Flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the governing body of the Commonwealth Games Associations (CGA). The headquarters of CGF are located in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

History

Due to the success of the first

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, and was held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The event was organized by '' Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Canada, a meeting of representatives from Great Britain, its dominions, colonies and territories decided that the games, similar to the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

should be held every four years, and that an authoritative organisation should be formed. 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. The name of the federation was changed in 1952 to the ''"British Empire and Commonwealth Games Federation"'', and again in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in 1966 to the ''"British Commonwealth Games Federation"'', until eventually being changed again in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, in 1974 to the ''"Commonwealth Games Federation"''. The youth version of the Commonwealth Games was launched in August 2000, which is known as the Commonwealth Youth Games. The inaugural edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games was first held in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland.

CGF Executive Board

The following people are in the CGF executive board: The following people are the Honorary members of the CGF executive board:

Organisation

CGF General Assembly

The General Assembly is the ultimate governance and authority in the CGF with powers to vote on decisions, including on which cities and Commonwealth Games Association's will host the

. It consists of 3 or more representatives of a

Commonwealth Games Association A Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) is a national sports council of the Commonwealth Sports movement. Each association is responsible for organising, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonw ...

of each member countries and territories, the Vice-Patron, Life Vice-Presidents and the members of the Executive Board. Sessions of the General Assembly are chaired by the CGF President, with each CGA and the President having one vote. However the Vice-Patron, Life Vice-Presidents, the Executive Board, representatives of an Organising Committee (OC) of a Commonwealth Games and observers invited by the President may deliberate but do not have voting powers at the General Assembly.

Honours

As well as awarding medals to athletes, the Federation may award membership of the Order of Merit (Commonwealth Games Federation) for distinguished services rendered to the Commonwealth Games movement, including the games themselves, to the federation and to a

. The honour is awarded on the recommendation of the Executive Board at the General Assembly. On recommendation of the Executive Board, at General Assembly the federation may also elect Life Vice-Presidents, providing there are no more than six Life Vice-Presidents at a time as an award for services to the CGF. Former Chairmen and presidents automatically become a Life Vice-President.

Leadership

The President of the Commonwealth Games Federation is responsible for chairing the Executive Board and the General Assembly. A candidate is elected to the position by the General Assembly the year following the

. Other duties include inviting the Head of the Commonwealth for the opening and closing declaration of the games and overseeing the preparations for upcoming events. Previously before the XVI Commonwealth Games in 1998, the President was a ceremonial role, taking on the duties of the Vice-Patron. The late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh served as the president between 1955 and 1990. The chairman was elected by the General Assembly as head of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

References

External links

Commonwealth Sport websiteThe CGF on Twitter
{{Authority control

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

Games Federation International sports organizations International organisations based in London Organisations based in the City of Westminster Sport in the City of Westminster Sports rules and regulations 1930 establishments in England Sports organisations based in London Sports organizations established in 1930 International sports governing bodies