Panam Sports
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![]() Member countries are in green | |
Formation | 1940 |
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Type | Continental Sports Organization |
Headquarters | Mexico City, Mexico |
Membership | 41 National Olympic Committees |
Official language | English, Spanish, French |
President | Neven Ilić Álvarez |
Website | panamsports |
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.
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:
- ODESUR – organizers of the South American Games
- ODECABE – organizers of the Central American and Caribbean Games
- ORDECA – organizers of the Central American Games
- ODEBO – organizers of the Bolivarian Games
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.
Nation | Code | National Olympic Committee | Created/Recognised | Region | Ref. |
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ANT | The Antigua and Barbuda Olympic Association | 1966/1976 | Caribbean | [1] |
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ARG | Argentine Olympic Committee | 1923 | South America | [2] |
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ARU | Aruban Olympic Committee | 1985/1986 | Caribbean/South American | [3] |
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BAH | Bahamas Olympic Committee | 1952 | Caribbean | [4] |
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BAR | Barbados Olympic Association | 1955 | Caribbean | [5] |
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BIZ | Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association | 1967 | Central America/Caribbean | [6] |
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BER | Bermuda Olympic Association | 1935/1936 | North America/Caribbean | [7] |
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BOL | Bolivian Olympic Committee | 1932/1936 | South America/Bolivarian | [8] |
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BRA | Brazilian Olympic Committee | 1914/1935 | South America | [9] |
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IVB | British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee | 1980/1982 | Caribbean | [10] |
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CAN | Canadian Olympic Committee | 1904/1907 | North America | [11] |
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CAY | Cayman Islands Olympic Committee | 1973/1976 | Caribbean | [12] |
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CHI | Chilean Olympic Committee | 1934 | South America | [13] |
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COL | Colombian Olympic Committee | 1936/1948 | South America/Caribbean/Bolivarian | [14] |
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CRC | Costa Rican Olympic Committee | 1953/1954 | Central America/Caribbean/ | [15] |
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CUB | Cuban Olympic Committee | 1926/1954 | Caribbean | [16] |
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DMA | Dominica Olympic Committee | 1987/1993 | Caribbean | [17] |
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DOM | Dominican Republic Olympic Committee | 1946/1962 | Caribbean | [18] |
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ECU | Ecuadorian National Olympic Committee | 1948/1959 | South America/Bolivarian | [19] |
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ESA | El Salvador Olympic Committee | 1949/1962 | Central America/Caribbean | [20] |
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GRN | Grenada Olympic Committee | 1984 | Caribbean | [21] |
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GUA | Guatemalan Olympic Committee | 1947 | Central America/Caribbean | [22] |
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GUY | Guyana Olympic Association | 1935/1948 | South America/Caribbean | [23] |
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HAI | Haitian Olympic Committee | 1914/1924 | Caribbean | [24] |
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HON | Honduran Olympic Committee | 1956 | Central America/Caribbean | [25] |
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JAM | Jamaica Olympic Association | 1936 | Caribbean | [26] |
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MEX | Mexican Olympic Committee | 1923 | North America/Caribbean | [27] |
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NCA | Nicaraguan Olympic Committee | 1959 | Central America/Caribbean | [28] |
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PAN | Panama Olympic Committee | 1934/1947 | South America/Central America/Caribbean/Bolivarian | [29] |
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PAR | Paraguayan Olympic Committee | 1970 | South America | [30] |
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PER | Peruvian Olympic Committee | 1924/1936 | South America/Bolivarian | [31] |
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PUR | Puerto Rico Olympic Committee | 1948 | Caribbean | [32] |
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SKN | St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee | 1986/1993 | Caribbean | [33] |
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LCA | Saint Lucia Olympic Committee | 1987/1993 | Caribbean | [34] |
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VIN | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee | 1982/1987 | Caribbean | [35] |
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SUR | Suriname Olympic Committee | 1959 | South America/Caribbean | [36] |
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TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee | 1946/1948 | Caribbean | [37] |
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USA | United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee | 1894 | North America | [38] |
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URU | Uruguayan Olympic Committee | 1923 | South America | [39] |
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VEN | Venezuelan Olympic Committee | 1935 | South America/Caribbean/Bolivarian | [40] |
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ISV | Virgin Islands Olympic Committee | 1967 | Caribbean | [41] |
Former member: Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee
There are some areas not a part of Panam Sports as they are not independent nations:
- Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten are part of the Caribbean Netherlands since 2010. With the dissolution of Netherlands Antilles later in that year, the athletes from these territories were allowed to compete at the 2011 Pan American Games with the older denomination. This also happened with these athletes at 2012 Summer Olympics, but they are part of the Independent Olympic Athletes team. Since 2013, these territories were absorbed by the Aruban Olympic Committee[1]
- Turks and Caicos, Montserrat, Anguila, Saint Helena and the Falkland Islands are British territories without internal autonomy and so failed to create their national Olympic committees and so are not members of PanAm Sports.
