Athletes throughout the Americas including Bermuda can now begin to plan their journey through the next Olympic cycle following the definition of the sports that will be included in the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games by the Panam Sports Executive Committee.
The leaders of Americas’ Olympic Movement united for their first meeting of the year at the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, welcomed by President Sara Rosario for a productive week of discussions.
Among the many topics regarding the future of sport in the region, arguably the most important was the debate about which sports will be included in the Pan American Games of Santiago 2023.
Much consideration was given to the merits, benefits and difficulties of each sport currently on the sport program and those sports which have found new footholds in the Olympic Movement thanks to the innovative approach of Olympic Agenda 2020.
Following in the footsteps of the IOC, Panam Sports has taken the very difficult decision to maximize the resources of each Host Nation, approving the sport program of Santiago 2023 based on the realities and challenges of Chile. In accordance with Olympic Agenda 2020, Games should not require significant investment in resources and infrastructure that do not comply within the sustainable capabilities of the Host City.
The Executive Committee listened to the presentation of Santiago 2023 before holding a lengthy debate focused on the proposals offered by the Organizing Committee led by its President, Chilean Sports Minister Cecilia Perez.
The sports approved for the 2023 Pan American Games by the Executive Committee of Panam Sports were the following:
Athletics, Archery, Badminton, Baseball/Softball, Basketball, Boxing, Canoe, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Modern Pentathlon, Roller Sports (Artistic Skating, Speed Skating and Skateboarding), Rowing, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Soccer, Sport Shooting, Surfing, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Water Skiing, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Volleyball.
It should be noted that there are other sports that could be included in this list following a study conducted by Panam Sports.
These sports could be included as long as quality infrastructure could be guaranteed without significant additional investment by the Host City. This keeps the possibility open to protect the aspirations of athletes who dream of competing in the Pan American Games in the Chilean capital.
The final decision to include these sports will be taken at the next Panam Sports Executive Committee meeting that will be held in Cali, Colombia in the first week of June.
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