Victoria 2026 - Commonwealth Games

[AustralianFan]

14 hours ago, RooBlu said:

Remember that the Twitter "headlines" are just that. They offer headlines only and absolutely no substance as their sole purpose is to encourage digital subscription and nothing else. 

Cheers. 

actually, that’s not quite accurate.

a lot of twitter posts are themselves direct clickable links to the full story behind the headline,  eg Inside The Games reports or Around The Rings or free news media outlet stories (eg The Age newspaper) or various announcement by Victorian state or local government announcements (eg Vic Premier Dan Andrews, Jeroen Weinmar CEO Organising Committee, Geelong City Council, Ballarat, Bendigo, Latrobe city Gippsland, etc, etc).

I agree some twitter posts are just headlines.

A headline is a sentence.  A sentence can be commented on or responded to.

I agree with Victorian that any post that any contibuter makes, can either be responded to with your own take or opinion on that post or story or sentence or single word.

It’s up to you @Australian Kiwi if you choose to respond or not.

 

[AustralianFan]

We have a slogan from the organisers:

Here is the official video.

I like the feel of where this is heading.  Also sits nicely with Victorian’s logos.

[Victorian]

1 minute ago, AustralianFan said:

We have a slogan from the organisers:

Here is the official video.

I like the feel of where this is heading.  Also sits nicely with Victorian’s logos.

I feel this is something temporary made up for the Commonwealth Games broadcasts and more specifically for the Handover ceremony come next week. They needed something that showcases Regional Victoria. I expect an extended version to be part of the ceremony.

[RooBlu]

14 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

actually, that’s not quite accurate.

a lot of twitter posts are themselves direct clickable links to the full story behind the headline,  eg Inside The Games reports or Around The Rings or free news media outlet stories (eg The Age newspaper) or various announcement by Victorian state or local government announcements (eg Vic Premier Dan Andrews, Jeroen Weinmar CEO Organising Committee, Geelong City Council, Ballarat, Bendigo, Latrobe city Gippsland, etc, etc).

I agree some twitter posts are just headlines.

A headline is a sentence.  A sentence can be commented on or responded to.

I agree with Victorian that any post that any contibuter makes, can either be responded to with your own take or opinion on that post or story or sentence or single word.

It’s up to you @Australian Kiwi if you choose to respond or not.

 

No, make no mistake, Twitter like Facebook is an Advertising and personal data gathering platform. That's where they make their money. 

[AustralianFan]

50 minutes ago, RooBlu said:

No, make no mistake, Twitter like Facebook is an Advertising and personal data gathering platform. That's where they make their money. 

Absolutely but so is this very Gamesbids website we are in now, swamped with very annoying ads.   How many times on Gamesbids do we try to click to another page only to be roadblocked by some frivolous spam ad.    With the money Gamesbids.com must be making from these swamping ads, you would think the webite could be be updated and inproved - not left to listlessly wallow in the sad outdated state that it currently is in.

Nevertheless, twitter also is a huge impact means of quickly communicating to a very large audience.   That awful and now banned former US President can attest to this.

Back on topic, I have no problem with twitter posts as a valid means communicating updates/developments on the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games or any other Gamesbids topic.

[Victorian]

https://twitter.com/G21_Geelong/status/1554314810149388289?s=20&t=sWxefkd8-P1ugw4yu3Nisg
 

[RooBlu]

18 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

Absolutely but so is this very Gamesbids website we are in now, swamped with very annoying ads. How many times on Gamesbids do we try to click to another page only to be roadblocked by some frivolous spam ad. With the money Gamesbids.com must be making from these swamping ads, you would think the website could be be updated and improved - not left to listlessly wallow in the sad outdated state that it currently is in.

Amen to that. I do agree that the software underpinning this forum is extremely dated. It's like the Delphi from the late 90s. There's no editing or deletion functionality. No image uploading or video sharing. The emoji's ...  ... the less said probably the better. The file and folder arrangement is all over the place and there seems to be no logic or order to the directory structure. I can see why it doesn't attract many contributors. 

[RooBlu]

Having done a bit of desktop research, it seems that there is no hard an fast rule that competition standard velodromes must be made out of wood. The standards are that Olympic Standard velodromes must be 250 m long with 45 degree banks. The track must be a minimum of 7 metres wide and have standard lane markings. The materials used for the track may include wood, synthetic or concrete.

