South African Athletics Championships

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South African Athletics Championships

Sport	Track and field
Founded	1894
Country	South Africa

The South African Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Athletics South Africa, which serves as the national championship for the sport in South Africa.^[1]

Typically organised in March or April at the end of the South African summer, the event was first held in 1894 and introduced the first events for women in 1929. Separate annual championship events are held for cross country running, road running and racewalking events. The championships was first initiated by European colonists in the Cape Colony and continued with the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The competition was organised and attended only by White South Africans (mostly of Dutch and British heritage). An open championship was established in 1974, including all races and international athletes. The International Amateur Athletic Association (IAAF) banned South Africa from international athletics in 1976 for its apartheid policy. As a result, the two competitions merged to form a single multi-racial national championship in 1977.^[1]