South American Games

South American Games
Abbreviation	JJSS
First event	1978 in La Paz, Bolivia
Occur every	four years
Last event	2022 in Asunción, Paraguay
Next event	2026 in Santa Fe Province, Argentina
Purpose	Multi-sport event; for South America
Website	odesur.org

South American Games
South American Games
Games
	1978; 1982; 1986; 1990; 1994; 1998; 2002; 2006; 2010; 2014; 2018; 2022; 2026;
Sports
	Athletics; Field hockey; Football; Futsal; Gymnastics; Handball; Softball; Tennis;

The South American Games (also known as ODESUR Games; Spanish: Juegos Suramericanos; Portuguese: Jogos Sul-Americanos), formerly the Southern Cross Games (Spanish: Juegos Cruz del Sur) is a regional multi-sport event held between nations from South America, organized by the ODESUR (acronym for "Organización Deportiva Suramericana" – South American Sports Organization.^[1]

The first Games were held in 1978 in La Paz, Bolivia. They have since been held every four years, with the most recent edition in 2022 in Asuncion, Paraguay. The Games have had an equivalent to the Olympic Flame since their inception: the South American Flame, which is relayed from Tiahuanaco, Bolivia, to the host city.^[2]

For the XI edition in 2018 there were two bids: Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Barquisimeto, Venezuela, with the final hosting decision in favour of Cochabamba in 2011. Starting with the 2014 edition, the South American Para Games are held for South American Paralympic athletes. Just like the Olympic Games, the host city for the South American Games is also the host for Para-South American Games.

The detailed history of the South American Games together with an extensive list of medal winners was published in a book written (in Spanish) by Argentinian journalist Ernesto Rodríguez III with support of the Argentine Olympic Committee under the auspices of the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Sports Secretary of Argentina.^[3]

Participants

15 ODESUR members along to the code COI of each one

Argentina (ARG)
Aruba (ARU)
Bolivia (BOL)
Brazil (BRA)
Chile (CHL)
Colombia (COL)
Curaçao (CUW)^[4]
Ecuador (ECU)
Guyana (GUY)
Panama (PAN)
Paraguay (PAR)
Peru (PER)
Suriname (SUR)
Uruguay (URU)
Venezuela (VEN)

Games

Year	Games	Host City	Host Country	Opened by	Dates	Athletes	Nations	Sports	Top medalling nation
1978	1	La Paz	Bolivia	Juan Pereda	3 – 12 November	480	8	16	Argentina
1982	2	Rosario	Argentina	Reynaldo Bignone	26 Nov – 5 Dec	961	10	19	Argentina
1986	3	Santiago	Chile	Augusto Pinochet	28 Nov – 8 Dec	969	10	17	Argentina
1990	4	Lima	Peru	Alberto Fujimori	1 – 10 December	1,070	10	16	Argentina
1994	5	Valencia	Venezuela	Rafael Caldera	19 – 28 November	1,599	14	19	Argentina
1998	6	Cuenca	Ecuador	Gustavo Noboa	21 – 31 October	1,525	14	24	Argentina
2002	7	Belém, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo	Brazil	Almir Gabriel, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and others (each city had its own opening ceremonies)	1 – 11 August	2,069	13	24	Brazil
2006	8	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Daniel Scioli	9 – 19 November	2,938	15	28	Argentina
2010	9	Medellín	Colombia	Álvaro Uribe	19 March – 30 March	3,751	15	31	Colombia
2014	10	Santiago	Chile	Sebastián Piñera	7 March – 18 March	3,499	14	33	Brazil
2018	11	Cochabamba	Bolivia	Evo Morales	26 May – 8 June	4,010	14	35	Colombia
2022	12	Asunción	Paraguay	Diego Galeano Harrison	1 – 15 October	4,476	15	34	Brazil
2026	13	Rosario, Santa Fe and Rafaela	Argentina	Javier Milei (expected)	12 – 26 September

Para Games

Year	Games	Host City	Host Country	Opened by	Dates	Athletes	Nations	Sports	Top medalling nation
2014	1	Santiago^[5]	Chile	Michelle Bachelet	26 March – 30 March	600+	8	7	Argentina
2018	–	Cochabamba^[6]	Bolivia	Cancelled
2026	2	Valledupar^[7]	Colombia	Gustavo Petro		800+

Youth Games

Year	Games	Host City	Host Country	Opened by	Dates	Athletes	Nations	Sports	Top medalling nation
2013	1	Lima	Peru	Ollanta Humala	20 September – 29 September	1200	14	19	Brazil
2017	2	Santiago	Chile	Michelle Bachelet	29 September – 8 October	1279	14	20	Brazil
2022	3	Rosario	Argentina	Omar Perotti	April 28 – May 8	2500	15	26	Brazil

