Pan American Games -- As Games Grow, Stature Diminishes

The 1995 Pan American Games have returned home after 34 years.

But unlike the inaugural Pan Am Games in Buenos Aires in 1951, organizers spread the 1995 games throughout Argentina. Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires and Parana all ae serve as host cities for Pan Am events that began with opening ceremonies yesterday and will end March 26.

At a time when the International Olympic Committee wants to limit the size of the Olympic Games, the Pan American Sports Organization, or PASO, appears bent on unlimited growth.

The 1979 Pan Am Games attracted athletes from 33 countries competing in 19 sports. The 1995 games are drawing athletes from 42 nations competing in 38 sports. The program for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta includes 26 sports.

PASO's latest additions include badminton, karate, racquetball, squash, triathlon and water skiing. Only badminton is on the current Olympic program.

The U.S. Olympic Committee sent a delegation of 1,200 (including more than 800 athletes) to the games - its largest contingent ever, including the Olympics.

The constant growth of the Pan Am Games concerns many observers. Especially because so few countries in the hemisphere have enough quality athletes to participate in the growing program. Even fewer have the money, or the technical and organizational capability, to host such a large event. Many observers wonder why PASO refuses to follow the IOC's lead and cut back.

"That's a great political question," said U.S. Olympic Committee treasurer Sandra Baldwin, head of the U.S. delegation to the Pan Am Games. "PASO has an opposite philosophy. It wants everyone who could possibly participate in the Western Hemisphere involved."

As a result, the event is growing larger even as its stature on the athletic calendar shrinks.

"The number of summer competitions has more than quadrupled in the last 15 years," Baldwin said. "The quality and quantity of participation available has had some effect on the Pan American Games."

Yet the games remain a significant event on the USOC's quadrennial schedule. The competition provides U.S. athletes with experience at a major multi-sport event duplicated only at the Olympics.

Participation also helps the USOC further its political ambitions within the international Olympic movement. Especially now, with Salt Lake City's bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics up for a vote in June. USOC officials worry privately that anything less than an enthusiastic U.S. participation in the games might cost Salt Lake City votes from the Pan American countries. Even if participation in the 1995 games costs the USOC more than $250,000 it didn't budget or plan to spend.

Finding the money to cover those extra costs comes at a time when the USOC wants to reduce its budget from $409 million for the 1993-96 quadrennium. The extent of the cuts is uncertain. But USOC officials expect significant reductions in the post-Atlanta quadrennium.

"I think cutting the budget is a given at this point," said John Samuelson, the USOC's chief financial officer.

USOC officials plan to look at the cost effectiveness of all events - including the Pan Am Games. Without sizable changes, USOC officials expect Pan Am costs to grow to more than $1 million. Some USOC officials say the 1999 Pan Am event in Winnipeg, Canada, might be the last involving a U.S. team. One USOC alternative is expanding the U.S. Olympic Festival to include international competition.

For now, the USOC's focus is on the 1995 U.S. Pan Am delegation. And there is reason for enthusiasm. The 1995 U.S. Pan American Games team, featuring more than 150 Olympians, is strong in many sports.

"This will be our best Pan Am swimming team, with several Olympians on the squad," said Greg Harney, head of the USOC's international games preparation division. "Cycling, which normally does not send its senior team, will have its best cyclists there. Volleyball is sending its two best teams."

The United States also sent many of its best gymnasts, track-and-field athletes, shooters, divers, softball players, wrestlers and weightlifters.

Harney said he expected to see about 75 percent of the U.S. Pan Am team compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Normally, about 50 percent of Pan Am athletes compete in the next Olympics.

That should help the United States extend its domination of the Pan Am Games' medal count. In 11 previous Pan Am competitions, U.S. athletes won a total of 2,688 medals. Cuba ranks a distant second with 1,111 total medals. Canada is third with 939.

The only time the United States didn't win the total medal count in Pan Am competition occurred at the 1951 games. U.S. athletes won only 95 medals at that event, second to host Argentina's 150. This time around, U.S. athletes might challenge the record of 369 total medals set by the United States in 1987.