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Scottish Athletics Championships

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Scottish Athletics Championships
SportTrack and field
Founded1883
CountryScotland

The Scottish Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by Scottish Athletics that serves as the Scottish national championship for the sport. The competition is usually held over two days in June, with the 10,000 metres and combined event championships being held separately. The event was first held, for men only, in 1883, when they were organised by the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association. Women's championships started in 1931. In 1992 the three organising bodies for the sport in Scotland merged to form the Scottish Athletics Federation, and they organised the championships until 2001 when they were superseded by Scottish Athletics.

Evolution of events

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At the first championship there were twelve individual events for men only: 100 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards, 1 mile, 120 yard hurdles, 3 miles walk, high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot put, hammer, and throwing the cricket ball. This last event was never held again so the winning throw in 1883 of 322 ft 5in (98.26m) is still the championship best performance. The 10 miles track race and cross country championships were both introduced in 1886, and in 1887 the 4 miles was included for the first time. The 220 yards was added in 1892 and in 1919, in line with the AAA championship, the one mile medley relay was introduced. In 1921 two events more familiar from Highland Games were first held, throwing the 56 lb weight, and throwing the Scots style hammer. These events were last held in 1947 and 1948 respectively. In 1923 the 7 miles walk was introduced to the championship and in 1925 the discus and javelin were first held. In 1931 women's championships started and in 1934 the 4 miles was dropped and replaced with 3 miles and 6 miles events. 1934 also saw the introduction of the 2 miles steeplechase. The triple jump was added to the programme in 1937. The marathon was first held in 1946, the 440 yard hurdles in 1947, and the 4 x 110 yards relay in 1948. In 1953 the 4 x 440 yards relay was first held, the 3,000 metre steeplechase replaced the 2 miles event in 1955 and in 1960 the Scottish national decathlon championship was held for the first time.

Andrew Hannah set multiple Scottish records at distances from 2 miles to 10 miles

Women's championships started in 1931 with eight individual events and two relays: 100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards, 100 yards hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put, 4 x 110 yards relay, and 1 mile medley relay. In 1932 the distance for the hurdles was changed to 80 yards, and in 1937 this was changed to 80 metres and the event was last held in 1968. In 1932 they added the javelin, 1935 saw the addition of a 1-mile walk, and the discus was added in 1936. In 1952 the longest race for women was increased to 1 mile, and the pentathlon was added in 1959, becoming the heptathlon in 1981. In 1966 a 4 x 220 yards relay was added to the programme, which became 4 x 200 metres relay in 1969 and was last held in 1973. That same year, 1973, they added the 400 metre hurdles, and in 1974 women competed for a 4 x 400 metres relay championship for the first time. Following the debut of the women's marathon at the summer Olympics in 1984, Scottish Athletics added the 10,000 metres to their championships in 1985, and in 1989 they added a 3 x 800 metres relay. In 1990 the triple jump was trialled and became a championship event in 1991, then in 1992 the hammer was tried on the same basis and became a championship event from 1993. Women's pole vault was included for the first time in 1994, and the following year the 3000 metres was replaced with a 5000-metre championship. A 2000-metre steeplechase was tried twice, in 2003 and 2004, then in 2007 it became a 3000-metre steeplechase championship. The men's and women's programmes are now the same, with the exception of the distance of the sprint hurdles and the combined events, where women compete for a heptathlon title whilst the men have a decathlon championship.

In line with the rest of the world Scottish athletics championships went metric in 1969, with the exception of the women's 1 mile medley relay which became a 1600 metres medley relay in 1970.[1][2][3] [4]

Alfred Downer (1873-1912) Scottish champion at 100 yards, 220 yards and 440 yards three years in succession.

current event list 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, 100mH (women only), 110mH (men only), 400mH, 3000mSt, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, hammer, javelin, heptathlon (women only), decathlon (men only), 4 × 100 m relay, 4 × 400 m relay, 3 x 800m relay.

Hugh Welsh (20 Sep 1876) won Scottish AAA half-mile and 1 mile in 1896, 97, 99, and in 1898 and 1899 won both the half-mile and mile in the international against Ireland.
William E. Callender, of Watson's College, Edinburgh, Scottish 100 yards and 220 yards champion in 1899.

