How many sports are there in the Commonwealth games? A list of Commonwealth games

How many sports are there in the Commonwealth games? This is a question most people tend to ask due to the subdivision of different sports the tournament offers. The Commonwealth Games are a quadrennial international multi-sport event between many athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations.

Over 5,000 athletes participate in the competition as they compete for honour in a variety of sports and disciplines. Here is all the information you need to know about this competition.

How many countries are in the Commonwealth games?

Despite the Commonwealth of Nations having 56 members, 72 teams currently compete in the Commonwealth Games, with some dependent territories competing under their flags. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) also submit separate groups.

List of Commonwealth games

The federation's officially recognised and approved sports are included in the games. How many sports are there in the Commonwealth games? The 2022 Games featured 19 sports, including eight parasports, making it the most extensive sporting programme in competition history.

1. Aquatics - diving

Divers all over the Commonwealth display poise, control, flexibility, and accuracy. The spectacle of individual and coordinated divers performing somersaults while maintaining flawless form is what diving promises.

A panel of judges scores each dive, dividing it into the approach and starting position, the take-off, the flight through the air, and the entry into the water, to determine the outcome of each event. The Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in 2024 will also include this competition.

2. Aquatics - swimming and para-swimming

The best swimmers from the Commonwealth make a splash at the competition by showcasing their dynamic strength, speed, and technique. The four swimming strokes—freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke—and medley events that combine all four strokes are used in swimming competitions.

The variety of events, with distances ranging from a lung-busting 1500m to a breathless 50m, highlight the talent, skills, and strengths of every swimmer in the pool as they compete for a spot on the podium.

3. Athletics and para athletics

You can experience everything on the track, from the exhilarating rush of the 100-meter sprint to the heart-stopping intensity of the 10,000-meter race. The marathon, the Games' ultimate endurance test, also sees action on the streets.

On the field, competitors in the javelin, hammer, discus, and shot put compete for supremacy, while competitors in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault leap for the top spot. Athletes compete in the multi-event decathlon and heptathlon, pushing their limits as they attempt to win across various events.

4. Badminton

Badminton is a racquet game that uses racquets to strike a shuttlecock across a net. The most popular versions of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles," though it can also be played with larger teams (with two players per side).

While formal matches are played on a rectangular indoor court, badminton is frequently played outdoors in a yard or beach. The shuttlecock must land in the half of the court belonging to the opposing team to score a point.

5. Basketball 3x3

This is a modification of basketball played three-a-side, with one backboard and in a half-court setup. The International Olympic Committee commissioned a study from ESSEC Business School that found 3x3 to be the most popular urban team sport worldwide.

The organisation that governs basketball, FIBA, is currently promoting and organising this game format. The competition also features wheelchair basketball 3x3.

6. Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball teams compete against one another in a show of unbridled talent and unbridled power on the sand. Men and women put everything they have got into defeating rivals as they progress through these fiercely competitive tournaments as the drama plays out.

On the sand, two-person teams compete against one another. Each rally is started by serving the ball over the net, where it may land up to three times on one side before being returned across the net. There is constant back and forth across the net until one team wins the rally.

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7. Martial arts

Various purposes, including self-defence, military and law enforcement applications, competition, physical, mental, and spiritual development, and entertainment, are served by martial arts, which are codified systems and traditions of combat. Boxing, Judo, and Wrestling are among the martial arts competitions at the Commonwealth Games.

The ultimate test of mental and physical fortitude is tested as competitors square off in a skill, speed, and endurance contest. Men and women enter the ring to compete in various weight divisions. You witness explosive combinations, quick footwork, and unwavering resolve as the tense three-minute rounds progress.

8. Cricket T20

One of the brand-new competitions at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games was the women's T20. Two teams of 11 players each contest in cricket. One of the eleven field players on the field at any given time for the fielding team will bowl the ball. Two players from the batting team are on the field at once.

