarcane plantations, they imported many Africans as slave labour. The economy became more diversified since the late 19th century, but has relied on resource exploitation, Guyana became independent of the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966. The Dutch West India Company founded a colony, Demerara. During the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, when the Netherlands were occupied by the French, a British expeditionary force was dispatched from its colony of Barbados to seize the colonies from the French-dominated Batavian Republic. The colonies surrendered without a struggle, initially very little changed, as the British agreed to allow the long-established laws of the colonies to remain in force. In 1802 Britain returned the colonies to the Batavian Republic under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, but, after resuming hostilities with France in the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, Britain seized the colonies again less than a year later. The three colonies were ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. The UK continued separate administration of the colonies until 1822. In 1831, the administration Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice was combined, the economy of British Guiana was completely based on sugarcane production until the 1880s, when falling cane sugar prices stimulated a shift toward rice farming, mining and forestry. However, sugarcane remained a significant part of the economy, under the Dutch, settlement and economic activity was concentrated around sugarcane plantations lying inland from the coast. Under the British, cane planting expanded to coastal lands. Until the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, sugar planters depended almost exclusively on slave labour to produce sugar, Georgetown was the site of a significant slave rebellion in 1823. In the 1880s gold and diamond deposits were discovered in British Guiana, bauxite deposits proved more promising and would remain an important part of the economy. The colony did not develop any significant manufacturing industry, other than sugar factories, rice mills, sawmills, the London-based Booker Group of companies dominated the economy of British Guiana
13.
Sport of athletics
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Athletics is a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running. The results of racing events are decided by finishing position, while the jumps, the simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes performances for a team score, organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BCE. The rules and format of the events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century. Most modern top level meetings are conducted by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the athletics meeting forms the backbone of the Summer Olympics. The foremost international athletics meeting is the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, other top level competitions in athletics include the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. Athletes with a disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships. The word athletics is derived from the Ancient Greek ἀθλητής from ἆθλον or ἆθλος, initially, the term was used to describe athletic contests in general – i. e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century, the term acquired a more narrow definition in Europe. This definition continues to be the most prominent one in the United Kingdom, furthermore, foreign words in many German and Roman languages which are related to the term athletics also have a similar meaning. In much of North America, athletics is synonymous with sports in general, the word athletics is rarely used to refer to the sport of athletics in this region. Track and field is preferred, and is used in the United States and Canada to refer to most athletics events, including racewalking, Athletic contests in running, walking, jumping and throwing are among the oldest of all sports and their roots are prehistoric. Athletics events were depicted in the Ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, with illustrations of running at the Heb Sed festival, the Tailteann Games were an ancient Celtic festival in Ireland, founded around 1800 BCE, and the thirty-day meeting included running and stone-throwing among its sporting events. The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BCE was a running event known as the stadion. This later expanded to include throwing and jumping events within the ancient pentathlon, Athletics competitions also took place at other Panhellenic Games, which were founded later around 500 BCE. The Cotswold Olimpick Games, a festival which emerged in 17th century England. Annually, from 1796 to 1798, LOlympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, the premier event of this competition was a running event, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display
14.
Boxing
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Boxing is a combat sport in which two people wearing protective gloves throw punches at each other for a predetermined set of time in a boxing ring. Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a fixture in most international games—it also has its own World Championships. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds, in the event that both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, the fight is considered a draw. In Olympic boxing, due to the fact that a winner must be declared, in the case of a draw - the judges use technical criteria to choose the most deserving winner of the bout. While people have fought in combat since before the dawn of history. The earliest evidence for fist fighting with any kind of gloves can be found on Minoan Crete, in Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad,688 B. C, the boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue, weight categories were not used, which meant heavyweights had a tendency to dominate. It was the head of the opponent which was primarily targeted, Boxing was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome. In order for the fighters to protect themselves against their opponents they wrapped leather thongs around their fists, eventually harder leather was used and the thong soon became a weapon. The Romans even introduced metal studs to the thongs to make the cestus which then led to a more sinister weapon called the myrmex, Fighting events were held at Roman Amphitheatres. The Roman form of boxing was often a fight until death to please the spectators who gathered at such events, however, especially in later times, purchased slaves and trained combat performers were valuable commodities, and their lives were not given up without due consideration. Often slaves were used against one another in a circle marked on the floor and this is where the term ring came from. In AD393, during the Roman gladiator period, boxing was abolished due to excessive brutality and it was not until the late 17th century that boxing re-surfaced in London. Records of Classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when the wearing of weapons became common once again, however, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called Kulachniy Boy or Fist Fighting, as the wearing of swords became less common, there was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prizefighting. The first documented account of a fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury
15.
