2006 Commonwealth Games 178745 224746082 2008-07-10T06:35:11Z Rulesfan 1834392 /* External links */ {{Commonwealth Games | Name =18th Commonwealth Games | Logo =Melbourne2006.png | Size =100 | Host city =[[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], [[Australia]] | Optional caption =| Nations participating =71<ref>The four [[Home Nations]] of the [[United Kingdom]] — [[England]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]] and [[Northern Ireland]] — send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, as do the three [[Crown dependency|Crown Dependencies]] — [[Jersey]], the [[Isle of Man]] and [[Guernsey]] — and 9 of the 14 [[British Overseas Territories]]. The [[Cook Islands]] and [[Niue]], non-sovereign territories in [[Associated state|free association]] with [[New Zealand]], and [[Norfolk Island]], an [[states and territories of Australia#External territories|external territory]] of [[Australia]], also compete separately. There are thus 53 members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], but 71 competing teams at the Commonwealth Games.</ref>| Athletes participating =approx. 4,500| Events = 247 in 16 [[sports]]| Opening ceremony =[[March 15]], [[2006]] | Closing ceremony =[[March 26]], [[2006]] | Officially opened by =[[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]| Officially closed by =[[HRH Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex]] | Queen's Baton =[[John Landy]] | Stadium =[[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] | Motto =''United by the moment'' | }} The '''[[2006]] [[Commonwealth Games]]''' were held in [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]] between [[March 15]] and [[March 26]] [[2006]]. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] in terms of the number of teams competing, [[Sportsperson|athletes]] competing, and events being held. The site for the opening and closing ceremonies was the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] which was also used during [[1956 Summer Olympics|Melbourne's 1956 Olympic Games]]. The [[mascot]] for the games was [[Karak (mascot)|Karak]] <ref>[http://www.melbourne2006.com.au/Karak+the+Mascot/Karak+the+Mascot.htm M2006 > Karak the Mascot > Display<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, a [[Red-tailed Black Cockatoo]] (a [[threatened species]]). For the first time ever, the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games appointed a Goodwill Partner, [[Plan (aid organisation)|Plan International Australia]] <ref>[http://www.plan.org.au/contents/aboutus/GoodwillPartner.asp Plan Australia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. [[Image:Yarra River and Fish Boats.jpg|thumb|280px|[[Melbourne|Melbourne]] 2006 XVIII Commonwealth Game - Fish Boats on [[Yarra River|Yarra River]]]] == Sports == {{main|Events at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} [[Image:Fiji Cook Island rugby.jpg|thumb|[[Rugby Sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Rugby]] at the 2006 games]] The 2006 Commonwealth Games included 16 sports, with 12 individual sports and 4 team sports. In total there are 247 events at the Games. Four of these sports are further broken down into separate disciplines, making a total of 24 disciplines: * Aquatics: diving, swimming, synchronised swimming. * Cycling: track, road, mountain bike. * Gymnastics: artistic, rhythmic. * Shooting: clay target, pistol, small bore and air rifle, full bore rifle. The athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting sports include fully integrated events for elite athletes with a disability (EAD). These events are included in the official medal tally. {{SportsAt2006CommonWealthGames}} == Participating Teams == There were 71 participating countries, territories, and Commonwealth regions at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In alphabetical order, these included: {| |valign=top width="230px"| *{{flaglink|Anguilla|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Antigua and Barbuda|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Australia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Bahamas|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Bangladesh|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Barbados|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Belize|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Bermuda|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Botswana|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|British Virgin Islands|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{Flagicon|Brunei}} [[Brunei Darussalam at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Brunei&nbsp;Darussalam]] *{{flaglink|Cameroon|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Canada|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Cayman Islands|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Cook Islands|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Cyprus|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Dominica|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|England|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} |valign=top width="230px"| *{{flaglink|Falkland Islands|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Fiji|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flagicon|The Gambia}} [[The Gambia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|The&nbsp;Gambia]] *{{flaglink|Ghana|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Gibraltar|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Grenada|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Guernsey|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Guyana|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|India|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Isle of