Part of the pride

Last weekend saw the conclusion of the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, hosted across the islands of Trinidad and Tobago from 4 to 11 August.

The first fully integrated Youth Games with a programme of Para-Swimming and Para-Athletics, it gathered +1000 athletes from the 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. 

Team England sent 58 athletes and returned with 49 medals, won across each of the four sports in which we were represented – a great performance including the breaking of multiple Games’ records by athletes from the ‘Covid generation’, those who faced a global pandemic and multiple lockdowns that severely curtailed their training and competition opportunities.

And now, after little more than 18 months, they are competing on the world stage, showing the resilience, fortitude, commitment, application and adaptability that’s needed and expected to succeed.

These traits brought them through the pandemic and kept showing up in the little things, like waiting around for transport, or the ice baths fashioned from humble wheelie bins and commissioned into something much greater.

Why the Games are so important

Major games amplify the trials and tribulations of sport, and sport mirrors life. Adversity is guaranteed and perseverance and adaptability are sometimes rewarded with a medal… but often not.

The Games also matter an awful lot to the athletes and teams of the participating nations, many of whom are challenged to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

And what about those aspiring athletes from every corner of the Commonwealth, some in seemingly unlikely sports and places that aim to burst out from the shadows?

For them this is an opportunity to compete alongside sporting giants like Australia, Canada or New Zealand. 

These kinds of competitions are also important to the very dedicated coaches, team leaders and practitioners of Team England, as they get an opportunity to support their athletes in a major games, multi-sport environment.

Theirs is not the glamorous and globe-trotting trappings of professional, 'commercial' sport. 

Instead, they travel a lot coaching very early and very late, at weekends and holidays, and they built a team that was a credit to our nation - inclusive and diverse, fierce competitors, supportive of each other, gracious in defeat and humble in victory.

That’s why we, at Sport England, are proud to support them through Commonwealth Games England and their national governing body (NGB) talent pathways. 

An uncertain future

Last year I wrote about the Commonwealth Games Federation acknowledgement of the "challenging history linked to colonial roots"and the shadow it casts over the concept of what has evolved into 'the friendly games', defined by the high competitive standards of athletes who also hold an unwavering regard and respect for one another.

Significant disparities in investment and current performance among the competing teams also exist, and it’s fair to say that English athletes enjoy some considerable advantages over other nations.

However, this competition, with the experience and exposure it creates, significantly helps to close that gap. Plus the inspiration and allure of the games are still powerful motivators to encourage young people to apply themselves to their sport and explore their potential to the fullest. 

I don’t know what will come next for the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth sport movement. But I hope that a solution will be found, and soon.

We owe it to this generation, particularly, to provide a sense of security and confidence.

There are thousands of young athletes who dream of attending a future Games, including the 1,200 or so athletes of the UK who have the privilege of representing their home countries at a senior games every four years.

We also owe it to any potential hosts, who as I mentioned above, can gain so much from hosting.

So, as our comprehensive performance review following the Birmingham 2022 Games surmised – should these Games go, we would really miss them.

I hope they stay.