The New Zealand Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor

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 eve ...

competition organised by

Athletics New Zealand Athletics New Zealand (ANZ) is the national governing body for athletics in New Zealand. This includes responsibility for Track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. History The organisation was founded in 1887 as the ...

, which serves as the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

for the sport in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It usually takes place over a three-day period from Friday to Sunday. Typically organised in the Southern Hemisphere summer months of February or March, the competition was inaugurated in 1887 as a men-only event, with women's events being added to the programme from 1926 onwards. In 1893, teams from the

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

n colonies of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and New Zealand competed in the first formalised

Australasian Athletics Championships The Australasian Athletics Championships was an athletics (sport), athletics competition between male athletes principally from Australia and New Zealand that was held between 1893 and 1927. They were the precursor to the national Australian Athlet ...

meeting. A New Zealand team continued to compete in this event until the 1927/28 event (since only

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlet ...

). National championship events were held twice in 1973 and 1989, with the 1974 and 1990 championships brought forward and not being held that year.New Zealand Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-04-22. The early years of the meet served as a colonial competition for the

British dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 Im ...

. New Zealand also sent teams for the

during its lifetime from 1890 to 1927. Separate annual championship events are held for the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

, 3000 metres,

combined track and field events Combined track and field events are competitions in which athletes participate in a number of track and field events, earning points for their performance in each event, which adds to a total points score. Outdoors, the most common combined events ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

mountain running Mountain running is a sports discipline which takes place mainly off-road in mountainous terrain, but if there is significant elevation gain on the route, surfaced roads may be used. In this it differs from fell running; also its courses are more ...

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

and

racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

events.Summer Championships
Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 2018-04-22.

Events

The competition programme features a total of 36 individual New Zealand Championship

athletics events The sport of athletics is defined by the many events which make up its competition programmes. All events within the sport are forms of running, walking, jumping or throwing. These events are divided into the sub-sports of track and field, ro ...

, 18 for men and 18 for women. There are six track running events, three obstacle events, four jumps, and four throws. Track races were contested over imperial distances until metric standardisation in 1970. ;Track running *

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, 400 metres,

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

, 5000 metres ;Obstacle events *

100 metres hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is ...

(women only),

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hu ...

(men only),

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

, 3000 metres steeplechase ;Jumping events *

Pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

, high jump,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

;Throwing events * Shot put,

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

;Walking events * 3000 metres walk The 3000 metres distance was incorporated into the main track and field championships from 1989 up to 2005 for men and from 1976 to 2005 for women. Men contested a 220-yard hurdles until 1970 (with the final event being in the

200 metres hurdles The 200 metres hurdles is a rarely run hurdling event in track and field competitions. Sometimes, this event is referred to as the low hurdles. It was run twice in the Summer Olympics, in 1900 and 1904. All-time top 25 *straight = performanc ...

format). A men's 5000 m track walk was introduced in 1975 and was amended to the 3000 m distance in 2000. Women had an additional short sprint event over 75 yards, which was last held in 1960. The women's programme gradually expanded to match the men's. A women's

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

was first added in 1968 and changed to 1500 m two years later. The 10,000 m was added in 1985 and the 5000 m was included the following year. (Road running also expanded in this time with the first women's marathon national championship occurring in 1980 and a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

national title being awarded from 1991 onwards.) The women's

80 metres hurdles 80 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling ran by women until 1972 in international competitions. Since the 1972 Summer Olympics, the event has been permanently replaced by the 100 metre hurdles. Masters athletics The distance, with different s ...

was converted to the international standard of 100 m in 1969 and the first women's 400 m hurdles happened six years later in 1975. The

women's pentathlon The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day (formerly two days). The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with t ...

was expanded to the heptathlon at the combined events championship in 1982. The inclusion of triple jump in 1988 boosted the women's jumps programme and the addition of both hammer throw and pole vault in 1992 brought the women's field events to parity with the men. A women's walk was added in 1985. Women achieved parity of events across the programme with the introduction of a women's 2000 metres steeplechase in 1997. This was lengthened to 3000 m to match the men's version in 2001.

Editions

Championships records

Men

Women

References

;Championships data
National Outdoor 5000m Championships for New Zealand
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2018-04-22. {{National championships in athletics Athletics competitions in New Zealand National athletics competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1887

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

New Zealand Athletics Championships