1994 Commonwealth Games

15th Commonwealth Games

Logo of 1994 Commonwealth Games
Host city Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Motto Catch The Spirit
Nations participating 63
Athletes participating 2,557
Events events in 10 sports
Opening ceremony 18 August 1994
Closing ceremony 28 August 1994
Officially opened by Elizabeth II
Officially closed by Prince Edward
Queen's Baton Final Runner Myriam Bédard
Main venue Centennial Stadium
<  XIV XVI  >

The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 18 to 28 August 1994.

The XV Commonwealth Games marked South Africa's return to the Commonwealth Games following the apartheid era, and over 30 years since the country last competed in the Games in 1958. It was also Hong Kong's last appearance at the games before the transfer of sovereignty from Britain to China.

The official mascot of the Games was an anthropomorphic killer whale named "Klee Wyck".[1] "Klee Wyck", meaning "the laughing one", was a nickname given to Canadian painter and sculptor Emily Carr by the Ucluelet First Nation.[2]

Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Selection Process

Three bids for the 1994 Commonwealth Games were submitted. Victoria, New Delhi, and Cardiff were the bidding cities. On 15 September 1988, the Commonwealth Games Federation voted to award Victoria the 1994 Commonwealth Games.[3]

1994 Commonwealth Games bidding results
City Country Votes
Victoria Canada Canada 29
New Delhi India India 18
Cardiff Wales Wales 7

"Lightweight Games"

Victoria 1994 was considered by many in the Commonwealth movement to be a minimalistic version of the games. After the high memories of Auckland's games four years previously, many considered Victoria to be a mild let-down. Some facilities were old and decrepit such as Victoria Memorial Arena. Other venues were temporary; none more so than the large scaffolding-built stands that totally transformed the University of Victoria's Centennial Stadium.

Overall the games were successful, proving that smaller cities could manage hosting large events such as the Commonwealth Games.

Final "Original Games"

The 1994 games was the last time Team Sports were excluded. The Commonwealth Games Federation deemed the original set up of ten sports to be obsolete. Beginning with the 1998 games, team sports such as Rugby sevens, Basketball, and Field hockey were added. The decision was taken to encourage more revenue streams from television by making the games more attractive to viewing audiences.

Opening Ceremony

A simple friendly atmosphere was the theme to the Opening Ceremonies. In the presence of HRH Prince Edward, the Athletes had a long march past to their seated area (an idea created four years previously and emulated since at the 2014 Games in Glasgow). Welcome speeches and flag raisings were followed by a precision horse riding display by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A visual and theatrical display by the Four Nations Tribes culminated in a massive Thunderbird symbol covering the entire inner field. This was followed by a flypast by the "Snowbirds" Canadian Forces aerobatic display team.

Games

Participating nations

There were 63 participating nations at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Participating Commonwealth Countries & Territories
Nations that competed at the Games

Sports

There were events in 14 disciplines across 10 sports for the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Calendar

The following table shows a summary of the competition schedule.

OCOpening ceremony Event competitions 1Event finals CCClosing ceremony
August 18
Thu
19
Fri
20
Sat
21
Sun
22
Mon
23
Tue
24
Wed
25
Thu
26
Fri
27
Sat
28
Sun
Events
Ceremonies OC CC
Athletics 1 9 4 2 11 6 11 44
Badminton 1 5 6
Boxing 12 12
Cycling 2 2 1 3 2 3 13
Diving 2 2 2 6
Gymnastics 1 1 2 10 1 1 4 20
Lawn bowls 2 2 2 2 8
Shooting 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 32
Synchronised swimming 2 2
Swimming 6 5 6 5 6 6 34
Weightlifting 6 6 6 6 6 30
Wrestling 5 5 10
Total events 13 17 20 24 25 22 19 25 41 11 217
Cumulative total 13 30 50 74 99 121 140 165 206 217
August18
Thu
19
Fri
20
Sat
21
Sun
22
Mon
23
Tue
24
Wed
25
Thu
26
Fri
27
Sat
28
Sun
Events

Medal table

This is a full table of the medal count of the 1994 Commonwealth Games. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country. The number of silvers is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically. This follows the system used by the IOC, IAAF and BBC.

