Glasgow, which has come to the rescue to host the 2026 Games after Victoria, Australia, pulled out, will host a scaled-down version.
The pruning has been savage. Beloved events and sports have been ditched.
Good on Glasgow for stepping up. The Games which began in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930, as the British Empire Games, looked to have just about expired.
The Olympics are the colossus, the Commonwealth itself has lost relevancy, and several sports have bigger fish to fry. So much premier sport is now available on our screens.
The Games, beloved by many middle-aged and older New Zealanders, have created a trove of memories. None more so than Dick Taylor’s triumph in the 10,000m at the Christchurch Games of 1974.
The Games showcased Commonwealth sports and provided opportunities for New Zealand athletes to shine, albeit on a much smaller stage than the Olympics. At the last event in Birmingham, New Zealand won 50 medals, including 20 golds. It should expect to feature highly on the medal table at the next Commonwealth Games despite the reduced programme.
Glasgow has been ruthless. It is down to 10 sports and some of these have been restricted. It hosted the 2014 Games.
Track and field had to stay, although the Games have in recent times failed to attract the biggest Jamaican sprinting stars and some of the African middle and long-distance champions. Attracting them will again be a challenge.
Swimming also takes centre stage. Given the depth of Australian and British ranks, this will be highly competitive.
Team sports escalate costs because of the large number of players and support staff. Rugby sevens and hockey, both Olympic sports, have gone. Hockey, which has strong turf-roots backing, will be particularly miffed. Its precious funding is in peril, made worse by the failure of the women to qualify for the last Olympics.
Netball, a Commonwealth sport if there ever was one, has made the cut. That is heartening. While it might have its world championship, the Commonwealth Games title is golden, and netball will almost certainly never be included in the Olympics.
Lawn bowls, despite its low profile, has parallel reasons for its inclusion.
Although cricket is huge among many of the former British dominions, it has its prominent world cups, and its departure is understandable. It is also due to return to the Olympics, thanks to the appeal to organisers of the gigantic Indian market.
New Zealanders will feel squash’s absence, although it is to make it to the big dance, the Olympics
Track cycling is strong in New Zealand, Australia, and Great Britain and will feature prominently. Road cycling, mountain-biking, and triathlon are sadly out. Glasgow is catering neither for most events requiring large-scale road closures nor for trendy sports aimed at younger people. Break dancing would never have entered the longest list of possibilities.
Wrestling has been tossed out, but judo remains. Weightlifting stays, as does another traditional sport, boxing. Gymnastics is limited to the artistic form. The inclusion of 3x3 basketball is the least justifiable.
There are also places for para athletics, swimming, powerlifting and bowls and 3x3 wheelchair basketball.
All the events will be at four venues within a 13km corridor. Competitors and support staff will stay in hotels. Present facilities can be used.
Glasgow should be thanked for saving the next Games. Once the Games missed a cycle, they would have been especially difficult to bring back.
If all goes well and public interest is sufficiently captured, the reset could see a still popular, more focused, version of the Games re-emerge and resurge.
