Sports do not stop. Thanks to the Pan American and Parapan American Games, sports activities have witnessed a re-birth, even more so with the first-level facilities now available. This is why competitions will start at the venues that hosted the successful Lima 2019 Games.

This Sunday, a historic day will take place at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, where an official competition will be held for the first time after the Lima 2019 Games. It will also be the opening of the National Field Hockey Championship, which will gather nine Peruvian clubs in an unprecedented event.

Competition will take place in the two fields built at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, which will reopen its doors for this event. Spectators will be able to enjoy the matches and discover the great infrastructure built for Lima 2019. 

It will be an unprecedented event for this sport, as this is the first hockey competition to be held in Peru; this is a clear example of the sports legacy left by Lima 2019, which included 39 sports and 61 disciplines in the first Pan American Games ever held in Peru.

The national tournament will gather four women’s and five men’s teams. The women's teams will be: San Silvestre Sport, Colegio Mater Admirábilis, OMA and Lima Cricket. The men’s teams will be: OMA, Lions, Libardoni, Lima Cricket and Santa María Sport.

This Sunday's matches will start at 09:00 in the main field of the Hockey Stadium at Villa María del Triunfo, with the match between San Silvestre Sport vs. Mater Admirábilis (women’s). It will be followed by the match between OMA vs. Lima Cricket (men’s) and Lima Cricket vs. OMA (women’s). In Pitch 2, the match between Santa María Sport vs. Lions (men’s) will start at 12:00.

One of the most impressive venues that hosted the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games in Peru, and which will remain as legacy for Peruvian sports, is the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center located in this Southern Lima district.

This venue received today the special visit of children from PRONOEI “Semillitas del Saber”, located in José Gálvez, Villa María del Triunfo. They arrived in the hope of developing their project “Learning more about the places and materials used in different sports championships,” and toured each of the Pan American and Parapan American Games’ stages.

The children, led by their teacher Carmen Cruz Valqui, visited the rugby, hockey, softball and baseball stadiums, as well as the modern Aquatic Center, where water polo competitions were held at the Pan American Games. Each of the children's questions was answered by those in charge of the venue, who joined them in their visit.

“Children were happy, because they were excited about visiting this venue, which is in our district.” The facilities are impressive and our students will now be able to organize their mini Pan American Games. They have already made their weights and various materials for their own competition,” mentioned teacher Carmen Cruz. 

“Many of them are low-income; this is why visiting this venue is a wonderful experience for them. All the sports stages will contribute to the development of this district and the surrounding neighborhoods. At José Gálvez we don't have a sports center like this. We're very happy and thankful after visiting this venue,” she said.

Las Palmas Shooting Range in Surco, one of the new venues delivered for Lima 2019 shooting and Para shooting events, will be the stage for the 6th Ibero-American Shotgun Championship in the skeet and trap categories, with the participation of around 40 shooters from Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Brazil, as well as national representatives.

Official trainings started today, Thursday 19, while the official competition will take place between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 at the modern infrastructure that Lima 2019 left as legacy. The competition is organized by the Peruvian Shooting Federation (FDNTP).

In this Ibero-American event, the Peruvian team will have Lima 2019 medalist Nicolás Pacheco, as well as Alesandro de Souza, Asier Cilloniz, Marco Matellini and Flavio Artoni, among the most important national shooters.

Nicolás Pacheco, who has already qualified for Tokyo 2020, knows that this event will help him to achieve his goal of making it to the Olympic Games in the best possible way. “This is a top-level championship. For example, Juan Ramón Schaeffer from Guatemala, who finished second at Lima 2019, will participate. I'd also like to invite everyone who couldn't see me at the Pan American Games to come and cheer me on.” 

The Guatemalan Valeska Soto, who finished fourth and set the record for Tokyo 2020 at Lima 2019, will also participate in this tournament and praised the facilities of the Las Palmas Shooting Range. “Preparation includes gaining experience, and this will be a great opportunity to do so thanks to its top-level courts, which will be key for our preparation for Tokyo 2020. We just have to make the most of them.”

