British Empire Games 1930

British Empire Games 1930
venue	Hamilton , Canada
participating countries	11
Participating athletes	about 400
Competitions	59 in 6 sports
Opening ceremony	August 16, 1930
Closing ceremony	23rd August 1930

The 1930 British Empire Games was the first edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games . They took place from August 16 to 23, 1930 in the Canadian city of Hamilton , Ontario .

59 competitions were held in the sports of bowls , boxing , athletics , wrestling , rowing and swimming (including diving ). Around 400 athletes from eleven countries took part; women were only allowed to participate in the water sports competitions. Most of the events took place at the Civic Stadium (later Ivor Wynne Stadium ). The athletes were housed in a school next to the stadium, where two dozen of them shared a classroom.

Sports historical importance

With this game, the idea of John Astley Cooper to hold the Pan-British Olympic Games was implemented. Astley Cooper had launched the idea of the Olympic Games as early as 1891, a year before Pierre de Coubertin's discussion of the international Olympic Games . The games also had a further meaning: while the first three were all on the same level at the award ceremonies of international competitions, in Hamilton a three-step podium was used for the first time for the first three. This was copied at the 1932 Olympic Games in Lake Placid and Los Angeles and used accordingly in all future championships and Olympic Games to date.

participating countries

Australia Australia
Bermuda 1910 Bermuda
British Guiana 1919 British Guiana
England England
Ireland (joint team
of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland )

Canada 1921 Canada
Newfoundland Newfoundland
New Zealand New Zealand
Scotland Scotland
South Africa 1928 South African Union
Wales 1807 Wales

Results

(The links lead to detailed results pages)

Medal table

space	country	gold	silver	bronze	total
1	England England	25th	23	13	61
2	Canada 1921 Canada	20th	15th	19th	54
3	South Africa 1928 South African Union	6th	4th	7th	17th
4th	New Zealand New Zealand	3	4th	2	9
5	Australia Australia	3	4th	1	8th
6th	Scotland Scotland	2	3	5	10
7th	Wales 1807 Wales	-	2	1	3
8th	British Guiana 1919 British Guiana	-	1	1	2
9	Northern Ireland Northern Ireland	-	1	-	1

Web links

Commons : British Empire Games 1930 - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Commonwealth Games Federation

Individual evidence

↑ Arnd Krüger (1986): Was John Astley Cooper the inventor of the modern Olympic Games? In: LOUIS BURGENER u. a. (Ed.): Sport und Kultur , Vol. 6. Bern: Lang, 72 - 81. Katharine Moore (1989): 'The warmth of comradeship': the first British empire games and imperial solidarity, in: The International Journal of the History of Sport 6: 2, 242-251. Katharine Moore (1991): A neglected imperialist: the promotion of the British empire in the writing of John Astley Cooper, in: The International Journal of the History of Sport 8: 2, 256 -269.
^ Robert K. Barney: The Great Transformation. Olympic Arnd Krüger (1986): Was John Astley Cooper the inventor of the modern Olympic Games? In: LOUIS BURGENER u. a. (Ed.): Sport und Kultur , Vol. 6. Bern: Lang, 72 - 81.

[1] Arnd Krüger (1986): Was John Astley Cooper the inventor of the modern Olympic Games? In: LOUIS BURGENER u. a. (Ed.): Sport und Kultur , Vol. 6. Bern: Lang, 72 - 81. Katharine Moore (1989): 'The warmth of comradeship': the first British empire games and imperial solidarity, in: The International Journal of the History of Sport 6: 2, 242-251. Katharine Moore (1991): A neglected imperialist: the promotion of the British empire in the writing of John Astley Cooper, in: The International Journal of the History of Sport 8: 2, 256 -269.

[2] Robert K. Barney: The Great Transformation. Olympic Arnd Krüger (1986): Was John Astley Cooper the inventor of the modern Olympic Games? In: LOUIS BURGENER u. a. (Ed.): Sport und Kultur , Vol. 6. Bern: Lang, 72 - 81.