Bowls
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Bowls or lawn bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a jack or kitty. It is played on a green which may be flat or convex or uneven. It is normally played outdoors and the surface is either natural grass, artificial turf. It has been traced certainly to the 13th century, and conjecturally to the 12th, the jactus lapidum of which he speaks may have been more akin to shotput. It is beyond dispute, however, that the game, at any rate in a form, was played in the 13th century. A manuscript of that period in the library, Windsor. The worlds oldest surviving bowling green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green, another manuscript of the same century has a crude but spirited picture which brings us into close touch with the existing game. Three figures are introduced and a jack, a 14th-century manuscript, Book of Prayers, in the Francis Douce collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford contains a drawing in which two persons are shown, but they bowl to no mark. Strutt suggests that the first players bowl may have been regarded by the player as a species of jack. In the third he stands almost upright, in the first he kneels, in the second he stoops, the game eventually came under the ban of king and parliament, both fearing it might jeopardise the practice of archery, then so important in battle. Statutes forbidding it and other sports were enacted in the reigns of Edward III, Richard II, even when, on the invention of gunpowder and firearms, the bow had fallen into disuse as a weapon of war, the prohibition was continued. The word bowls occurs for the first time in the statute of 1511 in which Henry VIII confirmed previous enactments against unlawful games and it was further enjoined that any one playing bowls outside his own garden or orchard was liable to a penalty of 6s. While those possessed of lands of the value of £100 might obtain licences to play on their own private greens. Young Mitchell was only 11 when he played on Kilmarnock Bowling green and this is turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn bowls, most football codes, lawn tennis and others. National Bowling Associations were established in the late 1800s, today the sport is played in over 40 countries with more than 50 member national authorities. The home of the game is still Scotland with the World Bowls centre in Edinburgh at Caledonia House,1 Redheughs Rigg, South Gyle, Edinburgh. Lawn bowls is played on a large, rectangular, precisely levelled and manicured grass or synthetic surface known as a bowling green which is divided into parallel playing strips called rinks. Once it has come to rest, the jack is aligned to the centre of the rink, a bowl may curve outside the rink boundary on its path, but must come to rest within the rink boundary to remain in play
16.
Rowing (sport)
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Rowing, often referred to as crew in the United States, is a sport with origins back to Ancient Egyptian times. It is based on propelling a boat on water using oars, by pushing against the water with an oar, a force is generated to move the boat. The sport can be recreational, where the focus is on learning the technique of rowing, or competitive. There are a number of different boat classes in which athletes compete, modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 10th century when races were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom. Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies, amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of boat clubs at the British public schools of Eton College and Westminster School. Similarly, clubs were formed at the University of Oxford, with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815, at the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827. In 1843, the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University, the International Rowing Federation, responsible for international governance of rowing, was founded in 1892 to provide regulation at a time when the sport was gaining popularity. Across six continents,150 countries now have rowing federations that participate in the sport, Rowing is one of the oldest Olympic sports. Though it was on the programme for the 1896 games, racing did not take due to bad weather. Womens rowing was added to the Olympic programme in 1976, today, only fourteen boat classes race at the Olympics, Each year the World Rowing Championships is staged by FISA with 22 boat classes raced. In Olympic years only the boat classes are raced at the World Championships. The European Rowing Championships are held annually, along with three World Rowing Cups in which each event earns a number of points for a country towards the World Cup title, since 2008, rowing has also been competed at the Paralympic Games. Many other competitions often exist for racing clubs, schools, and universities in each nation. While rowing, the athlete sits in the boat facing toward the stern and this may be done on a canal, river, lake, sea, or other large bodies of water. The sport requires strong core balance, physical strength, flexibility, whilst the action of rowing and equipment used remains fairly consistent throughout the world, there are many different types of competition. These include endurance races, time trials, stake racing, bumps racing, the many different formats are a result of the long history of the sport, its development in different regions of the world, and specific local requirements and restrictions. There are two forms of rowing, In sweep or sweep-oar rowing, each rower has one oar and this is generally done in pairs, fours, and eights. In some regions of the world, each rower in a boat is referred to either as port or starboard
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Swimming (sport)
