The Pan Pacific Masters Games returns to the Gold Coast for its 14th edition, ten days running Friday 6 to Sunday 15 November 2026, and it asks little of anyone entering beyond the minimum age for whichever of the 42 confirmed sports takes their interest. There are no qualifying times and no qualifying standard, just a fondness for the sport and, per the organisers, an age range that stretches from 18 to past 90. “It’s where legends of all ages come to play and where they meet up with new friends and old and enjoy fierce but friendly competition,” says Events Management Queensland CEO Ben Mannion. The Games has grown a long way from a modest 1995 pilot in Townsville, moving to the Gold Coast the following year and evolving through the Asia Pacific Masters Games into the event renamed Pan Pacific Masters Games in 2002 – momentum that traces back to Brisbane’s 1994 World Masters Games, which drew 24,000 competitors from 71 countries. New for 2026: Padel joins the program for the first time, and Badminton returns after a two-decade gap. In 2024 the Games drew more than 15,000 participants and 20,000 supporters and was named the Gold Coast’s Sporting Event of the Year; 2026 organisers expect over 16,000 athletes from every Australian state and more than 30 countries.
Two Games venues never leave Main Beach
Two of the 42 venues carry a Main Beach address of their own: the Gold Coast Outrigger Canoe Club and The Spit, both on Muriel Henchman Drive. It means a slice of the competition plays out without anyone needing to cross the Broadwater bridge or wait on a tram, a genuinely rare thing for a Games spread across suburbs running from Woongoolba’s clay-target range to Coomera’s indoor courts. Five of the remaining venues carry their own pedigree, held over from the 2018 Commonwealth Games – among them the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre and Gold Coast Hockey Centre – both reachable by tram heading north along the same G:link line that runs past Griffith University Hospital toward Southport and Labrador.
The nightly hub, one tram ride south
Every evening from 7:30 pm, Pan Pacs Central takes over the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, an 18-plus licensed venue built around six themed nights, an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony among them. It sits south of the Main Beach tram stop, through Surfers Paradise and on toward Pacific Fair, the same line Crest guests already use to reach Broadbeach. Free public transport with Games accreditation applies on the opening and closing nights only; the rest of the run, it’s a normal tram fare there and back.
Entries run to a sport-by-sport deadline
Entries opened in March and stay open on a sport-by-sport basis, so it’s worth checking the entry deadline for whichever event is the draw before locking in dates. Multi-sport entries are allowed, provided the schedule doesn’t clash, and accreditation itself goes digital from mid-October, a pass loaded straight onto a phone rather than posted out. Under-18 team officials need written permission from organisers before they can register; the entertainment program itself stays 18-plus throughout.
Recovering between events
Tennis is one of the 42 sports on the program, and Crest’s own full-sized court is on hand for anyone working off a morning at the Aquatic Centre or a late finish at Pan Pacs Central. The two heated pools, indoor and outdoor, run year-round regardless of what November decides to do, the outdoor pool steady at 28°C. The sauna and gym cover the slower mornings, and the covered BBQ deck is there for a group who’d rather cook than queue on Tedder Avenue, two minutes from the door. Golf is on the program too, at Palmer Gold Coast in Robina, a short drive south for anyone entered in the sport or just following a friend’s round.
Book across the ten days
Ten days is long enough that competing in one sport and watching another doesn’t mean choosing between them. Check-in runs 2 pm to 5 pm, check-out 9 am to 10 am, room enough either way to fit more than one event around a stay.
Check availability across the ten days, or read more about the One-Bedroom Apartment and the Premium Two-Bedroom. The official Pan Pacific Masters Games site carries the entry deadline for each sport.
