By Tom Degun

Jersey marching_in_Commonwealth_GamesOctober 11 - Jersey have revealed that they will be voting for the Gold Coast bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the election next month.


The Australian city is fighting it out with Hambantota in Sri Lanka for the right to stage the 2018 competition with the 71 Commonwealth nations and territories set to decide on where the event is staged at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11.

The Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey (CGAJ) holds one of ten European votes and has confirmed that they will be voting for the Gold Coast after the Association's President Alan Cross completed an inspection visit to both of the candidate cities.

On his return, Cross informed the rest of the delegates from Jersey of both the strengths and weaknesses of both bids and highlighted a comment in the report composed by the CGF Evaluation Commission which stated that Hambantota was considered to be a "high risk" Games while the Gold Coast was a "low/medium" risk Games.

Following the report from Cross, the Council of the CGAJ voted in favour of the bid from Gold Coast.

The sport of archery were the only member sport to express their disappointment with Council's decision as their sport is to be included in the Hambantota 2018 sports programme but it has been replaced by triathlon in the Gold Coast bid.

Cross will be accompanied to St Kitts and Nevis by the CGAJ recently appointed secretary general Derek Ferguson and they will also be involved in casting Jersey's votes on candidates for positions on the CGF Executive Board.

The majority of the 71 Commonwealth nations and territories will be conducting similar meetings over the next month to unanimously decide on which of the two candidates they will vote for.

During the Jersey meeting, the Council also elected the local Association's key managerial positions for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Paul Huddlestone, who was the Chef de Mission for Team Jersey the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, was elected unopposed to continue in the position at Glasgow in 2014 along with Paul Du Feu, who was elected unopposed for the position as general team manager after his work in the Indian capital last year.

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