Pan American Games sports explained

The Pan American Games sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer Olympic Games.^[1] In addition, traditional and popular sports throughout the Americas which are not contested at the Olympic Games are also contested such as bowling and baseball.^[1] As of 2015, the Pan American Games included 36 sports with 51 disciplines and 364 events.^[2] The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Pan American Games to another.

Sports, disciplines, events

For purposes of Pan American Games competition, the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) makes a distinction between sports and disciplines. A sport, in Pan American Games terms, is a single or group of disciplines as represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation. For example, aquatics, represented at the Olympic level by the International Swimming Federation, is a sport at the Pan American Games that includes the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo disciplines.

Every Summer Olympic discipline is currently on the Pan American Games program. The last such discipline to be added was canoe slalom, which made its debut in 2015 in Toronto, Canada.^[1] The discipline had been scheduled to be held at both the 2007 and 2011 Pan American Games, but had been dropped both times due to the small number of competing countries.^[3] The Games also include some disciplines which have never been contested at a Summer Olympics. Examples can be found in baseball and softball, now considered a single Pan Am Games sport due to sharing a single international federation. Both were last contested in the Olympics in 2008 and will return in 2020, but baseball has been strictly for men and softball for women. In the Pan Am Games, men's softball has been on the program on several occasions, most recently in 2015; women's baseball made its debut in 2015.

Medals are awarded on a per-event basis; there can be one or more events per sport or discipline.^[4] In fact, every current Pan American Games discipline has at least two events.

Changes

The Pan American Games charter establishes that they comprise the program of the Games, the 28 compulsory sports of the program of the Olympic Games plus seven sports recognized by the entity, due to its popularity in the American continent, if a new sport becomes Olympic it is automatically added to the program of the Pan American Games. This only happens, if the number of national federations in the Americas is sufficient.^[5] In the same way that it happens in the Universiade, the Organizing Committee of the each edition can request the inclusion of new sports or disciplines, respecting the local demands.^[6] An example of this is the removal of the Basque pelota in the program of the Games of 2007 and 2015 and its replacement respectively by futsal.^[7] and the woman's baseball tournament.^[8]

Until the 2011 Games in Guadalajara, just one olympic event was never held, the canoe slalom. The event was planned to be held in the 2007 and 2011 editions, but was eventually canceled due to the low number of entries. Thus, the event was held for the first time at the 2015 Games.^[3]

Previous Pan American Games have included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like futsal and polo.^[4]

The International Olympic Committee voted on October 9, 2009, during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, to elevate both rugby sevens and golf as official Olympic sports and to include them in the Olympics, beginning with the 2016 Olympic Games.^[9] ^[10] With this development, rugby sevens made its debut at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara,^[11] and golf was played at the 2015 Pan American Games before becoming an Olympic sport.^[1] In 2015, as a result of a request from the organizing committee, PASO decided to include surfing in the 2019 Pan American Games program. The following year, a few days before the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, surfing was integrated to the 2020 Summer Olympics program.^[12]

Current Pan American Games program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Pan American Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by PASO. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games; a bullet denotes that the sport/discipline was scheduled to be competed, but was dropped due to a lack of entries.

Nine of the 39 sports (Aquatics, Basketball, Canoeing, Cycling, Football, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Equestrian and Wrestling) consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same heading:

For equestrian and wrestling, the figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport, and not for each discipline separately.

Multiple new sports and events were added to the next edition of the games in 2023. The new sports are breaking, skateboarding and sport climbing.^[13] ^[14]

The following sports have been contested at the Pan American Games:^[15]

Sport (Discipline)	Body	51	55	59	63	67	71	75	79	83	87	91	95	99	03	07	11	15	19	23

	FINA		3		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	4	8	8	8	8	10	10
																2	2	2	2	2
		21	21	21	21	30	30	30	30	30	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	34	36
		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

	FIBA	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
	FIBA																		2	2

	ICF										12	13	13	12	12	12	12	13	12	10
	ICF																	5	6	6

	WS								3		4	6	6	4	2	2	2	2	2	2
									12		12	13	23	6	4	4	6	6	6	8
																				4

	WBSC	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1
	WBSC								2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	2	1

	UCI																		2	2
																2	2	2	2	2
													2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
		3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
		5	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	7	7	8	12	12	10	10	10	12	12

	FIG	8	12	18	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
											5	7	7	2	6	8	8	8	8	8
																2	2	2	2	4

	FIVB													2	2	2	2	2	2	2
	FIVB		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

