CBC offering extensive coverage of 2011 Pan Am Games
The CBC announced on Thursday it is offering a multi-platform broadcasting package for the 16th Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Over 300 Canadian amateur athletes will be showcasing their talent and competing against some of the world's best, with CBC's coverage starting with the opening ceremonies on Oct. 14, 2011, at 8 p.m. ET live on CBCsports.ca and ending with the closing ceremony on Oct. 30 (8 p.m. ET, live on CBCSports.ca).
In total, CBC-TV, Radio Canada and CBCsports.ca will combine for over 50 hours of programming, with CBCsports.ca displaying 38 hours of coverage. Gemini Award-winning broadcaster Scott Russell will be hosting both the daily and weekly highlights shows.
"The 2011 Pan American Games offer another opportunity for Canadian amateur athletes to shine on the international stage," Jeffrey Orridge, CBC's executive director of sports properties, said in a release. "We continue our tradition of raising the profile of not just amateur athletics in this country but also sharing the stories of these talented individuals."
One of the most notable Canadian athletes participating is shot putter Dylan Armstrong, who won gold at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio. Veteran striker Christine Sinclair will lead the 2007 bronze medal-winning Canadian women's soccer team into action as well.
The multi-sport event — 46 sports involving 42 countries — encompasses nations from all over the American continent (North America and South America) and is held every four years in the year precluding the Olympic Games. The 2012 Summer Olympics are scheduled to be hosted by London, England.
"Pan Am countries are among the top 10 leaders in high-profile summer Olympic sports such as athletics, swimming, boxing, soccer, volleyball and baseball," said Ian Troop, CEO of Toronto's Pan Am Games Organizing Committee in 2015 (TO2015). "Coverage of the 2011 Guadalajara Games will showcase the athletic stars of today as well those up-and-coming performers we hope to see in Toronto in less than four years."
Mexico will be hosting its third Pan Am Games (1955, 1975) and is the first nation to do so.
Toronto will host the Pan Am Games in 2015.