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Swimming is an individual or team sport that involves using arms and legs to move the body through water. Typically, the takes place in pools or in open-water. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, in addition to these individual events, swimmers also take part in relays. Swimming each stroke requires specific techniques, and in competition, there are specific regulations concerning the form for different strokes. There are also put in place to regulate what types of swimsuits are allowed at competitions. Although it is possible for competitive swimmers to incur several injuries from the sport, evidence of recreational swimming in prehistoric times has been found, with the earliest evidence dating to Stone Age paintings from around 10000 years ago. Written references date from 2000 BC, with some of the earliest references to swimming including the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible, Beowulf, the Quran and others. In 1538, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, Swimming emerged as a competitive recreational activity in the 1830s in England. In 1828, the first indoor swimming pool, St Georges Baths was opened to the public, by 1837, the National Swimming Society was holding regular swimming competitions in six artificial swimming pools, built around London. In 1844 two Native American participants at a competition in London introduced the front crawl to a European audience. Sir John Arthur Trudgen picked up the stroke from some South American natives and successfully debuted the new stroke in 1873. His stroke is still regarded as the most powerful to use today, captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English Channel, in 1875. Using the breaststroke technique, he swam the channel 21.26 miles in 21 hours and 45 minutes and his feat was not replicated or surpassed for the next 36 years, until T. W. Burgess made the crossing in 1911. Other European countries also established swimming federations, Germany in 1882, France in 1890, the first European amateur swimming competitions were in 1889 in Vienna. The worlds first womens swimming championship was held in Scotland in 1892, mens swimming became part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. In 1902, the Australian Richmond Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world, in 1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation, was formed. Womens swimming was introduced into the Olympics in 1912, the first international tournament for women outside the Olympics was the 1922 Womens Olympiad, Butterfly was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. Competitive swimming became popular in the 19th century, the goal of competitive swimming is to break personal or world records while beating competitors in any given event
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Wrestling
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Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. The sport can either be theatrical for entertainment, or genuinely competitive, a wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position. There are a range of styles with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern styles. Wrestling techniques have incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems. The term wrestling is attested in late Old English, as wræstlunge, Wrestling represents one of the oldest forms of combat. The origins of wrestling go back 15,000 years through cave drawings in France, babylonian and Egyptian reliefs show wrestlers using most of the holds known in the present-day sport. Literary references to it occur as early as in the ancient Indian Vedas, the Iliad contains references, in which Homer recounts the Trojan War of the 13th or 12th century BC. Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata contain references to martial arts including wrestling, in ancient Greece wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature, wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, served as the focal sport of the ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality, during the Middle Ages wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of France, Japan and England. Early European settlers in America brought a strong wrestling tradition with them if they came from England, the settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the years of the North American colonies and served as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations. The first organized national wrestling tournament took place in New York City in 1888, the international governing body for the sport, United World Wrestling, was established in 1912 in Antwerp, Belgium as the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. The 1st NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, became the national governing body of amateur wrestling in 1983. It conducts competitions for all age-levels, some of the earliest references to wrestling, can be found in wrestling mythology. The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh established his credibility as a leader, after wrestling Enkidu, Greek mythology celebrates the rise of Zeus as ruler of the earth after a wrestling match with his father, Cronus. Both Heracles and Theseus were famous for their wrestling against man, the Mahabharata describes a malla-dwandwa between the accomplished wrestlers Bhima and Jarasandha. Rustam of the Shahnameh is regarded by Iranian pahlevans as the greatest wrestler, in Pharaonic Egypt, wrestling has been evidenced by documentation on tombs and Egyptian artwork. Greek wrestling was a form of martial art, at least in Ancient Greece
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Governor General of Canada