	FEI	6	5	6	6	6	6	6	4	4	6	4	6	6	4	6	6	6	6	6
Eventing
Jumping

	UWW	8	8	8	8	8	10	20	20	20	20	20	20	16	18	18	18	18	18	18
Greco-Roman	UWW	8	8	8	8	8	10	20	20	20	20	20	20	16	18	18	18	18	18	18

	WA								4	12	4	12	12	4	4	4	4	4	8	10
	IAAF	33	29	32	33	35	37	37	39	40	48	43	44	47	46	47	47	47	48	48
	BWF												5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
	FIPV												12		6		10		10	8
	WTBA											4	8	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
	AIBA	8	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	13	13	15	13
	WDSF																			2
	FIE	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	12	12	12	12
	FIH					1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
	FIFA	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
	IGF																	3	3	2
	IHF										2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
	IJF				4	6		6	8	16	16	18	18	14	14	14	14	14	14	15
	WKF												10	11	9	9	10	10	14	12
	UIPM	2	2	2	2						1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	5	5
	IRF												6	4	4		6	6	6	7
	FISA	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	10	15	20	21	14	14	13	14	14	14	13
	WR																1	2	2	2
	ISAF	2		7	6	4	3	4	5	8	6	9	11	10	8	9	9	10	10	13
	ISSF	14	16	21	12	10	10	14	14	32	22	34	36	15	17	15	15	15	15	15
	IFSC																			4
	WSF												4	4	4	4	6	6	7	7
	ISA																		8	8
	ITTF								7	7	7	7	7	6	6	4	4	4	7	7
	WTF										8	8	16	8	8	8	8	8	12	11
	ITF	5	5	5	5	5		5	5	5	5	6	6	4	4	4	5	5	5	5
	ITU												2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3
	IWWF												6	6	6	7	9	9	10	10
	IWF	5	7	7	7	7	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	15	15	15	15	15	14	10

Total events		140	146	166	160	169	164	190	249	249	296	331	408	330	338	331	361	364	421	417

Discontinued sports

The following sports were previously part of the Pan American Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program.

Sport	Body	51	79	83	87	91	95	99	03	07	19
	WS							1	1
	WS		1		1	1	1

	IFBB										2
	FIFA									1
	FIP	1
	FIAS			20

Total events		1	1	20	1	1	1	1	1	1	2

Winter sports

Sport	Body	90
	FIS	6

Total events		6

Notes and References

Web site: About the Games. Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. September 23, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110903040543/http://www.toronto2015.org/lang/en/about-the-games.html. 2011-09-03. dead.
Web site: Sports Program. COPAG. September 23, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722230519/http://www.guadalajara2011.org.mx/eng/03_deportes/deportes.asp . July 22, 2011.
http://www.panamchamps.com/index-english.html Pan American Canoe Slalom Championships - 2011 ICF Ranking Event
Web site: Olympic Sports, Disciplines & Events . HickokSports.com . February 4, 2005 . June 30, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070418084050/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/olsports.shtml . April 18, 2007 .
Web site: Bodybuilding added to Lima 2019 programme as agreement signed for event to be shown outside Americas. Butler. Nick. 17 November 2016. Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. 17 November 2016.
Web site: Qualification System manual. 25 April 2018. www.panamsports.org/. Pan American Sports Organization. 25 April 2018.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130502034058/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-112593057.html Futsal, karate and bowling among sports included in 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio
Web site: 2015 Pan Am Games to include women's baseball . February 11, 2013 . baseball.ca/ . . October 28, 2014.
News: Golf & rugby voted into Olympics. October 9, 2009. BBC. January 4, 2010.
News: Golf, rugby backed by IOC board for 2016 Games. Wilson. Stephen. August 13, 2009. Associated Press. August 14, 2009 . The Seattle Times.
Web site: Rugby Included in 2011 Pan American Games . Bahamas Rugby . November 7, 2008 . July 2, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110929201251/http://www.rugbybahamas.com/index.php/2008/11/07/rugby-included-in-2011-pan-american-game . 2011-09-29 . dead .
Web site: ISA Welcomes the Addition of Surfing to the 2019 Pan American Games Sports Programme . International Surfing Association . July 11, 2015.
Web site: Surfing added to Lima 2019 Pan American Games programme. Butler. Nick. 7 July 2015. Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. 20 December 2017.
Web site: Bodybuilding added to Lima 2019 programme as agreement signed for event to be shown outside Americas. Butler. Nick. 17 November 2016. Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. 17 November 2016.
http://sports123.com/pag/index.html Pan American Games events