Man|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Jamaica|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Jersey|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Kenya|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Kiribati|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Lesotho|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Malawi|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Malaysia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Maldives|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} |valign=top width="230px"| *{{flaglink|Malta|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Mauritius|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Montserrat|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Mozambique|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Namibia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Nauru|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|New Zealand|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Nigeria|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Niue|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Norfolk Island|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Northern Ireland|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Pakistan|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Papua New Guinea|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Saint Helena|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Saint Kitts and Nevis|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Saint Lucia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Samoa|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} |valign=top width="230px"| *{{flaglink|Scotland|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Seychelles|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Sierra Leone|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Singapore|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Solomon Islands|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|South Africa|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Sri Lanka|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Swaziland|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Tanzania|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Tonga|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Trinidad and Tobago|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{Flagicon|Turks and Caicos Islands}} [[Turks and Caicos at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Turks&nbsp;and&nbsp;Caicos]] *{{flaglink|Tuvalu|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Uganda|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Vanuatu|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Wales|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} *{{flaglink|Zambia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} |} == Medals table == {| {{RankedMedalTable}} |- style="background:#ccccff" || 1 || style="text-align:left" | '''{{flaglink|Australia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}}''' || '''84''' || '''69''' || '''68''' || '''221''' |- || 2 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|England|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 36 || 40 || 34 || 110 |- || 3 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Canada|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 26 || 29 || 31 || 86 |- || 4 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|India|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 22 || 17 || 11 || 50 |- || 5 ||style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|South Africa|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 12 || 13 || 13 || 38 |- || 6 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Scotland|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 11 || 7 || 11 || 29 |- || 7 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Jamaica|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 10 || 4 || 8 || 22 |- || 8 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Malaysia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 7 || 12 || 10 || 29 |- || 9 ||style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|New Zealand|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 6 || 12 || 13 || 31 |- || 10 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Kenya|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 6 || 5 || 7 || 18 |- || 11 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Singapore|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 5 || 6 || 7 || 18 |- || 12 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Nigeria|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 4 || 6 || 7 || 17 |- || 13 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Wales|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 3 || 5 || 11 || 19 |- || 14 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Cyprus|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 3 || 1 || 2 || 6 |- | rowspan="2" | 15 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Ghana|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 2 || 0 || 1 || 3 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Uganda|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 2 || 0 || 1 || 3 |- || 17 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Pakistan|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 1 || 3 || 1 || 5 |- || 18 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Papua New Guinea|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2 |- | rowspan="3"| 19 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Isle of Man|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Namibia|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Tanzania|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2 |- || 22 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Sri Lanka|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 |- || 23 