Oceania Athletics Association

Last updated
Oceania Athletics Association
Oceania Athletics Logo.png
JurisdictionOceania
Membership 20 member + 3 associate member federations
AbbreviationOceania Athletics
Founded1969
Affiliation World Athletics
Headquarters Varsity Lakes, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
President Robin Sapong-Eugenio
Official website
athletics-oceania.com

The Oceania Athletics Association (more commonly known as Oceania Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Oceania. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. Oceania Athletics has 23 members (including 3 associate members) and is headquartered in the Gold Coast.

Contents

History

The OAA was founded as Oceania Amateur Athletic Organization (OAAA) on August 21, 1969, during a "Congress of the delegates of Member Countries of the Australasian Area" held in Port Moresby, then Territory of Papua and New Guinea, at the time of the 3rd South Pacific Games. Six out of the nine Member Federations attended (Australia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, New Hebrides, now called Vanuatu, and Western Samoa, now Samoa). Fiji and New Zealand sent letters of support, while the Cook Islands were not represented. Observers from American Samoa, Solomon Islands, French Polynesia, Guam and New Caledonia also attended. [1]

From this Congress a Committee of four members (non-elected) was formed to set up a draft of rules for the new Association, whose name today is Oceania Athletics Association. These members were: Arthur Hodsdon (Australia) as Chairman, Clive Lee (Australia), James Dunn (Papua New Guinea) and an unnamed New Zealander. From that year onwards the Association has been elected by Member Federations. The name was changed to Oceania Athletics Association (OAA) in February 2007. [2]

Members and governance

Oceania Athletics' governance is split between the main bodies: [3]

Membership

Oceania Athletics now has 20 members and 3 associate members. Each member gets one vote at the Congress. [3]

NationFederationLink
Full members
Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa American Samoa Track & Field Association
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Athletics Australia
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands Athletics Cook Islands Inc.
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji Athletics Fiji
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  French Polynesia Fédération d'athlétisme de Polynésie française  [ fr ]
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam Guam Track and Field Association
Flag of Kiribati.svg  Kiribati Kiribati Athletics Association
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg  Marshall Islands Marshall Islands Athletics
Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg  Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia Athletic Association
Flag of Nauru.svg  Nauru Athletics Nauru
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Athletics New Zealand
Flag of Norfolk Island.svg  Norfolk Island Athletics Norfolk Island
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg  Northern Mariana Islands Northern Marianas Athletics
Flag of Palau.svg  Palau Palau Track and Field Association
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea Athletics Papua New Guinea
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa Athletics Samoa
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands Athletic Solomons
Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga Tonga Athletic Association
Flag of Tuvalu.svg  Tuvalu Tuvalu Athletics Association
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu Vanuatu Athletics Federation
Associate members
Flag of FLNKS.svg  New Caledonia Ligue de la Nouvelle-Calédonie d'athlétisme  [ fr ]
Flag of Niue.svg  Niue Niue Athletics Association
Flag of Wallis and Futuna.svg  Wallis and Futuna Comité territorial d'athlétisme de Wallis et Futuna

Associate member associations

A modification of Article 4.2 of World Athletics constitution set new rules limiting its membership as follows: "The national governing body for Athletics in any Country or Territory shall be eligible for Membership. Members that represented Territories on 31 December 2005 shall continue to be Members. No new Territories shall be admitted to the Membership." [4]

As a consequence, the OAA made constitutional amendments [5] to its Article 2.5, introducing an associate membership to allow territories like New Caledonia, Niue, and Wallis and Futuna to participate officially "in OAA activities, including area and regional competitions". [6] This also applies for Tokelau, where the first athletics event ever took place recently. [7]

In 2008, New Caledonia became the first associate member, [2] [8] Niue followed in 2009. [2]

Presidents

The current president of the association, Robin Sapong Eugenios (Northern Marianas) was firstly elected in December 2019 at the OAA Special Congress.

