Pan-American Championship (jiu-jitsu)
The Pan-American Championship, often referred to colloquially as the "Pan Ams", is the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held in North America. The event which is held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
History
Representing one of the first steps toward internationalization of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Pan-American Championship has been held annually since 1995. While the first event garnered only 250 athletes, the event has grown every year and now hosts thousands of competitors.The event was last held in Irvine, California, but has been held in other regions of the US in order to boost the expansion of the sport.
The IBJJF gives tournaments weighting which helps calculate the number of points an athlete can win via their participation. For the 2017/2018 IBJJF calendar the Pan American Championship has a weighting of 4 alongside the European Championship making it second in importance only to the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship which has a weighting of 7.
Pan American Champions in Men's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Year and Weight
| Year | Host | 57 kg | 64 kg | 70 kg | 76 kg | 82 kg | 88 kg | 94 kg | 100 kg | +100 kg | Absolute |
| 1996 |  |  Marcos Barreto | Vinicius Magalhaes | João Roque | Marcio Feitosa | Alexandre Paiva | Roberto Magalhaes | Luis Roberto Duarte | Roberto Correa | Eduardo Galvão | Rigan Machado |
| 1997 | | Royler Gracie | Marcio Feitosa | Fernando Vasconcelos | Ricardo Herriot | Roberto Magalhaes | Roberto Correa | Rigan Machado | Rigan Machado | ||
| 1998 | | Luis Renato | Vinicius Magalhaes | Marcio Feitosa | Fernando Vasconcelos | Roberto Magalhaes | Saulo Ribeiro | Bruno Severiano | Ryan Gracie | Saulo Ribeiro | |
| 1999 | | Nay Cunha | Royler Gracie | Marcio Feitosa | Bruno Severiano | Antonio Schembri | Ricardo Herriot | Pericles Laudier | Roberto Magalhaes | Antonio Schembri | |
| 2000 | | Rafael Duarte | João Eduardo | Celso Vinicius | Augusto Lopez | Erick Santos | Fabricio Prantera | Diego Jose | Bruno Mathias | Luis Felipe | Fabricio Monteiro |
| 2001 | |  Takeo Tani | Wellington Dias | Sandro Santiago | Edson Diniz] | Bruno Severiano | Roberto Correa | Fernando Pontes | Roberto Tozi | Jorge Patiano | Xande Ribeiro |
| 2002 | | Ricardo Vieira | Leo Vieira | Carlos Eduardo | Delson Heleno | Xande Ribeiro | Fabio Leopoldo | Alexandre Dantas | Marcio Dantas | Alexandre Dantas | |
| 2003 | | Leonardo Escobar | Renato Migliaccio | Carlos Eduardo | Paulo Guilobel | Cassio Werneck | Roberto Correa | Adriano Maciel | Marcio Cruz | Marcio Cruz | |
| 2004 | | Bibiano Fernandes | Leo Vieira | Daniel Moraes | Fernando Augusto | Ronaldo Souza | Gabriel Vella] | Jorge Oliveira | Alexandre Dantas | Ronaldo Souza | |
| 2005 | | Bibiano Fernandes | Mario Reis | André Galvão | Givanildo Santana | Rodrigo Pinheiro | Xande Ribeiro | Marcio Cruz | Mario Cruz | ||
| 2006 | | Mauro Ayes | Dai Yoshida | Bibiano Fernandes | Tiago Alves | André Galvão | Demian Maia | Braulio Estima | Xande Ribeiro | Rolles Gracie | Roger Gracie |
| 2007 | | Bruno Malfacine | Robson Moura | Rubens Charles | Lucas Leite | Marcelo Garcia | Romulo Barral | Eduardo Telles | Rafael Lovato Jr. | Rodrigo Medeiros | Romulo Barral |
| 2008 | | Bruno Malfacine | Carlos Holanda | Rubens Charles | Celso Vinicius | Gustavo Campos | André Galvão | Rafael Lovato Jr. | Roberto Abreu | Luis Theodoro | André Galvão |
| 2009 | | João Kuraoka | Yoshihiko Matsumoto | Rubens Charles | Lucas Lepri | Lucas Leite | Otavio Souza | Roberto Alencar | Antonio Braga Neto | Marcio Corleta | Antonio Braga Neto |
| 2010 | | Bruno Malfacine | Carlos Holanda | Rubens Charles | Michael Langhi | Kayron Gracie | Otavio Souza | Bernardo Faria | Antonio Braga Neto | Gabriel Vella | Bernardo Faria |
| 2011 | | Rafael Freitas | Caio Terra | Bruno Frazatto | Lucas Lepri | Claudio Calasans | André Galvão | Rodolfo Vieira | Marcus Almeida | Antonio Braga Neto | Rodolfo Vieira |
