UKCAU Championships return to the England Athletics Senior/U20 Championships
This summer the UKCAU Championships will return to the England Athletics Senior/U20 Championships in Birmingham (25-27 July).
The Inter-County Track and Field Championships date all the way back to 1925, where a meeting was held with athletes from Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex. Following this, the County Athletics Union was formed in February 1926 with the very first Inter-county Cross Country Championships following in April 1926.
From their inception in 1925 through to the late sixties, apart from the war years 1940–1946, the UK CAU Inter-County Track and Field Championships were a major international fixture held annually during the May bank holiday.
From 2007, the Inter-County Track and Field Championships have been held as part of the England Athletics Senior Championships. This was the case until 2020, when the combination of the pandemic, the Commonwealth Games, and a packed summer season meant that the championships could not be re-instated until July 2024.
Celebrating county-level athletics
The chance for an athlete to represent their county provides a relevant steppingstone in their athletics journey. Athletes of all ages have continued to benefit from the Inter-County Championships for cross country, while many younger athletes have been able to represent their counties on a regional inter-county basis in track and field.
For many athletes gaining a county vest may be the peak of their athletics careers, for many more it is an important confidence boost in furthering their international careers with many members of the England and Great Britain teams past and present having previously competed for their county.
After a few years of there being no CAU Track and Field Championships it was brilliant to get it back on the calendar last year as a joint venture between the UKCAU and England Athletics. There were 13 counties involved and we look to build on that this summer. It has given us a strong foundation to build on and improve upon with the athletes from the 13 counties taking huge pride in representing their counties last year.
To continue to make it work, we need as many counties as possible to get behind this.
2025 UK CAU Inter-County Track and Field Championships information
The County Athletics Union Inter-County Championships will be held in conjunction with the England Athletics Senior and Under-20 Championships in Birmingham (25-27 July).
Each County Association will have their own selection policies and can be contacted via their own websites. County team sheets can be emailed prior to the championships or declared on the day. Each county will be able to select two athletes per event with one athlete contributing towards the team score. There will be a separate registration desk for the inter-counties team managers, athletes will register individually at the England Athletics desk.
If county team managers could attend the UK CAU Inter-County Championships and ensure selected county athletes could wear their county vests, and display county banners that would be excellent. Seeing athletes competing in county vests will bring another dimension to the England Championship.
Presentations will take place at the England Championships. There will be separate individual medals for the three highest placed Inter-County athletes in each event and there will be an award for the first women’s team and the first men’s team, and one for best overall team performance.
Any queries regarding how the championships will work can be directed to the following:
- Arwel Williams - arwelwilliams@aol.com
- Fi Lancaster - fiona.lancaster@btinternet.com