Greater Victoria, Canada, is "out of the race for the 2022 Commonwealth Games" after the provincial government said Thursday that it would not support the bid, according to Sarah Petrescu of the TIMES COLONIST. Bid committee Chair David Black said, "We'll just have to back away. We can't do it without the province." The committee asked the federal and provincial governments to each provide C$400M ($320.6M) to fund the Games. Local municipalities were asked to supply C$25M ($20M) in "cash and in-kind services." Black said that the funding "would have been an investment in needed infrastructure, such as housing and sports facilities, as well as be an economic boost." He added, "It's disappointing. We had a great opportunity here. This won't come again." Black was part of the organizing committee when Victoria hosted the Games in '94. Kuala Lumpur, Liverpool and Birmingham are submitting proposals to host the '22 edition. British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James said that the provincial government "has other priorities." James: "While we appreciate the energy and passion of the bid committee, we cannot make a commitment to support the bid through direct funding, nor can we provide a financial shortfall guarantee" (TIMES COLONIST, 8/24).
NO CHEATING: REUTERS' Greg Stutchbury reported doping samples at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games "will for the first time be stored long term for future testing as officials send a strong message" that the host country will not "tolerate cheats" at the multi-sports event. A pre-Games anti-doping taskforce will also be established to test athletes before they arrive in Australia for the Games, which run from April 4-15, organizers said on Friday. The Commonwealth Games Federation, local organizers and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency will "share intelligence with law enforcement to investigate the possession and trafficking of banned substances" (REUTERS, 8/24).
