Pan Am Games looking for torchbearers
Some 130 Ontario communities will be part of the 3,000-person relay across Canada next summer. Here’s what you need to know.

thestar.com
Oct. 1, 2014
By Lauren Pelley

As medal-winning Olympians Simon Whitfield and Catriona Le May Doan announced details of the upcoming Pan Am Games torch relay, it was a throwback to their time as torchbearers four years ago.

They were the first two to hold the flame in the torch relay leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, something Whitfield calls a “remarkable experience.”

“The atmosphere, the energy that came with that - it was truly an honour to be there,” he told a packed crowd in the Eaton Centre on Wednesday.

Now, Canadians from across the country will have the chance to share a similar experience.

Three thousand people will be taking part in the 41-day cross-country Pan Am Games torch relay. After the flame is lit at a traditional Aztec lighting ceremony in Teotihuacan, Mexico, the Canadian journey will start in May 2015.

The flame will travel through Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Sudbury and Owen Sound, along with dozens of other Ontario communities and five cities outside the province - Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax and the Greater Vancouver Area.

“The torch relay starts to make it very real, because we know as the torch goes across those 130 communities and across the country, people start to get the sense that this is really going to happen,” said Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“This will be the first time the Pan Am torch relay will have gone across the country,” said Saad Rafi, TO2015 CEO.

The torch will eventually make its way back to Toronto to kick off the games on July 10. The Parapan Am Games are Aug. 7-15.

“The torch will start in Toronto and end in Toronto, and I just hope it’s not going to go too close to City Hall,” joked Councillor Mark Grimes (open Mark Grimes's poilcard), referencing the building’s recent electrical fire.

Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield has been named the first honourary torchbearer - but you don’t have to be an astronaut or athlete to participate.

“It makes me doubly or triply proud to be one of the representatives of the many people who will be carrying a torch, running to places all across Canada but primarily in Ontario,” Hadfield said.

Here’s what you need to know.

How can people enter to be a torchbearer?
You can apply online at Toronto2015.org/torch-relay. Or you can also use Pan Am Games kiosks on the second floor of the Eaton Centre, which will be operating until Sunday.

Are there any requirements?
You must be at least 13 years old by the start of the relay on May 30, 2015, and should have a basic understanding of English.

If someone uses a wheelchair or other assistive device, can they be a torchbearer?

Yes. “You can walk, you can wheel, you can run,” said Teddy Katz, TO2015 spokesperson.

Can people select where they would like to take part?
When you submit your torchbearer request, you identify the community where you would like to participate in the torch relay.

How will people be selected?
Names will be going into a lottery to make things as fair as possible, Rafi said.

What is the time commitment?
You’d only be volunteering on the day you’re marked down to bear the torch, and Katz said the total commitment is likely to be just a few hours.

Will torchbearers get to wear eye-catching Pan Am Games uniforms?
Katz couldn’t confirm about uniforms just yet, but said there will be an announcement with more details in early 2015.

When will people know the exact route?
You can learn the full route when the entire torch relay route and schedule are announced in February, according to Katz.