Panam Sports

The Pan American Sports Organization (Panam Sports; Spanish: Organización Deportiva Panamericana) is an international organization which represents the current 41 National Olympic Committees of North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Pan American Sports Organization
Member countries are in green
Formation1940
TypeContinental Sports Organization
HeadquartersMexico City, Mexico
Membership
41 National Olympic Committees
Official language
English, Spanish, French
President
Neven Ilić Álvarez
Websitepanamsports.org

It is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee and its affiliated bodies, including ANOC, the Association of National Olympic Committees, and serves as the continental association of the Americas.

The organization's flagship event is the quadrennial Pan American Games, held since 1951. The Parapan American Games were inaugurated in 1999 for disabled athletes and are held alongside the able-bodied Pan American Games. The Pan American Winter Games, for winter sports, were held only once in 1990. The Pan American Sports Festival was inaugurated in 2014 as a developmental event for the region's athletes.

Affiliated organizations

There are four regional entities affiliated with Panam Sports, they are:

Flag

Just like the International Olympic Committee, Panam Sports has its own flag. In 2017, Panam Sports underwent a complete rebranding of the organization, including changes to its commercial name (now Panam Sports), brand and flag. The modern design emphasizes the unity of Panam Sports' 41 member nations, displaying the entire continent within a seal that features the new commercial name 'Panam Sports' at the top and 'Organization' at the bottom. The Olympic Rings reside below the seal, symbolizing the continental organization's close relationship with the IOC and the Olympic Games. The seal and accompanying rings are centered on the white background of the flag.

The original flag of PASO-ODEPA contained the four words, "América", "Espírito", "Sports" and "Fraternité", each respectively in one of the four official languages of the organization, namely Spanish, Portuguese, English and French. The original flag also displayed a torch along with the Olympic Rings and five circles with the official colors of the Olympics on a white background. Finally, the words PASO and ODEPA were written to indicate the organization the flag represents.

Member countries

In the following table, the year in which the NOC was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also given if it is different from the year in which the NOC was created.

NationCodeNational Olympic CommitteeCreated/RecognisedRegionRef.
 Antigua and Barbuda ANT The Antigua and Barbuda Olympic Association 1966/1976 Caribbean
 Argentina ARG Argentine Olympic Committee 1923 South America
 Aruba ARU Aruban Olympic Committee 1985/1986 Caribbean/South American
 Bahamas BAH Bahamas Olympic Committee 1952 Caribbean
 Barbados BAR Barbados Olympic Association 1955 Caribbean
 Belize BIZ Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association 1967 Central America/Caribbean
 Bermuda BER Bermuda Olympic Association 1935/1936 North America/Caribbean
 Bolivia BOL Bolivian Olympic Committee 1932/1936 South America/Bolivarian
 Brazil BRA Brazilian Olympic Committee 1914/1935 South America
 British Virgin Islands IVB British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee 1980/1982 Caribbean
 Canada CAN Canadian Olympic Committee 1904/1907 North America
 Cayman Islands CAY Cayman Islands Olympic Committee 1973/1976 Caribbean
 Chile CHI Chilean Olympic Committee 1934 South America
 Colombia COL Colombian Olympic Committee 1936/1948 South America/Caribbean/Bolivarian
 Costa Rica CRC Costa Rican Olympic Committee 1953/1954 Central America/Caribbean/
 Cuba CUB Cuban Olympic Committee 1926/1954 Caribbean
 Dominica DMA Dominica Olympic Committee 1987/1993 Caribbean
 Dominican Republic DOM Dominican Republic Olympic Committee 1946/1962 Caribbean
 Ecuador ECU Ecuadorian National Olympic Committee 1948/1959 South America/Bolivarian
 El Salvador ESA El Salvador Olympic Committee 1949/1962 Central America/Caribbean
 Grenada GRN Grenada Olympic Committee 1984 Caribbean
 Guatemala GUA Guatemalan Olympic Committee 1947 Central America/Caribbean
 Guyana GUY Guyana Olympic Association 1935/1948 South America/Caribbean
 Haiti HAI Haitian Olympic Committee 1914/1924 Caribbean
 Honduras HON Honduran Olympic Committee 1956 Central America/Caribbean
 Jamaica JAM Jamaica Olympic Association 1936 Caribbean
 Mexico MEX Mexican Olympic Committee 1923 North America/Caribbean
 Nicaragua NCA Nicaraguan Olympic Committee 1959 Central America/Caribbean
 Panama PAN Panama Olympic Committee 1934/1947 South America/Central America/Caribbean/Bolivarian
 Paraguay PAR Paraguayan Olympic Committee 1970 South America
 Peru PER Peruvian Olympic Committee 1924/1936 South America/Bolivarian
 Puerto Rico PUR Puerto Rico Olympic Committee 1948 Caribbean
 Saint Kitts and Nevis SKN St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee 1986/1993 Caribbean
 Saint Lucia LCA Saint Lucia Olympic Committee 1987/1993 Caribbean
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VIN Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee 1982/1987 Caribbean
 Suriname SUR Suriname Olympic Committee 1959 South America/Caribbean
 Trinidad and Tobago TTO Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee 1946/1948 Caribbean
 United States USA United States Olympic Committee 1894 North America
 Uruguay URU Uruguayan Olympic Committee 1923 South America
 Venezuela VEN Venezuelan Olympic Committee 1935 South America/Caribbean/Bolivarian
 Virgin Islands ISV Virgin Islands Olympic Committee 1967 Caribbean

