English Schools' Athletics Championships

The English Schools' Athletics Championships are annual national athletics competitions organised by the English Schools' Athletic Association (ESAA) for students in England aged 12–18 for track and field, cross country and race walking.

The events are used to select the English team for the Schools International Athletics Board competitions (which involve England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and the ISF World Schools' Cross Country Championships and World Schools Track & Field Championships.[1]

Age groups

Age groups for the championships are defined based on a student's age on the 31st August of the school year in which the competition is held as follows:[2]

Group (Boys, Girls) Age at 31st August Age at Event School Year
Junior (JB, JG) 13–14 12–14 89
Intermediate (IB, IG) 15–16 14–16 1011
Senior (SB, SG) 17–18 16–18 1213

Track and field championships

The track and field championships have been held every year since 1925 (except for 1940–1945 due to WWII) and are the 4th largest athletics event in the world.[3] Since 2003 they have been held at the major athletics venues of Birmingham Alexander Stadium, Gateshead International Stadium and former Sheffield Don Valley Stadium.

To be eligible to compete students must attain an entry standard. Each county selects a team for the championships from the eligible students attending schools in their area subject to various constraints including maximum team sizes and students only being allowed to participate in a single individual event at the championships. Teams earn points based on the finishing position of their students in each event and their performances levels.[4] The teams compete for various trophies based on their points earned. Since 1951 Essex have attained the overall highest points total the most times.

Cross country championships

The cross country championships have been held every year since 1960 for boys and 1968 for girls (except for 2001 due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak). Originally separate events were held for boys and girls but since 1989 they have always been combined.

Combined events and race walking championships

A separate championships is held each year for combined events and race walking. For combined events students compete in the track and field pentathlon (JB, JG), heptathlon (IG, SG), octathlon (IB) and decathlon (SB) events.[14] For race walking students compete over 3000 metres (JB, JG, IG) and 5000 metres (IB, SB, SG).[15]

Notable competitors

Many competitors at the English Schools' Athletics Championships have gone on to win Olympic and World Championship medals including multiple gold medallists Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Kelly Holmes and Greg Rutherford.

External links

English Schools' Athletic Association

References

  1. "ESAA International Events". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  2. "ESAA Age Groups". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  3. 1 2 "ESAA Track & Field Championships". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  4. "ESAA: Track & Field Competition Rules". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  5. "http://www.esaa.net/handbook/pastvenuesandcountychampions.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28. External link in |title= (help)
  6. "http://www.esaa.net/2010/tf/national/results/nat10-a5-results-booklet.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28. External link in |title= (help)
  7. "http://www.esaa.net/2011/tf/national/results/tf2011-results-booklet.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28. External link in |title= (help)
  8. "http://www.esaa.net/2012/tf/national/results/nat12-results.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28. External link in |title= (help)
  9. "http://www.esaa.net/v2/2013/tf/national/results/tf13points.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28. External link in |title= (help)
  10. "http://www.esaa.net/v2/2014/tf/national/results/tf14points.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28. External link in |title= (help)
  11. "http://www.esaa.net/v2/2015/tf/national/results/2015points.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-07-15. External link in |title= (help)
  12. "ESAA Best Performances". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  13. "http://www.esaa.net/v2/2015/tf/national/results/tf15results.pdf" (PDF). www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-07-15. External link in |title= (help)
  14. "ESAA Combined Events Rules". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  15. "ESAA Race Walk Rules". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  16. "olympicteam2004". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  17. "Olympic Team 2008". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  18. "Olympic Team 2012". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
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