This is the first time since the commencement of the British Empire Games (in 1930) that England did not achieve a medal ranking in the top 2.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Australia 89 53 44 186
2  Canada 42 43 49 134
3  England 31 47 51 129
4  Nigeria 11 13 13 37
5  Kenya 7 4 8 19
6  India 6 12 7 25
7  Scotland 6 3 11 20
8  New Zealand 5 16 22 43
9  Wales 5 8 6 19
10  Northern Ireland 5 2 3 10
11  Nauru 3 0 0 3
12  South Africa 2 4 5 11
13  Jamaica 2 4 2 8
14  Malaysia 2 3 2 7
15  Cyprus 2 1 2 5
16  Sri Lanka 1 2 0 3
17  Zambia 1 1 2 4
18  Namibia 1 0 1 2
19  Zimbabwe 0 3 3 6
20  Papua New Guinea 0 1 0 1
Western Samoa 0 1 0 1
22  Hong Kong 0 0 4 4
23  Pakistan 0 0 3 3
24  Ghana 0 0 2 2
 Trinidad and Tobago 0 0 2 2
 Uganda 0 0 2 2
27  Bermuda 0 0 1 1
 Botswana 0 0 1 1
 Guernsey 0 0 1 1
 Norfolk Island 0 0 1 1
 Seychelles 0 0 1 1
 Tanzania 0 0 1 1
 Tonga 0 0 1 1
Total 219 219 249 687

Medals by event

Aquatics

Athletics

Badminton

Bowls

Boxing

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Light Flyweight Abdurahaman Ramadhani (KEN) Victor Kasote (ZAM) Sah Birju (IND)
 Domenic Figliomeni (CAN)
Flyweight Paul Shepherd (SCO) Duncan Karanja (KEN) Bornface Makuka (ZAM)
 Danny Costello (ENG)
Bantamweight Robert Peden (AUS) Spencer Oliver (ENG) Fred Mutuweta (UGA)
Featherweight Casey Patton (CAN) Jason Cook (WAL) Matumla Hassan (TAN)
 James Swan (AUS)
Lightweight Michael Strange (CAN) Martin Renaghan (NIR) Kalolo Fiaui (NZL)
 Hussain Arshad (PAK)
Light Welterweight Peter Richardson (ENG) Mark Winters (NIR) Trevor Shailer (NZL)
 Tijani Moro (GHA)
Welterweight Neil Sinclair (NIR) Albert Eromosele (NGR) Richard Rowles (AUS)
 Wald Fleming (CAN)
Light Middleweight Jimmy Webb (NIR) Bob Gasio (WSM) Joseph Townsley (SCO)
 Rival Cadeau (SEY)
Middleweight Rowan Donaldson (CAN) Rasmus Ojemaye (NGR) Peter Wanyoike (KEN)
 Mike Penniston-John (TRI)
Light Heavyweight Dale Brown (CAN) John Wilson (SCO) France Mabiletsa (BOT)
 Odhiambo Opiyo (KEN)
Heavyweight Omar Ahmed (KEN) Steve Gallinger (CAN) Ezwell Ndlovu (ZIM)
 Charles Kizza (UGA)
Super Heavyweight Duncan Dokiwari (NGR) David Anyim (KEN) Paea Wolfgramm (TON)
 Danny Williams (ENG)

