City of Greater Sudbury Announces Community Torchbearer for Pan Am Games Torch Relay

Greater Sudbury is proud to announce Bob Rogers as the Greater Sudbury community torchbearer for the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay, presented by President’s Choice® and OLG. 

  The torch relay will visit Greater Sudbury on June 2, 2015, and will feature Greater Sudbury resident, Bob Rogers as the community torchbearer. Rogers has been actively involved in the Healthy Community movement in Greater Sudbury and in Ontario for over twenty years. Over the course of his thirty-five year involvement in Canadian sport, one of Bob’s key highlights was being assistant Chef de Mission for Canada’s Olympic Team at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano Japan.

“The Pan-Am Games are an influential platform to promote the benefits of physical activity as part of healthy competition.” said Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger. “Bob’s selection as torch bearer is fitting given his contributions to physical activity and healthy projects both here at home and around the world.”
During the 41-day torch relay, each of the 3,000 torchbearers will complete, on average, a 200-metre relay segment. The torch will be carried by more than 60 modes of transportation and exceed 5,000 kilometres on the road and 15,000 kilometres by air.

“The torch is a unique symbol of the Pan Am Games and carries a powerful energy that will unite Canadians,” said Saäd Rafi, chief executive officer, TO2015. “The torchbearers will proudly carry the flame through more than 130 communities, igniting the Pan Am spirit as they go.”

Featured on the torch are the United We Play! pictograms — colourful depictions of people in motion —symbolizing the assembly of athletes through the celebration of sport and culture. The aluminum torch stands 65 centimetres high and weighs 1.2 kilograms (or roughly the same weight as a baseball bat). With a burn time of 10 to 12 minutes, the flame can withstand winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour and is visible in all kinds of weather conditions.

About the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay    
The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay, presented by President’s Choice® and OLG, is supported by community partner CIBC and signature supporters Star Media Group and Metroland Media, Ontario Trillium Foundation and Porter Airlines. The torch relay will invite Canadians to celebrate and share the Pan Am spirit throughout its 41-day journey towards Toronto, the Host City of the Games.

The torch relay starts May 30, 2015, and concludes July 10, 2015, with the dramatic lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony in downtown Toronto.

The TORONTO 2015 Games are funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, as well as Lead Partner CIBC and other partners and sponsors.

For more information, visit TORONTO2015.org/torch-relay.

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