Laraja

The first qualifying procedures have been released for Paris 2024. With thirty-two sports split into forty-seven "disciplines" in Paris 2024, the first eighteen disciplines in thirteen sports have been released. They are: Archery, Basketball (Basketball and Basketball 3x3), Boxing, Breaking, Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, and Trampoline), Handball, Hockey, Modern Pentathlon, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Triathlon, Volleyball (Beach Volleyball and Volleyball), and Wrestling. Totallympics News will provide coverage on each qualification system as and when it is released. In this post, we will have a look at the ten qualification procedures already released.
 
Archery
 
Archery retains five events, with a men's and women's individual team, and a mixed team. Twelve nations per gender, including hosts France, will qualify a team, with the three members of the team also participating in the individual events. The remaining 28 spots, including two universality places, will be earned on an individual basis, with at most one per NOC. There is no separate qualifying for the mixed team, with entry automatic for every NOC with at least one athlete per gender.
 
The team section has been changed, with a ranking and a continental system added. The 2023 World Archery Championship (Berlin, GER, 28 Jul-6 Aug 2023) will earn just three spots, down from eight. Three of those spots will go to the winners of Continental Championships (exactly which events are yet to be announced) for Europe, Asia, and the Americas. There will still be a Final World Team Qualification Tournament (date and location to be announced) for three places. Finally, two places will be earned for a Team World Ranking List, the date which will count will be announced at a later date.
 
The winners of the mixed team competition at five Continental Games will qualify one individual spot for both genders. These are the 2022 Asian Games (Huangzhou, CHN, 10-25 Sep 2022), the 2023 European Games (Krakow, POL, 21 Jun-2 Jul 2023), the 2023 Pan-American Games (Santiago, CHI, 20 Oct-5 Nov 2023), and the 2023 Pacific Games (Honiara, SOL, Nov 19-1 Dec 2023). The 2023 African Games (Accra, GHA, Dates to be announced) are also meant to be part of this, but as of right now, archery is not on the programme. If this remains the case, one extra place per gender will be available for the Individual Qualifying Tournament.
 
The remaining twenty-one places per gender are earned individually. Three will be earned at the 2023 World Archery Championship, two each will be earned at three Continental Games (the Asian Games, European Games, and Pan-American Games), and ten will be earned at five Continental Qualification Tournaments (which tournaments exactly will be announced by 31 December 2022): three for Europe, two each for Asia, the Americas, and Africa, and one for Oceania. Finally two (plus the potential reallocated African Games spot) will be earned at the Final World Individual Qualification Tournament (date and location to be announced). This system is similar to the one used for 2020, although more priority is given to Continental Games than Continental Qualification Tournaments. All-in-all, a new system for 2020.
 
Artistic Gymnastics
 
Artistic Gymnastics retains its fourteen events from Tokyo 2020, with eight men's events (Team, All-Around, Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bars) and six women's events (Team, All-Around, Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise). The total amount of athletes has been reduced however, with 96 spots per gender, down from 98. One spot per gender will be guaranteed to the host nation, France, although the team is considered strong enough to get at least one place for each gender anyway.
 
A team of five athletes can qualify for an NOC: these five can then choose which individual events they want to take place in. An NOC without a team qualified can bring at most three athletes. This is a big change from 2020, where there were teams made up of four.
 
Twelve teams will qualify per gender, with a similar format to 2016: The top three teams qualifying in the 2022 World Championships (Liverpool, GBR, 29 Oct-6 Nov 2022) and the remaining nine in the 2023 World Championships (Antwerp, BEL, 1-8 Oct 2023).
 
However, the individual qualification places (34 per gender) have a new format in 2024: remember, these can only be earned by athletes not in a team. The top 3 teams at the 2023 World Championships not to qualify will gain one individual athlete per gender. The top eight male and top fourteen female All-Around athletes at the 2023 World Championships will gain a quota as well: only one place per NOC can be gained here. The winner of the six male and four female Apparatus finals at the 2023 World Championships will also gain a quota. The top two in each apparatus at the 2024 FIG World Cup (Athens, GRE, 15-17 Mar 2024; Pesaro, ITA, 22-24 Mar 2024; Sofia, BUL, 12-14 Apr 2024; Baku, AZE, 19-21 Apr 2024; Tashkent, UZB, 26-28 Apr 2024) will gain a spot: so twelve men and eight women. Finally, the winner (or highest-placed eligible athlete) of All-Around competitions in 2024 Continental Championships (a total of five for each gender) will take the final spots. It is yet to be announced which events will count, but the FIG prefers them to take place from April to May 2024.
 
