2009 Bolivarian Games
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| Host city | Sucre, Chuquisaca | ||
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| Country |
 Bolivia
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| Nations participating | 6 | ||
| Athletes participating | 2377 | ||
| Events | 30 sports | ||
| Opening ceremony | November 14, 2009 | ||
| Closing ceremony | November 26, 2009 | ||
| Officially opened by | Evo Morales | ||
| Athlete's Oath | Lupita Rojas | ||
| Torch lighter | Héctor Medina | ||
| Main venue | Estadio Patria | ||
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The XVI Bolivarian Games (Spanish: Juegos Bolivarianos) were a multi-sport event held in 2009 in Sucre, Bolivia. The competitions in Sucre took place from 15–26 November. A number of Bolivian cities hosted some of the sporting events, including Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija. Also, events were held outside of Bolivia, with Guayaquil, Lima, Quito and Salinas hosting a number of competitions. The Games were organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (ODEBO).
The opening ceremony took place on November 14, 2009, at the Estadio Patria in Sucre, Bolivia. The Games were officially opened by Bolivian president Evo Morales. Torch lighter was swimmer Héctor Medina. The athlete's oath was sworn by sprinter Lupita Rojas.
A number of organizational deficits was reported. Initially, the games were scheduled between September 12–24, 2009. On July 1, 2009, the games were postponed to the new date because of "technical problems". The construction works on the sports facilities did not proceed fast enough. The infrastructure was not yet finished even when the games were already officially opened. Some sports like cycling and baseball had to be relocated to secondary venues like Cochabamba at short notice. Other sports like athletics, billiards, fencing, table tennis, taekwondo, or volleyball were experiencing problems because of the lack of equipment. Some sports like roller sports were cancelled completely. Weightlifting competitions had to start already on October 30, 2009, because the world championships would have been contemporaneously else. In equestrianism, the transfer of the horses to Bolivia could not be guaranteed. In shooting, the shotgun competitions (Clay pigeon shooting) were relocated to Lima, Perú, because the equipment and munition did not arrive in time, and they were held until December 6, 2009, ten days after the official closing ceremony of the games. As a consequence, criticism emerged, and restructuring of the games as well as far-reaching reforms were requested to guarantee their future.
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