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The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The commission is for a period of time—known as serving at Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to rotate between anglophone and francophone incumbents, once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time. The office began in the 16th and 17th centuries with the Crown-appointed governors of the French colony of Canada followed by the British governors of Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries, subsequently, the office is, along with the Crown, the oldest continuous institution in Canada. Throughout this process of gradually increasing Canadian independence, the role of governor general took on additional responsibilities, finally, in 1947, King George VI issued letters patent allowing the viceroy to carry out almost all of the monarchs powers on his or her behalf. The current governor general is David Johnston, who has served since 1 October 2010, johnstons wife—who is thus the viceregal consort—is Sharon Johnston. The Government of Canada spells the title governor general without a hyphen, the Canadian media still often use the governor-general spelling. As governor is the noun in the title, it is pluralized, thus, governors general, moreover, both terms are capitalized when used in the formal title preceding an incumbents name. The position of general is mandated by both the Constitution Act,1867, and the letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI. As such, on the recommendation of his or her Canadian prime minister and that individual is, from then until being sworn-in, referred to as the governor general-designate. Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate, the governor general will then give a speech, outlining whichever cause or causes he or she will champion during his or her time as viceroy. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The prime minister may recommend to the Queen that the viceroy remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor general may also resign, and two have died in office, the sovereign has unrestricted freedom of choice. We leave that to Her Majesty in all confidence, however, between 1867 and 1931, governors general were appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British Cabinet. Thereafter, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster 1931, the appointment was made by the sovereign with the direction of his or her Canadian ministers only. Until 1952, all governors general were also members of the Peerage or sons of peers. These viceroys spent a limited time in Canada, but their travel schedules were so extensive that they could learn more about Canada in five years than many Canadians in a lifetime
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Diving
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Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, usually while performing acrobatics. Diving is a recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime, Diving is one of the most popular Olympic sports with spectators. Competitors possess many of the characteristics as gymnasts and dancers, including strength, flexibility, kinaesthetic judgment. Some professional divers were originally gymnasts or dancers as both the sports have similar characteristics to diving, dmitri Sautin holds the record for most Olympic diving medals won, by winning eight medals in total between 1992 and 2008. Although diving has been a popular pastime across the world since ancient times, the exact origins of the sport are unclear, though it likely derives from the act of diving at the start of swimming races. The 1904 book Swimming by Ralph Thomas notes English reports of plunging records dating back to at least 1865. The 1877 edition to British Rural Sports by John Henry Walsh makes note of a Mr. Young plunging 56 feet in 1870, and also states that 25 years prior, the English Amateur Swimming Association first started a plunging championship in 1883. The Plunging Championship was discontinued in 1937, Diving into a body of water had also been a method used by gymnasts in Germany and Sweden since the early 19th century. The soft landing allowed for more elaborate gymnastic feats in midair as the jump could be made at a greater distance and this tradition evolved into fancy diving, while diving as a preliminary to swimming became known as Plain diving. The event consisted of standing and running dives from either 15 or 30 feet and it was at this event that the Swedish tradition of fancy diving was introduced to the sport by the athletes Otto Hagborg and C F Mauritzi. Fancy diving was introduced into the championship in 1903. Plain diving was first introduced into the Olympics at the 1904 event, the 1908 Olympics in London added fancy diving and introduced elastic boards rather than fixed platforms. Women were first allowed to participate in the events for the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. In the 1928 Olympics, plain and fancy diving was amalgamated into one event – Highboard Diving, the diving event was first held indoors in the Empire Pool for the 1934 British Empire Games and 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Most diving competitions consist of three disciplines,1 m and 3 m springboards, and the platform, competitive athletes are divided by gender, and often by age group. In platform events, competitors are allowed to perform their dives on either the five, seven, in major diving meets, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships, platform diving is from the 10 meter height. Divers have to perform a set number of dives according to established requirements, a possible score out of ten is broken down into three points for the takeoff, three for the flight, and three for the entry, with one more available to give the judges flexibility
21.
Athletics at the 1930 British Empire Games
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At the 1930 British Empire Games, the athletics events were held at the Civic Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The programme featured 21 mens events, with all measurements being done in imperial units, England came away with the most medals in the athletics competition, winning nine gold medals and twenty-five medals overall. The hosts, Canada, were the next most successful and won 19 medals altogether, South Africa were the other nation to take away a large athletics medal haul, having three golds and ten medals in total. Eight nations featured on the tally at the first British Empire Games. David Burghley took a double for England, winning both the 110-yard and 440-yard races. Reg Thomas won the run and was the 880 yards silver medallist. John Fitzpatrick of Canada won a medal of each colour in the sprinting events, englishman Reg Revans won silver medals in the horizontal jumps, while Canadian Len Hutton won long jump gold, but only a bronze in the triple jump. Johannes Viljoen of South Africa showed his versatility by winning the high jump and reaching the podium in the long jump as well
22.
