🎙️ BONUS | In Defence of the Commonwealth Games

**Luttsy** (0:05)
Hey, welcome to the Bonus Podcast, everyone who consumes us bonus-wise.

**Susie O'Neill** (0:08)
Yeah, I meant to mention on the show proper today, and we forgot the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.

**Luttsy** (0:16)
So, sorry, that starts tomorrow on the show, or Friday?

**Susie O'Neill** (0:18)
Yeah, so it's Friday. The opening ceremony starts at 4am Brisbane time, on Friday morning, so 4am to 7am. So when we're on air Friday morning, the opening ceremony will be on from Glasgow.

**Luttsy** (0:33)
What's the time difference?

**Susie O'Neill** (0:33)
What are they like?

**Luttsy** (0:35)
So it'll be like their night-time hour morning.

**Susie O'Neill** (0:38)
Hey Siri, what time is it in Glasgow right now? So right now in Glasgow, it's midnight.

**Luttsy** (0:47)
Hmm, it's nine o'clock here.

**Susie O'Neill** (0:48)
Nine hours behind. OK. So make of that what you will.

**Luttsy** (0:53)
Do the math on that. Nine hours behind. OK, let's go.

**Susie O'Neill** (0:57)
So midday in Glasgow, so you'll be watching all the everyone getting into it, will be nine p.m. OK. That's a good way of looking at it. So we'll get the morning sessions at a reasonable time. But the finals we might miss. The finals you have to stay early in the morning. To Sparrows Fart or early morning.

**Luttsy** (1:10)
Early morning maybe. Catch up on it.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:12)
Yeah. Well, I mean, you have to be up at four or seven will be, you know, let's say the night time, if the swimming is 7 till 10pm, for instance, that'll be 4am till 7am.

**Luttsy** (1:21)
That's perfect. That's actually pretty good.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:23)
If you're up early.

**Luttsy** (1:24)
If you're a swimmer. And is this the kind of games where they've cut a few sports and stuff? Yeah, so it was meant to be in Melbourne. Yes. Melbourne gave it back. What's his name? Victoria.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:31)
Victoria.

**Luttsy** (1:32)
Old mate Dan Andrews. Dan Andrews gave it back. They had to pay a fine.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:36)
Yeah. He almost killed it.

**Luttsy** (1:37)
Yeah. And then, is it in Glasgow?
Glasgow. Because the last ones were in Birmingham, weren't they? Scotland. So, Glasgow have a limited sport program.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:46)
Right.

**Luttsy** (1:47)
10 or 11? Don't ask me which sports.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:48)
10 or 11 sports, I believe.

**Luttsy** (1:50)
Okay. I heard netball was the first sport put in. Or so a netballer told me.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:54)
But it's living on. I think it's the next ones in India. Yeah.

**Luttsy** (1:57)
Really? Like Delhi. We both went to Delhi.

**Susie O'Neill** (1:59)
Yeah, we did. It's not in Delhi. It's somewhere else. But it's massive over there. I'm pretty sure like the Comm Games lives. It was a concern after Dan Andrews did what he did, that it could just kill it forever.

**Luttsy** (2:10)
What would Comm Games dying do to save the Olympics?

**Susie O'Neill** (2:13)
Well, Kay Campbell writes interestingly about it today.

**Luttsy** (2:15)
Does she?

**Susie O'Neill** (2:15)
Yeah, I think she was in the Korea Mail or online at least. I read something on when I woke up this morning about the importance of it. Because, Susan, you're just talking about something else.

**Luttsy** (2:24)
Yeah, I just have no energy for it at the moment. Talking about this. That leader, so it's a big lead up obviously for the Olympics.

**Susie O'Neill** (2:29)
Well, I mean, you're in a four year cycle in certain sports. I'll use athletics as an example.
So on that, in that space, so you need something every year leading up. So we'd have to, athletics would have to find another major championships we could send potentially our younger athletes to. Because it's a breeding ground for young athletes who aspire to be in LA in 28 Or indeed Brisbane in 2032 So I think it plays an important role. I don't say that we treat it like the Olympics by any stretch.

**Luttsy** (2:58)
Well, I mean, the US aren't obviously there. Well, exactly. So you're missing, missing some top out, particularly in swimming and track.

**Susie O'Neill** (3:05)
Yeah, let's keep it cool on the significance of it as far as the results. But having the event, I think, is significant within the four-year Olympic cycle, Susan.

**Luttsy** (3:15)
Surprisingly, one of the biggest... Is it in the paper?
I read it as well. Surprisingly, one of the biggest swimmers in the world at the moment, from Canada, is not going to the Commonwealth Games because she's saving herself for the PAM PACS, which is a meet with Japan, US, Australia. In swimming, is that almost bigger in terms of the competition? Well, like US and Australia, but I suppose Japan is not like a small... I would have said that for her, from Canada, Commonwealth Games would have been more important, to be honest. I was shocked that she's doing that. OK. She's the world record holder in the, in my old event, Tour de Fly at the moment. She just broke it.