It seems that in this regard, Ballarat and Shepparton are the only two regional cities with velodromes that meet this criteria. The Ballarat Track was last upgraded in 2011 when it hosted the Victorian Madison Championships. Both venues would still need considerable work still to make either of them Games ready. Certainly a roof or giant awning, lighting and upgraded facilities for competitors and officials. They would also need temporary seating. Neither venue is close to rail transport which means that they would be heavily reliant on busses.

Commonwealth Games regulations do not permit carparks to be near venues, mainly for security reasons which is a significant planning issue that all host cities will need to address. As the Mayor of Ballarat recently stated, Ballarat has to consider how it is going to shift 30,000 people out of Mars Stadium at the end of a session. Each average bus can seat 50 people and hold a maximum of 71 seated and standing, and while articulated busses can hold between 94-120, the average V/Line six-car set VLocity train can seat 444 passengers. Although V/Line have recently been testing nine car sets for use on high demand regional passenger lines (Geelong and Ballarat) which will boost carriage capacity to 666. V/Line currently has a fleet of about 100 three-car sets. In addition there are still 120 diesel hauled carriages (capable of seating between 52-88 passengers each) to supplement services if needed.

An articulated Ballarat PT Bus (above)

Standard PT Buses (above)

A 9 car VLocity set undergoing trials in 2022 (above)

Inside a standard VLocity carriage

40 year-old Diesel hauled sets at Southern Cross Station (above)

Inside a typical economy diesel hauled N Class carriage (above)

While parking may not be permitted at the Comm Games venues, it would seem that Ballarat already has a plan which it already uses for its AFL football games. While for AFL games they allow off street parking in the vicinity of the stadium they also make provision for parking at designated open areas about 1 km from the stadium and free busses are used to ferry people to and from those designated parking areas. Hopefully by the Games they at least will have a train station or event platform established near Mars Stadium. The station certainly doesn't need to be fancy or have all of the bells and whistles, it just needs to be a covered platform with Myki tap on/off points with easy pedestrian linkage to the stadium.

[Victorian]

1 hour ago, RooBlu said:

Having done a bit of desktop research, it seems that there is no hard an fast rule that competition standard velodromes must be made out of wood. The standards are that Olympic Standard velodromes must be 250 m long with 45 degree banks. The track must be a minimum of 7 metres wide and have standard lane markings. The materials used for the track may include wood, synthetic or concrete.

It seems that in this regard, Ballarat and Shepparton are the only two regional cities with velodromes that meet this criteria. The Ballarat Track was last upgraded in 2011 when it hosted the Victorian Madison Championships. Both venues would still need considerable work still to make either of them Games ready. Certainly a roof or giant awning, lighting and upgraded facilities for competitors and officials. They would also need temporary seating. Neither venue is close to rail transport which means that they would be heavily reliant on busses.

Commonwealth Games regulations do not permit carparks to be near venues, mainly for security reasons which is a significant planning issue that all host cities will need to address. As the Mayor of Ballarat recently stated, Ballarat has to consider how it is going to shift 30,000 people out of Mars Stadium at the end of a session. Each average bus can seat 50 people and hold a maximum of 71 seated and standing, and while articulated busses can hold between 94-120, the average V/Line six-car set VLocity train can seat 444 passengers. Although V/Line have recently been testing nine car sets for use on high demand regional passenger lines (Geelong and Ballarat) which will boost carriage capacity to 666. V/Line currently has a fleet of about 100 three-car sets. In addition there are still 120 diesel hauled carriages (capable of seating between 52-88 passengers each) to supplement services if needed.

An articulated Ballarat PT Bus (above)

Standard PT Buses (above)

A 9 car VLocity set undergoing trials in 2022 (above)

Inside a standard VLocity carriage

40 year-old Diesel hauled sets at Southern Cross Station (above)

Inside a typical economy diesel hauled N Class carriage (above)

While parking may not be permitted at the Comm Games venues, it would seem that Ballarat already has a plan which it already uses for its AFL football games. While for AFL games they allow off street parking in the vicinity of the stadium they also make provision for parking at designated open areas about 1 km from the stadium and free busses are used to ferry people to and from those designated parking areas. Hopefully by the Games they at least will have a train station or event platform established near Mars Stadium. The station certainly doesn't need to be fancy or have all of the bells and whistles, it just needs to be a covered platform with Myki tap on/off points with easy pedestrian linkage to the stadium.