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Mauritius|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 3 || 0 || 3 |- | rowspan="2" | 24 || style="text-align:left"| {{flaglink|Bahamas|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Northern Ireland|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2 |- || 26 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Cameroon|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 |- | rowspan="3" | 27 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Botswana|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Malta|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Nauru|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 |- | rowspan="3" | 30 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Bangladesh|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Grenada|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Lesotho|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|1987}} || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 |- || 33 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Trinidad and Tobago|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 3 || 3 |- || 34 || style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Seychelles|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2 |- | rowspan="5" | 35 || style="text-align:left"| {{flaglink|Barbados|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Fiji|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Mozambique|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Samoa|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left" | {{flaglink|Swaziland|at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 |- | colspan="2"| || '''245''' || '''244''' || '''254''' || '''743''' |} == Calendar == <!-- THIS CALENDAR IS NOT YET COMPLETE - PLEASE UPDATE!! Note: Calendar not yet complete, as are most medal results of individual events, such as Gymnastics. Use http://www.melbourne2006.com.au/Schedule+and+Results/ to complete the table. --> {{start box}} |- |bgcolor=#00cc33|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||Opening ceremony|| bgcolor=#3399ff|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||Event competitions || bgcolor=#ffcc00|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||Event finals||bgcolor=#ee3333|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;●&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;||Closing ceremony |- {{end box}} {{start box}} |- ! March !! [[#Opening Ceremony - March 15|15th]] ! [[#Day 1 - March 16|16th]] ! [[#Day 2 - March 17|17th]] ! [[#Day 3 - March 18|18th]] ! [[#Day 4 - March 19|19th]] ! [[#Day 5 - March 20|20th]] ! [[#Day 6 - March 21|21st]] ! [[#Day 7 - March 22|22nd]] ! [[#Day 8 - March 23|23rd]] ! [[#Day 9 - March 24|24th]] ! [[#Day 10 - March 25|25th]] ! [[#Day 11 - Closing Ceremony - March 26|26th]] |- | Ceremonies || bgcolor="#00cc33" align="center" | [[2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony|●]] || || || || || || || || || || || bgcolor="#ee3333" align="center" | [[2006 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony|●]] |- | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]] || || || || || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || |- | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Badminton]] || || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Team|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Team|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Team|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Team|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Singles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's Doubles|●]][[Badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Mixed Doubles|●]] |- | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Basketball]] || || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#3399ff" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]][[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women's|●]] || bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men's|●]] || || |- | [[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Boxing]] || ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| |- | [[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]|| ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] |- | [[Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Diving]] || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] |- | [[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Gymnastics]] || ||bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men.27s Team|●]] ||bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women.27s Team|●]]||bgcolor="#ffcc00" align="center" | [[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Men.27s All-Around|●]][[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#Women.27s All-Round|●]] || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●●●●●||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●●●●●|| || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●●|| bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●|| bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●●●● |- | [[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Hockey]] || ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || || || |- | [[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Lawn Bowls]] || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]][[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Lawn Bowls at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || |- | [[Netball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Netball]] || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Netball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Netball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || || || |- | [[Rugby Sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Rugby 