/R E P E A T -- Official Opening of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Randy Starkman Media Centre/

TO2015 Honors Canada's Premier Amateur Sports Journalist

TORONTO, June 29, 2015 /CNW/ - The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) will honour the exceptional life and career of veteran amateur sports journalist Randy Starkman, on Thursday, July 2, in the official opening of the Randy Starkman Media Centre.

TO2015 and the Toronto Star together will pay tribute to the late journalist who worked at the Toronto Star for over two decades, and would have been an indispensable reporter at this summer's Games.

To celebrate the official opening of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Randy Starkman  Media Centre, Starkman's family, friends and colleagues will unveil a special plaque honoring him. The plaque, donated by the Toronto Star, will hang near the entrance of the Main Press Centre workroom for both the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.  

TO2015 has also dedicated a workspace in the Main Press Centre to the late journalist, which will contain press clippings from his work repertoire, a laptop with tribute videos for visitors to watch during the Games, as well as a notepad for journalists and athletes to write personal stories and memories of Starkman, which will be given to his family after the Games.

The Randy Starkman Media Centre will be located in CIBC Pan Am Park, one of the Games' hubs which will feature 16 differentcompetitions. The Main Press Centre will be the base for approximately 1,500 accredited press from across the Americas coming to Toronto to cover the Games.  

During his career, Starkman covered 12 Olympic Games and was a two-time National Newspaper Award winner. He was widely known as one of Canada's leading experts and greatest champions of amateur athletes.

When:	Thursday, July 2 1 p.m. (ET) Plaque unveiling will be followed by refreshments.
Where:	TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Randy Starkman Media Centre 100 Princes' Blvd. # 1 Toronto

Guest pass information and instructions

Media and public not already accredited for TO2015 will require a guest pass.

Please RSVP by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 29, to Sannah Choi at [email protected]. Once guests RSVP they will receive a Guest Pass Application Form.

Guest passes can be picked up at the Main Media Centre Accreditation Centre located close to the Princes' Gates and the entrance of the Randy Starkman Media Centre.

Guests are required to bring the same photo identification that they submitted on the Guest Pass Application Form and to arrive early enough to allow time for guest pass validation.

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

Teddy Katz, Director, media relations and chief spokesperson, TO2015, 416.957.2117, [email protected]