There is no guarantee that Track Cycling will be one of the disciplines for 2026. Currently, only Road Cycling has been announced. Maybe that was because of the lack of suitable facility in Regional Victoria? Maybe they are though using the bids for new sports to propose the venues too which could see Cycling Australia propose what Regional Victorian facility would be used for the Games.

[RooBlu]

16 hours ago, Victorian said:

There is no guarantee that Track Cycling will be one of the disciplines for 2026. Currently, only Road Cycling has been announced. Maybe that was because of the lack of suitable facility in Regional Victoria? Maybe they are though using the bids for new sports to propose the venues too which could see Cycling Australia propose what Regional Victorian facility would be used for the Games.

Absolutely, although cycling is a major medal event for many of the main competing nations, I would be surprised if it were left out. The main points that I was highlighting in my previous post is about the transport of people to and from venues and the challenges that this will present for the Games planners. Regional trains to both Ballarat and Geelong are being used to capacity now so it will be interesting how they deal with up to three times the patronage during the Games. That said, all regional cities public transport bus services are quite under utilised so the availability of busses in the cities shouldn't be as much of an issue.

If driving around the state or within the cities to get to venues, in most instances you won't be able to drive up to a venue. You may find that you have to park your car some distance from the venues and Shanks Pony it, or get on a transit bus. Alternatively it may be far easier to catch a train and then get onto a free bus that will ferry you directly to venues from the nearest railway station.

[Victorian]

Just now, RooBlu said:

Absolutely, although cycling is a major medal event for many of the main competing nations, I would be surprised if it were left out. The main points that I was highlighting in my previous post is about the transport of people to and from venues and the challenges that this will present for the Games planners. Regional trains to both Ballarat and Geelong are being used to capacity now so it will be interesting how they deal with up to three times the patronage during the Games. That said, all regional cities public transport bus services are quite under utilised so the availability of busses in the cities shouldn't be as much of an issue.

If driving around the state or within the cities to get to venues, in most instances you won't be able to drive up to a venue. You may find that you have to park your car some distance from the venues and Shanks Pony it, or get on a transit bus. Alternatively it may be far easier to catch a train and then get onto a free bus that will ferry you directly to venues from the nearest railway station.

I bet there will be quite a few park and ride facilities. I for sure will be driving from town to town not taking public transport.

[AustralianFan]

22 hours ago, RooBlu said:

Having done a bit of desktop research, it seems that there is no hard an fast rule that competition standard velodromes must be made out of wood. The standards are that Olympic Standard velodromes must be 250 m long with 45 degree banks. The track must be a minimum of 7 metres wide and have standard lane markings. The materials used for the track may include wood, synthetic or concrete.

It seems that in this regard, Ballarat and Shepparton are the only two regional cities with velodromes that meet this criteria. The Ballarat Track was last upgraded in 2011 when it hosted the Victorian Madison Championships. Both venues would still need considerable work still to make either of them Games ready. Certainly a roof or giant awning, lighting and upgraded facilities for competitors and officials. They would also need temporary seating. Neither venue is close to rail transport which means that they would be heavily reliant on busses.

Commonwealth Games regulations do not permit carparks to be near venues, mainly for security reasons which is a significant planning issue that all host cities will need to address. As the Mayor of Ballarat recently stated, Ballarat has to consider how it is going to shift 30,000 people out of Mars Stadium at the end of a session. Each average bus can seat 50 people and hold a maximum of 71 seated and standing, and while articulated busses can hold between 94-120, the average V/Line six-car set VLocity train can seat 444 passengers. Although V/Line have recently been testing nine car sets for use on high demand regional passenger lines (Geelong and Ballarat) which will boost carriage capacity to 666. V/Line currently has a fleet of about 100 three-car sets. In addition there are still 120 diesel hauled carriages (capable of seating between 52-88 passengers each) to supplement services if needed.

