Commonwealth Games
Where can I find information about the Commonwealth Games?
Commonwealth Games 2014 - Athletics Day 4 by Graham Campbell on Flickr
Entry last updated: 13/01/21
Introduction
The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympic Games, is held every four years and features teams from all over the world competing in various sports events. Unlike the Olympics a prerequisite for sending a team to the Commonwealth Games is belonging to a special group of countries called the Commonwealth of Nations.
General Information
To understand what makes the Commonwealth Games different to other international sporting events, we first need find out what the Commonwealth is. There are other things that make the Games special, including the fact that paralympic events are included rather than having a Commonwealth Paralympics separately.
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we scroll down to the bottom of the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.
As New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (which used to be called the British Empire), we can find lots of information here.
- search using keyword 'Commonwealth'
- select Empire and Commonwealth
- also check out information about past Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
Tips: We like sites that are from government or other reputable organisations, because we can trust the information. You can sometimes tell these sites by their web address – they might have .gov or .edu in their address – or by looking at their About us or Contact pages.
The Commonwealth Games Federation
This is the official site for the Commonwealth Games. There is a lot of great information here spread over many interesting pages.
- Find out about past and future Games by going to Commonwealth Games and choosing a section from the short list, such as Glasgow 2014.
- Select Countries to see a map of participating counties or go to the Country Index page for the same information as a list.
- Go to Sports and choose Para-Sports to get information about the paralympic events and athletes.
Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. In this case, this is the official site for the event, so the information should be reliable. If in doubt, check the information you find against information on other websites.
Current and Future Games
This is the official site for the XXI (21st) Commonwealth Games that will be held on the Gold Coast in Queensland in 2018. Each page has a countdown of how many days, hours, and minutes are left until the games begin!
- Get information about the different sports featured in the 2018 Commonwealth games by selecting The Sport and choosing Sports.
- Find out about how indigenous communities are being included in the outcomes of the Games by going to About, choose Reconciliation Action Plan, then select Reconciliation Action Plan.
- Choose Getting There, then The Place to learn more about Queensland in general or Brisbane.
Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more. This searching method is called “pearl growing” because you are picking up pieces of sand to make a beautiful pearl!
To find up-to-date information (with a New Zealand focus) about the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the athletes, the events, and the results, take a look at TVNZ Sport.
- As the Games draw closer, and while they are happening, you will see more articles linked on the front page.
- Use the search bar to look up the keywords 'commonwealth games' or to search for athletes or sports you're interested in.
Like the TVNZ Sport page, the BBC Sport website will have an increasing amount of information as the Games get nearer.
- Use the search bar to look up the keywords 'commonwealth games' or to search for athletes or sports you're interested in.
- Remember, because BBC isn't a New Zealand site, it may not have a lot of information about New Zealand athletes.
Past games
Commonwealth Games have been held on the following years, in these locations:
- 1930 Hamilton (Canada)
- 1934 London (England)
- 1938 Sydney (Australia)
- 1950 Auckland (New Zealand)
- 1954 Vancouver (Canada)
- 1958 Cardiff (Wales)
- 1962 Perth (Australia)
- 1966 Kingston (Jamaica)
- 1970 Edinburgh (Scotland)
- 1974 Christchurch (New Zealand)
- 1978 Edmonton (Canada)
- 1982 Brisbane (Australia)
- 1986 Edinburgh (Scotland)
- 1990 Auckland (New Zealand)
- 1994 Victoria (Canada)
- 1998 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
- 2002 Manchester (England)
- 2006 Melbourne (Australia)
- 2010 Delhi (India)
- 2014 Glasgow (Scotland)
- and 2018 will be held on the Gold Coast (Australia)
DigitalNZ is a search site that focuses on New Zealand history and brings together results from lots of different websites. It’s an easy way of searching online resources from New Zealand libraries, museums, universities and government sites all at once, and has lots of primary sources. The results are grouped by the type of information, like images, videos, newspapers, articles and research papers.
- Use the search bar to look up the keywords 'commonwealth games' or to search for athletes or sports you're interested in.
- There can be a lot of results, so use the tabs across the page to narrow your search by information type, e.g videos.
EPIC Resources
EPIC is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It’s put together especially for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.
Britannica School is a great EPIC resource to look for concise information about almost any topic, all arranged by level (Primary, Middle, and Secondary).
- Choose level of information
- search using the keywords 'commonwealth games' or for athletes or sports you're interested in
- select Articles on the left side of the page, for more information about relevant or related topics.
Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre
Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre focuses on information from Australasia, so you can find lots of articles about the Commonwealth Games.
- Search using the keywords 'commonwealth games' or for athletes or sports you're interested in.
- If you are looking for information about a particular year, athlete, or sport, type in 'commonwealth games' and the year or name you're looking for.
Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.
SCIS no: 1857368
