History of the Welsh Schools Athletics Association

The first WSAA National Championships took place in 1947- boys only, until girl’s events were included in 1955. In 1959 the WSAA organised the first Schools International between Wales and Scotland. In 1961 England attended and then N.I in 1963. The Schools International has become a fixture every year since, with many of the best British athletes having competed- Katherine Merry, Steve Backley, Sonia O’Sullivan, Mark Lewis Francis, as well as Welsh athletes such as Colin Jackson, Jamie Baulch, Christian Malcolm, and Lynn Davies. Cross Country was added in 1961 to the International Schools competition list. The current Welsh Schools programme has developed to include the following:

March - National XC Championships
April- British Schools XC International
April- Inter Association XC Match between Welsh Schools and AAW (Guest nations sometimes attend)
June- Combined Events Championships
July- National Schools Track and Field Championships
July- British Schools Track and Field International
July- U20 Track and Field International
November- Inter Schools XC Championships

There are many other regional events supported by the WSAA- for example the various regional championships that select the teams to compete for the National championships.