AAC Championships

AAC Championships
Sport	Track and field
Founded	1866
Folded	1880
Country	England/United Kingdom
Related; competitions	AAA Championships

The AAC Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Club (the de facto governing body for amateur athletics in the United Kingdom).^[1] It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime and was the predecessor of the prestigious AAA Championships.^[2]

History

The competition was founded in 1866 as a men-only competition and was held at the club's home base at the Lillie Bridge Grounds in London. By 1879, the championships had arrived at a crossroads because club athletes complained that the staging of the events only suited the University athletes because of the dates chosen to stage the championships. This led to an additional Summer championships in 1879, hosted by the London Athletics Club at the nearby Stamford Bridge Running Grounds.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] The Northern Athletics Association, whose membership was wider than that of its southern counterparts, threatened to boycott the AAC's annual championships, causing the AAC to collapse and in 1880 the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) was formed, with rules that ensured any genuine amateur could join irrespective of their occupation or social class.^[7]

In 1880, representatives of the Amateur Athletic Club handed over to the new association the challenge cups that had been competed for at their championship for presentation at the new competition.^[8] The prizes were presented by Lady Jersey, wife of the Earl of Jersey.^[9]

Past Winners

	Year	Date	Venue	Stadium	Notes
1	1866	23 March	London	Beaufort House, Walham Green
2	1867	15 April	London	Beaufort House, Walham Green
3	1868	19–20 June	London	Beaufort House, Walham Green
4	1869	3 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
5	1870	9 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
6	1871	3 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
7	1872	27 March	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
8	1873	5 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
9	1874	30 March	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
10	1875	22 March	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
11	1876	10 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
12	1877	26 March	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
13	1878	15 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds
14	1879	7 April	London	Lillie Bridge Grounds	Spring championships
15	1879	14/16 June	London	Stamford Bridge Running Grounds	Summer championships

References

↑ Matthews, Peter (1982). The Guinness Book of Athletics Facts and Feats. Guinness Superlatives. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0-85112-238-8.
↑ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
↑ "The Amateur Championship Meeting". Field. 29 March 1879. Retrieved 17 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Amateur Athletic Championships". Field. 21 June 1879. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "he Championship meeting at the L.A.C grounds this day". London Evening Standard. 14 June 1879. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "The Athletic Championships". Sporting Life. 14 June 1879. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ Eric Halladay, Rowing in England - A Social History : the Amateur Debate, p3, 1990
↑ Daily Telegraph & Courier (London), Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 3
↑ Birmingham Mail, Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 2

[1] Matthews, Peter (1982). The Guinness Book of Athletics Facts and Feats. Guinness Superlatives. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0-85112-238-8.

[2] "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 19 July 2024.

[3] "The Amateur Championship Meeting". Field. 29 March 1879. Retrieved 17 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[4] "Amateur Athletic Championships". Field. 21 June 1879. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[5] "he Championship meeting at the L.A.C grounds this day". London Evening Standard. 14 June 1879. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[6] "The Athletic Championships". Sporting Life. 14 June 1879. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[7] Eric Halladay, Rowing in England - A Social History : the Amateur Debate, p3, 1990

[telegraph-8] Daily Telegraph & Courier (London), Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 3

[mail-9] Birmingham Mail, Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 2

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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 2025 2026
British Indoor Athletics Championships (current indoor)	2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 ~~2021~~ 2022 2023 2024 2025
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
Leagues	National Athletics League (current) British Athletics League (defunct) UK Women's Athletic League (defunct)

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AAC Championships

History

Past Winners

See also

References