Beach Games

Year	Games	Host City	Host Country	Opened by	Dates	Athletes	Nations	Sports	Top medalling nation
2009	1	Punta del Este/Montevideo	Uruguay		3–13 December		12	9	Brazil
2011	2	Manta	Ecuador		2–12 December	675	13	10	Brazil
2014	3	Vargas	Venezuela		14–24 May		12	10	Venezuela
2017	–	Pimentel	Peru	Cancelled
2019	4	Rosario	Argentina	Mauricio Macri	14–23 March		14	13	Argentina
2023	5	Santa Marta	Colombia		14–21 July	800	15	14	Colombia

Masters Games

Year	Games	Host City	Host Country	Opened by	Dates	Athletes	Nations	Sports	Top medalling nation
2021	–	Santiago	Chile	Cancelled^[8]

School Games

The South American School Games have been held since 1991. 27th was held in Santiago, Chile.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Medals (1978-2022)

The total medal count for all the Games until 2022 is tabulated below. This table is sorted by the number of gold medals earned by each country. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next, and then the number of bronze medals.

South American Games medal count
Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Argentina	940	826	802	2568
2	Brazil	873	700	637	2210
3	Colombia	582	501	498	1581
4	Venezuela	566	512	557	1635
5	Chile	392	487	597	1476
6	Ecuador	213	265	403	881
7	Peru	209	289	399	897
8	Uruguay	76	129	164	369
9	Bolivia	35	86	163	284
10	Paraguay	27	70	75	172
11	Panama	16	19	37	72
12	Suriname	9	3	12	24
13	Netherlands Antilles	7	7	17	31
14	Aruba	3	7	14	24
15	Guyana	2	5	15	22
16	Curaçao	0	1	0	1
Total		3950	3907	4389	12246

Sports

Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

Aquatics – Cycling – Football – Gymnastics – Roller sports – Volleyball

Sport (discipline)	Body		78	82	86	90	94	98	02	06	10	14	18	22
Sport (discipline)	World	South America	78	82	86	90	94	98	02	06	10	14	18	22

Diving	AQUA	ASUA	X	X							X	X	X	X
Open water swimming										X	X	X	X	X
Swimming			X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Synchronized swimming				X					X		X	X	X	X
Water polo											X		X	X

Archery	WA	AAF			X				X	X	X	X	X	X
Athletics	World Athletics	CONSUDATLE	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Badminton	BWF	BPA								X	X		X	X
Baseball	WBSC	COPABE	X	X		X	X				X
Basketball	FIBA	ABASU	X	X						X	X	X	X	X
Basque pelota	FIPV												X
Bocce	CMSB									X				X
Bodybuilding	IFBB	IFBBSud America						X						X
Bowling	FIQ	PABCON			X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Boxing	AIBA	AMBC	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Canoeing	ICF	COPAC					X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

BMX racing	UCI	COPACI								X	X	X	X	X
Mountain biking								X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Road cycling			X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Track cycling			X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Equestrian	FEI	PAEC	X	X						X	X	X	X	X
Fencing	FIE	CPE	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Field hockey	FIH	PAHF								X		X	X	X

Football	FIFA	CONMEBOL	X	X	X		X				X	X	X	X
Futsal								X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Beach soccer														X

Golf	IGF	FSG							X			X	X	X

Artistic gymnastics	FIG	CONSUGI	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Rhythmic gymnastics						X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Trampoline													X	X

Handball	IHF	PATHF							X	X	X	X	X	X
Judo	IJF	PJC	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Karate	WKF	PKF					X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Modern pentathlon	UIPM											X	X
Racquetball	IRF	PARC						X					X

Artistic roller skating	WS	CPRS		X				X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Roller hockey				X								X
Roller speed skating				X				X	X	X	X	X	X

Rowing	FISA			X	X				X	X	X	X	X	X
Rugby sevens	WR	SAR										X	X	X
Sailing	World Sailing	SASC		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Scuba diving					X
Shooting	ISSF	CAT	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Softball	WBSC	CONPASA					X		X		X
Squash	WSF	FPS									X		X	X
Table tennis	ITTF	LATTU		X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Taekwondo	WTF	PATU			X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Tennis	ITF	COSAT	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Triathlon	TRI	PATCO						X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Beach volleyball	FIVB	CSV									X	X	X	X
Indoor volleyball	FIVB	CSV	X	X							X	X	X	X

