Elite athletes gather for Games

SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - A multi-sport event held every four years, the Commonwealth Games brings together elite athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations.

With 71 associations from 53 different countries, some countries are represented by several associations. The best example is the United Kingdom, which is split into seven associations for the Commonwealth Games -- England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle Of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

The first Games were held in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930 and were originally known as the British Empire Games.

The event was called the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954-1966, the British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1974, before assuming the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

The Commonwealth Games are held two years before and after the summer Olympics and include many of the same sports, such as athletics, swimming, cycling and boxing.

However they also include several sports played mostly in Commonwealth countries, such as rugby, squash, netball and lawn bowls.

Only six nations have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. All but two of the Games have been staged in these countries. The exceptions were Jamaica in 1966 and Malaysia in 1998, although the 2010 Games have been awarded to India.

SPORTING FESTIVAL The concept of a ''Pan-Britannic'' sporting festival was first proposed in 1891 by Reverend Astley Cooper in an article he wrote for The Times newspaper .

In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held in London to celebrate the coronation of King George V.

Progress stalled until 1928 when the Olympics were taking place in Amsterdam and leading Commonwealth countries held a meeting to revive the idea of the Empire Games. Bobby Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games in Hamilton in 1930.

MORE REUTERS PDS RN1425