Cycling

Track

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men
Time Trial Shane Kelly (AUS)00:01:05 Darryn Hill (AUS)00:01:06 Tim O'Shannessey (AUS)00:01:07
Sprint Gary Neiwand (AUS) Curt Harnett (CAN) Darryn Hill (AUS)
Individual Pursuit Brad McGee (AUS)00:04:31 Shaun Wallace (ENG)00:04:35 Stuart O'Grady (AUS)00:04:35
Team Pursuit Australia
Brett Aitken
Brad McGee
Stuart O'Grady
Tim O'Shannessey
00:04:10 England
Tony Doyle
Rob Hayles
Chris Newton
Bryan Steel
caught  New Zealand
Brendon Cameron
Julian Dean
Glen Thomson
Lee Vertongen
00:04:22
10 Miles Scratch Stuart O'Grady (AUS)00:18:51 Glenn McLeay (NZL)00:18:51 Brian Walton (CAN)00:18:51
Points Race Brett Aitken (AUS)38 Stuart O'Grady (AUS)37 Dean Woods (AUS)23
Women
Sprint Tanya Dubnicoff (CAN) Michelle Ferris (AUS) Donna Wynd (NZL)
Individual Pursuit Kathy Watt (AUS)00:03:49 Sarah Ulmer (NZL)00:03:51 Jacqueline Nelson (NZL)00:03:55
Points Race Yvonne McGregor (ENG)5 Jacqueline Nelson (NZL)1+32 Sally Hodge (WAL)1+28

Road

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men
Road Race Mark Rendell (NZL)04:46:08 Brian Fowler (NZL)04:48:10 Willem Engelbrecht (RSA)04:48:10
Team Time Trial Australia
Phil Anderson
Dennis Brett
Henk Vogels
Damian McDonald
01:53:19 England
Peter Longbottom
Matt Illingworth
Simon Lillistone
Paul Jennings
01:56:41 New Zealand
Brian Fowler
Paul Leitch
Tim Pawson
Mark Rendell
01:56:53
Women
Road Race Kathy Watt (AUS)02:48:05 Linda Jackson (CAN)02:48:35 Alison Sydor (CAN)02:50:17
Team Time Trial  Australia
Catherine Reardon
Kathy Watt
Louise Nolan
Rachel Marianne Victor
01:04:03  Canada
Alison Sydor
Anne Samplonius
Clara Hughes
Lesley A Tomlinson
01:04:19  England
Julia Freeman
Maria Lawrence
Maxine Johnson
Yvonne McGregor
1:06:32.85

Gymnastics

Artistic

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men
All-Around Neil Thomas (ENG)55.95 Brennon Dowrick (AUS)55.525 Peter Hogan (AUS)54.95
Team Canada
Alan Nolet
Kristan Burley
Richard Ikeda
Travis Romagnoli
164.7 Australia
Brennon Dowrick
Bret Hudson
Nathan Kingston
Peter Hogan
164.5 England
Lee McDermott
Neil Thomas
Paul Bowler
Robert Barber
09:00:00
Horizontal Bar Alan Nolet (CAN)9.512 Richard Ikeda (CAN)9.5 Nathan Kingston (AUS)9.325
Parallel Bars Peter Hogan (AUS)9.4 Kris Burley (CAN)9.35 Brennon Dowrick (AUS)9.25
Vault Bret Hudson (AUS)9.375 Kris Burley (CAN)9.312 Neil Thomas (ENG)9.306
Pommel Horse Brennon Dowrick (AUS)9.425 Nathan Kingston (AUS)9.4 Richard Ikeda (CAN)9.225
Rings Lee McDermott (ENG)9.475 Peter Hogan (AUS)9.275 Brennon Dowrick (AUS)9.15
Floor Neil Thomas (ENG)9.662 Kris Burley (CAN)9.437 Alan Nolet (CAN)9.15
Women
All-Around Stella Umeh (CAN)38.4 Rebecca Stoyal (AUS)38.037 Zita Lusack (ENG)37.725
Team England
Annika Reeder
Jackie Brady
Karin Szymko
Zita Lusack
05:24:00 Canada
Jaime Hill
Lisa Simes
Stacey Galloway
Stella Umeh
113.65 Australia
Joanna Hughes
Rebecca Stoyel
Ruth Moniz
Salli Wills
15:00:00
Asymmetric Bars Rebecca Stoyal (AUS)9.525 Stella Umeh (CAN)9.45 Sara Thompson (NZL)9.337
Beam Salli Wills (AUS)9.075 Zita Lusack (ENG)8.987 Ruth Moniz (AUS)8.9
Vault Stella Umeh (CAN)9.556 Sonia Lawrence (WAL)9.543 Lisa Simes (CAN)9.506
Floor Annika Reeder (ENG)9.75 Jackie Brady (ENG)9.662 Lisa Simes (CAN)9.55

