Commonwealth Games Canada reports "significant progress" in Delhi Games Village

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OTTAWA, September 23, 2010 – There has been “significant progress” in the Athletes Village for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, according to Scott Stevenson, Director of Sport for Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC).

“Developments today are very encouraging,” said Stevenson, who is leading CGC’s Advance Team on the ground in Delhi. “It feels good, like we’re back on track. And we’re optimistic that we’ll be ready to move our athletes and coaches into the Village as early as Sunday. Our focus can start to shift now towards getting our team ready for competition. Ultimately, we’re here to deliver best-ever performances and to show Canadians how well we can compete on the international stage.”

Stevenson attributed the positive shift to the active involvement of Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, who brought in dozens of senior manager and engineers, along with about 800 labourers to the Village site. Work will continue on a 24-hour basis to complete the necessary finishing and cleaning.

“Things are now moving more quickly and the work is of higher quality than we’ve seen here in the last week,” added Stevenson. “Obviously, we continue to monitor the situation very, very closely to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our athletes and coaches when they start arriving in a few days.”

“This is the kind of focused, sustained effort that all of the Commonwealth Games Associations have been asking for,” stated Dr. Andrew Pipe, President of Commonwealth Games Canada. “Quite frankly, we’ll need to see this replicated in every functional area right through to the end of the Games.”

“We’re also very encouraged by the Minister’s commitment to have all safety certificates for the Village verified by a credible third party,” added Thomas Jones, CGC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our staff will oversee the inspection of each and every suite to make sure they’re clean and safe. All of this will certainly help to reassure our athletes and coaches as they make final preparations to depart for the Games.”

Canada is sending a team of 400 athletes, coaches and support staff to the Games which take place from October 3 to 14, 2010 in Delhi.

Derek Johnston
Commonwealth Games Canada Communications
(613) 837-3377
derek@face-value.ca