International Pan Am / en Cheering for athletes from around the world at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games /news/cheering-athletes-around-world-toronto-2015-pan-amparapan-am-games <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Cheering for athletes from around the world at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-07-22T04:48:23-04:00" title="Wednesday, July 22, 2015 - 04:48" class="datetime">Wed, 07/22/2015 - 04:48</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Adrian Correa, Paula Crivellari and Frederico Oliveira watch the Games in the lounge at 91³Ō¹Ļ's School of Continuing Studies (photo by Krisha Ravikantharaja)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/krisha-ravikantharaja" hreflang="en">Krisha Ravikantharaja</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Krisha Ravikantharaja</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international-pan-am" hreflang="en">International Pan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Canadian athletes used to competing abroad are&nbsp;full of praise for the cheering crowds &nbsp;at the <a href="http://panam2015.utoronto.ca/">Toronto 2015 Pan am/Parapan Am Games</a> ā€“&nbsp;and the chance&nbsp;to perform in front of family and friends.</p> <p>ā€œNothing could prepare me for the crowd that came out,ā€ said 91³Ō¹Ļ archer <strong>Crispin Duenas</strong>, who competed at 91³Ō¹Ļā€™s downtown campus.&nbsp;</p> <p>ā€œArchery is a pretty low-key sport, evidenced by every competition Iā€™ve ever been to. Having this really big crowd out here was a surprise.ā€</p> <p>But what about the athletes who are not hometown heroes? Given Torontoā€™s diverse population and the thousands of visitors in town for the events, can all athletes at the Games find supporters cheering them on?</p> <p>ā€œGo Panama!ā€ says student <strong>Marianna Cipponeri</strong>,&nbsp;in Toronto to study the English language at 91³Ō¹Ļ.&nbsp;</p> <p>ā€œDo I miss Panama? Yes and no. Because I feel at home here, and am very happy that Panama is here for the games.ā€&nbsp;</p> <p>Every year, 91³Ō¹Ļ students pursue study abroad and research opportunities around the world, while thousands of international students make their home here. One such student is undergraduate&nbsp;<strong>Angela Zavaleta</strong> who just arrived at the 91³Ō¹Ļ Scarborough and plans to major in math and computer science.</p> <p>ā€œWhat I thought that was that there were not many Peruvians in Canada, but when I went to the stadiums there were a lot of Peruvians. Itā€™s really nice to know that there are other people from Peru here, and that they are supporting our teams.ā€</p> <p>The University also offers a summer program in English language that draws students from around the world, explains <strong>Becky Smith</strong> from the School of Continuing Studies.</p> <p>ā€œParticularly in Latin America, the fact that Pan Am was going to be on at this time encouraged students to come to study with us,ā€ Smith says. ā€œThe diversity for this session for our general English program has been fantastic, and we have several students from the representative countries.ā€</p> <p><strong>Diana Montenegro</strong> is one of those students.&nbsp;ā€œOf course Iā€™m cheering for Colombia,ā€ she&nbsp;says.&nbsp;</p> <p>Montenegro was disappointed when she couldnā€™t find tickets to watch fellow Colombian Mariana Pajon in the BMX competitions, but is hoping to find tickets for soccer or gymnastics in which she can watch Colombians play.</p> <p>ā€œI was here last month too so I can see the difference between the ā€˜normalā€™ Toronto, and this ā€˜special oneā€™. Itā€™s really nice because everywhere there are really kind people, and everything in the city is about the Pan Am games so that is so exciting&nbsp;ā€“&nbsp;just walking in the street is exciting.ā€</p> <p><strong>Frederico Oliveira</strong> hadnā€™t realized the Games would be in town when he was at 91³Ō¹Ļ but says he now feels very lucky to be part of the scene.&nbsp;<strong>Erik Carrizales</strong>, here from Mexico, says he is looking forward to watching the Mexican soccer team play, as well as watching his friend, a shooter, participate in the games.</p> <p>ā€œA lot of people from different countries are coming to watch Pan Am. Itā€™s nice to see other people speaking Spanish.ā€</p> <p>Even international students from countries not participating in the Games say theyā€™ve gotten into the spirit. Japanā€™s <strong>Hyuga Uchida</strong> says the Games bring out the inclusive side of everyone.</p> <p>ā€œI watched a game between Canada and Brazil. I was so excited because I have wanted to cheer for Brazil in person for a long time. Brazil won, but Brazilian supporters cheered for the Canadian team, too. I donā€™t think the results matter because everyone enjoyed watching the game.ā€&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Krisha Ravikantharaja is a student at the 91³Ō¹Ļ.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-07-22-pan-am-international.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 22 Jul 2015 08:48:23 +0000 sgupta 7160 at