FORWARD TOGETHER / AVANCEMOS JUNTOS: FIVE CONCLUSIONS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PANAM SPORTS

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On Monday, leaders from National Olympic Committees across the Americas came together for Forward Together (Avancemos Juntos), a working session built around five roundtable conversations. After a full day of discussion, each group returned to the larger assembly at Panam Sports Week on Wednesday to present its conclusions, priorities, and concrete commitments — a collective roadmap for the movement heading toward 2034.

What emerged wasn’t a single message, but five interlocking ones: elevate the Games themselves, put athletes genuinely at the center, protect the integrity of governance and elections, build a sustainable and unified commercial model, and equip all 41 NOCs for a digital future. Below is a summary of each group’s findings, priorities, and the specific commitments made on stage.

1. Pan American Games and Junior Pan American Games

Michael Chambers opened the discussion, framing the topics for a conversation that drew on senior voices from across the Olympic ecosystem — including Nicole Hoevertsz, a member of the International Olympic Committee and its Executive Board, and Tricia Smith, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Commitments made (all owned by Panam Sports unless noted):

• Negotiate greater Olympic qualification value and recognition of regional results.
• Define criteria for the entry and exit of sports, with a closed review cycle before the bid process.
• Generate revenue and cost metrics by sport, and make each edition’s cost structure transparent.
• Incorporate measurable legacy obligations and post-Games reporting into host city contracts.
• Reactivate dialogue forums between NOCs and sport ministers (Panam Sports and NOCs).
• Define protocols for the inclusion of refugee athletes (owner to be defined).
• Maintain structured monitoring of eSports before any eventual integration (owner to be defined).

Indicators to measure progress:

• Return on investment — estimated economic/social return per unit invested.
• Infrastructure legacy — percentage of facilities with active sporting or community use after the Games.
• Junior–Senior progression — percentage of Junior athletes who go on to compete at the senior Pan American level or another defined level.

2. Athletes at the Center and Their Role in the Sport Ecosystem

This table’s conversation spanned nine topics: athletes’ commissions and their legitimacy and representation; mental health, holistic well-being and safeguarding; dual career and life after sport; financial support and scholarships; sport development and coaching cooperation among NOCs; clean sport and continuous anti-doping; athletes as ambassadors and communicators; governance and clear roles; and impact measurement.

Prioritized conclusions, in order:

1. Real, democratic and active athlete representation.
2. Mental health and safeguarding, backed by professional, independent standards.
3. Dual career, transition and life after sport.
4. Clean sport and integrity throughout the athlete’s career cycle.
5. Technical development, coaches, camps and regional cooperation.
6. A mixed financial support model with transparency and control.
7. Athlete ambassadors and responsible communication.
8. Measuring real impact on the athlete.

Indicators to measure progress:

• Active athletes’ commissions — percentage of NOCs with a formally constituted commission and verifiable activity during the year.
• Democratic election — percentage of representatives elected by peers through a verifiable register.
• Voice and vote — percentage of NOCs whose statutes grant formal voice and vote to athlete representation.
• Governance training — number of athlete representatives trained in governance and leadership.

The group’s message was direct: mental health can no longer sit at the margins of policy. It has to be treated with the same rigor as anti-doping or competition preparation — with independent, professional standards behind it.

3. Good Governance and Elections

This group covered nine topics, from autonomy and the relationship with governments, to transparency and minimum standards, professionalization and remuneration, institutional continuity and succession, gender equity in leadership, ethics and reporting channels, risk management, funding sustainability, and operational capacity across NOCs of different sizes.

Prioritized conclusions, in order:

1. Common transparency and accountability standards.
2. Professionalization and institutional continuity.
3. Autonomy and a preventive relationship with governments.
4. Ethics, integrity and structured risk management.
5. Gender equity and development of future leaders.
6. Verifiable commitments for the 2034 Plan.

Commitments made:

• Apply minimum transparency standards to all 41 NOCs, including publication of audited, up-to-date financial statements (Panam Sports / 41 NOCs).
• Develop adaptable guides, templates, toolkits and checklists for governance, transparency, ethics, financial stability and monitoring (Panam Sports).
• Promote training in good governance and professionalization, including for future leaders and Athletes’ Commissions (Panam Sports / NOCs).
• Establish succession and transition practices that preserve trained staff, knowledge and programmes (NOCs, with possible Panam Sports support).
• Institutionalize regular dialogue between Panam Sports, NOCs and sport ministries to align roles and protect autonomy (Panam Sports / NOCs).

4. Revenue Generation and Consolidation of the Panam Sports Brand

Discussion here covered revenue structure and diversification, a joint commercial model with revenue sharing, sponsorships and the commercial value chain, the Panam Sports Channel and television rights, merchandising and unmonetized assets, brand positioning, athlete storytelling and ambassadors, year-round relevance through digital platforms, data infrastructure, commercial strengthening of the NOCs, accountability, and Pan American identity and cohesion.

Prioritized conclusions, in order:

1. A joint commercial model with shared revenue.
2. Revenue diversification and financial sustainability.
3. Brand positioning, education and year-round relevance.
4. The Panam Sports Channel: build reach first, pursue selective monetization later.
5. Data as a strategic commercial asset.
6. Commercial strengthening of the NOCs.
7. Clear rules for athletes’ image rights and income.
8. Accountability and measurement of success beyond the medal table.

The group’s thinking was that a stronger, more consistent Panam Sports brand isn’t just about visibility — it’s the foundation for a sustainable, diversified revenue base that can fund priorities across the whole movement, including the NOCs that most need commercial support.

5. Strengthening of NOCs, Innovation and Digital Transformation

This table looked at a common diagnostic and baseline for NOC segmentation, institutional capacity and differentiated support, continuous training, knowledge transfer and succession, data and traceability, artificial intelligence and digital innovation, regional cooperation, environmental sustainability, and a strategic plan toward 2034.

Commitments made:

• Implement a common diagnostic instrument for the 41 NOCs, adaptable by level or cluster and able to incorporate commission-specific modules (Panam Sports / NOCs).
• Develop a progressive action plan for each NOC based on the diagnostic results (Panam Sports / each NOC).
• Establish a formal monitoring mechanism with periodic checkpoints and evidence of progress toward 2034 (Panam Sports / NOCs).
• Define and share a common working and monitoring methodology with the Executive Committee and the Assembly (Panam Sports).
• Create a continuous training pathway for coaches, officials and technical staff, with progressive levels or stages (Panam Sports / NOCs).

The recommendation was to treat digital transformation and capacity-building not as optional upgrades but as strategic priorities — differentiated by each NOC’s starting point, and tracked with the same rigor as any other institutional commitment.

Looking Ahead

Taken together, these five conclusions sketch out a coherent roadmap for Panam Sports: Games with clearer value and accountability, athletes genuinely supported in body and mind, governance that earns trust through transparency, a commercial model built for shared, sustainable growth, and NOCs equipped — each according to their own starting point — for the road to 2034. As the movement moves from conversation to action, these commitments, owners, and indicators are what leaders across the region will be held to.