| 2012 | | Caio Terra | Bruno Malfacine | Rafael Mendes | Leandro Lo | Claudio Calasans | Kayron Gracie | Lucas Leite | Bernardo Faria | Marcus Almeida | Antônio Carlos Júnior |
| 2013 | | Caio Terra | Guilherme Mendes | Rafael Mendes | Michael Langhi | Clark Gracie | André Galvão | Roberto Alencar | Leo Nogueira | Marcus Almeida | Marcus Almeida |
| 2014 | | João Rodriguez | Paulo Miyao | Mario Reis | Lucas Lepri | Leandro Lo | Gustavo Campos | Yuri Simões | Luis Panza | André Galvão | André Galvão |
| 2015 | | Bruno Malfacine | Paulo Miyao | Gianni Grippo | Jonathan Torres | Leandro Lo | Keenan Cornelius | Lucas Leite | Bernardo Faria |  Alexander Trans | Bernardo Faria |
| 2016 | | Michael Mesumeci | João Miyao | Paulo Miyao | Edwin Najmi |  Yago de Souza | Leandro Lo | Cassio Da Silva | Luis Panza | André Galvão | Bernardo Faria |
| 2017 | | Bruno Malfacine | João Miyao | Rubens Charles | Lucas Lepri | Otavio Souza | Andres Sanchez | Leandro Lo | Erberth Santos | João Gabriel Rocha | Leandro Lo |
| 2018 | |  Tomoyuki Hashimoto | João Miyao | Gianni Grippo | Jonathan Torres | Gabriel Arges | Lucas Barbosa | Leandro Lo | Keenan Cornelius | João Gabriel Rocha | Leandro Lo |
| 2019 | | Cleber Sousa | Hiago George | Mattheus Gabriel |  Levi Jones-Leary | Isaque Bahiense | Gustavo Batista | Kaynan Duarte | Fellipe Andrew | Ricardo Evangelista | Lucas Barbosa |
Pan American Champions in Women's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Year and Weight
| Year | Host | -48 kg Rooster | -53 kg Light Feather | -58 kg Feather | -64 kg Light | -69 kg Middle | -74 kg Medium Heavy | -80 kg Heavy | +80 kg Super Heavy | Absolute |
| 1999 | | Bianca Andrade | Mariana Coelho | Rosangela Silva | ||||||
| 2000 | | Renata Ninomiya | Tatina Chaves | Mariana Coelho | ||||||
| 2001 | | Alessandra Filha | Luciana Tavares | Erica Paes | ||||||
| 2002 | | Alessandra Filha | Kris Schade | Luciana Dias | ||||||
| 2003 | | Kyra Gracie | Leticia Ribeiro | Alessandra Vieira | Jaqueline Andrade | Maria do Carmo Paixao | ||||
| 2004 | | Megumi Fujii | Leticia Ribeiro | Jeniffer Locke | Kelly Paul | |||||
| 2005 | | Tessa Queen | Kyra Gracie | Cindy Hales | Kelly Paul | Luciana Dias | ||||
| 2006 | | Megumi Fujii | Mariana Coelho | Kelly Paul | Luciana Dias | |||||
| 2007 | | Kanako Inaba | Felicia Oh | Kyra Gracie | Luciana Dias |  Penny Thomas | ||||
| 2008 | | Michelle Nicolini | Gisele Braga | Ana Laura Cordeiro | Luciana Dias | Luciana Dias | ||||
| 2009 | | Claudia Kvenbo | Fabiana Borges | Ana Carolina Vidal | Valerie Worthington | Ana Laura Cordeiro | Luciana Dias | Ana Laura Cordeiro | ||
| 2010 | | Michelle Nicolini | Fabiana Borges | Luana Alzuguir | Hillary Williams | Valerie Worthington | Gabrielle Garcia | Gabrielle Garcia | ||
| 2011 | | Gezary Matuda | Michelle Nicolini | Beatriz Mesquita | Luana Alzuguir | Luiza Monteiro | Gabrielle Garcia | Luana Alzuguir | ||
| 2012 | | Sofia Amarante | Bruna Ribeiro | Beatriz Mesquita | Luana Alzuguir | Hannette Staack | Gabrielle Garcia | Gabrielle Garcia | ||
| 2013 | | Miriam Cerqueira | Luiza Monteiro | Ana Carolina Vidal | Vanessa Oliveira | Talita Nogueira | Gabrielle Garcia | Gabrielle Garcia | ||
| 2014 | | Andrea Encarnacion | Tammi Musumeci | Beatriz Mesquita | Luiza Monteiro | Talita Nogueira | Tammy Griego | Beatriz Mesquita | ||
| 2015 | | Gezary Matuda | Mackenzie Dern | Beatriz Mesquita | Monique Elias | Ana Laura Cordeiro |  Dominyka Obelenyte | Gabrielle Garcia | Gabrielle Garcia | |
| 2016 | | Gezary Matuda | Mackenzie Dern | Beatriz Mesquita | Luiza Monteiro | Andresa Correa | Talita Nogueira | Dominyka Obelenyte | Andresa Correa | |
| 2017 | | Talita Alencar | Bianca Basilio | Tammi Musumeci | Monique Elias | Jessica Flowers | Samela Shoham | Tayane Porfirio | Tayane Porfirio | |
| 2018 | | Gezary Matuda | Karen Atunes | Beatriz Mesquita | Angelica Galvão | Nathiely de Jesus |  Maria Malyjasik | Claudia Doval | Luiza Monteiro | |
| 2019 | | Mayssa Bastos | Amanda Monteiro |  Ffion Davies | Gabrielle McComb | Ana Carolina Vidal | Luiza Monteiro | Nathiely de Jesus | Gabrielle Garcia | Gabrielle Garcia |