Each team gets a bat turn during a designated "inning." In T20, an inning consists of 20 "overs," with the ball being bowled six times each. The sport's fastest format, T20, is jam-packed with action and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

9. Cycling

Cycling had a total of 26 events, placing it third in terms of the number of medals available. There are 20 track cycling events (four of which are for para cyclists), two mountain biking events, two road time trial events, and two road racing events.

10. Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a type of exercise that calls for coordination, balance, strength, flexibility, agility, and endurance. The arm, leg, shoulder, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups all develop due to gymnastics movements. Gymnastics developed from circus performance skills and exercises practised by the ancient Greeks, including horse mounting and dismounting techniques.

11. Hockey

Since 1998, this competitive, quick-paced sport has been a part of the Commonwealth Games. Over 60 minutes of on-field action, teams dribble, sprint, and tackle their way to victory. Some of the best teams in the world compete in this intensely energising event as the crack of hockey sticks can be heard from hard tackles and long passes.

12. Lawn bowls and para lawn bowls

There are typically six rinks per green where matches are played on a lawn bowls green. A coin toss decides who gets to roll the "jack," a small ball at least 23 metres down the green to start the game.

Aiming to roll their bowls closer to the jack than any of their opponents, competitors take turns moving their bowls. Each bowl that is closest to the jack receives points. In singles competition, the first player to reach 21 points wins; in pairs, triples, and fours competition, the team with the most points overall wins.

13. Netball

Netball is played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is one of the few sports designed specifically for female competitors. The sport is primarily played in schools and is played on netball courts that are both indoor and outdoor. Playing netball is most prevalent in Commonwealth countries.

14. Para powerlifting

The sport of powerlifting has been modified for athletes with disabilities. It is referred to as paralympic powerlifting, para powerlifting, and para-lifting. The bench press is the only discipline used in Paralympic powerlifting.

The International Paralympic Committee (World Para Powerlifting) controls the sport. Anyone who can extend their arms during a lift to within 20 degrees of their full extension and has a minimum level of disability is eligible.

15. Rugby sevens

Rugby is one of the most thrilling sports in the Commonwealth games. In rugby sevens, a subset of rugby union, teams consist of seven players who play seven-minute halves as opposed to the typical 15 players who play 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is overseen by World Rugby, the organisation managing rugby union internationally.

The sport is well-liked at all skill levels, with club and amateur competitions typically occurring in the summer. One of the most widely played variations of rugby is sevens, which is well-liked in some regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, particularly in the South Pacific.

16. Squash

Squash is a racket-and-ball game played by two or four athletes in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. The players alternately hit the ball with their rackets on the four playable surfaces of the court's four walls. You must hit the ball to win so your opponent cannot play a legal return.

17. Table tennis and para table tennis

You will be on the edge of your seat as the Table Tennis begins because it is a game of quick thinking and high intensity. Table tennis has straightforward rules: Hit the ball onto the table over the net. If your opponent does not immediately respond, you win the point!

The first player to 11 points wins the game, but there must be a margin of victory of at least two points. Play will continue if the game's score is 10-10 until one player takes the lead by two points.

18. Triathlon and para-triathlon

Triathlon has gained popularity quickly despite only being "invented" in the 1970s, solidifying its place among the most recognisable endurance competitions worldwide. Triathlon is one of the most physically demanding sports because competitors must become experts in three very different endurance disciplines.

The race starts with an open-water swim, then moves into a cycle leg before concluding with a gruelling run. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins.

19. Weightlifting

This is one of the most exciting games at the Commonwealth. In weightlifting, competitors attempt to lift the heaviest weights while lifting a barbell laden with weight plates from the floor to overhead. Two distinct methods of raising the barbell overhead are used in competition.

Is football in the Commonwealth games?

Soccer is not part of the Commonwealth games. Most team sports have historically been kept out of the tournament because they are expensive to host. A meaningful football game would require at least eight teams and a squad size of about 20 players for each football team.

The programmes for the Commonwealth Games have also featured several demonstration sports, also referred to as exhibition sports. The tournament has occasionally featured these sports or disciplines, but they have never been part of the main competition.

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