If, as expected, the hosts reallocate their place, it will be an extra place earned at the 2023 World Championships for the All-Around category, effectively boosting that to having nine male and fifteen female athletes qualifying.
 
Basketball
 
Basketball retains two twelve-team tournaments, just like Tokyo 2020. The qualification system for eleven teams each (as one spot goes to hosts France) is the same, differing however between men and women. For men, seven teams qualify from the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (Various cities, IDN, JPN, PHI, Aug 25-Sep 10 2023): the top two teams from America and Europe and the top team from Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Qualification is in progress for that event. The remaining four spots will be earned in 2024 at FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournaments (Date and location tbc), which will include nineteen teams from the World Cup and five from Olympic pre-qualifying tournaments: the winners of each of the four tournaments, with six teams each, will earn the final spot.
 
For women, only the champion of the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (Sydney, AUS, 22 Sep-1 Oct 2022) will qualify: the qualification procedure for that is finished. The remaining ten places will be earned at FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournaments (Date and location tbc): there will be four groups of four, with the top three qualifying, although France and the Women's World Cup champions will be included: in the groups with those two, only two places will be earned. This is no change from the Tokyo 2020 system.
 
Basketball 3x3
 
Basketball 3x3 retains its two 8-team tournaments from 2020. There is a change to the system (which is the same for men and women). Now, only the top three teams (down from four) qualify a spot on the 3x3 Federation Ranking List of 1 November 2023. There are now two 2024 Universality-driven Qualification Tournaments (locations and dates for both TBC), with eight teams in both and one winner, and finally, a 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament that is still worth three places. Also, if France don't qualify a place, then whichever genders team is ranked higher takes a ranking place off the lowest-qualified team.
 
Beach Volleyball
 
Beach Volleyball retains a men and a women's 24-team tournament (max 2 teams per NOC) from 2020. With one spot to the hosts, there are 23 teams qualifying per NOC. However, they have removed a qualification tournament that gained two spots, with two more teams earned by world ranking. Firstly, the winner of the 2023 FIVB Beach Volleyball Senior World Championships (date and location TBC) gets a place. Then, the top seventeen (or eighteen should the host spot get reallocated) teams of the Olympic Ranking List of 10 June 2024 will get a spot. Finally, the winners of five Beach Volleyball Continental Qualification Events will earn spots. These dates will be confirmed by 31 May 2022. The final phase of these will be hosted in June 2024, after the publication of the ranking. A simple system to follow.
 
Boxing
 
Boxing has had a switch from 2020. That year, there were eight male weight classes, and five female ones, but now there are seven male weight classes (51, 57, 63.5, 71, 80, 92 and +92kg weight limits) and six female ones (50, 54, 57, 60, 66, and 75kg weight limits). There will be 124 athletes in each gender (compared to 206 men and 80 women in Tokyo), a total of 248, which is down from 286 in 2020. Each event will still have at most one athlete per NOC. To breakdown by event:
Women's 54 and 66kg: 24 places
Women's 50kg: 22 places
Men's 63.5 and 71kg, Women's 57kg: 20 places
Men's 57 and 80kg, Women's 75kg: 18 places
Men's 51, 92, and +92kg, and Women's 60kg: 16 places
 
The first event in the calendar are the 2023 IBA World Boxing Championships (Tashkent, UZB, dates TBC) and 2023 IBA Women's World Championships (dates and locations TBC). The finalist of each event will earn a spot: as there are thirteen men's and ten women's categories, this means most events will actually get four spots: the Men's +92kg and Women's 57 and 60kg will get two spots. Then, the Olympic Ranking Lists of 31 December 2023 will earn six spots per event. France are guaranteed at least four men and at least three women, and there are also four male and five universality spots: the confirmation of these will affect the exact amount of quotas up for grabs in the Olympic Ranking Lists of 31 March 2024. Finally, in May 2024, a World Qualification Tournament (locations and dates TBC) will earn two spots for each event. A new-look system for the new-look IBA.
 
