The inaugural junior Pan Am Games scheduled for September in Colombia will now run from November 25-December 5, organisers said yesterday.
The decision was agreed upon between Panam Sports, the Colombian government and sport leaders with the objective of ensuring a safer games by allowing more time for the host country and participating nations to further advance in their processes of vaccination against Covid-19, a release from the organisers stated.
The event that will unite more than 3,800 young athletes throughout the Americas will now take place between November 25 and December 5, 2021.
“After several months of meetings with the Colombian authorities, we have adopted this measure that we believe is the best option to protect the health of our young athletes. We want to give more time for both the organizing country and the participating nations to advance in their vaccination processes. This will allow more delegations and the largest number of people to be inoculated against Covid-19 when the Games begin,” said Panam Sports President, Neven Ilic.
“The decision we have made is very positive. It will be very beneficial to be able to wait a little longer given the emergency caused by Covid-19 not only in Colombia, but throughout the continent. With this new date, it gives us the possibility of having safer games for everyone because when the time comes, we will have a higher vaccination rate in the host country,” said Cali-Valle 2021 Executive Director, Jose Luis Echeverry.
The release said that Panam Sports, the Colombian government, the Colombian Olympic Committee, the Valle del Cauca Government, the Cali Mayor’s Office and the Local Organizing Committee have all been monitoring how the situation was evolving month-by-month, not only in the host country and city of the first Junior Pan American Games, but also in the member countries of the Pan American Sports Organization.
After several meetings and consultations with experts, the decision to modify the dates of the event that was scheduled between September 9 and 19 was finally confirmed. The Cali-Valle 2021 Junior Pan American Games will now take place between November 25 and December 5, the release stated.
America is one of the continents that has been most affected by Covid-19, and although important vaccination processes have begun in most countries, the pandemic is still a threat and a lot of work remains to be done.
The first Junior Pan American Games of Cali 2021 will bring together more than 3,800 athletes from 41 countries who will compete in 39 disciplines. The gold medalist in each sport will automatically qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
