MEXICO CITY – The Cali-Valle 2021 Junior Pan American Games were pushed back by about three month and will now take place between November 25 and December 5.
Organisers made the announcement earlier Wednesday after several meetings and consultations with experts. The Games were originally scheduled to take place September 9 and 19.
“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,” a release said.
As a result, Panam Sports, the Government of Colombia, the Colombian Olympic Committee, the Valle del Cauca Government, the Cali Mayor’s Office and the Local Organising Committee have all been monitoring how the situation evolves 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 Organisation.
“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 organising 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 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 medallist in each sport will automatically qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
For more information about the Games, please visit www.calivalle2021.com or www.panamsports.org.
On Tuesday, organisers announced the cancellation of the 2021 CARIFTA Games. (PR/SAT)