 
Breaking
 
The new sport of Breaking has sixteen participants per gender (at most two per NOC). One spot goes to hosts France, and two will be earned by way of "universality", meaning there are thirteen qualification spots. The winner of the WDSF World Championship (Leuven, BEL, 22-24 Sep 2023) will earn a spot as will the winner of five Continental Games/Championships (although exactly which Games or Championships are still to be confirmed). Finally seven athletes in each gender (or eight if the French spot is reallocated) will earn a spot at the Olympic Qualifier Series.
 
Handball
 
Handball retains a 12-team tournament for both genders from 2020. The system has not changed for 2020, with eleven qualification spots each once the host spot is allocated to France.
The first spot goes to the winner of the IHF Men's World Championship 2023 (POL and SWE, 11-29 Jan 2023) and the winner of the IHF Women's World Championship 2023 (DEN, NOR, and SWE, exact dates TBC). The winners of four Continental Qualification Events: for men the Pan-American Games, an Asian event pencilled in for autumn 2023, the 2024 European Championship (GER, 10-28 Jan 2024) and the January 2024 African Championship (location and exact dates tbc); and for women the Pan-American Games, an Asian event also in autumn 2023, the 2022 European Women's Handball Championship (MNE, MKD, SLO, 4-20 Nov 2022), and an African event currently meant to take place in 2023. The final six places will be earned at three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (dates and locations TBC) that will be held in March 2024 for men and the next month for women. A familiar qualifier for a familiar Olympic sport.
 
Hockey
 
Another team sport returning from 2020, there is a 12-team tournament for both genders. Once France get their spot, eleven places are earned in qualifiers for each gender. Unlike 2020, the system is the same for men and women. Five spots are earned by winning Continental Qualifications: these being the 2022 Asian Games, 2023 Pan-American Games, the 2023 African Hockey "Road to Paris" Championships (dates and locations TBC), the 2023 EuroHockey Championships (Monchengladbach, GER, exact dates TBC), and the 2023 Oceania Cup (dates and locations TBC). The top three teams in two FIH Olympic Qualification Tournaments (dates and locations to be announced on 6 November 2023) will win the final spots, a change from 2020 when play-offs were used.
 
Modern Pentathlon
 
Modern Pentathlon retains 36 athletes in each gender: at most two per NOC. With one host spot and two invitational spots, there are 33 qualifying spots per gender, and the system is the same for both, being mostly similar to the 2020 system. The winner of the 2023 UIPM World Cup Final (date and locations TBC) will earn a spot, but twenty (at most one per NOC) will be from various Continental Championships (date and locations TBC): eight for Europe, five for Asia and for Pan America (with one spot for first place, one for the next two North Americans (which includes Central America and the Caribbean) and one for the next two South Americans), and one for Africa and Oceania. Three spots will be earned at the 2023 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships (Bath, GBR, dates TBC), and finally, six will be earned through the UIPM Olympic Pentathlon World Ranking List of 17 June 2024.
 
Rhythmic Gymnastics
 
Rhythmic Gymnastics is a female-only sport, and there are now only 94 athletes, instead of 96. There are still fourteen group (of five, so 70 athletes), but now just 24 individuals, down from 26. There are fourteen teams, including France, with thirteen qualification spots. The top three teams at the 2022 World Championships (Sofia, BUL, 14-18 Sep 2022) will get a spot, as will the top five teams (or six should the French spot be reallocated) at the 2023 World Championships (Valencia, ESP, 21-27 Aug 2023). The final five spots will go to the winners of the 2024 Continental Championships, dates and locations of which are to be confirmed.
 
Unlike artistic gymnastics, the group competition is not integrated in qualifying with the individual one. With 26 places available (at most two per NOC), including one host spot and one universality place, there are 24 qualification spots to fight for. The top three individuals at the 2022 World Championships, the top fourteen (or fifteen should the French spot be reallocated) at the 2023 World Championships, and the winners of the five 2024 Continental Championships get a spot.
 
A relatively simple system to follow, then.
 
