Commonwealth Games.

[Lods]

I'm a bit of an Athletics tragic.
I've just watched the best week of Track and Field I've ever seen.
The World Championships in Oregon had it, all including World Records and some excellent performances by a number of Australians.
The coverage on SBS was superb with equal time given to both the Track and the Field... and some amazing graphic analysis.
Unfortunately we've suffered a few injuries that are going to impact on the Commonwealth games.

It will also be interesting to see how some athletes back up from such a high level of competition just a fortnight later.
Anyway that's just one aspect of the games.
Our Swimmers usually give us a good start.

[DJC]

An outstanding World Championships from an Australian perspective!

The Commonwealth Games may be something of a let down after the WCs, but it’s always good viewing.

[LP]

I'm a bit ambivalent to the Commonwealth Games situation, for me it is a tragedy for the athletes but most of the finger pointing and rhetoric seems to be coming from various hangers on, bureaucrats, supply chain and political aspirants.

As more and more issues surface, it looks to me like another too many fat pigs in the trough scenario that has spoilt things for everybody. All that money, bugger all actually going to the development of the athletes.

[DJC]

I'm a bit ambivalent to the Commonwealth Games situation, for me it is a tragedy for the athletes but most of the finger pointing and rhetoric seems to be coming from various hangers on, bureaucrats, supply chain and political aspirants.

As more and more issues surface, it looks to me like another too many fat pigs in the trough scenario that has spoilt things for everybody. All that money, bugger all actually going to the development of the athletes.

That’s what happens when politicians make populist decisions without getting the bean counters involved first.  A more modest games utilising existing and slightly upgraded infrastructure could have worked.

It’s interesting to think of the Commonwealth Games in the context of the discussion about the Olympic Games model.  Competitors get bugger all while IOC rakes in billions. 

A more equitable Commonwealth Games with modest infrastructure requirements could enable the less wealthy countries to have a crack at hosting, particularly if the model moved away from a host city, as the Victorian attempt intended, but probably didn’t go far enough.

I guess the bottom line is whether the broadcast rights will generate sufficient income to pay the athletes a reasonable wage.

[Lods]

It used to be a really good event.
Everything the Olympics should be, rather than the 'phony war', political rubbish that the Olympics have become.

But the Commonwealth games have become a bit of an irrelevancy.
Nice for the athletes, good for us spectators because medals come thick and fast, but in the scheme of things with Olympics and world championships every two years as well as the lucrative circuits, like the Diamond League in athletics, the event has lost a great deal of its prestige.

[LP]

That’s what happens when politicians make populist decisions without getting the bean counters involved first.  

I doubt the politicians make any money out of it, but the bean counters might collect a tasty fee or two!

[LP]

Nice for the athletes, good for us spectators because medals come thick and fast, but in the scheme of things with Olympics and world championships every two years as well as the lucrative circuits, like the Diamond League in athletics, the event has lost a great deal of its prestige.

My understanding one of the next major targets for the Arabs will be athletics / Olympics, they are planning to disrupt a swath of the games in much the same way they have disrupted golf.

[DJC]

I doubt the politicians make any money out of it, but the bean counters might collect a tasty fee or two!

Not if the politicians listen to the very capable, impartial, expert bean counters already employed in the public service.

Andrews needed a “That would be a very courageous decision Mr Premier,” rather than the unqualified agreement of sycophantic political advisors.

[Thryleon]

I think you guys dont realise just how much management types in the public sector seem to be more like dictators who like to surround themselves with "yes" people.

I want what I want, and make the numbers work would have been the guidance.

[LP]

Andrews needed a “That would be a very courageous decision Mr Premier,” rather than the unqualified agreement of sycophantic political advisors.

I think there is a specific case, and a more general case.

My assertions are the more general case, regarding the hosting and bidding for Commonwealth games in any location. It seems those in the Commonwealth Games supply chain have learned quickly from the IOC and it's perceived corrupt ways, it's no longer about sport.

In the more specific case of the Commonwealth Games Australia, I'm not sure the embedded bureaucracy is trusted and to support that assertion we could point to the ever growing use of "Consultants" by the state governments. Even more bizarre is the perceived distancing of the event by Federal Politics, surely it's a national event, this competition between states seems ............... When you have entities that profit from failure as much as they profit from success, a win win for some, the path of least resistance will be the ultimate result no matter what the cost!