Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach leaves the territory today to attend the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru as part of the Virgin Islands Delegation, Mr. Roach’s office has announced.
Mr. Roach is attending the ceremony at the request of Governor Albert Bryan after an invitation received by the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee in February, Mr. Roach’s office said.
The Virgin Islands will have over 40 athletes competing in the following sports: basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, sailing, and swimming.
Mr. Roach will return to the territory on July 31. During his absence, Senate President Novelle E. Francis will assume the duties of the lieutenant governor, as per the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands.
The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. The only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. In 2021, there will be a Junior Pan American Games for young athletes.
The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.