Championship bests

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Men's events
Event Time/dist Athlete Year
100m 10.0 Allan Wells (Edinburgh Southern H.) 1979
10.00 Ian Mackie (Pitreavie Amateur AC) 1998
200m 20.11 Allan Wells (Edinburgh Southern H.) 1980
400m 46.47 Brian Whittle (Ayre Seaforth AC) 1989
800m 1:44.79 Tom McKean (Bellshill YMCA H.) 1989
1500m 3:41.75 Nat Muir (Shettleston H.) 1981
5000m 13:33.4 David Black (Small Heath H.) 1975
10,000m 28:28.35 Allister Hutton (Edinburgh Southern H.) 1981
110mH 13.59w David Nelson (Wolverhampton & Bilston AC) 1990
13.82 Allan Scott (Whitemoss AAC) 2007
400mH 50.45 Charles Robertson-Adams (Newham & Essex Beagles AC) 2001
3000mSt 8:38.9 Ian Gilmour (Clyde Valley AC) 1978
high jump 2.28 David Anderson (Australia) 1991
pole vault 5.33 Jax Thoirs (Victoria Park City of Glasgow AC) 2019
long jump 7.98 Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex Beagles AC) 2002
triple jump 16.32 Craig Duncan (Edinburgh Southern H.) 1987
shot put 19.10 Scott Lincoln (City of York AC) 2018
discus 60.74 Werner Reiterer (Australia) 1992
hammer 74.63 Mark Dry (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies AC) 2014
javelin 80.38 James Campbell (Cheltenham & County H. ) 2010
decathlon 7510 Peter Glass (Liverpool H.) 2013
4 × 100 m relay 41.56 Victoria Park City of Glasgow AC 2023
4 × 400 m relay 3:15.3 Edinburgh AC 1979
3 x 800m relay 5:44.48 Cambuslang H. 2023
Events no longer held - men
Event Time/dist Athlete Year Last held
1 mile 4:03.9 Graham Everett (Shettleston H.) 1960 1968
4 miles 19:58.8 Robert R Sutherland (Garscube H.) 1931 1933
10 miles (track) 47:58.6 Lachie Stewart (Shettleston H.) 1971 1975
56 lb weight 35 ft 5 1/2in (10.81m) Donald Campbell (Glasgow Police AC) 1933 1947
Scots' style hammer 120 ft 5in (36.70m) George Mitchell (Glasgow Police AC) 1928 1948
throwing the cricket ball 322 ft 5in (98.26m) Robert Bruce (Glasgow Un.) 1883 1883
3000m walk 11:47.4 Steve Beecroft (Australia) 1991 1991
3 miles walk 21:43.4 George Galloway (Surrey Walking Club) 1933 1948
10,000m walk 44:54.2 Roy Thorpe (Sheffield United H.) 1973 1975
7 miles walk (track) 51:42.4 Colin McLellan (Shettleston H.) 1925 1930
1600m medley relay 3:23.7 Victoria Park AAC 1969 1999
Women's events
Event Time/dist Athlete Year
100m 11.34 Merlene Ottey (Slovenia) 2006
200m 22.90w Allison Curbishley (Edinburgh Woollen Mill) 1998
23.36 Sandra Whittaker (Glasgow AC) 1984
400m 51.96 Allison Curbishley (Edinburgh Woollen Mill) 2000
800m 2:01.98 Yvonne Murray (Edinburgh AC) 1988
1500m 4:08.14 Lynne MacIntyre (Glasgow AC) 1989
5000m 16:06.95 Annabel Simpson (Fife AC) 2022
10,000m 32:57.91 Hayley Haining (Kilbarchan AAC) 2008
100mH 13.26w Patricia Rollo (Pitreavie AAC) 1984
13.70 Jill Kirk (Borough of Enfield AC) 1986
400mH 56.9 Eilidh Child (Pitreavie AAC) 2008
3000mSt 10:10.76 Emily Stewart (Edinburgh AC) 2013
high jump 1.89 Julie Crane (Sale Harriers Manchester) 2004
pole vault 4.06 Henrietta Paxton (Birchfield H.) 2009
long jump 6.52 Sheila Sherwood (Sheffield United H.) 1972
triple jump 13.15 Nony Mordi (Shaftesbury Barnet H.) 2010
shot put 15.65 Alison Rodger (Sale Harriers Manchester) 2008
discus 57.32 Margaret Ritchie (Edinburgh Southern H.) 1982
hammer 64.81 Shirley Webb (Trafford AC) 2005
javelin 53.48 Lorna Jackson (Edinburgh Woollen Mill) 2000
heptathlon 5422 Holly McArthur (Edinburgh AC) 2019
4 × 100 m relay 47.0 Edinburgh Southern H. 1970
4 × 400 m relay 3:44.9 Pitreavie AAC 1981
3 x 800m relay 6:46.71 City of Glasgow AC 1992
Events no longer held - women
Event Time/dist Athlete Year Last held
1 mile 5:08.4 Helen Cherry (Bellahouston H.) 1963 1968
3000m 9:01.12 Elizabeth Lynch (St Francis AC) 1986 1994
80mH 11.5 Sandra Dyson (Bury & Radcliffe AC) 1966 1968
200mH 27.5 Sandra Dyson (Bury & Radcliffe AC) 1971 1972
2000mSt 6:58.10 Hana Carroll (Liverpool H.) 2004 2004
pentathlon 4452 Moira Walls (Western AAC) 1969 1980
1 mile walk 8:43.8 Vera Murray (Dundee Hawkhill H.) 1935 1935
4 × 200 m relay 1:40.2 Edinburgh Southern H. 1969 1973
1:40.2 Maryhill Ladies AC 1970 1973
1600m medley relay 3:54.4 Pitreavie AAC 1979 1988