NameCountryPresidency
Arthur Hodsdon Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1969–1978
Lee Morrison Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1978–1985
Clive LeeFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1985–1991
Peter Anderson Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 1991–1995
Viliame S Tunidau Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 1995–1999
Anne Tierney Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 1999–2007
Geoff Gardner Flag of Norfolk Island.svg Norfolk Island 2007–2019
Robin Sapong-Eugenio Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg Northern Mariana Islands2019–present

Competitions

The OAA holds the following championships:

Moreover, the following regional championships were organized:

In 2011, a new regional concept was introduced, and the three regional championships and the Oceania Championships were unified to the Oceania Regional (or Area) Championships, or simply again Oceania Championships. Two regions "East" and "West" were classified. Athletes from the two regions may compete together at the championships, but results will be separated for rankings purposes, and medals are awarded separately.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Oceania Athletics Championships</span> International athletics championship event

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Oceania Athletics Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 2012 Oceania Athletics Championships were held at the Barlow Park in Cairns, Australia, between June 27–29, 2012.

The 2012 Oceania Junior Athletics Championships were held at the Barlow Park in Cairns, Australia, between June 27–29, 2012. They were held together with the 2012 Oceania Open Championships.

Athletics competitions at the 1969 South Pacific Games were held in Port Moresby, Papua and New Guinea, between August 14–20, 1969. Following the event, a "Congress of the delegates of Member Countries of the Australasian Area" was held on August 21, 1969, resulting in the foundation of the Oceania Athletics Association. A total of 34 events were contested, 22 by men and 12 by women.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Oceania Athletics Championships</span> Athletic competition

The 2013 Oceania Athletics Championships were held at the Stade Pater Te Hono Nui in Papeete, French Polynesia, between June 3–5, 2013. The event was held jointly with the 2013 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships, and there were also exhibition events for masters, athletes with a disability and children. Detailed reports on a day by day basis were given.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Oceania Athletics Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 2014 Oceania Athletics Championships were held at the BCI Stadium in Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, between June 24–26, 2014. The event was held jointly with the 2014 Oceania Junior Athletics Championships, and there were also exhibition events for masters, and athletes with a disability (parasports). Detailed reports on a day by day basis were given.

The 2014 Oceania Junior Athletics Championships were held at the BCI Stadium in Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, between June 24–26, 2014. They were held together with the 2014 Oceania Senior Championships, and there were also exhibition events for masters, and athletes with a disability (parasports). Detailed reports on a day by day basis were given.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Oceania Athletics Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 2015 Oceania Athletics Championships were held at Barlow Park in Cairns, Australia, between May 8–10, 2015. The event was held jointly with the 2015 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships and the 2015 Oceania Combined Events Championships. Moreover, there were also exhibition events for masters and athletes with a disability (parasports), as well as school events for age groups 5 to 15 years. Detailed reports on a day by day basis were given.

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The 17th Oceania Athletics Championships were held from 1 to 7 June 2024 at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, Fiji.

References

  1. "Oceania Athletics Association's Council - History". OAA. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "General History of Oceania Athletics Association". OAA. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Oceania Athletics Association Incorporated Constitution" (PDF). OAA. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  4. International Association of Athletics Federations - Constitution - In force as from 1st November 2011, World Athletics, p. 12, retrieved February 11, 2014
  5. Oceania Athletics Association Inc Constitution - Adopted on 8 May 2009 - Commencement Date 8 May 2009 (PDF), Oceania Athletics Association, May 8, 2009, archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014, retrieved February 11, 2014
  6. Modification de la constitution océanienne (in French), Fédération d'Athlétisme de Polynésie Française, August 26, 2007, archived from the original on February 23, 2014, retrieved February 11, 2014
  7. Athletics, Tokelau National Sports Federation, July 29, 2013, retrieved February 11, 2014
  8. Oceania Council Meeting Looks to the Future, Oceania Athletics Association, June 25, 2008, retrieved February 11, 2014