Oceania Athletics Championships
Statusactive
Genresports event
Frequencybiennial
Location(s)various
Inaugurated1990
Most recent2019
Next event2022
Organised byOceania Athletics Association
Websiteathletics-oceania.com

The Oceania Athletics Championships is an athletics event organized by the Oceania Athletics Association (OAA) for the World Athletics (WA) (formerly the IAAF) member associations of the Oceania region.[1] First held in 1990 in Suva, it was initially conceived as a quadrennial event however after the second edition in 1994, the championships changed to a biennial event. After the 2010 championships there were significant changes in the format of the competition. Now being held as a regional championships (in 2011 and 2012), the associations were divided into two divisions based on there geographical location either east or west. However, the competition was revised back to its original format as an area championships in 2013.[2][3]

The event has been held jointly with the Under-20 championships since 1994 and Under-18 championships since 2000. For the first time in 2014, para-athletics events were included in the championships.

Since the inaugural championships in 1990 (up until 2017), unlike the rest of the OAA member federations, only Australia and New Zealand send their second tier teams to compete in the championships. This was to allow pacific island nations to be competitive and challenge for medals.[4] However, in 2019, the championships became a fully tier-one competition when the then IAAF (now World Athletics), made a change in the qualification system for the 2019 World Championships in Doha as well as the 2020 Summer Olympics set for Tokyo. The rule change saw athletes would only qualify for either competition through their World Athletics ranking points. This meant that continental championships were now offering more points under the WA world rankings system.[5][6]

Editions

The 2021 edition set for Korman Stadium in Port Vila was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making this the first cancellation of the event.[7]

Edition Year Host City Host Country Date Venue Events Nations Athletes Champions
1 1990 Suva  Fiji 11-14 July National Stadium 39  New Zealand
2 1994 Auckland  New Zealand 22-26 February 38  New Zealand
3 1996 Townsville  Australia 28-30 November 42  New Zealand
4 1998 Nuku'alofa  Tonga 27-28 August Teufaiva Stadium 39  New Zealand
5 2000 Adelaide  Australia 24-26 August Santos Stadium 40  New Zealand
6 2002 Christchurch  New Zealand 12-14 December Queen Elizabeth II Park 40  New Zealand
7 2004 Townsville  Australia 16-18 December Townsville Sports Reserve 38  New Zealand
8 2006 Apia  Samoa 12-16 December Apia Park 37  New Zealand
9 2008 Saipan  Northern Mariana Islands 25-28 June Oleai Sports Complex 39  Papua New Guinea
10 2010 Cairns  Australia 23-25 September Barlow Park 36  Australia
11 2013 Papeete  French Polynesia 3-5 June Stade Pater Te Hono Nui 44  New Zealand
12 2014 Rarotonga  Cook Islands 24–26 June BCI Stadium 40  Australia
13 2015 Cairns  Australia 8–10 May Barlow Park 60  Australia
14 2017 Suva  Fiji 28 June–1 July ANZ National Stadium 57  New Zealand
15 2019 Townsville  Australia 25–28 June Townsville Sports Reserve 59  Australia
— 2021 Port Vila  Vanuatu Korman Stadium Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
16 2022 Mackay  Australia 7 – 11 June Mackay Aquatic and Recreation Centre

All-time medal table

The all-time Oceania Athletics Championships medal table is the sum of all medals won by OAA member federations, associate members, as well as invited teams from the very first edition till the most recent championships in 2019. All medals counted are based on the official results posted on the Oceania Athletics Association website. Medals won by Para-athletes are also included.

Associate members with medals are listed in italic.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 New Zealand18911691396
2 Australia154169130453
3 Papua New Guinea888474246
4 Fiji745955188
5 Samoa34182173
6 Tonga23334096
–Northern Territory/Queensland Regional Australia[2]18181248
7 New Caledonia[1]16211956
8 French Polynesia15222259
9 Solomon Islands10101131
10 Vanuatu7141435
11 Cook Islands5121128
12 Guam5101732
13 Norfolk Island5229
14 Wallis and Futuna[1]2114
15 Kiribati16411
16 American Samoa13812
–French Polynesia Tahiti West Coast[3]1034
17 Northern Mariana Islands0336
–Australia Australian Masters team[4]0202
18 Palau0112
19 Nauru0033
20 Marshall Islands0011
 Micronesia0011
Totals (21 nations)6486045441796

As of 2019, only Tuvalu (OAA member federation) and Niue (OAA associate member) have yet to win a medal.

Championship records

Main article: List of Oceania Area Championships in Athletics records

Regional Championships

Oceania Athletics has three regions. Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Since 2000, each region, in a non area championships year hold their own regional championships. The regions at the regional meetings decide the location for the Championships.[8][9][10][11][12]

Melanesian Championships

See also: List of Melanesian Championships in Athletics records

 Australia,  Fiji,  New Caledonia,  Norfolk Island,  Papua New Guinea,  Solomon Islands, and  Vanuatu competed for the Melanesian Championships.