Water skiing	IWWF	IWWF Pan Am								X	X	X	X	X
Weightlifting	IWF	PAWC	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Wrestling	UWW	CPLA	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Total events			171	249	193	260	296	357	380	463	486	317	373

References

^ Ediciones de los Juegos (in Spanish), ODESUR, archived from the original on 16 June 2012, retrieved 5 June 2012
^ Llama Suramericana (in Spanish), ODESUR, archived from the original on 18 August 2012, retrieved 5 June 2012
^ Rodríguez III, Ernesto (2010), LIBROS DEL CICLO OLÍMPICO ARGENTINO - Libro I de los Juegos Odesur 1978-2010 (in Spanish) (1a. ed.), Buenos Aires: Alarco Ediciones, p. 192, ISBN 978-987-1367-18-4, archived from the original on 4 January 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012
^ Full ODESUR member but not an International Olympic Committee member
^ "Para-South American Games to open in Santiago". paralympic.org. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
^ "South American Paralympics Cancelled". Around the Rings. 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^ "En Valledupar se firmó el convenio de ciudad sede para la realización de los II Juegos Parasuramericanos 2026" [In Valledupar the host city agreement was signed for the holding of the II Para-South American Games 2026]. www.mindeporte.gov.co (in Spanish). Ministry of Sports (Colombia). 18 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ ODESUR volvió a suspender los Juegos Sudamericanos Máster Santiago 2022
^ "South American School Games: The first event that will enjoy the infrastructure legacy of Santiago 2023".
^ "Brazilian School Games : A record-breaking numbers in participation and engagement mark the success of the 2023 JEB's | International School Sport Federation".
^ "10 Classic Schoolyard Games Kids Play in Latin America". 3 September 2021.
^ "Games of Latin American origin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-23.
^ "Traditional South American Games for National Play Outside Day".

External links

[odesur-1] Ediciones de los Juegos (in Spanish), ODESUR, archived from the original on 16 June 2012, retrieved 5 June 2012

[flame-2] Llama Suramericana (in Spanish), ODESUR, archived from the original on 18 August 2012, retrieved 5 June 2012

[cada-3] Rodríguez III, Ernesto (2010), LIBROS DEL CICLO OLÍMPICO ARGENTINO - Libro I de los Juegos Odesur 1978-2010 (in Spanish) (1a. ed.), Buenos Aires: Alarco Ediciones, p. 192, ISBN 978-987-1367-18-4, archived from the original on 4 January 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012

[4] Full ODESUR member but not an International Olympic Committee member

[5] "Para-South American Games to open in Santiago". paralympic.org. Retrieved 27 July 2015.

[6] "South American Paralympics Cancelled". Around the Rings. 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.

[7] "En Valledupar se firmó el convenio de ciudad sede para la realización de los II Juegos Parasuramericanos 2026" [In Valledupar the host city agreement was signed for the holding of the II Para-South American Games 2026]. www.mindeporte.gov.co (in Spanish). Ministry of Sports (Colombia). 18 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

[8] ODESUR volvió a suspender los Juegos Sudamericanos Máster Santiago 2022

[9] "South American School Games: The first event that will enjoy the infrastructure legacy of Santiago 2023".

[10] "Brazilian School Games : A record-breaking numbers in participation and engagement mark the success of the 2023 JEB's | International School Sport Federation".

[11] "10 Classic Schoolyard Games Kids Play in Latin America". 3 September 2021.

[12] "Games of Latin American origin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-23.

[13] "Traditional South American Games for National Play Outside Day".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

v t e Sports at the South American Games
Individual sports	Athletics Gymnastics Tennis
Team sports	Field hockey Football Futsal Handball Softball

v t e Panam Sports
National Olympic Committees	Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bolivia Brazil British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago United States U.S. Virgin Islands Uruguay Venezuela
Affiliated organizations	ODEBO (Bolivarian) CACSO (Central America and Caribbean) ODESUR (South America) ORDECA (Central America)
Associated competitions	Pan American Games Junior Pan American Games Parapan American Games Youth Parapan American Games Winter Pan American Games Pan American Sports Festival
Affiliated competitions	Bolivarian Games Central American Games Central American and Caribbean Games South American Games

v t e Events of the ODESUR
South American Games	La Paz 1978 Rosario 1982 Santiago 1986 Lima 1990 Valencia 1994 Cuenca 1998 Brazil 2002 Buenos Aires 2006 Medellín 2010 Santiago 2014 Cochabamba 2018 Asunción 2022
Beach Games	Uruguay 2009 Manta 2011 Vargas 2014 Rosario 2019 Santa Marta 2023
Youth Games	Lima 2013 Santiago 2017 Rosario 2022
Para Games	Santiago 2014