Rugby Sevens
 
Rugby Sevens retains its 12-team tournaments from 2020: that includes a host spot each. The eleven qualification spots are the same as in 2020. The top four teams in the 2022-3 World Rugby Sevens World Series, the details of which will be announced by 30 June 2022 corresponding to each gender will gain a spot, as will the winners of six Regional Association Olympic Qualification Tournaments in 2023 and a Final Olympic Repechage Tournament which should happen in 2024. Details and locations for all events are to be confirmed.
 
Shooting
 
Shooting retains thirteen events from 2020, although now there are only 170 athletes per gender, instead of 180. The programme is slightly changed. The men's and women's events are the same (10m Air Rifle, 50m 3 Positions, 10m Air Pistol, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Men)/25m Pistol (Women), Trap, and Skeet) while the Mixed Team in 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol also remain, although the Mixed Team Trap is replaced for a mixed Team Skeet event.
 
There is no mixed team qualification: instead those with one man and one woman in each event can enter a corresponding mixed team: at most two teams per NOC. At most twelve men and at most twelve women per NOC can qualify, and at most two athletes per individual event per NOC can qualify. There are 25 qualification spots per event, with a host country spot, one universality spot (two in the air rifle and air pistol events) and one earned at the Olympic Qualification Ranking of 9 June 2024.
 
In the Air Rifle and Air Pistol events, four spots are earned at the 2022 World Rifle and Pistol Championship (Cairo, EGY, 12-25 Oct 2022). One spot will be earned at the 2022 CAT Championship (Lima, PER, 9-16 Nov 2022). Two spots are earned at the 2023 European 10m Championship (Tallinn, EST, 5-15 Mar 2023). One spot is earned at the 2023 European Games, one at the 2023 Pan-American Games, and another two at the 2023 Asia Championship (Changwon, KOR, exact dates tbc), four at the 2023 World Championship (14-31 Aug 2023, location TBC), two at the 2023 Africa Championship (Cairo, EGY, exact dates 1-10 Oct 2023), two at the 2024 European 10m Championship (Gyor, HUN, exact dates TBC), one at the 2024 CAT Championship, two at the 2024 Asia Rifle and Pistol Championship (date and location tbc), two from a 2024 Final Olympic Qualification Championship (date and location TBC) and one from an Oceania Championship (date and location TBC).
 
For the 25m and 50m events, two spots are earned at the 2022 European 25m/50m Championship (Wroclaw, POL, 5-18 Sep 2022). Four spots are earned at the 2022 World Rifle and Pistol Championship, one at the 2022 CAT Championship, one at the 2023 European Games, one (two for 25m events) at the 2023 Pan-American Games, two at the 2023 Asia Championship, four at the 2023 World Championship, one at the 2023 Africa Championship, two at the 2024 European 25m/50m Qualification Event (dates and locations tbc), one at the 2024 CAT Championship, two at the 2024 Asia Rifle and Pistol Championship, two from a 2024 Final Olympic Qualification Championship and two (one for 25m events) from the mysterious Oceania Championship.
 
The trap and skeet events will be the first event to get underway, with the 2022 European Shotgun Championships (Larnaca, CYP, 24 Aug-12 Sep 2022) earning two spots. Four spots will be earned at the 2022 World Shotgun Championship (Osijek, CRO, 22 Sep-11 Oct 2022), one at the 2022 CAT Championship, one at the 2023 European Shotgun Championship (Leobersdorf, AUT, 25 Jul-6 Aug 2023), two at the 2023 Pan-American Games, two at the 2023 Asia Championship, four at the 2023 World Championship, one at the 2023 Africa Championship, one at the 2024 European Shotgun Championship (Dates and locations TBC), one at the 2024 CAT Championship, two at the 2024 Asia Shotgun Championship (Date and locations TBC), two at the 2024 Final Olympic Qualification Championship and one from the Oceania Championship.
 
The main headline is the removal of World Cup events, and remember that quotas earned in one event can be used in a second as long as the athlete is eligible in both (i.e. gets the minimum entry standard). The headline is the removal of the World Cup events, which is sure to split opinion.
 