An articulated Ballarat PT Bus (above)

Standard PT Buses (above)

A 9 car VLocity set undergoing trials in 2022 (above)

Inside a standard VLocity carriage

40 year-old Diesel hauled sets at Southern Cross Station (above)

Inside a typical economy diesel hauled N Class carriage (above)

While parking may not be permitted at the Comm Games venues, it would seem that Ballarat already has a plan which it already uses for its AFL football games. While for AFL games they allow off street parking in the vicinity of the stadium they also make provision for parking at designated open areas about 1 km from the stadium and free busses are used to ferry people to and from those designated parking areas. Hopefully by the Games they at least will have a train station or event platform established near Mars Stadium. The station certainly doesn't need to be fancy or have all of the bells and whistles, it just needs to be a covered platform with Myki tap on/off points with easy pedestrian linkage to the stadium.

 

5 hours ago, Victorian said:

I bet there will be quite a few park and ride facilities. I for sure will be driving from town to town not taking public transport.

 

Agree that cycling would be very compelling to include in the Games given, as you said,  it is sport in which several Commonwealth nations compete, and was in many previous Games including recently the Gold Coast 2018 and these current Birmingham 2022 Games.

The cycling surface issue certainly is interesting as well.  While cycling can be on non-wooden surfaces, and great fund by the way Rooblu, it certainly is a dliemma for the organisers as I would think that competing nations and the cycling federation itself would definitely insist on a wooden surface.  Am suspecting a wooden cycling surface might be coming to Regional Vic if they dont use the existing Melbourne venue.

Regarding the issue of mass movement of people to/from regional venues, experience exists with, as you said Rooblu, Mars Stadium for AFL Games, but  also the daily tens of thousands who attend the Avalon International Airshow by both public transport (regional trains then bus shuttles) and also by car.

Collectively, the public transport requirements using trains and buses / shuttles for the Victoria 2026 Games will most certainly be the biggest logistical Olympic-style such exercise the state has ever put into place it’s history.

Absolutely the full suite of different types and combinations of V-locity and diesel hauled sets will be swung into action in a massive military style operation.

As you said Victorian, Park and Ride at various stations we can expect to be heavily promoted at many suburban and regional stations around Victoria.

Within each hub, area, there will be a network of local shuttles to/from each venue,  the centre of that regional city and both that the central public transport hub for that regional city being trains and buses to/from Melbourne and also to/from other Games hubs.

Multiple coach companies from around the state and interstate can expect to be involved in this daily mass people movement exercise.

 

[ulu]

Track cycling doesn't have to be a problem except that organisers stubbornly insist that no event will be hosted in Melbourne.

[RooBlu]

It would be interesting to map where all of the existing nearest train stations are to proposed venues.

[Victorian]

 

 

[Victorian]

Shepparton will become a fifth 'hub' if the Liberal/National party win November's State Election (which is highly unlikely according to the polls). The Shepparton Sports Stadium will also be upgraded for the Games under this proposal with Shooting and 3x3 Basketball to be hosted in Shepparton if the LNP win the Election.

 

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-05/vic-opposition-promises-shepparton-role-in-2026-games/101303566

[Victorian]

Here we have it - the plan for Track Cycling to be held at Victoria 2026 at Darebin's Velodrome. This Sports Precinct was also host to the Commonwealth Games in 2006 when Lawn Bowls was held at the venue. The Council's lack of maintenance on the facility has been disgusting- this is what the Bowling green looks like now.

Why reward the Council (which I am a constituent of btw) for their years of neglect and mismanagement? From a fans point of view, if they are following this proposal and hosting the Cycling in Melbourne, it would make sense for the event to be held at John Cain Arena- a far more central location and will also have terrific public transport (with links to regional locations/venues as well).

Below: what the Darebin State Cycling Centre looks like (I was fortunate to cycle at the venue in 2019 for a school cycling experience)

 

Article below. In bold is some interesting information

How the 2026 Victorian Commonwealth Games will change the event for the future

Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games will be an event like no other. This is why it will change the format for years to come.

ictoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games - which will see regional cities play host to major sporting events - is set to become a model for other countries in the future.

Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadlier told the Herald Sun African nations were showing interest in a similar style Games, with events spread across towns and cities.

 

“The games is a huge exercise if you do it on your own in one spot, so the evolution of having the Games in several Victorian hubs is something we are very excited and open minded about,” Ms Sadlier said.

“Having Australia first off the ranks to run something that isn’t on one site is really exciting and I am confident they will do a fantastic job.’’

Ms Sadlier said the Victorian plan involved economic renewal as well as developing sporting centres of excellence.

Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips said: “We see it as an opportunity to develop a model that is sustainable and that notion that a whole nation, say for example, New Zealand could host a Games across multiple cities and towns and potentially cross border hosting.

“So I think for us the significance of Victoria 2026 is, if we can make it work, and it work well, then it broadens the number of nations that could host the Games.”

Small Commonwealth countries are understood to be relying on a successful delivery of the Victorian 2026 Games to allow future Games bids from a coalition of Pacific or African countries.

There is also a big push to provide more qualifying slots for competitors from smaller countries to be able to compete in Victoria.

Victoria’s plan of hosting up to 21 sports across four regional hubs is a fresh template for the Games organisers and is designed to give confidence for small countries, and regions to bid for future Games.

Mr Phillips said the concept was to have overarching Games branding, so the international television audience saw a ‘Victoria Games’.

But within that there would be scope for the regional hubs to introduce their own “flavour”.

“Working with the Ballarat community for example, in embracing it so that the athletes in boxing and track and field and whatever else, have the Ballarat experience as part of the broader Victorian experience. I think that’s a great way of engaging with the community,” he said.

The Victorian government is set to embark on a $2.6b upgrade of various sports facilities across the four regional hubs of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

It is expected about 4500 athletes will compete at Victoria 2026, and there will be support staff of about 2500 as part of the 72 nation delegations.

Organisers are also in intense discussion with Australia’s football codes, including the Victorian Football League and the Formula One, to avoid clashes, as the Games will be held from March 17-29, 2026.

School term dates in Victoria could also be adjusted so that schoolchildren can be part of the celebrations.

Geelong will host Australia’s most successful sport, swimming, as well as diving, triathlon, table tennis, hockey, gymnastics and beach volleyball.

Ballarat will see track and field and boxing, while Bendigo is to host cycling, lawn bowls, weightlifting, squash and netball.

Gippsland is to host badminton, some cycling and Rugby Sevens.

T20 cricket is to be played across all four hubs.

Under the Victorian model, the Games will split into four regional hubs, essentially each having a small Games focus, with an overarching regional messaging.

Athletes will be accommodated in athlete villages built in all four areas, with the Games’ building program helping to address the regions’ social and low cost housing shortages.

Athletics, swimming, lawn bowls, triathlon, table tennis and powerlifting will also include para-sports competitions.

The Victorian government, which expects a $3bn boost from hosting the Games, has sent an observer team, headed by Victoria 2026 chief executive Jeroen Weimar, and including a team of police and tourism officials, across to Birmingham to look at all aspects of the logistics and behind the scenes organisation.

Mr Weimar, who led the Victorian government’s Covid-19 response, told the Commonwealth Games Federation members meeting in Birmingham that he expected an additional three or four sports being added to the Victoria program.

The world cycling body UCI in conjunction with Cycling Australia officials have been lobbying to have track cycling included in the Games program by upgrading the Melbourne velodrome at Darebin. The success of having the track events last week in London, but still branding them as part of the Birmingham Games, has been viewed as important.

Other sports such as shooting, surf lifesaving, dragon boat racing, archery, surfing, skateboarding, and e-games have made submissions to be considered for Victoria 2026. A final decision of the Games’ sports on the Victoria program is to be made by October this year.

[Victorian]

From Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine Facebook page including the news that the Wadawurrung Tradtional Owners Aboriginal Corporation will participate in the handover ceremony.

 

 

If you've been tuning in to watch the Commonwealth Games from Birmingham, you might've seen pre-promotion of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games, with some familiar sites putting on a sports show.

Visit Victoria filmed the piece in the weeks before the games started. We're also thrilled the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation will participate in a ceremonial transition of the games from Birmingham to regional Victoria.

See how regional Victoria is being showcased by Visit Victoria here: https://www.visitvictoria.com/victoria2026

[Victorian]

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/news/experiences-of-a-lifetime-memories-of-volunteering-at-the-games/]

‘Experiences of a lifetime’: Memories of volunteering at the Games

Shepparton’s Brian Reiners is throwing his hat in the ring to volunteer at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria, his third and probably final opportunity to be part of the action.

Volunteering at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games were “experiences of a lifetime” for Mr Reiners.

He was there in the stadium, with 110,000 others, for the first day of the athletics at the Sydney Olympics, showing people to their seats in his role in ‘spectator services’.

