The critical importance of the Commonwealth Youth Games in the development pathway of young athletes has been confirmed on the back of the success of Trinbago 2023.
The 75-strong Australian Team joined athletes aged under 18 from across the Commonwealth in Trinidad and Tobago, topping the medal tally with 64 medals including 26 gold.
62 individual medallists stood on the podium for Australia and we’re proud to say the team included five First Nations athletes, six para-athletes and representatives of every state and territory.
A post-event survey, which collated feedback from team members and support staff, showcased the benefits and key takeaways of the experience.
This included that 83% of respondents feel that the Commonwealth Youth Games plays a critical role in their development as an elite athlete.
Noted highlights of the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games experience also included representing Australia, travelling with other sports, experiencing different cultures, and the support provided from staff and coaches.
With Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) investing more than $1 million to support the delivery of the Australian Commonwealth Youth Games Team, additional research has emphasised why opportunities like Trinbago 2023 are so important:
Of the 610 Australian athletes to compete at Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG), 81 (13%) have gone on to represent Australia at a senior Commonwealth Games.
From the athletes that transitioned to senior Commonwealth Games, 32 have won medals (39.5%).
Additionally, the 32 medallists have collectively won 72 medals (6.4% of total senior Commonwealth Games medals since 2002).
These results demonstrate the value of both the Commonwealth Youth Games and Commonwealth Games, and the role they play in the development of athletes in the Australian High Performance System.
It is also supports CGA’s aim of being the number one nation in terms of gold medals won, overall medals won, total number of medallists and the number of sports winning medals at the Commonwealth Games.
