Vancouver to Host 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Vancouver will host the 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, Swimming Canada announced on Tuesday.
The meet will take place at the University of British Columbia Aquatic Centre from Aug. 17-20, 2026. The biennial event brings the best junior swimmers from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Japan, the organization’s charter members, and extends invitations to other nations. The event comes on the heels of the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, will be hosted in Los Angeles as a preview of the 2028 Olympics, on Aug. 12-16, 2026.
“This is the first time that Canada will host this event or any high-level international junior pool competition,” Swimming Canada Associate High Performance Director and Chair of the Pan Pacific Charter Nations Iain McDonald said in a Swimming Canada statement. “It’s an excellent opportunity for the best young swimmers in Canada to race at home in one of the premier junior swimming events in the world.”
Vancouver Pacific Swim Club will support the event as a host, while Swim BC will oversee the meet.
“Swim BC is thrilled to support Swimming Canada in the hosting of the 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships and Speedo Canadian Short Course Championships,” Swim BC Executive Director Ken Radford said. “We’re excited to showcase one of the premium world-class junior events in B.C. and provide an opportunity for our swimming community to witness firsthand this level of swimming. We’re proud of the commitment VPSC and the UBC Aquatic Centre have made to support these competitions. Without their volunteerism and can-do attitude we’d not be able to benefit from these opportunities.”
“The Pan Pacific Charter Nations have expressed their excitement at hosting this event in a world class city like Vancouver,” McDonald said. “In addition, with the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships scheduled the week prior in California, each nation will have their current and future international swimmers all racing on the west coast of North America two years ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.”
The Junior Pan Pacific Championships skipped an installment in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were hosted in 2022 by Honolulu, Hawaii, and in 2018 by Suva, Fiji. Canberra, Australia, will host the 2024 Junior Pan Pacs in August.