Canada at the 1930 British Empire Games
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Canada at the 1930 British Empire Games was abbreviated CAN. Canada was the host country for the games, which were held at Hamilton, Ontario. Melville Marks Robinson of Canada had been asked to organise the inaugural British Empire Games in 1928, at these first Games, Canada won 54 medals against Englands 61. Newfoundland competed separately at the 1930 British Empire Games, but did not win any medals, newfoundland also sent a team to the 1934 British Empire Games, but from 1938 has competed as part of Canada. Glover Mens Marathon Johnny Miles - Bronze,2 h 48 min 23 s Percival Percy Wyer - 4th Silas McLellan - 6th Norman Dack - 7th Ezra Lee - 10th Jack/John Cuthbert - Did Not Finish Mens Shot Put M. C. Charlie Herman - Bronze,42 ft 7 in Abe Zvonkin - 4th,41 ft 5 1⁄2 in John A, cameron Archie Stewart Mens Discus Throw M. C. Cameron - Bronze,145 ft 10 in Archie McDiarmid - 6th,139 ft 3 in George W. Sutherland M. C. Galloway - Bronze Mens Bantamweight Division J. Keller - Bronze Mens Lightweight Division G. Canzano - Silver Mens Welterweight Division H. Williams - Silver Mens Light Heavyweight Division A. Reid W. W. Moore Mens Rinks/Fours Canada - Silver Harry J. Allen Jimmy Campbell Mitch Thomas W. Billy Rae Mens Coxed Fours Canada - Silver A. Miles D. L, fry J. Zabinsky L. Bowkes L. Gibson F. McIntyre - Gold Mens Heavyweight Division Earl McCready - Gold Canada at the Commonwealth Games Canadian Commonwealth Games Association
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New Zealand at the 1930 British Empire Games
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New Zealand sent a team of 22 competitors and 3 officials to the 1930 British Empire Games, which were held in Hamilton, Ontario. The flagbearer at the ceremony was Stan Lay. These were the first Commonwealth Games, although in 1911 there was an Empire sports competition at the Festival of Empire in London, New Zealand has competed in every games. Selection is the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, New Zealand was fourth in the medal table in 1930. 5in Gold medal Bill Savidan 3 miles – Men, Did not finish 6 miles – Men,30,49. ISBN 0-908570-62-7 NZOC website on the 1930 games Commonwealth Games Federation website Athletes in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand has a paragraph on these Games
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Wales at the 1930 British Empire Games
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Wales at the 1930 British Empire Games was abbreviated WAL. They have competed in every edition of the Commonwealth Games, in the first edition, just 11 teams took part and of them,5 other countries have also competed in every edition since then. Wales came 7th overall in the games, with 2 silver medals and 1 bronze, all three medals were won by the female swimmer Valerie Davies. Wales was not invited to deliver an athletics team to the games and this was probably due to the structure of Welsh athletics at the time. Various English regional associations governed the sport in Wales with no Welsh national association in existence, reg Thomas, the 1930 Welsh 880 yards and 1 mile champion, competed as a member of the English team. He won the mile and placed second in the 880yds, general 1930 Hamilton British Empire Games
25.
Royal Connaught Hotel
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The Royal Connaught Hotel is a 13-storey building in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. It was built by Harry Frost of Buffalo, New York in 1914 and it is located at the corner of King Street East and John Street South. As of 2014, it is being converted to a condominium,1911 - Businessman Harry Louis Frost approaches the city about building a grand hotel. 1914 - A building permit is issued for construction on the site of the Waldorf Hotel,1916 - The hotel opens with a lavish banquet and dance on 5 June. 1927- In 1927, CKOC radio station was finding the Lister Building accommodations unsatisfactory, the transmitter power was raised from 50 to 100 watts. For a brief time, CKOC and CHML shared the same frequency, in 1931, CKOC changed to the 630 on the dial and boosted power to a full 1,000 watts. The radio business was beginning to boom, 1929- The hotel expands into a neighbouring building. 1930- United Hotels Company, which owned the Connaught, announces it has been sold, the new owner adds 200 rooms and turns the bottom floors into offices and shops. 1952- The hotel is sold to the Sheraton chain, which renames it The Sheraton-Connaught Hotel, 1973- The hotel is again sold, this time to Toronto-based Citicom. Another renovation worth $4 million is completed, 1988- The hotel is sold to Joymarmon Properties Ltd. 1992- Joymarmon loses the hotel when its mortgage holder forecloses, 1993- The hotel becomes a franchise under the Howard Johnson chain. 2002- Canmac Hotels Corporation, a master at reviving struggling hotels, buys the hotel, assumes its $6-million debt, 2004- Hotel closes after going into receivership. 2005- Local businessmen buy the hotel for $4.5 million, 2008- Real Estate developer Harry Stinson makes a deposit with plans to reopen it for Christmas 2009. 2008- June 2,2008, Harry Stinson makes a presentation of his proposed 100-storey Connaught Towers at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce building. Once complete, it become the tallest building in Canada. Three months later, on Thursday September 4, Harry Stinson closes up the Connaught Towers sales office in downtown Hamilton, on 29 February 2008 Harry Stinson inked a $9. 5-million contract to purchase the Royal Connaught Hotel at Hamilton, Ontario. The agreement was secured with a $100,000 deposit and provided a 30-day conditional period for Stinson to secure financing. The price tag for the project was an estimated $300-million
26.