Rhythmic

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Women
All-Around Kasumi Takahashi (AUS) 36.85  Camille Martens (CAN)36.6 Debbie Southwick (ENG)
 Joanne Walker (SCO)
36.35
Team Canada
Camille Martens
Gretchen McLennan
Lindsay Richards
106.9 Australia
Kasumi Takahashi
Katie Mitchell
Leigh Marning
105.3 England
Aicha McKenzie
Debbie Southwick
Linda Southwick
103.3
Ball Kasumi Takahashi (AUS)9.2 Camille Martens (CAN)9 Aicha McKenzie (ENG)
 Gretchen McLennan (CAN)
8.8
Clubs Kasumi Takahashi (AUS)9.4 Camille Martens (CAN)9.15 Leigh Marning (AUS)9
Hoop Kasumi Takahashi (AUS)9.3 Lindsay Richards (CAN)9.05 Aicha McKenzie (ENG)8.9
Ribbon Kasumi Takahashi (AUS)9.2 Camille Martens (CAN)9.05 Gretchen McLennan (CAN)9

Shooting

Pistol

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men/Open
Free Pistol Mick Gault (ENG)654.1 Phil Adams (AUS)647 Bengt Sandstrom (AUS)642.5
Free Pistol – Pairs Phil Adams
Bengt Sandström (AUS)
1104 Julian Lawton
Greg Yelavich (NZL)
1094 Mick Gault
Paul Leatherdale (ENG)
1082
Centre-Fire Pistol Jaspal Rana (IND)581 Mick Gault (ENG)581 Greg Yelavich (NZL)575
Centre-Fire Pistol – Pairs Jaspal Rana
Ashok Pandit (IND)
1168 Kelvin Vickers
Phil Adams (AUS)
1149 Stanley Wills
John Rochon (CAN)
1148
Rapid-Fire Pistol Michael Jay (WAL)670.2 Robert Dowling (AUS)668.4 Pat Murray (AUS)668.1
Rapid-Fire Pistol – Pairs Pat Murray
Robert Dowling (AUS)
1148 Richard Craven
Michael Jay (WAL)
1142 Adrian Breton
Graham La Maitre (GGY)
1129
Air Pistol Jean-Pierre Huot (CAN)672.4 Jaspal Rana (IND)670.7 Greg Yelavich (NZL)668.5
Air Pistol – Pairs Mike Giustiniano
Bengt Sandström (AUS)
1137 Jean-Pierre Huot
John Rochon (CAN)
1135 Jaspal Rana
Vivek Singh (IND)
1133
Women
Sport Pistol Christine Trefry (AUS)679.4 Margaret Thomas (ENG)675 Annette Woodward (AUS)674
Sport Pistol – Pairs Christine Trefry
Annette Woodward (AUS)
1134 Sharon Cozzarin
Helen Smith (CAN)
1132 Margaret Thomas
Carol Page (ENG)
1129
Air Pistol Helen Smith (CAN)474.2 Annette Woodward (AUS)466.1 Sharon Cozzarin (CAN)465.8
Air Pistol – Pairs Annette Woodward
Christine Trefry (AUS)
747 Jocelyn Lees
Gerd Barkman (NZL)
745 Margaret Thomas
Carol Page (ENG)
744

