The Commonwealth Games sports comprise all the sports officially recognised and approved by 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 and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the governing body ...

(CGF). There are a total of 16 core sports and a further 4 core para-sports that are competed at every games. In addition, the CGF allow organising committees to choose from various optional sports and disciplines to complete their games' program. At the

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 ...

, the precursor to the modern Games, there were six sports: athletics, aquatics (

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Sports, disciplines, events

If a number of activities are controlled by the same international federation then the Commonwealth Games Federation recognises each activity as a discipline, which belongs to the respective sport. For example,

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

, which is organised by the

International Shooting Sport Federation The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of Shooting at the Summer Olympics, Olympic shooting events. It also regulates several ISSF shooting events, non-Olympic shooting sport events. The Federation's activities ...

, is a sport at the Commonwealth Games that comprises four disciplines: clay target, full bore,

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

, and small bore. Furthermore, events for elite athletes with a disability (EAD) comprise a separate discipline within a sport from events for able-bodied athletes. This is the case both for sports where events for EAD and able-bodied athletes are organised by the different federations, as with athletics and

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

and the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

, and for sports where there is a single federation, as with

and the World Bowls. Sports and disciplines feature separate events for which athletes can receive medals. For example,

has a number of weight divisions,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and

have a number of styles, while athletics has numerous events based upon a wide range of activities.

Types

Between 1998 and 2022, the Commonwealth Games sports are divided into three main types: core sports, optional sports, and recognised sports. Until 2022, sixteen core sports and four core para-sports must be included in the Games program, while the host nation may choose to include a number of optional sports and disciplines. Recognised sports are sports which have been approved by the CGF but are deemed to need further growth before their inclusion.Sports Programme
.

. Retrieved on 2009-06-26. The host nation may also apply for the inclusion of a maximum of four team sports to the CGF General Assembly, as the Melbourne organising committee did with

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

for the 2006 Games and Gold Coast did with

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

for the 2018 Games. The CGF recognises

Commonwealth Games records Commonwealth Games records are the best performances in a specific edition of the event's history. As the Commonwealth Games only accepts athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, the records are not considered as prestigious as World records ...

for a number of sports. In 2002, the CGF introduced the David Dixon Award for the outstanding athlete of the Games.

Core, Optional and Local Demands Commonwealth Games program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the core, optional and discontinued 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; a

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

() denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. The Commonwealth Games Charter requires games to include 20 core sports, disciplines and para-sports. Para-sports were first included in the official program as demonstration sports in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

before being fully integrated into the main program in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. Between 1962 and 1974, Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were organised directly preceding the able body games; a "''p''" below denotes that a para-sport was part of the Paraplegic Games program for that year. Eleven sports consist or have consisted of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color: Aquatics –

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

– Athletics –

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

–

Cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

–

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

–

Lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

–

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

–

Table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

–

Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

–

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Demonstrations sports

Commonwealth Games programs have also contained a number of demonstration sports, also variously called exhibition sports. The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Commonwealth Games for the years shown, but have never been included in the main program. * Polo pictogram

Polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

(1958) *

Show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

(1958) *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

(1978) *

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

(1982) *

Sepak takraw (1998) * Silambam pictogram

Silambam Silambam is an old Indian martial arts, Indian martial art originating in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This style is mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. The World Silambam Association is the official international body of Silamba ...

(1998) *

Silat Silat is the collective term for a class of martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philippi ...

(1998) *

Wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

(1998) In 2014 and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

rugby league nines Rugby league nines (or simply nines) is a version of rugby league football played with nine players on each side. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some differences in rules and shorter games. Nines is usually played i ...

competitions were held preceding the games. These were endorsed by the CGF but were not listed as official demonstration sports.

Changes from 2030

In October 2021, the CGF announced a new games roadmap that will, starting with the 2030 Commonwealth Games, change the requirements for sports competed at the Games. The roadmap suggests that between 15 and 17 sports should be competed at each edition. There will be a new category of "Compulsory Sports", containing just athletics and swimming, as well as their para-sport counterparts. The category of "Core Sports" will cease to exist, and all other sports will have the same status; however, each host will have complete freedom to choose the program for their edition from a previously assembled list, as long as the maximum number of 17 sports is not exceeded. If necessary, the hosts could suggest the addition of other sports that respect local demands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commonwealth Games Sports

Sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...