Commonwealth Games Federation
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The Commonwealth Games Federation is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games, and is the foremost authority in matters relating to the games. Following the 1932 Summer Olympics, it was decided to form the British Empire Games Federation who would be responsible for the organising of the games. It consists of 3 or more representatives of a Commonwealth Games Association of each member countries and territories, the Vice-Patron, Life Vice-Presidents, sessions of the General Assembly are chaired by the CGF President, with each CGA and the President having one vote. The Executive Board are representative of the Commonwealth Games Associations which form the General Assembly, the board consists of the ex officio Vice-Patron, the President, six officers of CGF and six Vice-Presidents representing, and being responsible for the CGAs in the 6 regions of the CGF. The Vice-Patron is elected at the General Assembly and usually remains in office for life, the honour is awarded on the recommendation of the Executive Board at the General Assembly. Former Chairmen and Presidents automatically become a Life Vice-President, the selection process is made in accordance with the Candidate City Manual, as drafted by the Executive Board and made available to candidates 18 months before a decision is made. The President of the Commonwealth Games Federation is responsible for chairing the Executive Board, a candidate is elected to the position by the General Assembly the year following the Commonwealth Games. Other duties include inviting the Head of the Commonwealth for the opening and closing declaration of the games, previously before the XVI Commonwealth Games in 1998, the President was a ceremonial role, taking on the duties of the now Vice-Patron. The Chairman was elected by the General Assembly as head of the Commonwealth Games Federation
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Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
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The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 52 independent and sovereign states. Most are former British colonies or dependencies of these colonies, no one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others as is the case in a political union. The symbol of free association is Queen Elizabeth II who serves as the Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1931 when the Statute of Westminster gave legal recognition to the sovereignty of dominions, in 1949, the London Declaration was signed and marked the birth of the modern Commonwealth and the adoption of its present name. The newest member is Rwanda, which joined on 29 November 2009, the most recent departure was the Maldives, which severed its connection with the Commonwealth on 13 October 2016. Presently, of the states that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, three are in Europe, twelve in North America, one in South America, eighteen in Africa, seven in Asia, and eleven in Oceania. There are eight members, four of which no longer exist as independent entities. The members have a population of 2.4 billion people, almost a third of the world population, of which 1.21 billion live in India. All table information based on figures provided by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat members list, most population figures are based on 2007 estimates, unless otherwise noted, independence was gained from the United Kingdom on the date of joining the Commonwealth. ^ B. Not a member of the Commonwealth Foundation. ^ C, the population figure is based on 2004 estimates. ^ D. The population figure is based on 2005 estimates. ^ E, though Pakistan celebrates 14 August 1947 as its independence day, independence was officially granted at midnight,15 August 1947. Therefore, its date of joining the Commonwealth would be 15 August 1947. ^ F, Commonwealth realms, recognising Elizabeth II as their head of state since the day of their independence, distinctly from her being the sovereign of United Kingdom. Other states which have expressed an interest in joining the Commonwealth over the years include Algeria, Cambodia, Madagascar, Palestine, and Yemen
28.
