Amateur Athletic Association of England

Last updated

Amateur Athletic Association of England
AbbreviationAAA
Predecessor Amateur Athletic Club
Formation24 April 1880;143 years ago (1880-04-24)
Founders Clement Jackson, Montague Shearman and Bernhard Wise
TypeAmateur Sports Organization
Headquarters Wincham, Cheshire
Chairman
Walter Nicholls
Key people
Patron: Queen Elizabeth II
Website

The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world,[ citation needed ] having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britain and Ireland (until 1923). Its role changed to support regional athletic clubs within England alone. This role was effectively taken over by England Athletics in 2005 and the Amateur Athletic Association of England was absorbed into that organisation. It is now concerned with the development of young athletes and has taken on the role of safeguarding the history of the sport and still awards trophies to elite athletes. [1]

Contents

History

Original logo of the Amateur Athletic Association Amateur Athletic Association Logo.jpg
Original logo of the Amateur Athletic Association

Three men from Oxford University, Clement Jackson, Montague Shearman and Bernhard Wise, were responsible for the founding of the Amateur Athletic Association which succeeded the Amateur Athletic Club ("AAC") in 1880. The Amateur Athletic Club had had a narrow definition of 'amateur' and had drafted into its original constitution what has been termed a 'mechanics clause' that effectively prevented anyone engaged in manual labour from joining on the assumption that those who engaged in such physical work might have a competitive edge. This caused debate and unease from the beginning and by 1879, the Northern Athletics Association, whose membership was wider than that of its southern counterparts, threatened to boycott the AAC's annual championships. This caused the AAC to collapse and in 1880 the Amateur Athletic Association was formed, with rules that ensured any genuine amateur could join irrespective of their occupation or social class. [2] The AAA's original motto was in Ancient Greek and read 'ΤΑΧΥΤΛΣ ΠΟΔΩΝ ΑΚΜΑΙ ΤΊΣΧΥΟΣ' which translates to 'Fast Feet and Strength'. The first AAA Championships were held on the 3 July 1880 at Lillie Bridge. Dame Marea Hartman was the first woman president of the AAA when she was appointed in 1991. The AAA of England was formed in 1991 following the merger of the previous AAA and the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (formed in 1922). [3] [4] The WAAA held the first WAAA Championships in 1923. It is now headquartered in Wincham in Cheshire West and Chester, towards the east of Northwich.

The AAA Championships (widely regarded as the de facto British national championships) were held annually from 3 July 1880 up to 2006 (with breaks for the two world wars). Trials events for the British teams for the Olympics, World Championships in Athletics, European Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games were often included as part of the competitions. [5] The AAA Indoor Championships served a similar role from its creation in 1935. [6] The creation in 1999 of a new national governing body for athletics, UK Athletics, signaled the waning influence of the AAA and its championships, with the new body running its own British Athletics Championships and trials events indoors and outdoors from 2007 onwards.

Archives

Archives of the Amateur Athletic Association of England are held at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. [7] Archives of the Women's Amateur Athletic Association are also held at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Athletics Championships</span> Premier national championship in track and field

The British Athletics Championships is the premier national championship in track and field held in the United Kingdom, and are organised by British Athletics. 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 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.

Andrew 'Howard' Payne was an English Olympic track and field athlete. He specialised in the hammer throw event during his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AAA Championships</span> Annual track and field competition

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.

The 1923 WAAA Championships were the first national track and field championships for women in the UK. The tournament was held on 18 August 1923 at the Oxo Sport Grounds in London, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 AAA Championships</span> Track & field competition

The 2001 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 13–15 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. It was considered the de facto national championships for the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 AAA Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 1997 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 24 to 25 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. First the first time, it was not considered the national championships for the United Kingdom, as the 1997 British Athletics Championships attracted a higher standard of national competitors than the AAA one. The British Athletics Federation's decision to hold its trials separately was taken due to the organisation's financial problems, which would ultimately result in its bankruptcy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 AAA Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 1994 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 11–12 July at Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, England. It was the first and only time that the AAA Championships was held at that venue. It was considered the de facto national championships for the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAAA Championships</span>

The WAAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) in England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event for women during its lifetime.

References

  1. ↑ Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) at England Athletics
  2. ↑ Eric Halladay, Rowing in England - A Social History : the Amateur Debate, p3, 1990
  3. ↑ Amateur Athletic Association of England. Birmingham Grid for Learning. Retrieved on 2011-04-09.
  4. ↑ A Collection-level Description for the Records of the Amateur Athletic Association. Archives Hub. Retrieved on 2011-04-09.
  5. ↑ "UKA elite standard" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2006.
  6. ↑ AAA Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  7. ↑ "UoB CALMVIEW2: Overview". calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "UoB CALMVIEW2: Overview". calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.