Lima 2019 achieved yet another milestone for the Pan American and Parapan American Games: the delivery of the Softball Stadium, located at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center. This is the fifth stage presented in this venue of Southern Lima, which will be used by sports federations.
The ceremony was attended by the Lima 2019 Project and Infrastructure Manager, Wilhelm Funcke; the President of the Peruvian Softball Federation, Vanessa Endo; and the Lima 2019 Sports Director, Gustavo San Martín. Members of the men’s team trained in the new venue, and children from three different schools of Villa María del Triunfo attended as spectators.
“It’s a great pleasure for Lima 2019 to participate in this event. All softball fans had a smile on their faces. Hopefully, this sport will grow quickly, and it will help young people from nearby communities, such as the children who attended the event today, to get closer to softball,” stated Funcke.
The President of the Peruvian Softball Federation was thankful for this modern venue. “We've been struggling for 10 years. Our teams had to train in inadequate conditions and several times at their own cost, exposing themselves to crime. But, despite all, we always competed. Imagine where we’d be in the world ranking if we had this stadium,” said Endo.
COMPETITION SYSTEM
Six softball teams will participate in each gender, women’s and men's. Men’s competitions will take place from July 25 to August 1, while women’s events will be held from August 3 to 10. Peru, United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico will participate in women’s.
Meanwhile, our men's team will take part in the the largest multi-sports event in the Americas for the first time, competing against Venezuela, Argentina, the reigning champion United States, Mexico, and Cuba. The draw for both genders will be announced in the upcoming days.
The softball competitions will take place in three rounds for seven days. The first stage will have a round-robin format, and the top four teams will move to the semifinals. Then, semifinals will be divided into two groups: the first team against the second, and the third against the fourth. The winner of the first group qualifies for the Grand Final.
Meanwhile, the loser faces the winner of the second group. The winner of this last match qualifies for the Grand Final and competes against the winner of the first group for the gold medal.
ABOUT LIMA 2019
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and will be opened on July 26 at the National Stadium. There will be 17 days of competitions and ceremonies, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues like VIDENA, Villa María Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 62 disciplines, in which athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 23 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Parapan American Games will gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. The competitions will take place between August 23 and September 1, 2019. Thirteen sports will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.