Commonwealth Day
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Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations held on the second Monday in March. The Queen delivers an address to the Commonwealth, which is broadcast throughout the world, while it has a certain official status, Commonwealth Day is not a public holiday in most Commonwealth countries, and there is little public awareness of it. Clementina Trenholme introduced Empire Day in Canadian schools, first in Dundas, Ontario in 1898, on the last school day before 24 May and it was celebrated more widely throughout Canada each year. A typical Empire Day in Canadian schools occupied the day and included inspirational speeches by trustees and songs such as The Maple Leaf Forever. Empire Day was promoted to be 24 May by the League of the Empire and instituted in the United Kingdom in 1904 by Lord Meath and this day was celebrated by lighting fireworks in back gardens or attending community bonfires. It gave the Kings people a chance to show their pride in being part of the British Empire, the Queens Birthday was celebrated in the Cape Colony before the Boer War and thereafter throughout the Union of South Africa. General Jan Smuts was born on the Queens Birthday in 1870, in 1958 Empire Day was renamed Commonwealth Day, in accordance with the new post-colonial relationship between the nations of the former empire. They asked that this notion be included on the agenda of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Ottawa that year. The item eventually appeared on the agenda of the 1975 meeting, at the meeting of officials in Canberra in 1976, the Canadian proposal of the second Monday in March was adopted. There is not a uniform observance of the day worldwide, in 2006 Queen Elizabeth II delivered her Commonwealth Day address from St. Andrews Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, part of the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games that year in Melbourne. Physical arrangements means the existence of at least two flag poles, the 1964 parliamentary resolutions creating the Maple Leaf flag also retained the Union Flag as an official symbol of Canadas membership in the Commonwealth, and allegiance to the Crown. Empire Day was introduced in the UK in 1904 by Reginald Brabazon, in schools, morning lessons were devoted to exercises calculated to remind of their mighty heritage. The centrepiece of the day was an organised and ritualistic veneration of the Union flag, then, schoolchildren were given the afternoon off, and further events were usually held in their local community. The Union Flag is flown from buildings on the second Monday in March to mark Commonwealth Day. The Scottish Parliament Building also flies the Commonwealth flag from the fourth flagpole, the Queen, and other members of the Royal family, attend a special service at Westminster Abbey. Commonwealth Day is commemorated as a holiday in Gibraltar. In member states of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth Day is celebrated on the second Monday in March, in 2009, it was celebrated on 9 March. In some countries, such as Belize and in the Bahamas, the Queens Commonwealth Day message is often read at these events
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Festival of Empire
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The Festival of Empire or Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London in 1911, to celebrate the coronation of King George V. A pageant, organised by Master of the Pageants Frank Lascelles, dramatising the history of London, England and the Empire was held. The first performance of the pageant was on 8 June 1911, in four parts, performed on days, it celebrated the ‘magnificence, glory and honour of the Empire. Music was provided for The Pageant of London by 20 composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge, Cecil Forsyth, Henry Balfour Gardiner, Edward German and Haydn Wood. This was performed by a band of 50 players and a chorus of 500 voices. The Pageant was so successful that performances were extended from July and this is regarded as a forerunner of the British Empire Games, held from 1930. Competitors included Harold Hardwick, Malcolm Champion and John Tait
30.
Queen's Baton Relay
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The Queens Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, the Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the citys Commonwealth Day festivities. The Queen entrusts the baton to the first relay runner, at the Opening Ceremony of the Games, the final relay runner hands the baton back to the Queen or her representative, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games. The Relay was introduced at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, up until, and including, the 1994 Games, the Relay only went through England and the host nation. The Relay for the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was the first to travel to other nations of the Commonwealth, the 2002 Commonwealth Games Relay covered over 100,000 kilometres and went through 23 nations. For the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the baton was a two-piece affair, each piece went on its own individual relay run in the North and South Islands of New Zealand, only being joined back together in the final week before the Games began. For the 1998 Commonwealth Games, Malaysia placed their own flavour on the Games, the baton was presented to Prince Edward by Malaysias first ever Commonwealth medal winner Koh Eng Tong, a gold medallist in weightlifting in 1950. The Baton design was inspired by a traditional Malay artifact, the Gobek, the Queens Baton Relay started, as it traditionally does, at Buckingham Palace and ended in Melbourne, Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It carried a message from the Queen to the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, Fremantle Dockers Captain Matthew Pavlich carried the baton through Fremantle, he received the baton from community nominee and local businessman Peter Taliangis. The baton contained 71 lights on the front, representing the 71 member nations of the Commonwealth Games Federation, the baton was designed by Michael Foley, a graduate of the National Institute of Design. Made from aluminium twisted into a helix, it was coated with soils from the regions of India. When the baton relay began at Buckingham Palace, the then-President of India, the Final Baton Runner Sushil Kumar handed over the baton to Prince Charles, who with President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the games. The baton also incorporated a video camera and microphone, LED lighting, the Queens Baton Relay began its 190,000 km journey on 9 October 2013. The baton travelled via 70 nations and territories over 288 days before opening the games on the 23 July 2014. At the ceremony,32 inspiring volunteers from across Scotland carried the baton around Celtic Park Stadium after being nominated for giving their time to developing the youth through sport. The baton was passed to Sir Chris Hoy, who delivered it to President of the Commonwealth Games Federation HRH Prince Imran. The BBC provided coverage of the relay, adventurer Mark Beaumont presented a series of documentaries filmed on the relay for BBC One Scotland, there were also weekly updates for BBC News and a BBC News website and blog written by Mark. The product design consultancy awarded the contract to the design of the 2014 Queens Baton is a local Glasgow company called 4c Design
31.