Rifle

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men/Open
Small Bore Rifle, Prone Stephen Petterson (NZL)698.4 Jim Cornish (ENG)693.9 Michael Dion (CAN)693.6
Small Bore Rifle, Prone – Pairs Stephen Petterson
Lindsay Arthur (NZL)
1181 Dodangoda Chandrasiri
Lakshman Rajasinghe (SRI)
1177 David Clifton
Dean Turley (AUS)
1176
Small Bore Rifle, Three Positions Michael Dion (CAN)1234.2 Wayne Sorensen (CAN)1228.7 Alister Allan (SCO)1224.8
Small Bore Rifle, Three Positions – Pairs Wayne Sorensen
Michael Dion (CAN)
2300 Alister Allan
William Murray (SCO)
2271 Chris Hector
Trevor Langridge (ENG)
2259
Full Bore Rifle David Calvert (NIR)398 Geoffrey Smith (NZL)398 Glyn Barnett (ENG)397
Full Bore Rifle – Pairs Bert Bowden
Geoffrey Grenfell (AUS)
593 Glyn Barnett
Anthony Ringer (ENG)
588 David Calvert
Martin Millar (NIR)
584
Air Rifle Chris Hector (ENG)685.9 Jean-François Sénécal (CAN)683 Nigel Wallace (ENG)680
Air Rifle – Pairs Jean-François Sénécal
Wayne Sorensen (CAN)
1166 Chris Hector
Nigel Wallace (ENG)
1161 David Rattray
Robin Law (SCO)
1145
Running Target Bryan Wilson (AUS)657.9 Mark Bedlington (CAN)656 Paul Carmine (NZL)650.7
Running Target – Pairs Mark Bedlington
Matthew Bedlington (CAN)
1088 Bryan Wilson and Peter Zutenis (AUS)1088 Paul Carmine and Anthony Clark (NZL)1079
Women
Small Bore Rifle, Prone Shirley McIntosh (SCO)586 Sylvia Purdie (AUS)585 Patricia Littlechild (SCO)585
Small Bore Rifle, Prone – Pairs Kim Frazer
Sylvia Purdie (AUS)
1160 Shirley McIntosh
Patricia Littlechild (SCO)
1158 Christina Ashcroft
Linda Szulga (CAN)
1158
Small Bore Rifle, Three Positions Sharon Bowes (CAN)666.4 Roopa Unnikrishnan (IND)662.5 Christina Ashcroft (CAN)661.6
Small Bore Rifle, Three Positions – Pairs Sharon Bowes
Christina Ashcroft (CAN)
1143 Karen Morton
Lindsay Volpin (ENG)
1132 Roopa Unnikrishnan
Kuheli Gangulee (IND)
1110
Air Rifle Photini Theophanous (CYP)488.7 Malee Wickremasinghe (SRI)488.5 Sharon Bowes (CAN)488.4
Air Rifle – Pairs Pushpamali Ramanayake
Malee Wickremasinghe (SRI)
771 Karen Morton
Louise Minett (ENG)
771 Christina Ashcroft
Sharon Bowes (CAN)
766

Shotgun

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men/Open
Trap Mansher Singh (IND)141 George Leary (CAN)140 Andreas Angelou (CYP)137
Trap – Pairs Tom Hewitt
Samuel Allen (NIR)
188 Ron Bonotto
George Leary (CAN)
187 Bob Borsley
John Grice (ENG)
186
Skeet Ian Hale (AUS)144 Christos Kourtellas (CYP)143 Andy Austin (ENG)143
Skeet – Pairs Antonakis Andreou
Christos Kourtellas (CYP)
189 Brian Thomson
Geoffrey Jukes (NZL)
186 Michael Thomson
Ian Marsden (SCO)
186

