The Third Commonwealth Paraplegic Games was a multi-sport event that was held in Edinburgh, Scotland from 26 July to 1 August 1970. Dubbed the "little games", they followed the 1970 British Commonwealth Games which were held in Edinburgh from 16 to 25 July of that year.
Background and administration The chairman of the Organising Committee was Lieutenant-Colonel John Fraser. It was also known as the "little games" and the "Wheelchair Games".
Ceremonies The Games were opened by the British Prime Minister Edward Heath. The opening ceremony was at Meadowbank stadium and was attended by a crowd of 2,000 people. The teams were led in by the hosts of the previous games, Jamaica. On behalf of all the competitors, James Laird, the Scottish team captain, took an oath. A message of support from the Provosts of 28 towns and cities across Scotland was read out, having been relayed from John o' Groats by runners from the Scottish Youth Clubs Association.
The games were closed by James MacKay, Lord Provost of the Edinburgh Corporation.
Participating teams 197 athletes from fourteen Commonwealth countries took part. Countries at this games that had not previously participated were Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Malta and Uganda.
Sports Sports included:
Archery Athletics Dartchery Lawn Bowls Pentathlon (Archery, Athletics and Swimming Events) Shooting Swimming Table Tennis Weightlifting (Men Only) Wheelchair Basketball (Men Only) Wheelchair Fencing
Venues
The following were the venues for the games: VenueSportGames Village (RAF Turnhouse)Archery, Precision JavelinMeadowbank Sports ComplexAll other sports including some archeryRoyal Commonwealth PoolSwimmingLochend Bowling GreenLawn BowlsRedcraig Shooting RangeShooting
Logistics An athletes' village was located at Turnhouse, with accommodation provided free of charge to the athletes by the Ministry of Defence. The Edinburgh Corporation had supplied fourteen adapted buses, which volunteer drivers used to transport the athletes between venues during the games. Athletics events were held at Meadowbank stadium. Shooting events were held at Redcraigs shooting range in West Lothian. There was some criticism of the lack of day-to-day television coverage from the BBC and ITV broadcasters.
Medal table The final medal table is: NationsGoldSilverBronze Total483223103293139992729217725141049121443056213126911021001 Trinidad and Tobago10010224010100000000 150132107389
See also Commonwealth Games hosted in Scotland: 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
References