View source for Oceania Athletics Association

{{Short description|Oceania athletics governing body}}
{{Infobox Sport governing body
|name = Oceania Athletics Association
|image =
|logo = Oceania Athletics Logo.png
|jurisdiction = Oceania
|membership = [[#Member associations|20 member + 3 associate member federations]]
|abbrev = Oceania Athletics 
|founded = 1969
|aff = [[World Athletics]]
|headquarters = [[Varsity Lakes, Queensland|Varsity Lakes]], [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]]
|president = [[Robin Sapong-Eugenio]]
|url = https://athletics-oceania.com/ 
}}

The '''Oceania Athletics Association''' (more commonly known as '''Oceania Athletics''') is the governing body for [[sport of athletics|athletics]] in [[Oceania]]. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body [[World Athletics]]. Oceania Athletics has 23 members (including 3 associate members) and is headquartered in the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]].

==History==
The OAA was founded as '''Oceania Amateur Athletic Organization''' (OAAA) on August 21, 1969, during a "Congress of the delegates of Member Countries of the Australasian Area" held in [[Port Moresby]], then [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea]], at the time of the 3rd [[Pacific Games|South Pacific Games]]. Six out of the nine Member Federations attended ([[Australia]], [[Nauru]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Tonga]], [[New Hebrides]], now called [[Vanuatu]], and [[Western Samoa]], now [[Samoa]]). [[Fiji]] and [[New Zealand]] sent letters of support, while the [[Cook Islands]] were not represented. Observers from [[American Samoa]], [[Solomon Islands]], [[French Polynesia]], [[Guam]] and [[New Caledonia]] also attended.<ref name=oaa_02>{{cite web|title=Oceania Athletics Association's Council - History|url=http://www.athletics-oceania.com/index.php?id=375|publisher=OAA|access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref>

From this Congress a Committee of four members (non-elected) was formed to set up a draft of rules for the new Association, whose name today is Oceania Athletics Association. These members were: [[Arthur Hodsdon]] (Australia) as Chairman, [[Clive Lee (Australian)|Clive Lee]] (Australia), [[James Dunn (Australian)|James Dunn]] (Papua New Guinea) and an unnamed New Zealander. From that year onwards the Association has been elected by Member Federations. The name was changed to '''Oceania Athletics Association''' (OAA) in February 2007.<ref name=oaa_01>{{cite web|title=General History of Oceania Athletics Association|url=http://www.athletics-oceania.com/index.php?id=389|publisher=OAA|access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref>

==Members and governance==
Oceania Athletics' governance is split between the main bodies:<ref name=OAA-Constitution>{{cite web|title=Oceania Athletics Association Incorporated Constitution |url=https://athletics-oceania.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/OAA-Constitution_updated-23-October-2021_FINAL.pdf |publisher=OAA |access-date=10 June 2024 }}</ref>
*The Congress, which is the general assembly of the Members and the supreme authority of the European Athletic Association;
*The Council, with the Executive Board and its President; and
*The Commissions.

===Membership===
Oceania Athletics now has 20 members and 3 associate members. Each member gets one vote at the Congress.<ref name=OAA-Constitution/>

