Typically, we devote our 10 to follow series to a specific social channel; however, the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games are an exception. It’s safe to expect all social guns to be a-blazin’ from July 10-26 and again from August 7-15.
#TO2015 is your go-to hashtag on social media during the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. Follow it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and Periscope for up-to-the-second (and live!) news, coverage and information.
These Games are being billed as the largest multi-sport event ever held in Canada, spanning 5,300 square kilometres with 15 host municipalities. Centred in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), more than 30 venues across Ontario will host approximately 7,600 athletes from the Americas and Caribbean.
The 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games—which qualifies athletes for the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games—involve more than 15 sports and boasts a huge list of sponsors and supporters (such as our clients, Maytag, Coca-Cola, Loblaw and the Royal Canadian Mint).
We recommend sharing your national pride alongside this follow-worthy top 10:
1. Be a virtual part of the Torch Relay during the final leg of its 41-day journey from Mexico to Canada—ending July 10 at Opening Ceremonies in Toronto—with @TO2015torch on Twitter (Français: @TO2015flamme; Español: @TO2015antorcha).
2. Follow the official Pan Am/Parapan American Games handles on Twitter (@TO2015; Français: @TO2015_fr; Español: @TO2015_es) and on Instagram (@toronto2015). Aside from a countdown, ticket information and news leading up to the Games, this is the must-watch feed for everything Pan Am/Parapan Am from July 10 to August 15.
3. You’ll find the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Olympic Team’s updates, athlete profiles and medal tallies on Twitter (@TeamCanada; Français: @OlympiqueCanada) and Facebook (Team Canada / Équipe Canada). Also watch for stunning sports photography on Team Canada’s Instagram feed (@teamcanada).
4. The Canadian Paralympic Committee will be pumping out tweets (@CDNParalympics) and Facebook posts (Canadian Paralympic Committee) throughout the Games, but we anticipate content to be amped up when the Parapan Am Games take centre stage in August.
5. As the primary host city for the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, the City of Toronto’s Twitter handle (@TorontoComms) will be flooded with local traffic and transit bulletins, as well as information about the many activations in and around the city.
6. Be sure to follow host broadcaster CBC on Twitter (@CBC and @CBCOlympics) and don’t forget to check out live streaming from the Games on your mobile device via CBC’s new Periscope account, too—just search the Periscope app for the @cbc handle.
7. When the Songwriters Association of Canada created the Pan Am Songworks Camp, there were 70 submissions for the official Pan Am/Parapan Am Games song. The winner? Serena Ryder’s “Together We Are One” (written by Murray Daigle, Jasmine Denham and Bobby John) Listen to the song here (warning: patriotic chills await), and follow Serena on Twitter (@serenaryder).
8. Canadian Paralympian Josh Cassidy—whose journey you can follow on Twitter (@JoshCassidy84) and Facebook (Josh Cassidy)—is the Canadian wheelchair racing record-holder in the 1,500-metre, 5,000-metre, 10,000-metre and marathon events. He’s also completed the world’s fastest marathon, clocking in at an amazing 1:18:25. Prepare to be inspired! Born and raised in Ontario, Josh overcame the neuroblastoma cancer in the spine and abdomen that left his legs paralyzed. And that smile…
9. Track and field superstar BrianneTheisen-Eaton is a Saskatchewan-born athlete that has some serious bragging rights—she holds the Canadian record for the indoor pentathlon, is the first and only Canadian woman to reach the podium in the multi-events at the World Championships and is the second-highest scoring Canadian heptathlete in history. Find Brianne on Twitter (@btheiseneaton) and Instagram (@btheiseneaton); and go ahead and follow the other half of the “world’s fittest couple”—her husband, decathlete @AshtonJEaton (even though he’s American, we give him props for being smart enough to marry a Canuck).
10. As one of the mentors for the Pan Am youth mentorship program, and the official face of the Games’ host city, City of Toronto Mayor John Tory’s Twitter feed (@JohnTory) should be busier than ever with Pan Am/Parapan Am info and RTs in July and August.