Weightlifting

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men
Flyweight Snatch Murgesan Veerasamy (IND)105 Badathala Adisekhar (IND)105 François Lagacé (CAN)105
Clean and Jerk Badathala Adisekhar (IND)132.5 Matin Guntali (MAS)130 Murgesan Veerasamy (IND)127.5
Overall Badathala Adisekhar (IND)237.5 Murgesan Veerasamy (IND)232.5 François Lagacé (CAN)227.5
Bantamweight Snatch Marcus Stephen (NRU)115 Chandersekaran Raghavan (IND)110 Denis Aumais (CAN)107.5
Clean and Jerk Marcus Stephen (NRU)147.5 Chandersekaran Raghavan (IND)145 Ben Devonshire (ENG)132.5
Overall Marcus Stephen (NRU)262.5 Chandersekaran Raghavan (IND)255 Denis Aumais (CAN)237.5
FeatherweightSnatch Najite Ogbogu (NGR)125 Sevdalin Marinov (AUS)125 Oliver Toby (NGR)120
Clean and Jerk Oliver Toby (NGR)152.5 Sevdalin Marinov (AUS)152.5 Najite Ogbogu (NGR)150
Overall Sevdalin Marinov (AUS)277.5 Najite Ogbogu (NGR)275 Oliver Toby (NGR)272.5
Lightweight Snatch Lawal Riliwan (NGR)132.5 Stewart Cruikshank (ENG)132.5 Moji Oluwa (NGR)130
Clean and Jerk Moji Oluwa (NGR)165 Satish Rai (IND)165 Stewart Cruikshank (ENG)160
Overall Moji Oluwa (NGR)295 Satish Rai (IND)292.5 Stewart Cruikshank (ENG)292.5
Middleweight Snatch David Morgan (WAL)147.5 Serge Trembley (CAN)145 Damian Brown (AUS)142.5
Clean and Jerk Damian Brown (AUS)182.5 David Morgan (WAL)180 Serge Trembley (CAN)172.5
Overall David Morgan (WAL)327.5 Damian Brown (AUS)325 Serge Trembley (CAN)317.5
Light Heavyweight Snatch Kiril Kounev (AUS)152.5 Stephen Ward (ENG)147.5 Jim Dan Corbett (CAN)147.5
Clean and Jerk Kiril Kounev (AUS)200 Stephen Ward (ENG)187.5 Jim Dan Corbett (CAN)182.5
Overall Kiril Kounev (AUS)352.5 Stephen Ward (ENG)335 Jim Dan Corbett (CAN)330
Middle Heavyweight Snatch Harvey Goodman (AUS)162.5 Peter May (ENG)155 Collins Okoth (KEN)120
Clean and Jerk Harvey Goodman (AUS)200 Peter May (ENG)190 Collins Okoth (KEN)120
Overall Harvey Goodman (AUS)362.5 Peter May (ENG)345 Collins Okoth (KEN)240
Sub Heavyweight Snatch Christopher Onyezie (NGR)155 Andrew Saxton (AUS)155 Phillip Christou (AUS)152.5
Clean and Jerk Andy Callard (ENG)197.5 Andrew Saxton (AUS)192.5 Christopher Onyezie (NGR)190
Overall Andy Callard (ENG)347.5 Andrew Saxton (AUS)347.5 Christopher Onyezie (NGR)345
Heavyweight Snatch Nicu Vlad (AUS)185 Innocent Chika (NGR)160 Gareth Hives (WAL)130
Clean and Jerk Nicu Vlad (AUS)220 Innocent Chika (NGR)200 Gareth Hives (WAL)160
Overall Nicu Vlad (AUS)405 Innocent Chika (NGR)360 Gareth Hives (WAL)290
Super Heavyweight Snatch Steven Kettner (AUS)165 Stefan Botev (AUS)160 Victor Edem (NGR)155
Clean and Jerk Stefan Botev (AUS)200 Steven Kettner (AUS)195 Victor Edem (NGR)190
Overall Stefan Botev (AUS)360 Steven Kettner (AUS)360 Victor Edem (NGR)345