7s]] || || bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|[[Rugby Sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#March 16th|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Rugby Sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games#March 17th|●]]|| || || || || || || || |- | [[Shooting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Shooting]] || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Shooting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Shooting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || || || |- | [[Squash at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Squash]] || ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|●||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●|| || || || ||bgcolor=#3399ff align=center|●||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●|| ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●|| |- | [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]] || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] || bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]] ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || || |- | [[Synchronised Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Synchronised Swimming]] || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Synchronised Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Synchronised Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Synchronised Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Synchronised Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || |- | [[Table Tennis at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Table tennis]] || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|● || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|●|| || || || |- | [[Triathlon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Triathlon]] || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Triathlon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Triathlon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Triathlon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Triathlon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || |- | [[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Weightlifting]] || || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || ||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]||bgcolor=#ffcc00 align=center|[[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|●]]|| || || || |- ! March !! [[#Opening Ceremony - March 15|15th]] ! [[#Day 1 - March 16|16th]] ! [[#Day 2 - March 17|17th]] ! [[#Day 3 - March 18|18th]] ! [[#Day 4 - March 19|19th]] ! [[#Day 5 - March 20|20th]] ! [[#Day 6 - March 21|21st]] ! [[#Day 7 - March 22|22nd]] ! [[#Day 8 - March 23|23rd]] ! [[#Day 9 - March 24|24th]] ! [[#Day 10 - March 25|25th]] ! [[#Day 11 - Closing Ceremony - March 26|26th]] {{end box}} ==Highlights== ===Opening Ceremony - 15 March=== ; [[2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony]]: Both the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] and the [[Yarra River]] were centrepieces for the ceremony, which included many fireworks, and other spectacle. The Games were opened by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]], in her capacity as [[Head of the Commonwealth]]. The Queen is also [[Head of State]] of a number of Commonwealth countries, including Australia. ===Day 1 - 16 March=== ; [[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]: England managed a clean sweep of the 4,000&nbsp;m individual pursuit gold medal on the cycle track. Paul Manning beat fellow team mate Rob Hayles in the final. Steve Cummings won the bronze medal race. Australian [[Ben Kersten]] manages to beat the World and Olympic champions in the 1&nbsp;km time trial. ; [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]]: Scotland's [[Caitlin McClatchey]] beat Australia's [[Libby Lenton]] in the Women's 200&nbsp;m freestyle final, setting a new Games record of 1:57.25. England's Melanie Marshall came in third. [[David Carry]] of Scotland has won the 400&nbsp;m freestyle final, winning the second swimming gold for his country. Canadian [[Andrew Hurd]] picked up the silver in 3:49.08 and David Davies from Wales came third. [[Moss Burmester]] from New Zealand won gold in the 200&nbsp;m butterfly in a new New Zealand and Commonwealth record time of 1:56.64. ; [[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Weightlifting]]: The Games' first gold medal was awarded in the Women’s Weightlifting (48&nbsp;kg class) to Kunjarani Devi Nameirakpam from [[India]]. Marilou Dozois-Prevost from [[Canada]] won the silver, and [[Erika Yamasaki]] of [[Australia]] picked up the bronze. ===Day 2 - 17 March=== ; [[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]: Australians [[Katherine Bates]] and [[Rochelle Gilmore]] get gold and silver respectively in the Women’s 25&nbsp;km Points Race, repeating their [[2002 Commonwealth Games|Manchester Games]] results. Their teammate [[Alexis Rhodes]] took ninth place after being seriously injured in Germany in an accident that took the life of [[Amy Gillett]], in whose honour all three dedicated their ride. ; [[Rugby Sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Rugby Sevens]]: [[New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens)|New Zealand]] won the gold medal at the [[Telstra Dome]] with a convincing 29-21 win over [[England national rugby union team (sevens)|England]]. [[Fiji national rugby union team (sevens)|Fiji]] win the bronze medal with a 24-17 win over [[Australia national rugby union team (sevens)|Australia]] in a game marred by a serious injury to Australian player [[Scott Fava]]. ; [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]]: Australia gets all three medals in both the women's 50&nbsp;m butterfly and women's 50&nbsp;m breaststroke. ===Day 3 - 18 March=== ; [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]]: Australia