(ATR) Panam Sports leaders are doing everything in their power to ensure the 41 member NOCs, in particular the smaller nations, enjoy a smooth and safe transition from home to the Tokyo Games.
The organization’s secretary general Ivar Sisniega tells Around the Rings that concerns are significant and a number of support programs are being implemented, including a pre-Games training camp in Japan for smaller NOCs and athletes that are interested.
"People are worried with how the Games will be carried out, what the restrictions will be, what the precautions will be," Sisniega says.
The three-time Olympian, who represented Mexico in the Modern Pentathlon, believes that constant communication between Panam Sports and its 41 NOCs is essential.
"We’ve had lots of communication with our NOCs and we’ve created small groups of NOCs, a little bit by languages, a little bit by similarities, and we meet regularly," Sisniega informs.
"One big concern, especially in most of Latin America, is getting the vaccines. Although it is not a requirement for Tokyo, I think people would just feel safer if their athletes and officials are vaccinated.
"We’re trying to see if we can help with this – maybe in the U.S., maybe helping athletes get to the U.S. which is really opening up now. We’re looking at this option.
"The best thing that we can do is to make sure the athletes and most of the people going are vaccinated and following the guidelines."
Another major obstacle facing Panam Sports and its NOCs, according to Sisniega, has been the cancellations, postponements and uncertainty surrounding crucial Olympic qualifying events due to COVID-19.
"They’re being cancelled, the dates are being changed," Sisniega says. "Boxing was kind of a shocker. A lot of athletes were getting ready to take part and earn their places and the IOC had to go to ranking system, which means that someone who had not done well, but maybe is on a rising curve, will not have a chance to earn their spot."
Sisniega informs that athletes from various countries in the Americas have departed their home regions in search of less restrictive training opportunities elsewhere.
"Some of our countries have a large part of their teams in Europe or other parts of the world, living there to avoid the restrictions," he says.
"Canada is an example, its very restrictive and it’s hard for Canadians to get out. Chile is just finishing almost a two-month period where they closed down their airports."
In another strategic move to assist the South American athletes that will be traveling across many time zones to Asia, Panam Sports is offering a pre-Games training camp in Japan for those interested.
"We’re going forward with a pre-Games training camp in the city of Tachikawa, about 45 minutes from Tokyo," Sisniega says. "That’s mostly aimed at smaller NOCs, not the U.S., Brazil, or even Mexico or Canada, which pretty much have that set up.
"The smaller NOCs, that maybe have four to eight athletes, don’t necessarily have the possibility to set up a camp," he explains. "We’ve established an agreement with the city of Tachikawa to have a Panam Sports training camp, which will allow athletes to get there almost two weeks before their sports start."
Sisniega emphasizes that most of the larger NOCs are self-sufficient, so Panam Sports can make the greatest impact helping the smaller, poorer nations with less resources.
"Half of our NOCs, you’re looking at delegations of under 10 athletes, or between 10 to 20 athletes, because they’re small delegations mostly going in Athletics," he says.
Sisniega estimates that of the more than 10,000 athletes headed to Tokyo, somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 will be from the Americas.
The Panam Sports leader emphasizes "we’re here to help".
"There are different very challenging situations, so we’re just trying to stay close to the NOCs and see how we can help, and that’s about the best that we can do right now," Sisniega said.
Written and reported by Brian Pinelli
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