This year, the Commonwealth Games is on the Gold Coast, New South Wales in Australia. This part of Australia is well known for surfing as well as swimming and other water sports. At the opening ceremony last night, each country’s team was led into the stadium by a girl with a surf board. She wore a surf living saving cap to show the importance of surf life savers in that region.
While the opening ceremony celebrated aborigine culture, there was a group of protesters who called the Games the Stolenwealth Games because of the treatment of aborigines by Europeans who colonised Australia.
New Zealand has sent the biggest team of athletes and coaches ever sent to an event like this: 251. There will be 18 sports events and 7 events for para-athletes at the same time. One of our para-athletes, Sophie Pascoe, a swimmer, carried the New Zealand flag last night. This is a great honour but one she deserves as she won nine gold medals and six silver medals at the last summer Olympics for para-athletes and has been a role model for many other people with a disability. She said, “To be classed as just another athlete, not a para-athlete, that’s probably the biggest thing.”
This year, 71 countries have sent teams. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were present at the opening ceremony. Our Prime Minister will attend on Friday. She will then go to the UK for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
Listen to Commonwealth Games in Glasgow for more about Commonwealth Games
Vocabulary
• aborigines – the original people of Australia
• Stolenwealth – steal, stole, stolen are the 3 parts of the verb. Wealth means riches.
• colonised (v) from the noun colony; Australia was a British colony
• para-athletes – athletes who have a disability
• role model – someone with good qualities for others to copy