The Bermuda Olympic Association had no input into the decision to remove sports from the next Commonwealth Games, it has been revealed.

The move to downsize the programme came as a result of Glasgow stepping in at the last minute after Victoria, Australia, withdrew from hosting for financial reasons.

That left the real possibility of the 2026 Games being cancelled until Glasgow agreed to host a pared-down version, featuring only ten sports.

The size of any potential Bermuda squad in two years has been significantly affected by the removal of triathlon and road cycling, but Peter Dunne, president of the Olympic Association, remains philosophical over the decision.

“Just to be clear, we didn’t have a vote on what sports are in and out,” Dunne said.

“But it’s better to have a Commonwealth Games than no Games and it is just unfortunate that the sports that have been chosen impact a lot of Bermuda athletes.

“There are other countries for whom this complexion of sports fits better into their plan, but the loss of triathlon and cycling has hit us particularly hard. Would we have put bowls on our priority list? No.

“The reduced Games structure became more likely as the months went by once Victoria pulled out and there was a lack of options. We knew there was going to be a reset.”

Given Glasgow stepped in late as a host, it appears it held the upper hand in terms of deal negotiations with the Commonwealth Games Federation, and the priority seems to have been the survival of the event ahead of its scheduled centenary in 2030.

“In order for it to survive in 2026, first we needed to have a host and it had to be defined by what they think they are capable of putting together in terms of a sporting programme, within financial and regulatory frameworks,” Dunne said.

“Of course, I would much rather see it as a bigger event that includes more of the sports where we have athletes, but I’m trying to look at it with a positive mindset.

“Glasgow’s focus was on having sports that did not require shutting off regular infrastructure, and the number of athletes they are expecting now is 2,700, which is half of what they had in Birmingham.

“The question is, how do you make it appropriately sized for the hosts and the challenge now is the format for the future. The questions others will ask now is, what is the value of the competition? But we always have to look at things from a window of reality.

“The host organisation has a lot of say in what the sport programme looks like and we will work with them in the context of what has been presented, still field a great team of athletes in 2026, and we will support to help them get there.”