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The final details are being established for the 2017 Juegos Bolivarianos. FRC Operations Director Mario Henao has been meeting with officials in the host city, Santa Marta. The Colombian city is to host the event in November. Men’s and Women’s Rugby Sevens will be staged from November 19-23 with eight countries competing in each.
The Juegos Bolivarianos is held in honor of Simón Bolívar, is and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (Organización Deportiva Bolivariana, ODEBO). The event is open to athletes from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela in addition to athletes from invited countries. This year’s edition is to be the XVIII edition. The first was held in 1938 in Bogotá.
The 2017 Juegos Bolivarianos is to serve those involved as vital preparation ahead of following regional and global competitions. In 2018 both the Central American and South American Games are to take place. From there the leading athletes will compete in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima and the ultimate event, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
El Salvador, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are to join the six ODEBO countries in competing in Santa Marta. This year marks the first edition in which Puerto Rico will have competed. For El Salvador, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic it is a return with all three having competed at the 2013 games in Trujillo, Peru.
