AAA Championships - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Amateur Athletic Association Championships) Annual track and field competition

AAA Championships

Sport	Track and field
Founded	1880
Ceased	2006
Country	England/United Kingdom

The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the official UK Athletics Championships organised by the then governing body for British athletics, the British Athletics Federation between 1977 and 1993, and again in 1997. It was succeeded by the British Athletics Championships, organised by the BEF's replacement (successor), UK Athletics under its brand name British Athletics.

History

The competition was founded in 1880, replacing the Amateur Athletic Club (AAC) Championships, which had been held since 1866. Initially a men-only competition, a Women's AAA Championships was introduced in 1922 with the first proper WAAA Championships in 1923 and organised by the Women's Amateur Athletics Association until 1992, at which point it was folded into the Amateur Athletics Association. During the 1920s and early 1930s, the AAA Championships was Europe's most prestigious athletics event until the European Athletics Championships were inaugurated in 1934. Events were contested and measured in imperial units until metrification in 1969, in line with international standards.

Though organised by the English governing body, it was open to athletes from all over the world. The first overseas champion was Lon Myers of the United States who won the 440 yards in 1881. the first winner from Africa was Arthur Wharton from Ghana who won the 100 yards in 1886 and 1887. Foreign champions out-numbered those from the United Kingdom for the first time in 1904 when the United States team on their way to Paris for the Olympic Games stopped off in London and won eight of the fourteen events then on the programme.

It served as the de facto British Championships, given the absence of such a competition for most of its history. It was typically held over two or three days over a weekend in July or August. Foreign athletes were no longer allowed to compete from 1998 onwards (with the change first being trialled in 1996), though they were still allowed to participate (but not formally placed) in the 10,000 m and marathon events.

The creation of the UK Athletics Championships in 1977 under the British Amateur Athletic Board (later British Athletics Federation) marked a challenge to the event's domestic supremacy, though the quality of that rival event declined after it hosted the 1980 Olympic trials and it ceased as an annual championships after 1993, closing completely after 1997. The AAA Championships incorporated the UK Olympic trials every four years from 1988 to 2004. The women's WAAA Championships was folded into the AAA Championships in 1988.

The establishment of UK Athletics in 1999 to serve as the national governing body for professional, elite athletics ultimately started the decline of the AAA Championships. UK Athletics took over the role of both national championships and international team selection with its own British Athletics Championships from 2007 onwards. The AAA Championships ceased to be a stand-alone event in its own right from that point onwards, though it re-emerged in 2016 in being co-held with the English Athletics Championships organised by England Athletics (a body for developing the grassroots level beneath UK Athletics).

The long-distance track events, marathon, racewalking events and combined track and field events were regularly held outside of the main track and field championship competition. Although the competition venue varied over the years, there were several locations that served as regular hosts over its history: Stamford Bridge (1886 to 1931), White City Stadium (1932 to 1970), Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (1971 to 1987) and Alexander Stadium (1984 to 2003).

Evolution of events

In 1880 the programme consisted of fourteen events; 100 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards, 1 mile, 4 miles, 10 miles, steeplechase, 120 yards hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot put, hammer and a 7 miles walk.

Challenge Cups

On 4 April 1880 a meeting of representatives of the chief athletic clubs in the country was held at Oxford for the purpose of forming a governing body possessing the power of framing the laws and regulations of (track and field) athletics. The Amateur Athletic Association was the result. At that meeting the representatives of the Amateur Athletic Club handed over to the new association the challenge cups that had been competed for since the championship meeting was instituted in 1866. There were initially just nine cups, shown with their notional insurance value, as follows: 100 yards - Challenge Cup presented by Prince Hassan, 60 guineas. Prince Hassan was the brother of Tewfik Pasha the Khedive of Egypt, and was educated in England. 440 yards - Challenge Cup presented by Kenelm Thomas Digby, Esq., MP, 45 guineas, an Irish politician. 880 yards - Challenge Cup presented by Percy Melville Thornton, 45 guineas. Thornton was the son of Rear-Admiral Samuel Thornton. Educated at Harrow, an Oxford graduate, he won the AAC 880 yards in 1866, was the first Secretary of the Inter-University sports, inspired the boat race near Ghent in 1911 between 8 Jesus college oarsmen and a Belgian crew. Was Honorary Secretary Middlesex County Cricket Club for many years, an MP for the Clapham division of Battersea from 1892 to 1910. Married his cousin Florence Emily Sykes and wrote a book on Foreign Secretaries of the Nineteenth Century. 1 mile - Challenge Cup presented by Charles Bennett Lawes Esq. From Teignmouth, Devon, Lawes, went to Eton, and Trinity College, Cambridge University. He won the AAC 1 mile championship in 1866. 1st President Incorporated Society of British Sculptors. 4 miles - Challenge Cup presented by the Early of Jersey, 60 guineas. At the Oxford vs Cambridge match in 1865 he was fourth in the 2 miles, in a blinding snowstorm. The following year he was third in a 1-mile race won by Arthur Kemble in a howling gale. He was first President of the AAA. 10 miles - Challenge Cup presented by Walter Moresby Chinnery of the London Athletic Club, 50 guineas. Chinnery was the first amateur to run 1 mile in less than four and a half minutes, which he did at Cambridge on 10 March 1868, and on 30 May that year he repeated the feat at Beaufort House. In 1868 and 1869 he won both the 1 mile and 4 miles events at the AAC championship, and he again won the 1 mile in 1871. High jump - Challenge Cup presented by Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, 3rd Baronet, 35 guineas. 120 yards hurdles - Challenge Cup presented by Lord Southwell, 45 guineas. 7 miles walk - Challenge Cup presented by John Chambers, founder and secretary of the AAC, 35 guineas.