Octavio Ramos comes from Mexico and seeks to improve his marks. “The location is amazing; the best in Latin America. For example, the contrast given by the background allows for a complete vision throughout the trajectory, which enables better results.”

At age 15, the Chilean Beatriz Montory will make her first international appearance and is enthusiastic about this experience. “This is my first experience in skeet shooting and will helped me achieve my biggest dream of making it to the 2024 Olympics. It’s also a court with perfect vision, so we’ll never lose sight of the skeet,” remarked the young athlete who said that when she enters the court “it’s just the shotgun, the skeet and me; it is a very exquisite feeling.”

This is a free event. On Friday will be the qualifying stage and Saturday the finals.

Visitors from abroad, athletes and national fans filled the grandstands each time a competition was held for the Pan American and Parapan American Games, and one of the venues that dazzled them the most was the Callao Sports Center, which reopened its doors to house the largest event in Peruvian volleyball.

The sports center, which was built entirely within the Callao Regional Village, with capacity for 6100 people and a world-class surface court, will be the stage of the XVIII National Women's Volleyball Superior League, in its highest category. As of November 16, athletes and fans will be able to enjoy the first-class facilities that were left as a legacy for national sports and Callao.

The tournament is organized by the Peruvian Volleyball Federation and will have the participation of top national and international volleyball players who will come to reinforce the Peruvian teams. Competitions start on November 16 and 17, and the next matches will take place on November 23 and 24, and on November 30 and December 1. The competition will then resume on January 18.

The clubs participating in this championship are Alianza Lima, Universidad San Martin, Circolo Sportivo Italiano, Regatas Lima, Universidad César Vallejo, Jaamsa, Deportivo Alianza, Sporting Cristal, Géminis, and Rebaza Acosta.

The Callao Sports Center housed the women’s and men’s volleyball competitions, as well as taekwondo, during the Pan American Games. During the Parapan American Games, it was venue for the sitting volleyball and Para taekwondo competitions. This modern infrastructure will offer the same top-quality conditions for upcoming competitions, such as the National Volleyball League.

Lima 2019 allowed the construction and remodeling of a modern sports infrastructure, which has remained as a legacy for future national and international competitions, as well as for the preparation of athletes.

Starting tomorrow, Las Palmas Shooting Range in Surco, one of the new venues delivered for Lima 2019 for shooting and Para shooting events, will host the 6th Ibero-American Shotgun Championships in skeet and trap modalities, which will count on the participation of 40 shooters from Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Brazil, as well as national representatives.

Giorgio Mautino, Lima 2019 spokesperson, said that this event demonstrates that these venues are fully operational and in the best conditions, as they were during the Pan American and Parapan American Games.

“The days after the Games are as important as the Games themselves. The infrastructure will be required by many countries and that will allow a continuity of events. We are regularizing everything related to the delivery of the venues and we hope that the use will be spectacular.” “The Pan American and Parapan American Games have left a legacy in terms of sports culture, because many people have seen opportunities in many sport disciplines,” said Mautino.

Francisco Boza, Olympic medalist in Los Angeles 1984, also addressed the importance of using the sports infrastructure. “Let it be the beginning of great international events, so that people can take advantage of this Shooting Range, which is one of the best in the world.” He also added that “this venue is complete, as all three weapons can be used. Peru needed this sports infrastructure, we are now reaching international standards.”

For his part, Nicolás Pacheco—Pan American medalist and qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics—who will be participating in this international event, mentioned that “for me, this Shooting Range is one of the best in the world and a dream come true. We will be able to hold first-class championships. Also, a venue like this will allow me to improve my record and achieve my dream of claiming an Olympic medal for my country.” 

SCHOOL SPORTS GAMES AT VIDENA

Simultaneously, VIDENA will be stage of the 27th National School Sports Games until September 27, with the participation of 2600 students from 24 regions. One of the first venues to be used was the modern Aquatic Center, one of the best in the continent, where 13-year-old Alexia Sotomayor—who was part of the Peruvian Pan American delegation—showcased her skills after winning three gold medals in the 50 m freestyle, 50 m backstroke and relay events.