Trampoline
 
The only form of gymnastics not to have its quotas cut, it retains sixteen men and sixteen women in 2024. There can be at most two places per NOC, but only three NOCs per gender can earn two places. The highest eight ranked athletes per gender in the 2023 World Championships (Birmingham, GBR, 9-12 Nov 2023). The remaining eight spaces will be won at the 2023-4 Trampoline Individual World Cup Series, dates and locations of which are to be confirmed. However, if a continent doesn't have a place then a spot will be allocated to a relevant 2024 Continental Championship. A host spot and a universality spot may also be taken away from the World Cup series.
 
Triathlon
 
Triathlon avoids any cuts from 2020 to 2024, with 55 athletes from each gender: at most three per NOC. There is a men's, women's, and mixed team event. There are no qualification spots for mixed teams, instead, any NOC with at least two in each gender can enter a mixed team. However, there are some mixed team events that do qualify two places per gender, thus guaranteeing a place in the mixed relay. This includes an automatic spot for the host nation, a spot for the winner of the 2022 World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships (Montreal, CAN, 26 Jun 2022), a spot for the winner of the 2023 World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships (Hamburg, GER, date TBC), six spots on offer from the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Ranking of 25 March 2024, and two spaces on offer at the 2024 Mixed Relay Olympic Qualification Event (dates and location TBC). All 31 individual spots (earned separately for each gender) are earned for the World Triathlon Olympic Qualification Ranking of 27 May 2024: the top 26, and then the highest next athlete per continent. Finally, there are two universality places. Just like 2020, there is a mostly ranking-based system for Olympic qualifying.
 
Volleyball
 
Volleyball retains two twelve-team tournaments from 2020 to 2024: so eleven qualification spots once France are taken out. Two spots each are earned in three 2023 Olympic Qualification Tournaments (in each gender, locations tbc: 16-24 Sep 2023 for women, 30 Sep-8 Oct 2023 for men), but in a major shake-up, the remaining five will be earned based on World Rankings (17 June 2024 for women and 24 June 2024 for men). This will be a massively controversial shakeup: with supporters and detractors.
 
Wrestling
 
Finally, we come to Wrestling, a sport for which both disciplines (Greco-Roman and Freestyle) have had their system released together. Greco-Roman is a men-only event, with 96 men participating in six weight classes (60, 67, 77, 87, 97, and 130kg), and 96 of each gender in Freestyle: six weight classes for both men (57, 65, 74, 86, 97, and 125kg) and women (50, 53, 57, 62, 68, and 76kg). There are sixteen spots per event.
 
The top five athletes for each event at the 2023 Senior World Championships (Krasnoyarsk, RUS, 16-24 Sep 2023, obviously take that with a pinch of salt) gain a place. Then, the top two athletes at four 2024 Continental Qualification Tournaments (African & Oceania Tournament, 22-24 Mar 2024, European Tournament, 4-7 Apr 2024, Asian Tournament, 12-14 Apr 2024, Pan-American Tournament, 19-21 Apr 2024, locations all TBC) gain a place. Finally, the top three athletes for each event at the 2024 World Qualification Tournament (9-12 May 2024, location TBC) will earn a place.
 
Plenty of things to debate: it seems in general, there is a move towards rankings-oriented systems, although there is a lot of variation. Let's see if this trend continues for other sports.
 
Patrick Green
Writer, Totallympics News

With the conclusion of the 2020 Summer Olympics, curious eyes have turned to Paris and how those games will defer from Tokyo. What changes will we see? The most eye-catching stat is that Paris 2024 will have fewer events with 329 total, 10 fewer than Tokyo 2020. This is the first time since Rome 1960 that the next Olympics will have fewer events than the previous one. Totallympics takes a closer look.
 
This decrease is largely due to the changes of host selected sports as Tokyo selected sports baseball/softball (2 events) and karate (8 events) have been removed. Additionally, four weightlifting events will be removed and not replaced (the 10 remaining weight classes will be confirmed at a later date). The other three Tokyo selected sports; skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will make their return with sport climbing gaining an additional two events (men’s and women’s speed). The fourth and final host selected sport will be breaking, set to make its Olympic debut with B-boys and B-girls events.
 

 
Additionally, other sports will have changes to their program, but will keep the same number of overall events. The biggest changes will be seen in canoeing and sailing. For canoeing the men’s and women’s K1 200m events were dropped while the slalom discipline gained two events with men’s and women’s extreme canoe. Additionally, the men’s K2 1000m and C2 1000m will consist of 500m events.
 