Editions

#	Year	Date	Venue	Stadium	Notes
1	1880	3 July	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds	Replaced the AAC Championships
2	1881	16 & 18 July	Birmingham	Aston Lower Grounds
3	1882	1 July	Stoke	Stoke Victoria AC Grounds	7-foot square for the shot put introduced
4	1883	30 June	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
5	1884	21 June	Birmingham	Aston Lower Grounds
6	1885	27 June	Southport	Southport Sports Ground
7	1886	3 July	London	Stamford Bridge
8	1887	2 July	Stourbridge	Stourbridge Cricket Ground	9-foot square for the hammer introduced
9	1888	30 June	Crewe	Alexandra Recreation Ground
10	1889	29 June	London	Stamford Bridge
11	1890	12 July	Birmingham	Aston Lower Grounds
12	1891	29 June	Manchester	Manchester AA Grounds, Old Trafford
13	1892	2 July	London	Stamford Bridge
14	1893	1 July	Northampton	County Cricket Ground
15	1894	7 July	Huddersfield	Fartown Ground	7 mile walk reduced to 4 mile walk
16	1895	6 July	London	Stamford Bridge
17	1896	4 July	Northampton	County Cricket Ground	wire handles for the hammer legalised
18	1897	3 July	Manchester	Fallowfield Stadium
19	1898	2 July	London	Stamford Bridge
20	1899	1 July	Wolverhampton	Molineux Grounds
21	1900	7 July	London	Stamford Bridge
22	1901	6 July	Huddersfield	Fartown Ground	4 miles walk reverts back to 7 miles
23	1902	5 July	London	Stamford Bridge	220 yards first held
24	1903	4 July	Northampton	County Cricket Ground
25	1904	2 July	Rochdale	Athletic Grounds
26	1905	1 July	London	Stamford Bridge
27	1906	7 July	London	Stamford Bridge
28	1907	6 July	Manchester	Fallowfield Stadium
29	1908	4 July	London	White City Stadium	7 foot circle for the hammer re-introduced
30	1909	3 July	London	Stamford Bridge
31	1910	2 July	London	Stamford Bridge
32	1911	1 July	London	Stamford Bridge	1-mile medley relay introduced
33	1912	22 June	London	Stamford Bridge	stop-board at the front of the circle for the shot put introduced
34	1913	5 July	London	Stamford Bridge	steeplechase standardised at 2 miles
35	1914	3–4 July	London	Stamford Bridge	440 yards hurdles, discus, javelin, and triple jump introduced
Not held 1915 to 1918 due to World War I
36	1919	5 July	London	Stamford Bridge
37	1920	2–3 July	London	Stamford Bridge	56 lb weight event was held
38	1921	1–2 July	London	Stamford Bridge
39	1922	30 June-1 July 1922	London	Stamford Bridge	moving the hands up the pole during the pole vault, in what was known at the time as the "climbing" technique was ended
40	1923	2–3 July	London	Stamford Bridge
41	1924	20–21 June	London	Stamford Bridge
42	1925	17–18 July	London	Stamford Bridge	marathon introduced
43	1926	2–3 July	London	Stamford Bridge
44	1927	1–4 July	London	Stamford Bridge	4 x 440 yards relay and a 4 x 110 yards relay was introduced at the same time
45	1928	6–7 July	London	Stamford Bridge	decathlon was first held
46	1929	5–6 July	London	Stamford Bridge
47	1930	4–5 July	London	Stamford Bridge
48	1931	3–4 July	London	Stamford Bridge	steeplechase number of hurdles standardised and pole jump renamed pole vault
49	1932	1–2 July	London	White City Stadium	4 miles race reduced to 3 miles and the 6 miles event was introduced
50	1933	7–8 July	London	White City Stadium
51	1934	13–14 July	London	White City Stadium
52	1935	12–13 July	London	White City Stadium
53	1936	10–11 July	London	White City Stadium
54	1937	16–17 July	London	White City Stadium
55	1938	15–16 July	London	White City Stadium
56	1939	7–8 July	London	White City Stadium
Not held 1940 to 1945 due to World War II
57	1946	19–20 July	London	White City Stadium
58	1947	18–19 July	London	White City Stadium
59	1948	2–3 July	London	White City Stadium
60	1949	15–16 July	London	White City Stadium
61	1950	14–15 July	London	White City Stadium
62	1951	13–14 July	London	White City Stadium
63	1952	21–22 June	London	White City Stadium	220 yards hurdles event introduced
64	1953	10–11 July	London	White City Stadium
65	1954	9–10 July	London	White City Stadium
66	1955	15–16 July	London	White City Stadium
67	1956	13–14 July	London	White City Stadium
68	1957	12–13 July	London	White City Stadium
69	1958	11–12 July	London	White City Stadium
70	1959	10–11 July	London	White City Stadium
71	1960	15–16 July	London	White City Stadium
72	1961	14–15 July	London	White City Stadium
73	1962	13–14 July	London	White City Stadium
74	1963	12–13 July	London	White City Stadium	220 yards hurdles discontinued