He was also there at the MCG watching on the big screen as Australian Kerryn McCann came over the William Barak Bridge in 2006, going on to win the women’s marathon in one of Australia’s great sporting moments.

“You’ve got to be there to see these things and really appreciate it,” Mr Reiners said.

“I’ve always liked the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games, and you need volunteers to be able to help people.”

Volunteers take on many different roles; at the 2006 Games Mr Reiners was helping with security, including checking the bags of spectators.

“There were [volunteers] who were outside the whole time and you spoke to them and they loved it, but I liked the action,” he said.

“I like athletics, so anything that took part in this case on the MCG, you’re there, you’re with everything that’s going on.”

Mr Reiners said it would be wonderful to have events in Shepparton as part of the 2026 Games.

“Some people can’t afford to go to Melbourne, Ballarat or Geelong for those things,” he said.

“If you’re giving a true coverage of regional Victoria then [Shepparton] definitely should be included, and we’ve got such wonderful sporting facilities,” he said.

For Mr Reiners, the 2026 Games may be his last opportunity to be involved.

“When [the Brisbane Olympic Games] come around in 2032 I’ll be 82 and I don’t reckon they want 82-year-old volunteers, so I thought I’ll have to make the most of it while I can,” he said.

Expressions of interest are open for people to be involved in the upcoming Commonwealth Games at vic.gov.au/victoria-2026-commonwealth-games-get-involved

 

[Victorian]

The Commonwealth Games rush is already on for Victoria 2026

Australia’s 2026 Commonwealth Games organisers are rushing to make key decisions for the multi-games event that they will host in just over 3½ years’ time.

By the end of next month, officials will make the crucial call about which extra sports to include alongside the 16 already on the program, Victoria 2026 organising committee chief executive Jeroen Weimar said.

“We’ve only got a bit over 3½ years to deliver these Games,” Mr Weimar told AFR Weekend from Birmingham.

“We have to make swift decisions. We’ve identified our 16 sports, we’re now going through an expression of interest process for remaining sports. We want those to be made by the end of September that will require some very difficult judgment.”

The journey ahead is a potent mix of logistical and political pressures. Regional Victoria’s bid for the event will be clustered around four hubs in Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland, which were only given the nod in April – less than four years before the opening ceremony on March 17, 2026.

Troubles in finding a suitable host location meant the announcement originally due in 2019 was pushed back to 2020 and then again to this year. It cuts the intended seven-year runway back to less than four for the first-ever regional-based Games.

Authorities have already decided on 16 sports set for Victoria 2026, with another seven to come. India, disappointed that shooting – a sport in which it excels – was not included in Birmingham, has already started lobbying for its inclusion in 2026, along with archery and wrestling, which is not on the list.

“There’s about 20 or 30 sports I’m aware of that have said to me ‘We’re keen to participate’,” said Mr Weimar, previously the senior official in charge of Victoria’s COVID-19 response.

“Shooting is undoubtedly one of the sports, I would expect to see a submission from, alongside a whole bunch of others. There’ll be some very difficult calls we’ll have to make.”

Mr Weimar said he had missed most of the competition in Birmingham – “I’ve spent most of the time stuck in the bowels of stadiums, looking at how they make the overlays work” – but had emerged to watch the Australian swimmers win gold in the women’s 4x100 metre relay on Wednesday, the last swimming medal of the Games.

It was a performance that, along with efforts like Matthew Denny’s gold medal-winning discus effort and wheelchair athlete Madison de Rozario’s record-setting four gold medals, helped power the country to have a ladder-topping 50 gold medals (32 from women’s competition, 16 from men’s and two from mixed competitions) on Friday.

Further medal hopes for the weekend include decathlete Cedric Dubler in the competition that finishes on Saturday morning AEST and world champion Eleanor Patterson and Tokyo silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers appearing in Saturday evening’s women’s high jump final.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, TikTok star Sam Fricker and Shixin Li – already with a Birmingham silver medal under his belt – are hopefuls in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard diving, as are Tokyo bronze medallist Melissa Wu and 14-year-old Charli Petrov in the women’s 10m synchronised platform diving.

Track athlete Kelsey-Lee Barber is expected to be throwing for gold in the javelin final on Sunday night AEST.