- Guadeloupe, Martinica, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint-Martin and French Guiana are not a members of Panam Sports as they are Overseas departments of France. Nevertheless, French Guiana participated in the 1951 Pan American Games.[2] Guadeloupe and Martinique also competed at the 2003 Games as guests at the shooting events.[3]
- Greenland is an autonomous country within Denmark and politically associated with Europe, therefore it is the only North American country not involved in Panam Sports.
Panam Sports Presidents
S. No. | Name | Country | Tenure |
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1. | Mr. Avery Brundage | ![]() |
1940–1951 |
2. | Mr. José de Jesús Clark Flores | ![]() |
1951–1955 |
3. | Mr. Doug Roby | ![]() |
1955–1959 |
4. | Mr. José de Jesús Clark Flores | ![]() |
1959–1971 |
5. | Mr. Sylvio de Magalhaes Padilha1 | ![]() |
1971–1971 |
6. | Mr. José Beracasa | ![]() |
1971–1975 |
7. | Mr. Mario Vázquez Raña | ![]() |
1975–2015 |
8. | Mr. Ivar Sisniega | ![]() |
2015–2015 |
9. | Mr. Julio César Maglione | ![]() |
2015–2017 |
10. | Mr. Neven Ilic Álvarez | ![]() |
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]
Member | Country | Since | Pan American Games Participation |
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Alexandra Orlando | ![]() |
2011 | 2003–2007 |
Mijaín López | ![]() |
2011 | 2003–2015 |
Samyr Laine | ![]() |
2011 | 2003–2011 |
Andrea Estrada | ![]() |
2011 | 2011 |
Guillermo Perez | ![]() |
2011 | 2011 |
Pedro Causil | ![]() |
2011 | 2011 |
Shannon Nishi | ![]() |
2011 | 2011 |
Debut of countries per Games
Games | Host | Year | Debuting Countries | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
I | ![]() |
1951 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
20 |
II | ![]() |
1955 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
5 |
III | ![]() |
1959 | ![]() |
1 |
IV | ![]() |
1963 | ![]() |
1 |
V | ![]() |
1967 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
4 |
VI | ![]() |
1971 | - | 0 |
VII | ![]() |
1975 | ![]() |
1 |
VIII | ![]() |
1979 | ![]() |
1 |
IX | ![]() |
1983 | ![]() ![]() |
2 |
X | ![]() |
1987 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
3 |
XI | ![]() |
1991 | ![]() |
1 |
XII | ![]() |
1995 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
3 |
XIII | ![]() |
1999 | - | 0 |
XIV | ![]() |
2003 | - | 0 |
XV | ![]() |
2007 | - | 0 |
XVI | ![]() |
2011 | - | 0 |
XVII | ![]() |
2015 | - | 0 |
XVIII | ![]() |
2019 | - | 0 |
XIX | ![]() |
2023 | Future | - |
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
- ^ "Curtain comes down on 123rd IOC Session". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2012-08-15. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ "Buenos Aires 1951". QuadrodeMedalhas.com. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ "Santo Domingo 2003". QuadrodeMedalhas.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
- ^ "Alexandra Orlando elected president of PASO Athletes' Commission". March 8, 2012.
- ^ Athlete's commission
- ^ Nahwegahbow, Barb (2014). "Aboriginal pavilion will tell "our story" our way". AMMSA.
- ^ Windle, Jim (February 4, 2015). "Six Nations announces participation in Pan-Am Games". The Two Rows Times.
- ^ "Haiti Voted in as FIL's 55th Member". filacrosse.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.