Four years of toil to lead the Commonwealth Games

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be littered with stories of sacrifices athletes made to get themselves the special sporting event.

But those dedication-based stories aren’t limited to just the athletes themselves.

Among the many officials who will oversee the Commonwealth Games – which will begin with the opening ceremony on Friday morning – are stories of hard work.

Erin Criglington of Invercargill falls into that category.

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Criglington will perform in track cycling, mountain biking and road cycling.

It ends four years of toil to get herself to fly to Birmingham on Monday morning for the Commonwealth Games.

“It’s quite exciting, and it’s just nice that all the studies from the past few years have come to fruition and I get the chance to go to the Games,” Criglington said.

That included taking exams at 2 a.m.

Her journey began in 2018 when Invercargill’s accountant became an elite national-level commissioner in New Zealand.

The following year, Criglington began work to become a qualified international commissioner.

In November, during the pandemic, Criglington left for Switzerland to check off the practical part of qualifying. The same day she met that requirement, Criglington was informed that she had been selected to lead the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

New Zealand was allowed to nominate a male and a female official for cycling at the Commonwealth Games.

“I was the only qualified international woman [in New Zealand]I’ve been selected and now I’m gone [to the Commonwealth Games],” she said.

Her roles at Birmingham will include assistant starter for track cycling, she will be one of the commissioners for the road time trial and will be a chief judge for the road races.

She does not yet know what her role in mountain biking will be.

Criglington himself delivered some notable achievements on the bike over the years, including winning world titles.

She felt that the move to join the officials was the right one.

“It’s my way of getting back into the sport that has given me so much. I just enjoy going to the different events and helping the athletes have a good race and perform at their best. ”

Criglington is one of the Southlanders to be officially involved in Birmingham, including weightlifting official Barbara Grieve, who was recently named Official of the Year at the ILT Southland Sports Awards in 2022.

Jason McKenzie is part of the support staff of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team, specializing in psychology. While Paddy O’Brien is the Sevens Referee Manager of World Rugby and Karl McDonald is the physio for the Sevens Referees.

Southland will have nine athletes competing in the Commonwealth Games, including Southern Steel netballers Shannon Saunders and Kate Heffernan. Southland Sharks player Dom Kelman-Poto is part of New Zealand’s 3×3 men’s basketball team, while 2022 Southland Sportsperson of the Year Alena Saili will once again be part of New Zealand’s seven-team women’s team.

Four Southlanders compete for medals in track cycling held in London. They are Bradly Knipe, Tom Sexton, Nick Kergozou and Corbin Strong.

Gore javelin thrower Tori Peeters is Commonwealth Games tied, just off her first shot at a United States World Championships in Athletics last week.

Saili will be the first Southlander in action when the Black Ferns sevens team plays against Canada Friday night at 9pm [NZ time].