Wrestling

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men
Light Flyweight Jacob Isaac (NGR) Paul Ragusa (CAN) Ramesh Kumar (IND)
Flyweight Selwyn Tam (CAN) Andrew Hutchinson (ENG) Kirpa Shankar (IND)
Bantamweight Robert Dawson (CAN) Ashok Kumar (IND) Cory O'Brien (AUS)
Featherweight Marty Calder (CAN) John Melling (ENG) Aroutioun Barseguian (CYP)
Lightweight Chris Wilson (CAN) Ibo Oziti (NGR) Muhammad Umar (PAK)
Welterweight David Hohl (CAN) Rein Ozoline (AUS) Calum McNeil (SCO)
Middleweight Justin Abdou (CAN) Randhir Singh (IND) Muhammad Bhola (PAK)
Light Heavyweight Scott Bianco (CAN) Victor Kodei (NGR) Graeme English (SCO)
Heavyweight Greg Edgelow (CAN) Noel Loban (ENG) Subhash Verma (IND)
Super Heavyweight Andrew Borodow (CAN) Bidei Jackson (NGR) Amerjit Singh (ENG)

Boxing committee

In preparation for 1994 Commonwealth Games, a boxing committee was formed in 1989. The chairperson of the boxing committee was Hassan Sunderani, and the initial members were Brian Zelley, Glyn Jones and Mike Sartori.

In the initial stages, of the committee one of the immediate tasks was to prepare a guide as to what was expected at the Games, and to document some history of amateur boxing in the Greater Victoria area. The primary work was done by chairperson Sunderani while the local boxing history was assigned to committee member Zelley, a previous news editor for the British Columbia Amateur Boxing Association in the mid-1980s and a contributor of boxing news to various news outlets in the 1970s and 80s.

The next order of business was to start the process of organising volunteers. The first formal public meeting to begin this process took place in Victoria in the boardroom of the Victoria Commonwealth Games Society on 21 April 1990. The meeting included three of the committee members, a VCHS official, and seven potential volunteers including two former Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing commissioners – Bert Wilkinson and Rick Brough.

The primary decision was to arrange a bigger meeting and consider reviving the Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing Association on a formal or informal basis and to have former experienced persons with some background in the sport of amateur boxing. That meeting took place on 13 May 1990 with twenty three persons in attendance and was listed as the "Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing Association Founding Meeting", and took place at the Princess Mary restaurant. This would become an important meeting to begin the real work in preparation of volunteers; having a representative attend the 1990 Seattle Goodwill Games to observe; and plan and prepare for a test event in 1993. Preliminary coverage of the 13 May meeting included a piece a couple of days earlier titled Approaching Games to lift amateur boxing's profile. The reporter Jeff Rud interviewed Games official John Stothart and boxing committee members Mike Sartori and Brian Zelley.[4]

The 1993 test event was held in August and would include some top Canadian boxers such as Dale Brown of Calgary. Brown was highlighted in the local paper with the headlines Brown building impressive ring career;[5] at the end of the tournament the local newspaper reported "Tournament was a perfect dry run" by Jeff Rud, 29 August 1993.[6]

Interim Boxing chairman

During 1991 Hassan Sunderani resigned as the chairman and committee member Brian Zelley stepped-in for a one-year period as the acting chairman of the committee. During this period, the primary role was to attend Sports Committee meetings[7] while the local boxing community started to organise for potential boxing club activity. In 1992, Sunderani resumed his position and steps were taken to prepare for the pre-Commonwealth Games event in 1993. Also, some new members were appointed to the boxing committee such as Tom Black.[8]

References

  1. http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol21no6/revkleewyck.html
  2. http://bcheritage.ca/emilycarrhomework/writing/klee.htm
  3. "Victoria wins 1994 Games". New Straits Times. 16 September 1988. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. "Times-Colonist. Jeff Rud, 11 May 1990.
  5. "Times-Colonist", 27 August 1993.
  6. "Times-Colonist, 29 August 1993.
  7. Victoria Commonwealth Games Society, Sports Committee Meetings during 1991.
  8. Times-Colonist, 17 May 1993
Preceded by
Auckland
Commonwealth Games
Victoria
XV Commonwealth Games
Succeeded by
Kuala Lumpur
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.