75	1964	10–11 July	London	White City Stadium
76	1965	9–10 July	London	White City Stadium
77	1966	8–9 July	London	White City Stadium
78	1967	14–15 July	London	White City Stadium
79	1968	12–13 July	London	White City Stadium
80	1969	1–2 August	London	White City Stadium	Imperial distance events replaced with metric distances
81	1970	7–9 August	London	White City Stadium
82	1971	23–24 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
83	1972	14–15 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
84	1973	13–14 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
85	1974	12–13 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
86	1975	1–2 August	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
87	1976	13–14 August	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
88	1977	22–23 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
89	1978	23–24 June	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
90	1979	13–14 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
91	1980	5–6 September	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
92	1981	7–8 August	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
93	1982	24–25 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
94	1983	23–24 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre	The London marathon counts as the AAA title
95	1984	23–24 June	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
96	1985	13–14 July	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
97	1986	20–21 June	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
98	1987	1–2 August	London	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
99	1988	5–7 August	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	Olympic trials, women's championships held in conjunction for first time
100	1989	11–13 August	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	3000 metres introduced
101	1990	3–4 August	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
102	1991	26–27 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
103	1992	27–28 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	Olympic trials
104	1993	16–17 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
105	1994	11–12 July	Sheffield	Don Valley Stadium
106	1995	15–16 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
107	1996	14–16 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	Olympic trials
108	1997	24–25 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
109	1998	24–26 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
110	1999	23–25 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
111	2000	11–13 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	Olympic trials
112	2001	13–15 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	10,000m walk reduced to 5,000m walk
113	2002	12–14 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium	women's 2000 metres steeplechase introduced
114	2003	25–27 July	Birmingham	Alexander Stadium
115	2004	10–11 July	Manchester	Sportcity	Olympic trials
116	2005	9–10 July	Manchester	Sportcity
117	2006	15–16 July	Manchester	Sportcity

Most successful athletes by event

Event	Men	Men's titles	Women	Women's titles
100 metres	Linford Christie	8	Joice Maduaka	5
200 metres	John Regis	6	Kathy Smallwood-Cook	6
400 metres	David Jenkins	6	Joslyn Hoyte-Smith Linda Keough	3
800 metres	Steve Ovett Steve Cram Curtis Robb	3	Kelly Holmes	7
1500 metres	John Mayock	6	Hayley Tullett	4
3000 metres	No multiple champions	—	Yvonne Murray	4
5000 metres	Eamonn Martin Brendan Foster	3	Hayley Yelling	3
10,000 metres	Dave Bedford	5	Hayley Yelling	3
3000 m steeplechase	Maurice Herriott	7	Tina Brown	2
110/100 m hurdles	Colin Jackson	11	Sally Gunnell	7
400 m hurdles	Chris Rawlinson	6	Gowry Retchakan	5
High jump	Benjamin Howard Baker	6	Dorothy Tyler	8
Pole vault	Tom Ray	7	Janine Whitlock	6
Long jump	Peter O'Connor	6	Ethel Raby	6
Triple jump	Willem Peters (NED)	6	Michelle Griffith	5
Shot put	Denis Horgan (IRE)	13	Judy Oakes	17
Discus throw	Bill Tancred	7	Suzanne Allday	7
Hammer throw	Mick Jones Tom Nicolson	6	Lorraine Shaw	6
Javelin throw	Mick Hill Dave Travis	7	Tessa Sanderson	10
Combined events	Leslie Pinder	4	Mary Peters	8
3000/5000 m race walk	Roger Mills	10	Betty Sworowski	4
10,000 m race walk	Brian Adams	5	Irene Bateman Helen Elleker Betty Sworowski Vicky Lupton	3