At VIDENA, students from all over the country also compete in the new Athletics Stadium, under the same conditions offered to the top athletes and Para athletes who participated at the Pan American and Parapan American Games.

VILLA MARÍA DEL TRIUNFO

Meanwhile, the National Hockey Championship will be inaugurated this Sunday in the two hockey pitches built at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, which will reopen its doors for this competition. Admission will be free.

This will be an unprecedented event, as this is the first time a tournament of this discipline will be held in the country; a clear example of the Lima 2019 legacy. A total of nine teams will participate: four in women’s and five in men’s. The teams in women’s will be: San Silvestre Sport, Colegio Mater Admirábilis, OMA and Lima Cricket. The teams in men’s will be: OMA, Lions, Libardoni, Lima Cricket and Santa María Sport.

Competitions will start this Sunday 22 at 09:00 in the Villa Maria’s main pitch, with the matches between San Silvestre Sport vs. Mater Admirábilis (women’s); OMA vs. Lima Cricket (men’s) and Lima Cricket vs. OMA (women’s). Pitch 2 will host the match between Santa María Sport vs. Lions (men’s) starting at 12:00.

See the photo gallery here

The successful organization and development of the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games is an example that can be replicated in other public institutions because of the management model applied to hold the Americas' most important multi-sports event. 

For this reason, Congresswoman Alejandra Aramayo invited the President of the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee, Carlos Neuhaus, to share the successful experience with the management model applied at the Games, in the First Technical Working Group known as “Mechanisms for Prioritization, Execution and Innovation of the Procurement System in the Healthcare Sector”. 

Neuhaus said that the Games' success was achieved by applying several mechanisms for rapid budget execution, including the Government-to-Government agreement which supported the management of the works execution model, the incorporation of the Project Management Office (PMO) and, for infrastructure works, the NEC (New Engineering Contract), “which made it possible to move forward with the construction work without delays.” “Everything about bids and calls was posted on the website, so we had an average of up to 40 bidders for each project,” Neuhaus emphasized. 

Juan Carlos Meléndez, head of the Lima 2019 Administration Office, also participated in the meeting, explaining the procurement systems for the Games. “We applied different procurement methods. We included a platform to record proposals for foreign suppliers and thus boost international competition, which allowed us to obtain lower prices. We also implemented software remotely connected to the National Registry of Suppliers to invite all Government suppliers to quote in a transparent way,” he said. 

Meléndez stated that the expenses of the Lima 2019 project reached PEN 582 million, in terms of acquisitions of goods and services, while PEN 1277 million was allocated to infrastructure works. In addition, through a resource management agreement with UNOPS, an amount of PEN 386 million was implemented. In addition, goods amounting to PEN 24 million were procured through the “Compras a MyPerú” program, benefiting over 300 micro and small enterprises. 

Among the recommendations made by Lima 2019 for the healthcare system procurement is strengthening the framework agreement to meet immediate needs. Carlos Neuhaus pointed out the need to be creative and do things well, as well as to generate spaces for competition to lower prices, and apply anti-corruption mechanisms, as was done in Lima 2019, making the entire process transparent. 

The Lima 2019 Games became the starting point for modernized sports venues, which have made Peru an eligible destination for national and international sports competitions.  

The venues are fully operational and in optimal conditions, as they were at the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games. The fact that five national and international competitions are held this week proves this. 

The 27th Peruvian School Sports Games start today and will run until September 27, with more than 2600 students from 24 regions in competition. Competitions have already started at the modern Aquatic Center in VIDENA, one of the best in the Americas. This is where Alexia Sotomayor, the youngest athlete in the Peruvian delegation at the Pan American Games, showed all her skill to win the gold medals in 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and relay. 

The students will also compete at the new VIDENA Athletics Stadium in the same competition conditions of those athletes participating in the Pan American and Parapan American Games. 