Year City Country Date Venue No. of
Events 		No. of
Athletes
1 2001 Suva  Fiji April
2 2003 Lae  Papua New Guinea 25–27 April
3 2005 Lae  Papua New Guinea 22–24 April Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium
4 2007 Cairns  Australia 14–19 August Barlow Park
5 2009 Gold Coast  Australia 4–8 August Griffith University
6 2016 Suva  Fiji 7–9 July ANZ Stadium
7 2018 Port Vila  Vanuatu 9–11 May Korman Stadium

Micronesian Championships

See also: List of Micronesian Championships in Athletics records

 Guam,  Kiribati,  Marshall Islands,  Federated States of Micronesia,  Nauru,  Northern Mariana Islands, and  Palau competed for the Micronesian Championships.

Year City Country Date Venue No. of
Events 		No. of
Athletes
1 2003 Koror  Palau 25–26 April
2 2005 Saipan  Northern Mariana Islands 14–15 December Oleai Sports Complex
3 2007 Yona  Guam 14–15 December Leo Palace Resort
4 2009 Gold Coast  Australia 4–8 August Griffith University
5 2016 Kolonia  Federated States of Micronesia 2–4 June
6 2018 Saipan  Northern Mariana Islands 14–16 June Oleai Sports Complex

Polynesian Championships

See also: List of Polynesian Championships in Athletics records

 American Samoa,  Cook Islands,  French Polynesia,  New Zealand,  Niue,  Samoa,  Tonga, and  Tuvalu competed for the Polynesian Championships.

Year City Country Date Venue No. of
Events 		No. of
Athletes
1 2000 Apia  Samoa
2 2005 Papeete  French Polynesia October
3 2007 Rarotonga  Cook Islands October 16-17
4 2009 Gold Coast  Australia August 4-8 Griffith University
5 2016 Papeete  French Polynesia April 7 - 9 Pater Stadium

Oceania Cup

In addition, there was a short-lived Oceania Cup, where teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the respective host country competed with combined teams from Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.[9][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The Australian team recruited from the winner team of the Australian Clubs Championships, which was, in both years, the University of Queensland Athletic Club.[21][17]

Year City Country Date Venue No. of
Events 		No. of
Athletes
1 2001 Port Vila  Vanuatu July 14
2 2003 Apia  Samoa June 26-27 Apia Park

References

  1. ^ "Oceania Athletics Area Championships". Oceania Athletics. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ Oceania Regional Championships is only 115 days away!!, OAA, February 25, 2011, retrieved March 8, 2013
  3. ^ Oceania Regional Championships Handbook - includes official program and athletes/federations competing. Updated 14 June 2011 (PDF), OAA, June 14, 2011, p. 23, retrieved March 8, 2013[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Australian Team for Oceania Championships Announced, Armidale Athletic Club, 26 October 2004, archived from the original on 22 February 2014, retrieved 14 February 2014
  5. ^ "PRESS RELEASE: ENTRIES OAC 2019". OAA. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Australia and New Zealand to field strong teams at invigorated Oceania Athletics Championships". Inside the Games. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  7. ^ "OCEANIA ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2021". OAA. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  8. ^ "REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS". Oceania Athletics. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b Oceania Cup / Regional Championships, OAA, retrieved March 11, 2013
  10. ^ MELANESIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, Athletics Weekly, retrieved March 11, 2013
  11. ^ MICRONESIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, Athletics Weekly, retrieved March 11, 2013
  12. ^ POLYNESIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, Athletics Weekly, retrieved March 11, 2013
  13. ^ Snow, Bob, PNG in International Competition: 2001 - 2005, Papua New Guinea Athletics Union, retrieved February 14, 2014
  14. ^ Micronesian Team for Oceania Cup Final, OAA, 28 May 2003, retrieved February 14, 2014
  15. ^ Peter Pulu Heads Melanesian Team, OAA, 6 June 2003, archived from the original on 2014-02-22, retrieved February 14, 2014
  16. ^ Kiwis Ready for Oceania Cup Final, OAA, 9 June 2003, archived from the original on 2014-02-22, retrieved February 14, 2014
  17. ^ a b Matt Back for Second Oceania Cup Final, OAA, 23 June 2003, retrieved February 14, 2014
  18. ^ The 2003 Oceania Cup Final Competition was previewed at a special media launch in Apia, Samoa, last night., OAA, 25 June 2003, retrieved February 14, 2014
  19. ^ Oceania Cup Final - Results Days 1 and 2, OAA, 26 June 2003, retrieved February 14, 2014
  20. ^ Snow, Bob (7 July 2003), National Records Galore at Oceania Cup, OAA, retrieved February 14, 2014
  21. ^ ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA - 2001 Australian Clubs Championships, CoolRunning Australia, 17 January 2001, retrieved February 14, 2014

External links

Championships of the Oceania Athletics Association
International athletics competitions
Oceanian Championships
Categories