The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
. It was held in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was
Eden Park, although the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium, see
New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games
New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games was represented by a team of 175 competitors and 24 officials. Selection of the host nation's team for the Games in Auckland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Game ...
. The fourth games were originally awarded to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Participating teams
(Teams participating for the first time in bold).
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Games venue
The main stadium was at
Eden Park. Other venues were the
Auckland Town Hall
Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian building on Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Council meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and ...
(boxing and wrestling), the Drill Hall (fencing),
Western Springs (cycling and the closing ceremony)
Lake Karapiro
Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapir ...
(rowing), and the Newmarket Olympic Pool (swimming). Accommodation was at the Ardmore Teachers' Training College, away at South Auckland. Total attendance was 246,694; higher than the following three Games, 1954 (159,636), 1958 (178,621) and 1962 (224,987).
[Dheensaw page 35-41]
Medals by country
At the 1950 British Empire Games all the teams won at least one medal.
Medals by event
Athletics
Boxing
Cycling
Track
Road
Diving
Men's events
Women's events
Fencing
Men's events
Women's events
Lawn bowls
Rowing
All events were for men only. The events were held at
Lake Karapiro
Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapir ...
, south of Auckland. Three special trains took 1500 people to
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
on 7 February 1950.
Swimming
Men's events
Women's events
Water polo
Water polo was contested by men's teams only, with New Zealand and Australia the only two teams entered. The matches were played at the Olympic Pool in
Newmarket.
Weightlifting
All events were for men only.
Wrestling
All events were for men only.
References
Further reading
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External links
"Auckland 1950" ''Thecgf.com''. Commonwealth Games Federation.
"Results and Medalists—1950 British Empire Games" ''Thecgf.com''. Commonwealth Games Federation.
{{Portal bar, Sports, 1950s, New Zealand
British Empire Games
Sports competitions in Auckland
1950s in Auckland
International sports competitions hosted by New Zealand
Commonwealth Games in New Zealand
British Empire Games
Commonwealth Games by year
British Empire Games