Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) Chief Executive Perry Crosswhite AM believes the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 will see the Australian Team reaffirm Australia’s position as the top sporting nation in the Commonwealth.

L-R: Wrestler Jayden Lawrence, Rugby 7s Captain Ed Jenkins and Triathlete Jake Birtwhistle

Speaking at a media event in Melbourne today (Tuesday 23 July) marking exactly one year to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Crosswhite said he was confident Australia could retain the No.1 ranking.

Crosswhite said, “The overall standard of competition continues to get higher at each Games.  With so many Commonwealth nations producing world class athletes, we recognise that it is going to be tough competition over in Glasgow next year.

“That is why the Australian Commonwealth Games Association has invested a record $8m in our program sports to help them prepare their athletes for the strong challenge we expect to face.

“Australia is justifiably proud of our Commonwealth Games record and in Glasgow in 2014 we aim to write another chapter in that success story,” said Crosswhite.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games - being held from 23 July to 3 August - will be the largest sporting event ever staged in Scotland with around 6,500 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories competing in 18 sports.

Australia has topped the medal tally in 12 of the 19 Commonwealth Games to date including the last six Games.  The last time Australia didn’t top the medal table was in 1986 in Edinburgh which was also the last time the Games were held in Scotland.

Australian Team Chef de Mission for the 2014 Games is Steve Moneghetti who made his Commonwealth Games debut at the 1986 Edinburgh Games, winning bronze in his first ever Marathon.

Moneghetti says, “There is no doubt this is going to be a tough challenge and our athletes are going to have to be at the top of their game if we are to achieve our aim of retaining our No.1 status.

“We know England in particular is looking to go one step better than their runner-up position on the medal tally in three of the last four Games and a host of other nations such as India, Canada and the Scots themselves will also be looking to make their mark.  

“With only one year to go, the countdown to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games has definitely begun.”

Australia is currently looking at sending a Team in excess of 600, including 425 athletes, to Glasgow 2014 which will be one of the largest Australian Teams to compete overseas.  

The Games program includes 22 medal events for Para-Sport athletes across five sports: Swimming, Athletics, Lawn Bowls, Powerlifting and for the first time, Para-Sport Cycling (Track).

This represents the biggest number of Para-Sport medal events in Commonwealth Games history which will be reflected in the sizeable contingent of Para athletes that will make up the final Australian Team.

Sports returning to the Games Program for 2014 are Judo and Triathlon, with Triathlon seeing the introduction of a Mixed Team Relay event.

The 18 sports in the Glasgow 2014 Sports Program are: Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Diving Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby 7s, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

Glasgow 2014

• Scotland has hosted the Commonwealth Games on two previous occasions – in 1970 and 1986 – both times in Edinburgh. With 5.2 million inhabitants, Scotland accounts for just 8% of the UK’s total population.
• Glasgow has a population of 600,000 and is Scotland’s largest city.
• The majority of competition venues are grouped in three clusters around the city – East End, South Side and West End.
•  The stadia of internationally-known soccer clubs Celtic FC (Opening Ceremony) and Rangers FC (Rugby 7s) will be used for the Games, as will Hampden Park, the home of Scotland’s national soccer team (Athletics - Track & Field). 
• Hampden Park will undergo a transformation for Glasgow 2014. A running track will be installed 1.9 metres above the existing football pitch to transform the stadium from a soccer venue into an international-standard Track and Field facility.  The planned transformation of Hampden Park is being promoted as the world’s first ‘elevated’ 400m track.
• Diving will be held in the recently refurbished Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh and Shooting at Barry Buddon near Carnoustie which hosted the Full Bore events in the 1986 Games.

ACGA – ‘Supporting Australian Sport’:

• Through its ‘Go Glasgow’ program, the ACGA is distributing $8m of its own funds to support athlete preparation for these Games. Grants are going directly to the participating sports, including Para-Sports.
• This includes $1m of ACGA funding recently announced towards helping create a new eligibility Tier for the Australian Sports Commission’s Direct Athlete Support (DAS) scheme. This new Tier is to assist athletes ranked in the top three in the Commonwealth - or deemed strong medal prospects in Glasgow -  who did not qualify under the existing DAS funded world ranking-based criteria.
• The ACGA is also a significant funder of junior high performance sport through its Australian Junior Commonwealth Games Squad (AJCGS) program.  This program aims to assist junior athletes who have the potential to be selected in future Australian Commonwealth Games Teams by funding international competition experience. The ACGA has contributed more than $8m to junior development since the program began in 1996. 
• The ACGA also funds the Teams representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games both of which provide the athletes with invaluable experience of elite level competition in a multi-sports environment.

For further media information, or interviews, please contact:

John Lindsay, Communications & PR Manager, Australian Commonwealth Games Association, Tel: 03 9654 4755 or Mob: 0423 456 046 email: john.lindsay@ausport.gov.au   web: www.commonwealthgames.com.au