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Report from Alan Cross, CGAJ Secretary General, on visit to Delhi for
the CGF General Assembly – 6th to 13th October 2009.

Tour of sites of Sports Venues and Games Village.

AC spent a day and one morning visiting many of the Games sports venue sites and the Games Village. He was assured by those CGA delegates that had visited these sites in May 2009 that ‘remarkable’ progress has been made in the last 5 months and most venues are now on schedule. Hopefully, most of the venues visited will be completed at the time of the visit of Paul Huddlestone for the Chef de Mission’s seminar in March 2010. Comments below are just summaries of observations made at the sites and many can be supported by photographs if members are interested. It is also planned that copies of selected overheads from presentations i.e. site plans, competition specifics, etc made at the venues will also be available on the CGF website HYPERLINK "http://www.thecgf.com" www.thecgf.com

J.N.Stadium: Venue for Opening and Closing Ceremony plus athletics, lawn bowls and weight lifting. Construction of stadium apparently on schedule. Site of lawn bowls venue identified but construction not started. It will be sited NE of the stadium and include four 40m x 40m synthetic areas i.e. 2 for TV Games. There are two training venues (each with 2 greens) with synthetic surfaces nearby. Dale Sports are supplying the carpet and will also oversee the construction of the base. Test event planned for 6th to 10th April 2010. There are 8000 workers working in 3 shifts around the clock in order to complete the stadium facilities and handover in June 2010 in time for test events.
Games Village: One block completed ready for venue tour. The 34 tower blocks will provide 8000 beds and are designed to have apartment units of five twin-bedded en-suite rooms plus a lounge/diner and kitchen. All have air conditioning. Chris Jenkins of Wales is negotiating on our behalf to select the best tower blocks for most of the UK CGAs to share. England are making their own arrangements. All rooms are of a generous size and well furnished. Other facilities e.g. medical centres, training venues, etc at the Village are not constructed yet.The handover of the site to the Organising Committee (OC) is due to take place in June 2010.

I.G. Sports Complex: Venue for wrestling, gymnastics and the velodrome (4000 seats). All are still building sites which are on schedule for their proposed completion dates.
Dr. SPM Aquatics Complex: Covered competition pool with a 6 lane 50m warm-up pool. Seating for 5100. For further info please refer to CGF website. Test event planned for 24th to 29th April 2010

Talkatora Boxing Stadium: One of the few refurbished venues that is near completion. Again, as with all venue visits excellent welcome and detailed presentation.
RK Khanna Tennis Complex: A refurbishment of an existing tennis club. Work well on schedule and due to be ready for ITF event in May. To include a centre court, No.1 court; 6 match courts and 6 practice courts. Seating for over 5000.

Siri Fort Sports Complex: Venue for squash and badminton. Test events planned for April/May. For details of the planned facilities for both refer to the CGF website.
General: There is every confidence from the more seasoned CWG delegates that, with India’s available workforce (including a mix of men and women workers) all the sports venues and the Games Village will be completed according to the published time schedules and will provide a marvellous legacy for the future if organisational and management structures are in place after the Games to maximise their use. No expense is being spared in providing these high class international facilities which would double for an Olympic Games if ever awarded to Delhi.

Media Release - 16th Octoberber 2009
Delhi 2010 go overboard to impress Commonwealth Delegates

Alan Cross, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey, has just returned from the Commonwealth Games Federation’s General Assembly held in New Delhi, the host city for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He reports that delegates from 70 of the 71 Commonwealth Territories gathered last week at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi for an intense 5 day programme of meetings and site visits to planned sports venues and the athlete’s village for the 19th Commonwealth Games which will take place between 3rd to 15th October 2010. The occasion was honoured by the presence of the CGF’s Vice Patron, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. Security was on full alert throughout the time of the visit with all official Games vehicles having armed police outriders and the Delhi traffic being brought to a standstill during the time of delegates’ movements around the City.
Cross reports that delegates were taken on a tour of visits to sport’s venues during the first two days of their stay and moved in brand new flat-floored coaches (each with its mandatory armed policeman on board) from one construction site to another. A lavish welcome and a detailed presentation awaited each visit and delegates were swamped with factual information on design and technological aspects of all of the state-of-the-art new buildings. Assurances were given that all construction work was on schedule and that acceptable completion dates would be met in good time for test events prior to the Games. Seasoned Games officials appeared happy to accept these assurances as there is undoubtedly no shortage of money and man power (plus equal numbers of female workers) being thrown at these grand facilities. For example the J.N. Stadium, a 60,000 seat venue for athletics events and for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Games, although apparently on schedule for completion in June 2010, will continue to employ a round-the-clock 3 shift work force until work has been completed and the site handed over to the Organising Committee for the Games. The fear is that Delhi will then struggle to find the time to train their staff adequately to manage the operations of these facilities.
Accommodation for athletes will be provided in air conditioned apartments, all with en-suite twin-bedded bedrooms and communal kitchen and lounge areas, in 34 tower blocks set in grounds a short distance away from most of the sport’s venues. This site, which will provide 8000 beds for the Games will, post October 2010, become a new housing estate for Delhi residents but still retain training facilities for athletics, swimming, etc. The Delhi Organising Committee proudly boast that this will not only compare most favourably with the athletes’ village at the Beijing Olympics but that they will provide the best Commonwealth Games ever. Let’s hope that they are right and that all their promises (and there are so many of them) become reality.
Jersey will have the opportunity of a further update on their progress through more detailed reports following the visits of Paul Huddlestone and Paul Du Feu to Delhi in March of next year for a Chef de Missions’ Seminar.
The public of Jersey will have the chance to get their first taste of the Delhi Games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 19th/20th/21st November 2009 when the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay comes to our shores. The Baton is due to be launched on its journey around the World by HRH The Queen from the steps of Buckingham Palace on Thursday 29th October 2009 and after a tour of the home countries will come to Jersey via the Isle of Man. Hopefully everybody will see the high-tech baton at some point during its time on the Island either as it visits all of Jersey’s schools and major sports’ venues or perhaps during the Friday lunchtime static display at the Royal Square.