swept gold, silver, and bronze in both the women's 50&nbsp;m breaststroke and the 50&nbsp;m butterfly. [[Leisel Jones]] and [[Danni Miatke]], respectively, won the golds. ; [[Triathlon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Triathlon]]: Day 3 saw the Australians and New Zealanders completely dominate the triathlon event. After missing out on qualification for the 2004 Athens Olympics, [[Emma Snowsill]] took the gold medal with a time of 1:58:02.59. New Zealand secured silver ([[Samantha Warriner]]), bronze ([[Andrea Hewitt]]) and fourth place for the Women's event. Continuing Australia's dominance in the triathlon, [[Brad Kahlefeldt]] won gold in the men's triathlon event with a time of 1:49:16. Australian [[Peter Robertson (triathlete)|Peter Robertson]] was just beaten by New Zealander, [[Bevan Docherty]] for silver, while Robertson took the bronze. ; [[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]: Australian cyclist [[Ryan Bayley]] won the men's sprint, his second gold medal for these Games. ; [[Weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Weightlifting]]: Australian weightlifter Ben Turner, see [[Benjamin Alexander Turner]] won the men's 69kg Division, the first Australian gold medal for weightlifting at the games. ===Day 4 - 19 March=== ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: Australian [[Kerryn McCann]] successfully defends her [[2002 Commonwealth Games]] gold medal title by winning the women's marathon event with a time of 2:30:50. ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: Tanzania retained the men's marathon title, Samson Ramadhani taking the gold. Kenya's Fred Mogaka took silver, and England's Dan Robinson took the bronze. ; [[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]: The [[Isle of Man]] won their first Commonwealth gold in twenty years, when [[Mark Cavendish]] won the men's [[Scratch Race (cycling)|Scratch Race]] final. Cavendish held off Australia's Ashley Hutchinson on the final bend to triumph, with Scotland's James McCallum claiming bronze. ; [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]]: World champion Jessicah Schipper of Australia swam a Games record in beating team-mate Libby Lenton for the women's 100&nbsp;m butterfly gold. ===Day 5 - 20 March=== ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: Australian [[Craig Mottram]] and crowd favourite, is edged out by [[Augustine Choge]] in the men's 5000&nbsp;m by 2 seconds. Choge won in a Games-record time of 12 min 56.41 s. At one stage during the race Mottram ran with 3 Kenyan racers in front of him and 3 Tanzanian racers behind him. ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: [[Asafa Powell]], world record holder, wins the men's 100&nbsp;m sprint in a time of 10.03 seconds, ahead of Nigeria's Soji Fasuba and the Trinidadian Marc Burns. His Jamaican compatriot, [[Sheri-Ann Brooks]] won the women's 100&nbsp;m in a personal best time of 11.19 s, ahead of South Africa's Geraldine Pillay and Delphine Antangana, of Cameroon. ; [[Squash at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Squash]]: The Grinham sisters (Australia) battled for the Gold medal. Natalie triumphed over Rachel 2-9 9-6 9-1 9-6. [[Peter Nicol]] won his third Commonwealth Games gold medal. He previously won the singles title in 1998, and the doubles in 2002. He recaptured the singles title in four games, defeating Australia's David Palmer 9-5 10-8 4-9 9-2. ; [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]]: Scotland won two more gold medals in the pool, with Caitlin McClatchey and [[Gregor Tait]] each winning their second titles in the 400&nbsp;m freestyle and 200&nbsp;m individual medley respectively. Australia's Leisel Jones set the first world record of the swimming competition, breaking her own record in the 100&nbsp;m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.09. ===Day 6 - 21 March=== ; [[Swimming at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Swimming]]: The Australian women's swimming team again asserted their dominance in the pool, breaking the 4 x 100&nbsp;m medley relay world record in a time of 3:56.30, over a second faster than that set by the Australian women's swimming team in the 2004 Athens Olympics. The Australian women completed one of the most successful campaigns in games' history, finishing with 16 gold medals, just 3 short of the entire meet's offerings. The Australian men's swimming team finishes on a successful note, winning the 4 x 100&nbsp;m medley relay. This was one of their least successful games meets with 3 gold medals. ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: The Kenyan women finish with [[Lucy Wangui]] (31:29.66) and [[Evelyne Nganga]] (31:30.86) gold and silver respectively in the 10,000&nbsp;m run. Wangui overtook Nganga in the final straight, after Nganga attempted to break away. Mara Yamauchi of England was third. ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: [[Dean Macey]] of England overcame injury to win his first major title in the men's Decathlon. Maurice Smith of Jamaica took silver and Australian Jason Dudley earned bronze. ===Day 7 - 22 March=== ; [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: New Zealander [[Valerie Vili]] won gold in the women's shot put, setting a new Commonwealth Games record of 19.66 metres. ===Day 8 - 23 March=== '''[[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]''' :Australian [[Jana Pittman]] delighted the home crowd by retaining her 400&nbsp;m hurdles title with Britons [[Natasha Danvers-Smith]] ([[England]]) and [[Lee McConnell]] ([[Scotland]]) picking up silver and bronze. :Jamaica won gold and silver in the women's 200&nbsp;m with [[Sherone Simpson]] finishing ahead of [[Veronica Campbell]] and South African [[Geraldine Pillay]] in third. '''[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]''' :England's [[Liam Killeen]] led