Commonwealth Games shambles

G-Money

Hard to believe it's just over a week until they are due to kick off and the facilities still aren't ready. Rubble and building supplies in the apartments in the athlete's village, toilets that don't flush.

And to top things off, a footbridge that leads to one of the stadiums collapsed today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11385214

robinph

I didn't realise it was so soon, but they have been expecting it to not be ready for ages. They had the head of the Scottish team on the news at lunch today talking as if they might not send the team out in the next day or so.

donothoponpop

grandmaster wrote: »

Hard to believe it's just over a week until they are due to kick off and the facilities still aren't ready. Rubble and building supplies in the apartments in the athlete's village, toilets that don't flush.

And to top things off, a footbridge that leads to one of the stadiums collapsed today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11385214

We could at least matched this standard, had we stayed in the Commonwealth. Gay Mitchell must be spinning in his grave;)

myflipflops

They are really risking terminal damage to the reputation of the Commonwealth Games with the way this whole thing has been advertised.

There are very, very few world class athletes going to Delhi and the whole farce will put off futire sponsors. It's a pity as Manchester and Melbourne were both excellent viewing as well as having a sprinkling of top class talent.

G-Money

More withdrawals.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9021161.stm

BeepBeep67

That's a real disappointment, India can do so many things well, but being on time and building safe structures quickly are unfortunately not 2 of them as I experienced 1st hand when I lived there.

RoyMcC

Very disappointing really, not so much for the elite competitors who generally regard it as a secondary competition, but for those for whom it will be the pinnacle of their sporting careers.

For example, here in Jersey we've got a couple of teenage throwers sitting around wondering if the last few years training is out of the window - 2014 is a long way away.

MrCreosote

Even the Queen isn't going. Says it all really.

robinph

Think she's not been going to openings and closings of various events for a while now. Guess they are letting Charles have a go for a bit as she's lived far too long and he is missing out on fulfilling his purpose in life.

MrCreosote

I read somewhere it was the first Commonwealth Games she won't be attending.

Then again, it was easy for her to pop into the Manchester games while cruising up to Balmoral.

Pisco Sour

Are Ciara Mageean and Jason Smyth competing for NI? Any other Irish Northern Irish representatives competing?

RoyMcC

According to Athletics Northern Ireland website

ATHLETICS TEAM:

Ciara Mageean, Kelly McNeice, Amy Foster, Tom Reynolds, Stephen Scullion, James McIlroy, Joanna Mills, Christine McMahon, Jo Patterson, Katie Kirk

Milesandmiles

donothoponpop wrote: »

We could at least matched this standard, had we stayed in the Commonwealth. Gay Mitchell must be spinning in his grave;)

As far as I know Gay is v much alive and representing us in Europe.

G-Money

It's a bit funny, I think one of the Indian guys said the opinions were down to "different standards of hygiene" which kind of made the foreign teams out to be high maintenance and expecting 7 star luxury. Hard to know when none of us have been there ourselves but if there's s**t literally lying around in the apartments and stuff, you can't really pass it off as westerners having "different standards" and somehow that is the norm.

Heard as well that part of the roofing in the weight lifting room came down too.

robinph

grandmaster wrote: »

Heard as well that part of the roofing in the weight lifting room came down too.

And that is liable to get blown out of proportion, they showed a picture of it and it was merely a couple of those polystyrene square tiles. I guess if they were not fitted right then a gust of wind might have them falling down, not going to kill anyone though.

The bridge on the other hand. :eek:

ebbsy

Judging from the pictures I have seen things are looking very dodgy indeed.

robinph

The pictures look bad alright, but that is most likely just the worst case of one place they happened across with a camera and I'm sure that will be sorted.

I don't agree with the athletes dropping out due to safety concerns though. London would not have been awarded the 2012 Olympics if the decision had been made a day later. But there is nobody expressing doubts about taking part in that event due to terrorists.

rainbow kirby

Seriously, I cannot see this being properly fixed in time for the start of the games.

fat__tony

What were they thinking awarding the games to India?

It's a ****heap of a country with absolutely no standards in construction, transport or hygiene.

Idiots.

shels4ever

fat__tony wrote: »

What were they thinking awarding the games to India?

It's a ****heap of a country with absolutely no standards in construction, transport or hygiene.

Idiots.

Thats very harsh indeed, have you been to india? Some aspects can be bad but others are not. There are parts of ireland almost as bad.

DangerMouse27

Most world cups show stadiums half completed in the last months before the opening ceremony. There were even concerns over some venues of the Beijing games and smog etc..blah blah blah.
I wouldnt be surprized if all those pics were staged for the volunteer unions to be better staffed/paid etc. The organising commitee hardly said to the kiwi federation..'hey look at the interesting patterns of dog muck on that bed!'..coz we all know that sells tickets. Bunch of hullabaloo over nothing but wait till the first world bashing of third world india begins in earnest now..oh wait,it already has!

Pisco Sour

India certainly are a bit of a laughing stock right now.

ebbsy

Aussies have just said India should not have been awarded it. (bbc website).

Apparently they had 8 years to get ready..........

RoyMcC

Anyway it looks as if there's been a big effort over the last 48 hours by everyone involved and most of the teams are travelling, albeit delayed in a few cases.

G-Money

I read that construction only began in 2008. Which makes you wonder what they'd been doing since 2002 when they were awarded the Games.

I had a look at some of those pictures and to be honest, the external ones I think look the worst. The unfinished walkways look very bad and somewhat dangerous in places. The bathrooms actually look quite nice, but are filthy in places and need a serious cleaning.

The leaking water I imagine though is a lot tougher of a problem to fix.

