XX Commonwealth Games: Queen’s baton makes its tour around Mahé |23 January 2014

Residents all over Mahé were able to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s baton as it went through its traditional relay around the island yesterday.

The Queen’s Baton, which carries Queen Elizabeth II’s Commonwealth message, was carried around the country by various athletes and school children. Before the start of the relay, a small ceremony took place to launch the relay, where students from Beau Vallon school entertained those in attendance with dances and poems.

Starting at the Beau Vallon Bay hotel, the baton was carried out of the hotel by general manager Gulab Rai, who then handed it over to students of Beau Vallon school to start the relay.

The baton passed through all schools on Mahé, where students lined up along the roadside to greet the baton as it passed near their respective schools. Some schools also organised special activities to commemorate the Queen’s baton’s passage through the island.

As many would have noticed, the baton made a short stop at Liberty House where students from Belonie, La Rosière and Bel Eau schools cheered its arrival.

The baton embodies Glasgow and Scotland’s culture, history and innovation in its design and construction.

At the heart of the baton is the Queen’s message, inscribed on a parchment handmade in Glasgow using linen and plant fibre. The message will be scrolled and held in a transparent cylinder within a pure titanium latticework frame. For the first time, the message forms the visual core of the baton design – illuminated from within by LED lights, yet unreadable until the opening ceremony.

The lattice frame takes inspiration from Glasgow’s rich industrial and architectural heritage. State-of-the-art Direct Metal laser sintering was used to create its striking organic form, fusing together layers of pure titanium powder three hundredths of a millimeter thick with a focused laser beam.

The baton’s handle is made of elm wood sourced from the grounds of Garrison House on the Isle of Cumbrae – a tribute to Scotland’s natural resources. It was constructed using a boatbuilding technique called bird-mouthing, traditionally used to make masts for ships. Light, strong and durable, the handle was created by craftsmen at Galgael, a social enterprise that teaches traditional skills.

The baton contains a granite ‘gemstone’ which will be gifted to each nation and territory. Housed at the very top of the baton, it is released only by opening a clever puzzle mechanism. The gemstones, made of granite unique to Scotland, were sourced from Ailsa Craig in the firth of Clyde, crafted by Kays of Scotland, and embellished by jewelers from Glasgow School of Art.

The baton arrived in Seychelles aboard a Kenya Airways flight on Tuesday afternoon, and upon its arrival at the Beau Vallon Bay hotel – who is hosting the baton – a small cocktail was organised to give the guests the opportunity to have their photos taken with the baton.

I had the opportunity to speak to the Queen’s baton relay coordinator, Adam Best, and he was very pleased with the reception received upon arrival.

“Every country we have been to is quite different, with various experiences. We’ve been met by presidents, ministers, royalty and we’ve managed to touch people and make a lot of people smile,” he said.

“Just think of how great it is for the kids to know that they have held something that presidents and even Kings and Queens have held as well,” he added.

Undoubtedly, the preparation for something like this is immense, and Mr Best said; “We started planning two years prior to the start of the relay. It takes a lot to prepare to travel to 70 countries in 288 days with all the logistics involved and it has been a big challenge.”

The XX Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom over 11 days of competition from July 23 to August 3, 2014. It will be the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland, although the country previously hosted the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Over the last 10 years, however, Glasgow and Scotland had staged World, Commonwealth, European, or British events in all 17 sports proposed for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, including the World Badminton Championships in 1997.

There are a total of 17 sports and 261 medal events that will be contested at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

A record of 22 para-sport events will be contested in five different sports (athletics, cycling, lawn bowls, swimming and weightlifting) para-track cycling will be held for the very first time.

 Archery and tennis from the 2010 games were replaced on the sports programme with triathlon (for the first time since 2006) and judo (first time since 2002).

 Among sport disciplines removed from 2010 include the walking events in athletics, synchronised swimming and Greco-Roman wrestling, while mountain biking will be contested for the first time since 2006. Shooting medal events also dropped from 44 in 2010 to 19. Among new disciplines on the Commonwealth Games programme for the first time are the triathlon mixed relay event, more shooting medal chances for women and the addition of women's boxing.