an England one-two in the men's mountain bike cross country race. The 23-year-old eased home in two hours 13.11 minutes, ahead of team-mate [[Oli Beckingsale]]. :Canada's [[Marie-Hélène Prémont]] took gold in the Women's mountain bike cross country race at 1:55:04, despite having to dodge a kangaroo on the course. New Zealand's Rosara Joseph finished second and Canada's Kiara Biasro finished third. '''[[Shooting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Shooting]]''' :[[India]]'s [[Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore]] won gold medal in Men's Double Trap. ===Day 9 - 24 March=== ;[[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: Australian [[Nathan Deakes]] won the men's 50&nbsp;km walk in a time of 3:42:53, beating the previous record set by him at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games by over 10 minutes. New Zealander [[Tony Sargisson]] took a silver medal in 3:58:05 while Australia's [[Christopher Erickson]] took the bronze in 3:58:22. ;[[Basketball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Basketball]]: The Australian men's team beat New Zealand 81-76 to win the first gold medal in this sport at the Commonwealth Games. The [[England national basketball team|English men's team]] beat Nigeria 80-57 to take the bronze. ===Day 10 - 25 March=== ;[[Aquatics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Aquatics]]: Canadian [[Blythe Hartley]] won the Women's 3&nbsp;m Springboard final with 690.05 points. Australians [[Chantelle Newbery]] and [[Kathryn Blackshaw]] took silver and bronze repectively. :Australian [[Matthew Helm]] won the Men's 10&nbsp;m Platform with 1085.60 points. Silver went to England's [[Peter Waterfield]] with 1030.50 points and bronze went to Canadian [[Alexandre Despatie]] with 1016.95 points. ;[[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Athletics]]: England's [[Nicholas Nieland]] won the Men's Javelin with a season best throw of 80.10&nbsp;m. Australians [[William Hamlyn Harris]] and [[Oliver Dziubak]] both threw 79.89&nbsp;m with [[William Hamlyn Harris]] securing silver on a countback throw of 79.48 on his final throw. [[Oliver Dziubak]] took bronze on his countback throw of 78.43. :[[Nick Willis]], gold medallist in the 1500 metres in a time of 3:38.49 mins, became the first athlete from [[New Zealand]] to win a track medal for twenty-four years. ;[[Boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Boxing]]: England dominated the boxing finals day, with [[Don Broadhurst]], [[Frankie Gavin (boxer)|Frankie Gavin]], [[James Russan]], [[David Price (boxer)|David Price]], and [[Stephen Smith (boxer)|Stephen Smith]] winning gold medals and [[Darran Langley]] winning silver. :Scotland's [[Kenneth Anderson (boxer)|Kenny Anderson]] won the Light Heavyweight gold after defeating his opponent, [[Adura Olalehin]], 23-19 after fighting back from 7-13 down after two rounds. During the fight, Olalehin had four points, the same as the margin of victory, awarded against himself for repeatedly holding Anderson. ===Day 11 - Closing Ceremony - 26 March=== ;[[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Gymnastics]]: Canadian [[Alexandra Orlando]] completed the rhythmic gymnastics competition having won six gold medals - a gold in every rhythmic gymnastics event - to become the fourth competitor to win six gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games. ;[[Cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Cycling]]: Australians [[Natalie Bates]] and [[Matthew Hayman]] win the women's and men's road races respectively. ;[[Hockey at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Hockey]]: In the men’s final, the host nation beat Pakistan 3-0, after leading 1-0 before the break. In the bronze medal play-off, England lost to Malaysia 2-0. ;[[Netball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Netball]]: New Zealand defeats Australia 60-55 in the gold medal match, to become the first country other than Australia to win Commonwealth Games gold in the sport. ;[[2006 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony]]: Both the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] and the [[Yarra River]] were again centrepieces for the ceremony. The games were closed by [[HRH]] [[:wikinews:Prince closes XVIII Commonwealth Games|Prince Edward]]. ==Venues== The following venues were used at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The sport(s) which were played at that venue is listed after it. ===Melbourne venues=== [[Image:Melbourne Cricket Ground 2007 (00197).JPG|thumb|275px|right|[[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] &mdash; venue for the Opening & Closing Ceremonies and for Athletics]] [[Image:Telstra Dome Panoramic.jpg|right|thumb|275px|A panoramic view of the interior of Telstra Dome <br>venue for Rugby 7s]] *[[Melbourne Docklands|Docklands Precinct]]: Walks *[[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]: Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Athletics *[[Melbourne Exhibition Centre]]: Badminton, Boxing and Weightlifting *[[Melbourne Gun Club]]: Clay Target Shooting *[[Melbourne International Shooting Club]]: Small Bore and Pistol Shooting *[[Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre]]: Aquatics, Squash and Table tennis *[[Vodafone Arena|Multi Purpose Venue (Melbourne Park)]]: Basketball Finals, Track Cycling and Netball Finals *[[Melbourne Park|Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne Park)]]: Gymnastics *[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne|Royal Botanic Gardens]] Circuit: Cycling Road Race events *State Lawn Bowls Centre: Lawn Bowls *[[State Netball Hockey Centre]]: Netball preliminaries and Hockey *[[St Kilda, Victoria|St Kilda]] Foreshore and Beach Road: Triathlon and Cycling Time Trial *[[Telstra Dome]]: Rugby 7s ===Regional and suburban venues=== ; [[Ballarat]]: [[Ballarat Minerdome]]: Basketball ; [[Bendigo]]: [[Bendigo Stadium]]: Basketball<br>[[Wellsford Rifle Range]]: Full Bore Shooting ; [[Geelong]]: [[Geelong Arena]]: Basketball ; [[Lysterfield Park]]: [[State Mountain Bike Course]]: Mountain Bike Cycling ; [[Traralgon]]: [[Traralgon Sports Stadium]]: Basketball ==Impact on host nation== Early concerns arose about the large cost of staging the Games, with projected costs likely to be over 1 billion [[Australian dollar]]s and a high likelihood the Victorian taxpayer would have to cover the expense. The cost was described in some local media as excessive. [[National Party of Australia|National Party]] leader [[Peter Ryan (politician)|Peter Ryan]] said that the Labor government should win "gold (medal) for burning money" [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/commonwealth-games-spending-within-budget/2006/09/14/1157827093063.html] However, not all of this money was wasted. Prior to the Games, accountants at KPMG were estimating that the gross income generated by this event could be as high as 1.5 billion dollars. Melbourne's premier sporting ground, the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] (MCG), was redeveloped in preparation for the Games. An athlete's village in the inner suburb of [[Parkville, Victoria|Parkville]] housed approximately 7,000 athletes and support staff during the Games, and has been transformed into commercial housing with a distinctly eco-friendly image. The creation of this village attracted controversy, with critics claiming it was created by alienating public parkland, while proponents maintained that it represented the renewal of an otherwise derelict inner-city area{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. The change from [[Daylight Saving Time]] to Standard Time in Australian states that follow it was delayed from [[March 26]] to [[April 2]] for [[2006]] to avoid affecting the games. In addition, state and private schools amended their usual term times so as to allow the first term end-of-term holidays to coincide with the Games. [http://www.det.vic.gov.au/det/schooled/schooldates.htm] Melbourne's public transport system - train, tram and bus - ran to altered timetables with some amended or substituted services for the duration of the Games. For the most part, timetabled services were unchanged but suffered due to higher loads{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. ==Broadcasting== * The host broadcaster was [[Trans World International]], while the domestic rights-holding broadcaster was the [[Nine Network]] in Australia. They showed rolling coverage, except for a break for the evening news and overnight. * In Australia [[Fox Sports]] broadcast the Games on eight dedicated digital [[Pay-TV]] channels. These were available on the [[Foxtel]], [[Austar]] and [[Optus Vision]] networks. * The [[BBC]] covered the Commonwealth Games in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] on [[BBC One]] and [[BBC Two]]. [[BBCi]] included a choice of two extra video streams on [[Freeview (United Kingdom)|Freeview]] and four streams on Digital [[Satellite]] and [[Cable]] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/commonwealth_games/4719492.stm]. Users with Broadband in the UK could also view all 5 video streams on [[bbc.co.uk]], and the BBC Sport website. *[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]], [[CBC Newsworld]], and [[CBC Country Canada]] aired a daily one-hour highlights show of the Commonwealth Games in [[Canada]]. Compared to past games, the CBC's coverage was minimally staffed, with commentary from other broadcasting partners. At first, they did not even consider bidding for the broadcasting rights [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Commonwealth-Games/Blow-to-Games-prestige/2005/03/24/1111525290735.html] due to scheduling conflicts with events Canadians are more interested in, such as the [[Tim Hortons Brier]], [[World Figure Skating Championships]], and the [[2006 Winter Paralympics]] ''(which itself had been reduced to five-to-ten minute daily coverage)''. None of Canada's metropolitan newspapers sent any journalists to report on the Games, instead relying on news agencies *[[TVNZ]] covered the games for the residents of [[New Zealand]] *In [[Malaysia]], [[TV1 (Malaysia)|TV1]] broadcast live coverage of the Games for three hours starting at 10 a.m. Malaysian time and for two hours starting at 3 p.m., with highlights at 12:30 a.m.. [[Astro (satellite TV)|Astro]] also included 3 dedicated channels to broadcast the Games live & delayed broadcast 24 hours to it Sports package subscribers. *[[Singapore]]'s [[MediaCorp]] TV had supposedly not broadcast the games due to the high cost of [[telecast]] rights, [[satellite]] charges and the lack of [[sponsors]]. However, on [[17 March]], the MediaCorp found other sponsors which is the [[Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports]] and the [[Singapore Sports Council]]. Broadcast started from [[March 18]] till the end of the games. [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/198361/1/.html] *In the [[United States]], selected coverage was carried by [[Fox College Sports]] == Participating nations == [[Image:Commonwealth games 2006 countries map.PNG|right|thumb|180px|Countries and places competing at the games]]There were 71 countries, territories and bodies competing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games[http://www.commonwealthgames.org.au/GamesInfo/UpcomingGames/2006/CompetingCountries.htm]. The only difference between the countries competing at these games from the [[2002 Commonwealth Games|2002 games]] is the absence of [[Zimbabwe]], which has now withdrawn from the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. <br clear="all" /> {{Commonwealth Games Associations at the 2006 Commonwealth Games}} ==Missing athletes== <ref>{{cite news | url=http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2006-03-23T042811Z_01_SYD317188_RTRUKOC_0_US-COMMONWEALTH-MISSING.xml&archived=False | title=Nine athletes vanish from Commonwealth Games | work=[[Reuters]] | date=[[22 March]] [[2006]]}}</ref> On [[20 March]] [[2006]] it was reported that two athletes had gone missing from the Commonwealth Games village: [[Tanzania]]n boxer Omari Idd Kimweri and [[Bangladesh]]i runner Mohammad Tawhidul Islam.