ORIGINS OF THE PAN AMERICAN WINTER GAMES
The idea of a Pan American Winter Games was first proposed by the organizers of the Ist Pan American Games in Buenos Aires. They actually scheduled skiing events to be held later in 1951. The events were apparently cancelled.
Officials in Lake Placid (USA), site of the 1932 Winter Olympics, attempted to organize a Pan American Winter Games to be held in 1959 as part of the IIIrd Pan American Games in Chicago. The organizers dropped their plans after deciding that there wasn't enough nations interested in participating.
The idea was revived again during the Xth Pan American Games at Indianapolis. A meeting of interested National Olympic Committees was held during the XVth Olympic Winter Games at Calgary in 1988. This meeting caught the attention of the Pan American Sports Organization. At it's meeting in Mar del Plata on March 23, 1988, PASO voted to hold the Ist Pan American Winter Games at Las Lenas, Argentina in 1989, with additional games every four years. The Argentine Olympic Committee created an organizing committee and appointed Colonel Antonio Rodriguez as President.
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch granted his approval and representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States of America met on July 11, 1988 in Istanbul, Turkey to approve the concept.
The Ist Pan American Winter Games
The Ist Pan American Winter Games were scheduled for 1989 but postponed due to lack of snow. The games finally took place from September 16-22, 1990.
The scheduled events included:
Alpine Skiing
Men's Downhill
Men's Super G
Men's Giant Slalom
Men's Slalom
Women's Downhill
Women's Super G
Women's Giant Slalom
Women's Slalom
Nordic Skiing (Classical and Freestyle events)
Freestyle Skiing
Men's Aerials
Men's Moguls
Men's Ballet
Women's Aerials
Women's Moguls
Women's Ballet
Biathlon (Men's and Women's Individual events)
Unfortunately, due to a lack of snow and unusually warm weather, only the Alpine Skiing events of Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super G could be held.
Participating Nations Athletes
Brazil (BRA)
Bolivia (BOL)
Canada (CAN)
Chile (CHI)
Colombia (COL)
Mexico (MEX)
United States of America (USA)
Argentina (ARG)
Total: 8 Nations
5
2
25
9
1
4
25
26
Total: 97 Athletes
G
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
Medal Table
United States of America
Canada
Argentina
Brazil
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Mexico
S
2
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
B
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
T
11
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
The IInd Pan American Winter Games
The IInd Pan American Winter Games were awarded to Santiago, Chile for 1993. The United States Olympic Committee insisted on a full schedule being held or it threatened not to participate. The preparations for the games soon bogged down. The 1993 games were eventually postponed, and have never been re-scheduled.