Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (short form: PanPacs , in German: Pan-Pacific Swimming Championships) is a regular international long-course swimming competition that was first held in 1985 in Tokyo , Japan .
Originally held every two years, the Pan Pacific Championships have only been held every four years since 2002. The four founding nations include: the United States , Canada , Australia and Japan . Other non-European nations are regularly invited to this end. Including: South Korea , China , New Zealand , Brazil and South Africa . The Pan Pacific Championships apply after the Olympic Games as well as the World and European Championshipsas one of the toughest and most important international swimming events, since traditionally strong swimming nations like the USA and Australia take part in it. In contrast to the World Championships or the Olympic Games, the participating nations can send any number of athletes to the preliminary rounds. Even so, only two swimmers per nation can qualify for the finals.