LAS PALMAS SHOOTING RANGE 

Las Palmas Shooting Range is another Lima 2019 venue holding an international event, built for shooting and Para shooting events. This is where Marko Carrillo and Nicolás Pacheco stepped onto the podium at the Pan American Games, with Jorge Arcela doing so at the Parapan American Games. The 6th Ibero-American Shotgun Championships will take place this week at this venue, in skeet and trap events.  

Official training sessions begin tomorrow and Thursday, and the competitions will be held from Friday 20 to Sunday 22. The event is organized by the FDNTP (Peruvian Shooting Federation). 

The Peruvian team will consist of Alessandro de Souza, Nicolás Pacheco, Asier Cillóniz, Marco Matellini and Flavio Artoni, among the main representatives. Around 40 shooters from Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Brazil will participate, as well as the Peruvian team. 

VILLA MARÍA DEL TRIUNFO 

The National Field Hockey Championship will take place this Sunday on the two fields built at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, which will reopen its door for this competition. Admission will be free of charge for all those who want to attend this competition in Southern Lima. 

It will be an unprecedented event, as it is the first edition of this hockey competition, where nine teams (four women’s and five men’s) will compete. San Silvestre Sport, Colegio Mater Admirábilis, OMA and Lima Cricket teams will participate in the women’s events. OMA, Lions, Libardoni, Lima Cricket and Santa María Sport teams will take part in the men’s events. 

Matches between San Silvestre Sport and Mater Admirábilis (women’s); OMA and Lima Cricket (men’s), and Lima Cricket and OMA (women’s) will be played this Sunday 22, starting at 09:00 at the main field of the Villa Maria del Triunfo Sports Center. Santa María Sport will face off Lions (men’s) at field 2, starting at 12:00. 

The Peruvian School Sports Games are underway and three Para sports have been included in this school tournament for the first time, based on the recent success of the Parapan American Games. 

The competition for school students was opened last Monday 16 with the presence of Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra, Minister of Education Flor Pablo, Minister for Women Affairs Gloria Montenegro, Minister of Foreign Trade Edgar Vásquez, as well as the Lima 2019 President Carlos Neuhaus and various authorities. 

Para swimming, Para athletics and sitting volleyball competitions will be held for the first time at the School Games, something highlighted by President Vizcarra. “We're living these Games with the same enthusiasm as Lima 2019. Inclusion is part of the Games' legacy, so making these three Para sports part of this event is worthy of note. This is how he start becoming an integrated society. In addition, competitions will be held at the venues where Lima 2019 events took place. The efforts involved in constructing these premises are for the citizens. The competitions will be held at the venues and facilities will be provided for training,” said the President. 

Milco, the Lima 2019 Official Mascot, also participated in the opening of this school sports event. Medalists such as Pilar Jáuregui, Pedro Pablo de Vinatea, María Fernanda Reyes, Carlos Felipa and José María Lúcar participated in these Games' opening event. 

Competing at the highest World Para swimming level was an unforgettable experience for the three Peruvian Para swimmers who traveled to the London World Para Swimming Allianz Championships. Dunia Felices (S5 class), Rodrigo Santillán and Harrison Linares (S2 class) completed their participation at the London Aquatics Center, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with many useful learned lessons for the future.

Santillán, bronze in Lima 2019, competed first in the 100 m backstroke event and placed ninth in the final qualification. Meanwhile, he was in the reserve list for the 50 m backstroke final since he finished in the fifth position in the qualification heat and obtained one of the best times of the stage. Linares had a time of 2min2088c and placed sixth (behind Santillán) and 11th in the general score board.

Likewise, Dunia Felices participated in the second heat of the 50 m butterfly semifinals. The Lima 2019 bronze medalist placed sixth with a time of 59s73c. With this time, she broke her personal best by several hundredths. This progress allows her to dream with reaching the qualifying mark for Tokyo 2020.

Felices also participated in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 me freestyle events where she placed 14th in the first two events and 15th in the last one. Keeping our best Para athletes competing in this kind of events will allow them to improve for the following Olympic cycles.