RoyMcC

I understand India have (or had) a Sports Minister who was actually hostile to the idea of hosting the Games, saying that the money would be better spent elsewhere. Therefore the political will wasn't there from the start.

The state of the Games Village apartments was overlooked as the CGF delegations were shown around the 'front' blocks which were OK - they missed the disaster area at the back. The various countries delegations (managers, medics etc) have been doing a lot of the clean-up work themselves in advance of the arrival of the athletes.

Even if the Games now proceed relatively smoothly there are going to be OTT reports at the slightest hints of security trouble, illness etc.

On the bright side, if many more (most) field athletes pull out Jersey might be in contention for their first ever T&F medal

ebbsy

Is there a point to the Commonwealth games , since the USA etc do not take part ? I would always watch the Olympics but not this event.

gerard65

ebbsy wrote: »

Is there a point to the Commonwealth games , since the USA etc do not take part ? I would always watch the Olympics but not this event.

So theres no point to the european championships? I'm sure if you ask a sportsperson from a commonwealth country they'll tell you the point.

MrCreosote

ebbsy wrote: »

Is there a point to the Commonwealth games , since the USA etc do not take part ? I would always watch the Olympics but not this event.

It's people running around a track and lifting heavy things. There is no point to any of it. Does there need to be?

old_aussie

I personally hope Australia pulls out of the Com Games.

old_aussie

Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper has insisted progress is being made at the athletes' village, and dismissed questions from The Weekend Australian about the state of the Games venues in the wake of a series of dangerous collapses and mishaps.

In the past few months, the ceilings in four Games venues have partially caved in, a footbridge connecting the main stadium to a carpark has collapsed, workers are still struggling to complete the roof on the weightlifting stadium, and the Shivaji stadium is so shoddily built and behind schedule it has been written off for the Games. And at least 70 workers have been killed on Games-related construction sites although union officials say the real number is far higher.

The Australian revealed this week that the same engineering company responsible for the construction of the footbridge -- blacklisted by the Indian government since Tuesday's collapse -- also built the aerial pedestrian walkway around the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the indoor cycling velodrome and the Thyagraja Netball stadium.

The Australian government is sufficiently concerned about the integrity of the Games venues to have issued a new travel advisory, warning those attending the Games that Indian construction standards do not meet Australia's rigorous building guidelines.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indias-image-takes-battering-over-commonwealth-games-debacle/story-fn59niix-1225929105289

BeepBeep67

04072511 wrote: »

India certainly are a bit of a laughing stock right now.

The Indian Government and the organising committee yes, but not India - that's like saying we're all a reflection of Brian Cowan.

ebbsy

Apparently India want to host the Olympics. They will be lucky to get an egg and spoon race after this.

Pisco Sour

ebbsy wrote: »

Apparently India want to host the Olympics. They will be lucky to get an egg and spoon race after this.

They have the Cricket World Cup in a few months time.

robinph

04072511 wrote: »

They have the Cricket World Cup in a few months time.

That is a sport that they actually care about.

Pisco Sour

ebbsy wrote: »

Is there a point to the Commonwealth games , since the USA etc do not take part ? I would always watch the Olympics but not this event.

Is there a point to the 6 Nations Championship? After all it is just 6 countries competing (Well 4 countries but lets not get too pedantic). NZ, Australia, South Africa and Argentina dont compete so whats the point?

Pisco Sour

robinph wrote: »

That is a sport that they actually care about.

The only sport they care about. Cricket aside India are appalling at sport. 1.1 Billion people and less Olympic medals than Ireland in their history. They used to be the superpower in Field Hockey but not for 40 years now!

plodder

The only Western sport they care about maybe, although you could probably add badminton, which originated there. There are some other curious sports in the region, which they do care about: eg this one

menoscemo

plodder wrote: »

The only Western sport they care about maybe, although you could probably add badminton, which originated there. There are some other curious sports in the region, which they do care about: eg this one

I Used to watch Kabaddi on Channel 4 when they had it! Epic stuff! Tig for grown ups.

plodder

menoscemo wrote: »

I Used to watch Kabaddi on Channel 4 when they had it! Epic stuff! Tig for grown ups.

Yeah, I've only seen it once. It looks fascinating though. It's one of the sports in this year's Asian games (next month?).

J Cheever Loophole

I would have to say that the coverage given to this issue does not sit comfortably with me. Here we have professional athletes giving off about the standard of the accommodation being offered to them, with discussions on standards referring to 3*, 4* and 5* accommodation, whilst within a short distance over 1,000,000 people are living in abject poverty.

The fact that in these circumstances, the Indian government is spending over £1, billion on the project, and pulling out all the stops to accommodate, what are in comparison to their own down trodden citizens, wealthy and well looked after foreigners, is nothing short of a disgrace. :mad:

nerraw1111

menoscemo wrote: »

I Used to watch Kabaddi on Channel 4 when they had it! Epic stuff! Tig for grown ups.

I used to love watching that. Brilliant game.

Not sure how I feel about the controversy over the Commonwealth games. Given that the majority of Indians are incredibly poor, it's a tad bit tasteless that Westerners complaining about their purpose built accommodation makes headlines across the World.

It just looks like they did a good clean.

Incredible country and a joy to travel in which I suppose colours my view somewhat.

But then again, if the Govt wants to host the event, they deserve alot of hte criticism

DangerMouse27

Sport really brings out the inner bigot in people with regard to where sporting competitions are held. World cup in South Africa is case in point,with alot of people predicting a massive fail with venues and security(yeah yeah the vuvezelas and tesco air footballs ruined it instead) and it seems that poor India is taking a bashing now. One dog gets in and goes nuts and a dirty sink is shown. Most houses are filthy before being lived in,sinks full of dust and grime and lo and behold it all works out fine.
Cant wait for the athletics to begin!!!