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). It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime and was the predecessor of the prestigious AAA Championships.
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. 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.Eric Halladay, Rowing in England - A Social History : the Amateur Debate, p3, 1990
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.Daily Telegraph & Courier (London), Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 3 The prizes were presented by Lady Jersey, wife of the Earl of Jersey.Birmingham Mail, Mon 5 Jul 1880 p. 2
Past Winners YearDateVenueStadiumNotes1 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 championships15 1879 14/16 June London Stamford Bridge Running Grounds Summer championships
See also List of British athletics champions
References