Sport programme for 2026 Commonwealth Games to feature nine Para sports

Para swimming, Para athletics, 3x3 wheelchair basketball, Para track cycling, Para lawn bowls, Para powerlifting, shooting Para sport, Para table tennis and Para triathlon will be featured at Victoria 2026, with Para disciplines in golf, coastal rowing and road race cycling also vying for inclusion 06 Oct 2022

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in the Australian state of Victoria between 17-29 March 2026.

ⒸAl Bello/Getty Images

By Commonwealth Games Federation and IPC

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has unveiled an action-packed sports programme featuring nine fully integrated Para sports for the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The programme unveiled by the CGF, the Andrews Labor Government and Commonwealth Games Australia features a total of 20 sports and 26 disciplines.

The nine Para sports included in the sports programme are Para swimming, Para athletics, 3x3 wheelchair basketball, Para track cycling, Para lawn bowls, shooting Para sport, Para table tennis, Para triathlon and Para powerlifting.

“We are thrilled to confirm the sport programme for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with the additional sports proposed by Victoria 2026 completing an exciting and diverse line-up,” said CGF President Dame Louise Martin.

“The Games are set to be competitive and action-packed, featuring an extensive, fully integrated Para sport programme, the debuts of coastal rowing, golf and BMX (racing), the return of shooting and the scintillating 3x3 basketball,” she added.

Victoria 2026 is also proposing to add in the Para disciplines of golf, coastal rowing and the road race. It will work with the Commonwealth Games Federation and relevant international sporting federations to determine if this is possible.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games, which took place between 28 July and 8 August in Birmingham, Great Britain, featured 19 sports with eight Para sports.

About 4,500 Para athletes and those without disabilities from more than 70 nations and territories came together in the West Midlands city in England.

There we go.

The Commonwealth Flag has been lowered, and handed over to Team Australia, signifying the end of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games🥹@CommGamesAUS #BIRMINGHAM #Birmingham2022 pic.twitter.com/aeNjw4V071
— Birmingham 2022 (@birminghamcg22) August 8, 2022

The Commonwealth Games are an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The Games were first held in Hamilton, Canada in 1930. Since the 2002 edition in Manchester, Great Britain, they have included Para sports in the official programme.

The State of Victoria was awarded the 2026 Commonwealth Games in April this year.

Set to be the first ever predominantly regional Commonwealth Games, Victoria 2026 will be staged across multiple cities and regional hubs including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland.

It is estimated that the 2026 Games will contribute more than AUD $3 billion to Victoria’s economy, creating more than 600 full-time equivalent jobs before the Games, 3,900 jobs during the Games and a further 3,000 jobs after the Closing Ceremony.