References

^ AAA Championships Women. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
"Track Stats - John Powell". nuts.org.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2012. The European Championships did not begin until 1934
^ AAA Championships. NUTS. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
UK Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
^ AAA Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
AAA. England Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
What We Do. England Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
Athletes on form at England Athletics Senior Championships Archived 2018-02-26 at the Wayback Machine. England Athletics (2016-07-31). Retrieved 2018-02-25.
"Daily Telegraph & Courier (London)", Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 3
Richard Hymans "World Record Progressions" International Amateur Athletics Federation (2015)
Peter Lovesey and Keith Morbey "British Athletics 1866-1880". National Union of Track Statisticians (2016)
"The Referee", Sun 17 Jul 1881 p. 5

Editions

AAA Championships. Power of 10. Retrieved 2018-02-25.

External links

Athletics in the United Kingdom

Major meetings	London Grand Prix British Grand Prix Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow International Match British Athletics Championships British Indoor Athletics Championships National Athletics League
Major road races	London Marathon Great City Race Great Run series Great Manchester Run Great North Run Great South Run The Big Half
Major cross country	Antrim International Cross Country Great Edinburgh International Cross Country UK Cross Challenge
Championships	1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1994 IAAF World Cup 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships 2013 European Team Championships 2017 World Championships in Athletics
Defunct Championships	AAC Championships AAA Championships WAAA Championships UK Athletics Championships

See also: Category:Athletics in the United Kingdom; Category:British athletes

v t e British national championships in athletics
British Athletics Championships (current outdoor)	2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
British Indoor Athletics Championships (current indoor)	2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 ~~2021~~ 2022 2023 2024
AAC Championships	1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879
AAA Championships	1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
WAAA Championships	1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
UK Championships	1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1997 2001
AAA Indoor Championships	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

v t e National championships in athletics
Outdoor	Algeria Andorran Argentina Australia Austria Bahamas Barbados Belarus Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile China Colombia Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Czechoslovakia Denmark Egypt Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Germany East West Ghana Greece Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Latvia Lithuania Madagascar Mauritius Mexico Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Pakistan Paraguay Philippines Poland Portugal men women Romania Russia Scotland Senegal Serbia Seychelles Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Soviet Union Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom British AAA WAAA UK United States high school collegiate men collegiate women masters Venezuela Yugoslavia
Indoor	Andorran Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Czechoslovakia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany East West Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal men women Russia Scotland Slovakia Slovenia Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom British AAA United States high school collegiate men collegiate women masters Yugoslavia
Age category	Canada U20 China National Youth Games United States U20 United States U18
Cross Country	Algeria Belgium Canada England Ethiopia France Germany Italy Kenya Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Scotland Soviet Union Spain United States high school individual high school team collegiate men collegiate women Yugoslavia

Defunct athletics competitions

World

Regional

Africa	African Championships Half Marathon Marathon Mountain Running Race Walking African Zone VI Championships Afro-Asian Games Central African Games East Africa Athletics Half Marathon East and Central African Championships Maghreb Championships North Africa Athletics Combined Events and Race Walking West Africa Athletics Cross Country West African Games West and North African Championships
Asia	Afro-Asian Games Asian University Championships East Asian Games Far Eastern Championship Games West Asian Games
Europe	Baltic Indoor Baltic Sea Games Europe Cup Indoor Cup Mediterranean Athletics Championships Nordic Indoor Combined Events Indoor Race Walking Junior Race Walking Marathon Women's Cup
Americas	British West Indies Championships Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Junior Athletics North America 5K Men's Marathon Relay South American University Championships
Oceania	Australasian Championships South Pacific Championships

National

Czechoslovakia
East Germany
- Outdoor
- Indoor
Soviet Union
United Kingdom
West Germany
- Outdoor
- Indoor
USA–USSR Track and Field Dual Meet Series
Yugoslavia
- Cross Country
- Track and field

Seasonal

Races

Meetings

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