Commonwealth Games sports
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The Commonwealth Games sports comprise all the sports officially recognised and approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. There are a total of 31 approved sports, two sports, and a further 7 para-sports. Not all sports are competed at each edition of the Games as programmes must be limited to a maximum of 17 sports and a maximum 15 para-sports events. At the 1930 British Empire Games, the precursor to the modern Games, there were six sports, athletics, aquatics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing and wrestling. If a number of activities are controlled by the international federation then the Commonwealth Games Federation recognises each activity as a discipline. Furthermore, the sport cycling also contains three separate disciplines, track, road, and mountain biking, sports and disciplines often feature separate events for which athletes can receive medals. For example, boxing has a number of divisions, gymnastics and diving have a number of styles. The Commonwealth Games sports are divided into three types, core sports, optional sports, and recognised sports. All ten core sports must be included in the Games programme, recognised sports are sports which have been approved by the CGF but are deemed to need further growth before their inclusion. The host nation may also apply for the inclusion of a maximum of four team sports to the CGF General Assembly, there is also a requirement to include some events for Elite Athletes with a Disability, there are four core para-sports and three optional para-sports. Some optional sports, like billiards and sailing, have not yet included in a Games programme. There have also been a number of exhibition sports, in 1958 there were exhibitions of polo and show jumping, and in 1978 lacrosse appeared as an exhibition sport. Cricket was included at the 1998 Commonwealth Games although it is not currently a recognised sport, the CGF recognises Commonwealth Games records for a number of sports. In 2002, the CGF introduced the David Dixon Award for the athlete of the Games. On 18 November 2006, tennis and archery were added to the list of disciplines for the 2010 Games in New Delhi, billiards and snooker were considered but not accepted. In 2010, rowing was upgraded back from recognised to optional, the following sports made up the most recent Commonwealth Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the CGF. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games
32.
1938 British Empire Games
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The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games being the modern-day equivalent. Held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, venues included the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Sydney Sports Ground, North Sydney Olympic Pool and Henson Park. An estimated 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony, a competitors residential village was established within the grounds of the Sydney Showground. The star of the games was the Australian athlete Decima Norman, margaret Dovey, the future wife of Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, finished sixth in the 220 yards breaststroke. Due to the onset of World War II, the games were not held again until 1950, all events were for men only. All events were for men only, the double sculls competition was an invitation event and originally no medals were awarded nevertheless these medals were counted nowadays. The bronze medal is listed as won by New Zealand, all events were for men only. Commonwealth Games Official Site 1938 British Empire Games at the official Guernsey site 1938 British Empire Games – Australian Commonwealth Games official website
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1950 British Empire Games
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The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth edition of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the 3rd edition of the games. The main venue was Eden Park, although the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium, the fourth games were originally awarded to Montreal, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to World War II. At the 1950 British Empire Games all the teams won at least one medal, All events were for men only. + won play offs All events were for men only, the events were held at Lake Karapiro,160 kilometres south of Auckland. Three special trains took 1500 people to Cambridge on 7 February 1950, All events were for men only. All events were for men only, Commonwealth Games Official Site 1950 British Empire Games at the official Guernsey site 1950 British Empire Games – Australian Commonwealth Games official website
34.
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
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The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 30 July–7 August 1954. These were the first games since the change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952. It was at these games that the Miracle Mile took place between Roger Bannister and John Landy at Empire Stadium and this was the first time these two sub-four-minute mile runners appeared in the same race, and also the first time two runners broke four minutes in the same race. The games were attended by 24 nations and 662 competitors
35.
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
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The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, Wales from 18–26 July 1958. The Cardiff Games introduced the Queens Baton Relay, which has conducted as a prelude to every British Empire. The Commonwealth Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies, were held at the Cardiff Arms Park in the centre Cardiff, a new Wales Empire Pool was constructed for the event. The Sophia Gardens Pavilion was used for the boxing and wrestling events,178,000 tickets were eventually sold during the Games. 36 countries and territories were represented, being the largest number to date, with a significant number of competing for the first time at the 1958 British Empire. South Africa left the Commonwealth in 1961 and next appeared at the Games in 1994, host nation Boxing Events were at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The track cycling events were held at the Maindy Stadium in Cardiff, the rowing events were held on Llyn Padarn in Llanberis. Swimming events were held at the Wales Empire Pool in Cardiff, diving events were held at the Wales Empire Pool in Cardiff. Commonwealth Games Official Site Pathe news, Commonwealth Games Cardiff 1958 reel 1 Pathe news, Commonwealth Games Cardiff 1958 reel 2
Aquatics (
England
Canada
South Africa
New Zealand
Australia
Scotland
Wales
British Guiana
Ireland