Runner Peter Bol also competes in the men’s 800m final in the early hours of Sunday morning, AEST.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Australia is a hopeful for the women’s T20 cricket final, the women’s hockey final, the netball and women’s beach volleyball. The final match of the Games will be the men’s hockey final on Monday night at 9.30pm AEST.

Mr Weimar said it made sense to locate the 2026 Games events in the four nominated hubs of Victoria because they would not require lengthy travelling times from Melbourne and they were established enough regional centres already to be able to accommodate the tens of thousands of visitors they would receive.

“You need a density – multiple retail outlets and hospitality outlets, a combination of places to actually stay in enjoy the region,” he said.

“Otherwise ... there’s not much to do. We need places where we can hold people that we can really introduce them to regional Victoria.”

For Australia, the Victoria 2026 Games were a good opportunity to strengthen diplomatic relationships, said Andrew Hunter, AFL club Port Adelaide’s general manager for China engagement between 2015 and 2020.

“There’s a fantastic opportunity to use the Commonwealth Games and more generally, to use sport to deepen our engagement with India which has been progressing rapidly with regard to defence and security,” Mr Hunter said.

But Mr Weimar, who said the decision on other sports would not be made in Canberra, said it would come down to what they thought was best for the Games, rather than politics.

“There’ll be a group where we see good participation engagement across the Commonwealth generally, including Oceania, for example, and that will naturally be towards the top of our pecking order of sports, we’d love to see,” he said.

[Australian Kiwi]

On 8/1/2022 at 11:12 PM, Victorian said:

I feel this is something temporary made up for the Commonwealth Games broadcasts and more specifically for the Handover ceremony come next week. They needed something that showcases Regional Victoria. I expect an extended version to be part of the ceremony.

It was. 

I work in the Victorian Govt and know the person in DJPR comms / media who pulled it together. Its stock footage. 

[Australian Kiwi]

I really feel for GSCC. They were the ones who were pushing for an alliance of regional cities to host 2030 - then the idea is lifted and applied to 2026 and they get deleted from the plan. I'm surprised they've not made more noise about it. 

[Victorian]

12 hours ago, RooBlu said:

It would be interesting to map where all of the existing nearest train stations are to proposed venues.

This is some distances I’ve made up. I’m currently away but when I get home, I’ll make up a map for each hub with key PT locations, centre hub/centre, information centre and the venues. It’ll probably come out anyway by Vic 26 though but oh well! 
 

BENDIGO

Bendigo Bowls Club (1.7km walk to Bendigo)

Bendigo Stadium (4km walk to Bendigo Stadium)

 

BALLARAT

Eureka Stadium (3.4km walk to Ballarat via Ballarat/Ararat/Maryborough Lines, 3.8km walk to Wendouree via Ballarat/Ararat Lines)

Ballarat Sports Events Centre (2.8km walk to Wendouree via Ballarat/Ararat Lines)

 

GIPPSLAND

Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (2.3km walk to Traralgon via Gippsland/Bairnsdale Lines)

Latrobe City Stadium (4.3km walk to Morwell Station via Gippsland/Bairnsdale Lines)

 

GEELONG

Stead Park (3.4km walk to Corio via Geelong Line)

Kardinia Park (300m walk to South Geelong via Geelong Line)

Kardinia Aquatic Centre (800m walk to South Geelong via Geelong Line)

Eastern Beach (1.1km walk to Geelong via Geelong Line)

 

MELBOURNE

MCG (150m walk to Jolimont via Mernda/Hurstbridge Lines, 250m walk to Richmond via Alamein/Belgrave/Cranbourne/Frankston/Glen Waverley/Lilydale/Pakenham/Sandringham/Gippsland Lines, 1.4km walk to Flinders Street via all lines)

**State Cycling Centre (1.8km walk to Fairfield via Hurstbridge Line)

 

 

 

[Victorian]

1 minute ago, Australian Kiwi said:

I really feel for GSCC. They were the ones who were pushing for an alliance of regional cities to host 2030 - then the idea is lifted and applied to 2026 and they get deleted from the plan. I'm surprised they've not made more noise about it. 

I don’t think they have made more noise possibly because they have been told by Vic 26 officials that they will get some of the additional sports/disciplines such as Shooting, 3x3 Basketball, BMX Cycling etc. I do expect they will be involved. 

[Victorian]