{{Further|:Category:National members of the Oceania Athletics Association}}

{| class=wikitable
!Nation
!Federation
!Link
|-
!colspan=3 | Full members
|-
|{{flag|American Samoa}}
|[[American Samoa Track & Field Association]]
|[http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=1142&pID=2/]
|-
|{{flag|Australia}}
|[[Athletics Australia]]
|[http://www.athletics.com.au/]
|-
|{{flag|Cook Islands}}
|[[Athletics Cook Islands|Athletics Cook Islands Inc.]]
|[http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=1090&pID=2/]
|-
|{{flag|Fiji}}
|[[Athletics Fiji]]
|[http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=1144&pID=2]
|-
|{{flag|French Polynesia}}
|{{ill|Fédération d'athlétisme de Polynésie française|fr|Fédération d'athlétisme de Polynésie française}}
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20190124202945/https://fapf.pf/]
|-
|{{flag|Guam}}
|[[Guam Track and Field Association]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Kiribati}}
|[[Kiribati Athletics Association]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Marshall Islands}}
|[[Marshall Islands Athletics]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Micronesia}}
|[[Federated States of Micronesia Athletic Association]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Nauru}}
|[[Athletics Nauru]]
|
|-
|{{flag|New Zealand}}
|[[Athletics New Zealand]]
|[http://www.athletics.org.nz/]
|-
|{{flag|Norfolk Island}}
|[[Athletics Norfolk Island]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Northern Mariana Islands}}
|[[Northern Marianas Athletics]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Palau}}
|[[Palau Track and Field Association]]
|[http://www.oceaniasport.com/]
|-
|{{flag|Papua New Guinea}}
|[[Athletics Papua New Guinea]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Samoa}}
|[[Athletics Samoa]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Solomon Islands}}
|[[Athletic Solomons]]
|[http://www.sportingpulse.com.au/]
|-
|{{flag|Tonga}}
|[[Tonga Athletic Association]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Tuvalu}}
|[[Tuvalu Athletics Association]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Vanuatu}}
|[[Athletics Vanuatu|Vanuatu Athletics Federation]]
|
|-
!colspan=3 | Associate members
|-
|-
|{{flag|New Caledonia|local}}
|{{ill|Ligue de la Nouvelle-Calédonie d'athlétisme|fr}}
|[http://lnca.athle.com/]
|-
|{{flag|Niue}}
|[[Niue Athletics Association]]
|
|-
|{{flag|Wallis and Futuna|local}}
|[[Comité territorial d'athlétisme de Wallis et Futuna]]
|
|-
|}

====Associate member associations====
A modification of Article 4.2 of [[World Athletics]] constitution set new rules limiting its membership as follows:
"The national governing body for Athletics in any Country or Territory shall
be eligible for Membership. Members that represented Territories on
31 December 2005 shall continue to be Members. No new Territories shall
be admitted to the Membership."<ref name=iaaf_2>
{{ Citation |title = International Association of Athletics Federations - Constitution - In force as from 1st November 2011 |url = http://www.iaaf.org/download/download?filename=b0dc5123-be6a-4424-ade2-ca0fb717a8c7.pdf&urlslug=IAAF%20Constitution |publisher = [[World Athletics]] |page = 12 |access-date = February 11, 2014 }}</ref>

As a consequence, the OAA made constitutional amendments<ref name=oaa_05>{{Citation |date = May 8, 2009 |title = Oceania Athletics Association Inc Constitution - Adopted on 8 May 2009 - Commencement Date 8 May 2009 |url = http://hosting1.sportingpulse.com/www.athletics-oceania.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Administration_Links/2009/OAA_Constitution_OAA_FINAL_8_May_2009_doc.pdf |publisher = Oceania Athletics Association |access-date = February 11, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140222145611/http://hosting1.sportingpulse.com/www.athletics-oceania.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Administration_Links/2009/OAA_Constitution_OAA_FINAL_8_May_2009_doc.pdf |archive-date = 22 February 2014 |url-status = dead }}</ref> to its Article 2.5, introducing an associate membership to allow territories like [[New Caledonia]], [[Niue]], and [[Wallis and Futuna]] to participate officially "in OAA activities, including area and regional competitions".<ref name=fapf_01>{{Citation |date = August 26, 2007 |title = Modification de la constitution océanienne |url = http://www.fapf.pf/2007/08/26/modification-de-la-constitution-oceanienne/ |publisher = Fédération d'Athlétisme de Polynésie Française |language = fr |access-date = February 11, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140223020357/http://www.fapf.pf/2007/08/26/modification-de-la-constitution-oceanienne/ |archive-date = February 23, 2014 |url-status = dead }}</ref> This also applies for [[Tokelau]], where the first athletics event ever took place recently.<ref name=tnsf_01>{{Citation |date = July 29, 2013 |title = Athletics |url = http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-3861-3861-3861-3861&sID=283984&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=24775694 |publisher = Tokelau National Sports Federation |access-date = February 11, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2008, [[New Caledonia]] became the first associate member,<ref name=oaa_01/><ref name=oaa_04>{{ Citation |date = June 25, 2008 |title = Oceania Council Meeting Looks to the Future |url = http://athletics-oceania.com/index.php?id=18&tx_ttnews&#91;pS&#93;=1212242400&tx_ttnews&#91;pL&#93;=2591999&tx_ttnews&#91;arc&#93;=1&tx_ttnews&#91;pointer&#93;=1&tx_ttnews&#91;tt_news&#93;=272&tx_ttnews&#91;backPid&#93;=10&cHash=62cd7988f4 |publisher = Oceania Athletics Association |access-date = February 11, 2014 }}</ref> Niue followed in 2009.<ref name=oaa_01/>

