The British Athletics Championships is the premier national championship in
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
held in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and are organised by
British Athletics
UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...
. The event has doubled as the main trials meet for international team selection for major events in which Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete, including the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the European Athletics Championships. Only British athletes may formally compete, though in some circumstances British club-affiliated foreign athletes may take part as guests.
The event was established in 2007, replacing the AAA Championships as the principal event on the domestic sport of athletics, athletics calendar in the United Kingdom. A previous event, the UK Athletics Championships had nominally been the national championship, but in effect took second billing to the "triple A's". The creation of the British Athletics Championships as the main national championship and selection event, brought the governance of the elite level of the sport and team selection firmly under the new national body for the sport, moving away from the Amateur Athletic Association of England, which had served that role since 1880. A 2001 United Kingdom Championships in Athletics, 2001 British Championship in women's 3000 metres steeplechase was held as a one-off at Scotstoun Stadium, due to the growing popularity of the event among women and its absence from the AAA Championships programme (the event was added a year later).
UK Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
Editions
Championships records
Men
Women
See also
* List of British athletics champions
References
{{English and British National Champions
British Athletics Championships,
National athletics competitions
Athletics competitions in the United Kingdom
2007 establishments in the United Kingdom
Recurring sporting events established in 2007