Sailing sees the complete removal of the men’s Finn class while the men’s and women’s 470 will now become a mixed event. These changes will make room for the men’s and women’s kiteboarding. While the windsurfing events remain, they will change equipment from the RS:X to iQFoil.
 

 
In order to decrease the difference between men’s and women’s medalling events, boxing will have a men’s event transferred to the women for a total of 7 men and 6 women events. The weight classes will be confirmed at a later date. Overall, there will be 157 men’s, 152 women’s and 20 mixed or open events.
 
Other sports to have changes include athletics where the men’s 50km race walk will make way for the mixed team race walk, shooting where a rotation from mixed team trap to mixed team skeet will occur and sport climbing where the men’s and women’s combined will only include the bouldering and lead portions as speed is now a separate medalling event.
 
Next week Totallympics will take a closer look as to the changes to the athlete quotas as the 2024 Olympics will have to adhere to the IOC’s 10,500 limit after having more than 11,000 athletes in Tokyo.
 
 
 

The Cali-Valle 2021 Junior Pan American Games will now take place between November 25 and December 5.

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed yet another victim in the world of international multi-sports games. The 2021 Junior Pan American Games originally scheduled to be held from September 9 to September 19 have been postponed by around two and a half months and will now open in late November. 
 
According to Panam Sports, the Pan American region has been one of the most affected by Covid-19. While Panam Sports and local organizers were encouraged by the recent progress in vaccinations around the region, they still felt like there was more work to be done in the fight against Covid-19.

Speaking on the decision to postpone, Panam Sports President Neven Ilic, said the following remarks, “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.”

Cali-Valle 2021 Executive Director, Jose Luis Echeverry, also spoke about the decision to postpone. He stated, “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.”

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(s) in each sport will automatically qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

Further information about the Games can be found at www.calivalle2021.com or www.panamsports.org.
 

Panam Sports and the Cali-Valle 2021 Organizing Committee have announced the final sport to be added to the official sports program for the 2021 Junior Pan American Games.
 
Women’s Softball has been announced as the final addition to the sports program for the Games. The sport will feature eight teams with a maximum of 16 players each, adding 128 more athletes to the continental event.
 
The participating players must be in the Under-20 age category (athletes born between 2002 - 2005) between 16 and 19 years old. Therefore, the 2019 U-17 Pan American Championship held in Barranquilla will act as the qualification tournament for the Games. The qualified countries include the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, and the host country Colombia.

Panam Sports reached an agreement with WBSC Americas Softball for the Qualification System and with the National Olympic Committees for the financing of the airfare. 
 
Women’s Softball will be held in Barranquilla along with Men's Baseball. The city has agreed to take care of all of the accommodations and food expenses for the participating delegations of these sports.

“This is great news. Softball, like baseball, is a sport that has achieved significant development in the region, that is why we are very happy with the agreement reached with the city of Barranquilla, with the Pan American Confederation and with the National Olympic Committees,” said Panam Sports Secretary General, Ivar Sisniega.
 
“We’ll have more than 3,800 athletes for the first edition of these Games, and I’m sure that they will transform them into the most important and massive sporting event for young people in the world this year, which leaves us very proud and motivated to continue working hard from now until September to make this party an unforgettable experience for everyone,” added the former Mexican Olympic pentathlete.

“We are very pleased to host Softball in Barranquilla, especially the women's tournament. The capital of the Atlantic has so much passion for this sport and baseball, disciplines that are in their blood. This is a magnificent opportunity for 'la arenosa' to be seen as a venue for the I Junior Pan American Games Cali-Valle 2021. This union of efforts between cities shows that Colombia is a country that works as a team, knows about camaraderie and is ready for great things,” said Cali 2021 Executive Director, Jose Luis Echeverry.

The sports program of the First Junior Pan American Games of Cali-Valle 2021 is now composed of the following 28 sports: Aquatics (Artistic Swimming, Diving, Swimming), Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling (BMX, Mountain, Road, Track) Fencing, Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline), Handball, Judo, Karate, Modern Pentathlon, Roller Sports (Artistic, Skateboarding, Speed), Rowing, Shooting Sport (Pistol, Rifle), Squash, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Sailing, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling (Freestyle, Greco-Roman) and now Baseball/Softball.