Former member: Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee

There are some areas not a part of Panam Sports as they are not independent nations:

Panam Sports Presidents

S. No. Name Country Tenure
1. Mr. Avery Brundage  United States 1940–1951
2. Mr. José de Jesús Clark Flores  Mexico 1951–1955
3. Mr. Doug Roby  United States 1955–1959
4. Mr. José de Jesús Clark Flores  Mexico 1959–1971
5. Mr. Sylvio de Magalhaes Padilha1  Brazil 1971–1971
6. Mr. José Beracasa  Venezuela 1971–1975
7. Mr. Mario Vázquez Raña  Mexico 1975–2015
8. Mr. Ivar Sisniega  Mexico 2015–2015
9. Mr. Julio César Maglione  Uruguay 2015–2017
10. Mr. Neven Ilic Álvarez  Chile 2017–present

^1 Served as acting president for two months until new election.

Panam Sports Athlete Commission

In 2011, a new Panam Sports Athlete Commission was formed. Former Canadian Rhythmic Gymnast and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist Alexandra Orlando was selected the president of the commission. The commission will be made up of seven athletes (five current and two former) with two being reserved for non-Olympic sports.[4][5]

MemberCountrySincePan American Games Participation
Alexandra Orlando Canada20112003–2007
Mijaín López Cuba20112003–2015
Samyr Laine Haiti20112003–2011
Andrea Estrada Guatemala20112011
Guillermo Perez Mexico20112011
Pedro Causil Colombia20112011
Shannon Nishi United States20112011

Debut of countries per Games

Games Host Year Debuting Countries Total
I Buenos Aires 1951 Argentina,  Brazil,  Chile,  Colombia,  Costa Rica,  Cuba,  Ecuador,  El Salvador,  Guatemala,  Haiti,  Jamaica,  Mexico,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  Paraguay,  Peru,  Trinidad and Tobago,  United States,  Uruguay,  Venezuela.20
II Mexico City 1955 Bahamas,  Canada,  Dominican Republic,  Netherlands Antilles,  Puerto Rico.5
III Chicago 1959 Guyana.1
IV São Paulo 1963 Barbados.1
V Winnipeg 1967 Belize,  Bolivia,  Bermuda,  Virgin Islands.4
VI Cali 1971-0
VII Mexico City 1975 Honduras.1
VIII San Juan 1979 Antigua and Barbuda.1
IX Caracas 1983 British Virgin Islands,  Suriname.2
X Indianapolis 1987 Aruba,  Cayman Islands,  Grenada.3
XI Havana 1991 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.1
XII Mar de Plata 1995 Dominica,  Saint Kitts and Nevis,  Saint Lucia.3
XIII Winnipeg 1999-0
XIV Santo Domingo 2003-0
XV Rio de Janeiro 2007-0
XVI Guadalajara 2011-0
XVII Toronto 2015-0
XVIII Lima 2019-0
XIX Santiago 2023Future-

Exclusion of indigenous sports

Despite criticisms that Ulama or Mesoamerican Ballgame and Lacrosse[6][7] are not included in the program of the Pan American Games, the number of countries practicing the sport is too small for the sport to be added to the program. As of 2018, there are 15 national federations in the Americas affiliated with World Lacrosse with a minimum number of Panam Sports recognition being 14 (Bermuda, Canada, United States, Iroquois, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Chile, Ecuador and Haiti). However, the Iroquois nation is not recognized by Panam Sports or the IOC.[8] Thus, there are at this time 14 regional member nations of World Lacrosse, enough for the sport to be included in the Pan Am Games as early as 2023. Lacrosse is recognized by the Global Association of International Sports Federations and by the International Olympic Committee. However, this is not the case with ulama, which inhibits its participation in the Pan American Games. It is a possibility that lacrosse will be included in the program of the Games in the future.

See also

References

  1. "Curtain comes down on 123rd IOC Session". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2012-08-15. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  2. "Buenos Aires 1951". QuadrodeMedalhas.com. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  3. "Santo Domingo 2003". QuadrodeMedalhas.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  4. "Alexandra Orlando elected president of PASO Athletes' Commission". March 8, 2012.
  5. Athlete's commission
  6. Nahwegahbow, Barb (2014). "Aboriginal pavilion will tell "our story" our way". AMMSA.
  7. Windle, Jim (February 4, 2015). "Six Nations announces participation in Pan-Am Games". The Two Rows Times.
  8. "Haiti Voted in as FIL's 55th Member". filacrosse.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
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