Dates and venues

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For a number of years there had been a disagreement in Scottish athletics over whether professional cycle racing events should be allowed at amateur athletics meetings. There were strong views both in favour and against the position, and arriving at a deadlock in their negotiations several western district clubs in favour of allowing professional cycle events, led by Clydesdale Harriers, seceded from the SAAA and formed the Scottish Amateur Athletics Union (SAAU). The consequence of this was that there were two national championships in both 1895 and 1896 held under the auspices of the two separate bodies. In both years the two championships were held on the same day, with the SAAA adhering to their policy of alternating between an Eastern and a Western venue, while the SAAU held their championship at Hampden Park, Glasgow on both occasions.

Scottish Athletics Championship Dates and Venues
Date Venue Source
23 June 1883 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh [5]
28 June 1884 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh [6]
27 June 1885 St Mirren FC Ground, Westmarch, Paisley [7]
26 June 1886 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh [8]
25 June 1887 Hampden Park, Glasgow [9]
23 June 1888 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh [10]
22 June 1889 Hampden Park, Glasgow [11]
21 June 1890 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh [12]
20 June 1891 Hampden Park, Glasgow [13]
25 June 1892 Carolina Port, Dundee [14]
17 June 1893 Hampden Park, Glasgow [15]
23 June 1894 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh [16]
22 June 1895 Ibrox Park, Glasgow (SAAA) [17]
22 June 1895 Hampden Park, Glasgow (SAAU) [18]
27 June 1896 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh (SAAA) [19]
27 June 1896 Hampden Park, Glasgow (SAAU) [20]
26 June 1897 Celtic Park, Glasgow [21]
25 June 1898 Hampden Park, Glasgow [22]
24 June 1899 Hampden Park, Glasgow
23 June 1900 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh
22 June 1901 Powderhall Grounds, Edinburgh
21 June 1902 Hampden Park, Glasgow

References

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  1. ^ Scottish Athletics 1883-1983, John W. Keddie (1982)
  2. ^ Scottish Championship Results - Track
  3. ^ Scottish Championship Results - Field
  4. ^ Scottish Athletics Track Statisticians - Archive
  5. ^ "Sporting Gazette", Sat 30 Jun 1883 p. 27
  6. ^ "Glasgow Evening Post", Fri 4 Jul 1884 p. 2
  7. ^ "The Referee", Sun 28 Jun 1885 p. 5
  8. ^ "Field", Sat 3 Jul 1886 p. 47
  9. ^ "Empire News & The Umpire", Sun 26 Jun 1887 p. 6
  10. ^ "Athletic News", Tue 26 Jun 1888 p. 6
  11. ^ "Athletic News", Mon 24 Jun 1889 p. 2
  12. ^ "Field", Sat 28 Jun 1890 p. 51
  13. ^ "The Scotsman", Mon 22 Jun 1891 p. 5
  14. ^ "Glasgow Evening Post", Mon 27 Jun 1892 p. 6
  15. ^ "Scottish Referee", Mon 19 Jun 1893 p. 2
  16. ^ "The Scotsman", Mon 25 Jun 1894 p. 4
  17. ^ "Scottish Referee", Mon 24 Jun 1895 p. 3
  18. ^ "Scottish Referee", Mon 24 Jun 1895 p. 3
  19. ^ "Scottish Referee", Mon 29 Jun 1896 p. 3
  20. ^ "Scottish Referee", Mon 29 Jun 1896 p. 3
  21. ^ "Sporting Life", Mon 28 Jun 1897 p. 7
  22. ^ "Field", Sat 2 Jul 1898 p. 30
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