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ellen | last=Whinnett | url=http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18556695%255E2862,00.html | title=Mystery of missing athletes | work=[[Herald Sun]] | date=[[22 March]] [[2006]]}}</ref> On [[22 March]] [[2006]] it was reported that seven athletes from [[Sierra Leone]] (three women and four men) had also disappeared. A further seven Sierra Leonean athletes also went missing during the course of the Games, bringing the total runaway count to fourteen (two thirds of the team). [[Victoria Police]] believed that they had fled to Sydney where the Sierra Leonean community is much larger than Melbourne's. Two hours before the Closing Ceremony on [[26 March]], officials from the [[Cameroon]] team reported to police that nine of their members had also vanished. These incidents were not without precedence: 27 athletes similarly disappeared from the [[2002 Commonwealth Games]] in [[Manchester]], [[England]] (21 from Sierra Leone, 5 from Bangladesh and one from [[Pakistan]]), and over 80 athletes and officials overstayed their visas after the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] in [[Sydney]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4835826.stm | title=Athletes 'go missing from Games' | work=[[BBC News Online]] | date=[[23 March]] [[2006]]}}</ref> On request of Sierra Leone officials, the Commonwealth Games Federation cancelled those athletes' Games accreditation, allowing the Australian [[Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (Australia)|Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs]] (DIMA) to cancel their visas at midnight on [[27 March]], and begin investigating their disappearance. {{wikinews|Australia grants temporary asylum to 12 Commonwealth Games athletes}} At 7.20am on that day, [[New South Wales Police]] located six of the Sierra Leonean athletes in a house at [[Harbord, New South Wales|Harbord]] near [[Manly Beach]] in [[Sydney]]. All six indicated they wished to seek [[political asylum]] in Australia, and were granted bridging visas by DIMA while their refugee applications were arranged. The athletes claimed to have been subjected to violence and torture in their home country; seventeen-year-old Isha Conteh stated she could be forced into [[female genital cutting]] if she returned.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1602299.htm ABC]</ref> On Tuesday 28 March, six further Sierra Leoneans turned themselves in to immigration authorities in Sydney and were also granted bridging visas.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/visas-for-second-group-of-athletes/2006/03/28/1143441127017.html | title=Visas for second group of athletes | work=[[The Age]] | date=[[28 March]] [[2006]]}}</ref> Two of the missing Cameroon athletes were found in [[Perth, Western Australia]]. == References == {{reflist}} == External links == {{Commonscat|Commonwealth Games}} {{Wikinewsportal|Commonwealth Games}} ; Official websites * [http://www.melbourne2006.com.au/ Official website] * [http://www.melbourne2006.com.au/Schedule+and+Results/Medals Official medal list] ; Other sites * [http://dmoz.org/Sports/Events/Commonwealth_Games/2006_Melbourne/ Yahoo! Directory category] * [http://www.melbourne-marathon-1956-2006.org/ Melbourne marathon 1956-2006] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/commonwealth_games/ BBC coverage of Commonwealth Games] * [http://www.ausport.gov.au/info/topics/commonwealth.asp 2006 Commonwealth Games] - Australian Sports Commission * [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1142420587493&call_pageid=968332188492 Report on the Opening Ceremony] - "Toronto Star", Canada * [http://www.stembase.com.au/clean/index.php CLEAN:] - Website focusing on city preparation * [http://sports.urbancanada.com/?page=Section&sport=Commonwealth%20Games Canada at the 2006 Commonwealth Games] *[http://www.sydneypinz.com/ Sydneypinz] - A Complete collection of pins used by the participating Nations at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games ; Political opposition to the Games * [http://www.graffitigames2006.com The Graffiti games 2006] - Backlash over the [[graffiti]] clean up in Melbourne before the games had even begun spawned its own website. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/commonwealth-games/graffiti-blitz-gives-city-a-quick-facelift/2006/03/01/1141191734479.html] * [http://blackgst.revolt.org/stolenwealth/ The Stolenwealth games] - Website setup about the treatment of the [[Indigenous Australian]] [[stolen generation]]. {{Commonwealth Games years}} {{Commonwealth Games Medal Counts}} [[Category:2006 Commonwealth Games|*]] [[Category:Sports festivals hosted in Australia]] [[Category:Sports festivals hosted in Melbourne]] [[Category:Commonwealth Games medal counts]] [[Category:Commonwealth Games]] [[Category:Nine's Wide World of Sport]] {{Link FA|ms}} [[de:Commonwealth Games 2006]] [[es:Juegos de la Mancomunidad de 2006]] [[et:2006. aasta Rahvaste Ühenduse mängud]] [[fi:Kansainyhteisön kisat 2006]] [[fr:Jeux du Commonwealth de 2006]] [[hu:2006. évi Nemzetközösségi Játékok]] [[is:Samveldisleikarnir 2006]] [[it:XVIII Giochi del Commonwealth]] [[ja:2006年コモンウェルスゲームズ]] [[ms:Sukan Komanwel 2006]] [[nl:Gemenebestspelen 2006]] [[no:Samveldelekene 2006]] [[pl:Igrzyska Wspólnoty Narodów 2006]] [[simple:2006 Commonwealth Games]] [[sv:Samväldesspelen 2006]] [[zh:2006年英聯邦運動會]]