The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, have successively run every four years since. The Games were called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams since 2002, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. In 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men's and women's medal events and four years later they are the first global multi-sport event to have more events for women than men.
The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was Eden Park, although the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium, see New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games. The fourth games were originally awarded to Montreal, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to World War II.
World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation, is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who succeeded Denis Oswald at a ceremony held in Lucerne in July 2014.
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
The Home International Regatta is a rowing regatta held every year for the countries of the British Isles - England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Events are held for both men and women at junior and senior levels, including Para-rowing events. The race has been held since 1962 and each country takes it in turns to host the event. Prior to moving to Cardiff Bay, Welsh Rowing hosted the event outside Wales on a number of occasions in both Strathclyde and Ghent.
The Toronto Varsity Blues is the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues traces its founding to 1877, with the formation of the men's football team. Since 1908, Varsity Blues athletes have won numerous medals in Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and have also long competed in International University Sports Federation championships, Commonwealth Games, and Pan American Games.
Strathclyde Country Park is a country park located on the outskirts of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, named after the former Strathclyde region of Scotland. It is often commonly referred to as Strathclyde, or simply Strathy.
Sport plays an important role in the culture of Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. Association football is particularly popular: Glasgow is known for the fierce Old Firm rivalry between Scotland's most successful clubs, Celtic and Rangers. The national stadium, Hampden Park, is located in the city and stages most home matches of the Scotland national team, as well as the finals of the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) are both also based at Hampden. The world's first official international match took place in Glasgow in 1872.
The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Rowing Association.
The British Rowing Championships usually take place every year. The event is held at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont (Nottingham) with occasional championships held at the Strathclyde Country Park. The championships originally incorporated Senior and Junior crews but since 2013 have been held separately. It is a major event for club rowers and schools and events are held for open, women, open junior, women's junior, under 23, lightweight, adaptive and coastal boats.
At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the athletics event were held in Victoria, BC, Canada, at the Centennial Stadium on the grounds of the University of Victoria. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 by male 19 by female athletes. Furthermore, 2 men's disability events were held within the programme.
The 1996 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held on 11 August 1996 in conjunction with the World Junior Rowing Championships in Motherwell, Strathclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom. The event took place at Strathclyde Country Park. Since 1996 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include Olympic events scheduled for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Strathclyde Park Rowing Club (SPRC) is a rowing club which was founded in 2000 by Iain Somerside, Karen & Peter Barton and Tom Hewitt. It is the only 'open' club based at the international rowing course at Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.
Polly Swann is a British rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team. She is a former World and European champion in the women's coxless pairs, having won the 2013 World Rowing Championships at Chungju in Korea, and the 2014 European Rowing Championships at Belgrade, Serbia with her partner Helen Glover. At the 2016 Summer Olympics she won a silver medal in the women's eight.
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom between 2 and 12 August. The second edition in 2022 took place in Munich, Germany. The various Europe-wide championships in the same disciplines that are held outside this quadrennial framework are unaffected by this event.
Alan Sinclair is a retired British international rower.
The 2018 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships for European members of the International Rowing Federation (FISA) plus Israel. They were held as part of a new multi-sport European Championships at the Strathclyde Country Park near Motherwell, Scotland.
Cycling at the 2018 Commonwealth Games was held at the Currumbin Beachfront (road), Nerang National Park, both of which are located in the Gold Coast and Anna Meares Velodrome from 5 to 14 April.
The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The tournament began three days after the conclusion of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
