2015 Pan American Games
The 2015 Pan American Games (French: Jeux Panaméricains de 2015), officially the XVII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (French: Jeux panaméricains de 2015 à Toronto), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, as governed by Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The games were held from July 10 to 26, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; preliminary rounds in certain events began on July 7, 2015. These were the third Pan American Games hosted by Canada, and the first in the province of Ontario. The Games were held at venues in Toronto and 17 other Golden Horseshoe communities.[1] The Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games were organized by the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games (TO2015).
"Toronto 2015" redirects here. For the Parapan American Games, see 2015 Parapan American Games.
The Games hosted 6,123 athletes and 3,396 team officials representing 41 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the Americas, marking the largest multi-sport event hosted in Canada, in terms of athletes competing.[2][3] A record of 46 percent of competitors were women, the most ever for any multi-sport event.[4] 364 events were contested in 36 sports, which included the 28 sports contested at the 2016 Summer Olympics; certain sports also served as qualification paths for these Olympics. Canoe slalom and golf made their Pan American Games debut, as well as women's competitions in baseball, canoeing and rugby sevens.
In 2019, the organizing committee reported that the games came in under budget by $38 million and left a strong legacy for the region with a legacy fund of over $60 million to maintain these structures for a twenty-year period after the Games were held (i.e., until 2035).[5]
Toronto 2015 was largely seen as a precursor for a Toronto bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which never materialized (Paris will host the 2024 Summer Olympics instead).[6] This would have been Toronto's sixth attempt at an Olympic bid.[7]
Concerns and controversies[edit]
Scheduling[edit]
The aquatics events at the 2015 Pan American Games were scheduled to be held roughly around the same time as the 2015 World Aquatics Championships scheduled in Kazan, Russia. In order to maintain the quality of its fields, the schedule of the five aquatics disciplines had to be changed to accommodate athletes. The synchronized swimming competition was moved to the day before the opening ceremony, diving events began on the day of the opening ceremony (when events are traditionally not held on the day of the ceremony), open water swimming was moved to the first weekend of the games, swimming was reduced to a five-day schedule (down from seven in 2011), and water polo competitions began three days before the opening ceremony. All events were scheduled to be completed by July 24, six days before the opening ceremonies of the World Championships, which in itself was moved back a week to accommodate the games. The change in schedule meant that for the first time, events were held before the opening ceremony.[125][126]
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, which was held in various Canadian cities, concluded on the Sunday prior to the opening ceremony; due to the proximity of the events, teams who competed in both the Women's World Cup and the Pan Am women's football tournament were not expected to field their best players due to availability.[127] Toronto decided not to bid to host matches during the Women's World Cup due to a potential conflict with the Games.[128]
The 2015 World Archery Championships were scheduled later in July, to avoid conflict with the games, while the 2015 World Fencing Championships (which finished one day prior to the start of fencing competitions at the Pan-Am Games) were coordinated to allow athletes to compete at both events. Finally, the second round of the 2015 Davis Cup was moved ahead one week to avoid conflict with the tennis competitions. Tennis competitions were held before the opening ceremony, to allow athletes to compete in both events.[4][129]
The volleyball tournaments and the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix and the FIVB Volleyball World League were played at roughly the same time, leading to scheduling conflicts for teams playing both events.[4]
The IndyCar Series' Honda Indy Toronto race (later renamed Grand Prix of Toronto), which is held on a street circuit at Exhibition Place, was moved to June from July to avoid conflicting with the Games.[130]
Expenses claims[edit]
In September 2013, it was reported that many senior members of the organizing committee, including then-CEO Ian Troop, expensed Ontario taxpayers for things such as a cup of tea. This led to outrage among provincial politicians including Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, "I'm just going to say it's ridiculous. It is the kind of entitlement that is unacceptable".[131] In response to the backlash the organization released an updated expenses and travel policy in November 2013.[132] In December 2013, Troop was ousted by the organization's board of directors, just three months after the expense scandal came into light.[133] He was replaced by Saad Rafi.[133] In 2014, more expenses by the organization came under scrutiny including boxes of South American wine.[134]
In 2015, Ian Troop, the former CEO, gave an interview in which he stated that organizers cleared him from any wrongdoing, and that all expenses fell under the organization's policy. Troop also mentioned under his leadership the organization saved CA$50 million from the capital infrastructure budget. Troop's firing had nothing to do with the expenses scandal that arose in 2013.[135]
Executive compensation and bonuses[edit]
The games' organizing committee came under scrutiny for the high compensation and bonus packages its executive team has been awarded.[136] Under Ontario's Salary Disclosure rules, any provincial employee receiving over CA$100,000 in compensation will have their salary publicly disclosed. In 2012, it was revealed that former CEO Ian Troop made CA$552,065, with several other senior staff making between CA$100,000 and CA$400,000. Additionally, in 2013 it was revealed that as part of his compensation package, Troop would be eligible for a CA$780,000 bonus at the end of his contract, if the games had finished successfully. Other executives are eligible for bonuses of up to 100 percent of their salaries upon completion of their contract.[137] In 2015, it was revealed that Troop's replacement, Saad Rafi, would receive a bonus of 100 percent of his CA$428,794 salary upon completion of his contract. Rafi did not collect his bonus at the conclusion of the games.[138]
Canadian television coverage[edit]
Although still billed as having been the most extensive television coverage of the Pan American Games ever broadcast in the country,[86] the CBC faced criticism for the amount of coverage it produced and broadcast from the 2015 Pan American Games. Only condensed, tape-delayed highlights of events aired on CBC Television, drawing comparisons to the similar practices imposed by NBC's coverage of the Olympics. Most events were streamed online, and pay television channel Sportsnet aired the soccer tournaments on television, but events in some sports received only limited online coverage or were not broadcast at all. Partway through the Games, the CBC expanded its primetime coverage block, while broadcasts of a semi-final game in men's basketball on Sportsnet and the baseball finals online were added at the last minute. Critics perceived these last-minute changes as signs that the CBC had underestimated viewer interest in the Pan Am Games.[139][140]
CBC Sports head of programming Trevor Pilling explained that the large number of events being held, along with the stature of the Pan American Games in comparison to the Olympics, were a factor in the structure of CBC's coverage, stating that "I do think we are the victim of our own success in that having Olympic coverage that is around the clock, but the Olympics are a different event than these Pan Am Games. But I feel like we've done the athletes justice by telling those stories or through live coverage, or with reporters on site. We've tried to make sure we're at all the significant events, and with Canada winning over 180 medals, that's a tall task."[139][140]
While the National Post also felt that budget cuts faced by the CBC in recent years, including those imposed following the loss of its national broadcast rights to the National Hockey League to Rogers Media, may have also had an impact—with a CBC spokesperson arguing that "resources" were a factor, Pilling denied that this was the case, arguing that it was "about the planning, It is about making good, sound business decisions", and promised that there would be extensive coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[139][140]