===Presidents===
The current president of the association, Robin Sapong Eugenios (Northern Marianas) was
firstly elected in December 2019 at the OAA Special Congress.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
!Country
!Presidency
|-
|[[Arthur Hodsdon]]
|{{AUS}}
|1969–1978
|-
|[[Lee Morrison (athletics official)|Lee Morrison]] 
|{{AUS}}
|1978–1985
|-
|Clive Lee
|{{AUS}}
|1985–1991
|-
| [[Peter Anderson (athletics official)|Peter Anderson]]
| {{PNG}}
| 1991–1995
|-
| [[Viliame S Tunidau]]
| {{FIJ}}
| 1995–1999
|-
| [[Anne Tierney]]
| {{COK}}
| 1999–2007
|-
|[[Geoff Gardner]]
|{{flagicon|Norfolk Island}} [[Norfolk Island]]
|2007–2019
|-}
|[[Robin Sapong-Eugenio]]
|{{flagicon|Northern Marianas}} Northern Mariana Islands
|2019–present
|}

==Competitions==
The OAA holds the following championships:
 
*[[Oceania Combined Events Championships]]
*[[Oceania Cross Country Championships]]
*[[Oceania Marathon and Half Marathon Championships]]
*[[Oceania Race Walking Championships]]
* Oceania Championships
**[[Oceania Area Championships in Athletics|Oceania Area Championships]]
**[[Oceania Junior Athletics Championships|Oceania Junior Championships]]
**[[Oceania Youth Athletics Championships|Oceania Youth Championships]]
**[[Oceania Area Championships in Athletics#Oceania Cup|Oceania Cup]]
*[[Oceania Para Athletics Championships]]
*[[Oceania Masters Athletics Championships]]

Moreover, the following regional championships were organized:

*[[Oceania Athletics Championships#Melanesian Championships|Melanesian Championships]]
*[[Oceania Athletics Championships#Micronesian Championships|Micronesian Championships]]
*[[Oceania Athletics Championships#Polynesian Championships|Polynesian Championships]]

In 2011, a new regional concept was introduced, and the three regional championships and the Oceania Championships were unified to the Oceania Regional (or Area) Championships,  or simply again Oceania Championships.  Two regions "East" and "West" were classified.   Athletes from the two regions may compete together at the championships, but results will be separated for rankings purposes, and medals are awarded separately.

==See also==
* {{portal-inline|Sport of athletics}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.athletics-oceania.com/ OAA official website]

{{International athletics}}
{{National Members of the International Association of Athletics Federations}}
{{Oceania Athletics Championships}}

[[Category:Athletics organizations]]
[[Category:Sports governing bodies in Oceania|Ath]]
[[Category:Athletics in Oceania]]
[[Category:Sports organizations established in 1969]]
[[Category:1969 establishments in Oceania]]