all 32 Mexican states on a 50-day route starting on August 26 at the pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City. About 3,500 runners carried the torch on the 15,000-kilometer route. The torch arrived in Puerto Vallarta on October 9, Ciudad Guzmán on October 11, Tapalpa on October 12, Lagos de Moreno on October 13 and Guadalajara on October 14. The torch relay was sponsored by local nutrition company Grupo Omnilife. The torch design depicted agave leaves protecting the Pan American flame. It was designed by Vatti, the same company that designed the torch for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The torch relay was organized by the Mexican Olympic Committee. The Games Opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the games took place on October 14, 2011, at 8:00 pm CDT (01:00 UTC, October 15) at Omnilife Stadium. The opening ceremony was produced by Five Currents, who also produced the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. Participating teams All 41 members of PASO competed at the Games. The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, which had planned to continue functioning after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, had its membership withdrawn by the IOC Executive Committee at the IOC session in July 2011. However, it took steps to allow athletes to compete at the 2011 Pan American Games under the PASO flag. The number of competitors qualified by each delegation is indicated in parentheses. Sports 36 sports were contested in Guadalajara. With sports such as diving, a sub-discipline of aquatics, included, the number goes up to 40 sports. Futsal, which was added a as sport for the 2007 Pan American Games was dropped from the program. Rugby sevens replaced futsal at the games, appearing on the games program for the very first time. Racquetball and basque pelota also returned to the program after missing the last games in Rio de Janeiro. There were 361 medal events in total. The 2011 Pan American Games had qualification standards for every sport just like the Olympic Games. 15 out of the 26 current Summer Olympic sports, including canoeing, handball, and modern pentathlon, will use the Pan American Games as a qualifier for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sport. Aquatics Basque pelota (10) () Canoeing (12) () Cycling () BMX (2) Mountain biking (2) Road (4) Track (10) Field hockey (2) () Gymnastics () Artistic (14) Rhythmic