GEORGIE PARKER: Dan Andrew’s backflip on hosting Commonwealth Games led to hockey losing Glasgow spot

The changes to the Commonwealth Games will have repercussions for years to come.

The next edition of the Games had been a talking point for years, but the drastic overhaul last week is not what most sports expected.

From the lack of bids for the 2026 Games due to costs, to Victoria pulling out and Glasgow stepping in to host a scaled down Games, and then last week the axing of multiple sports, including my sport of hockey, to just 10 events.

The removal of hockey has really hit home for me, not just as a Commonwealth champion myself where the experience of playing at the Games is one I will always cherish — but because of what it means for the Games going forward and for the future of smaller sports and nations.

The Commonwealth Games are known as the friendly games. They are obviously taken seriously, particularly by countries like ours which put a lot of money into sport, but the Commonwealth Games is entirely different to the Olympics.

There is less pressure due to the big countries not being involved (no USA or China for example), but it is also full of learning opportunities.

Younger athletes get a taste of a multi-sport event that sets them up for the Olympic Games.

This experience is vital for success at the Olympics as it teaches you how to manage external pressure within the confines of an athletes’ village.

Not only does it give the younger athletes an opportunity to grow, but it also gives fringe athletes more chances to inspire them to be better.

The Australian track and field athletes get to compete at a large scale event and have a chance of being on the podium, which can inspire their journey to Olympic success.

Nina Kennedy is the perfect example of this. Before being an Olympian, she was a bronze medalist in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Since then, she has gone on to become an Olympic champion.

Then there are the smaller sports that need the Commonwealth Games platform to help the growth of their sport back home.

Hockey never used to be in this category, but with the growth of the AFLW and NRLW I believe this is where it now sits.

So for this platform to be taken away from my sport makes me fear for its future and I’m positive there are other sporting bodies who feel the same.

For the smaller nations of our Commonwealth the Games are their Olympics given they would not qualify for an Olympic Games typically.

This, I believe is one of the critical points of the Commonwealth Games. The inspiring role it plays for smaller nations shouldn’t be overlooked.

We can be very entitled in Australia because we bat way above our average when it comes to sport, but that is because we are a country with money.

These small nations, with little money and resources, need something to inspire them, and if it can’t be the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games is it.

The Commonwealth Games is a competition of course, and an event Australia likes winning, but it is also an opportunity and chance for countries to learn and be inspired.

Australia can teach other nations how to be competitive and we can learn the real meaning of why we all started playing sport — because it’s fun and brings us all together.

I do hope the Games legacy can continue moving forward, because wouldn’t it be a shame to lose something that has such good come from it?