# Oceania Area Championships in Athletics

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.
The event has been held jointly with the Under-20 Championships since 1994, Under-18 Championships since 2000, the Para Championships since 2022, and the Masters Championships since 2024.

## History

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 their geographical location (either east or west). However, the competition was revised back to its original format as an area championships in 2013.
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. However, in 2019, the championships increased in competition status with the then IAAF (now World Athletics) changing the qualification criteria for the 2019 World Championships in Doha and the 2020 Summer Olympics, whereby athletes could qualify through World Athletics ranking points: continental - ie. area - championships were granted 'tier-one' status offering more ranking points under the WA world rankings system.
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.

## Editions

| 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 | | | Fiji |
| 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 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 16 | 2022 | Mackay | Australia | 7–11 June | Mackay Aquatic and Recreation Centre | 46 | | | Australia |
| 17 | 2024 | Suva | Fiji | 4–8 June | HFC Bank Stadium | 45 | | | Australia |
| 18 | 2026 | Darwin | Australia | 18–23 May | Arafura Stadium | TBC | | | TBC |
* 2024 include:
Championship Age Groups Senior, U18, Para, Masters
Team Challenge U20, U16

## Para

2016 Asian Para Athletics Championships
1st 2022
2nd 2024

## Medals (1990-2024)

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 2024. All medals counted are based on the official results posted on the Oceania Athletics Association website.
Associate members with medals are listed in italic. Also listed in italic but are unranked are invited athletics teams.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Australia | 210 | 208 | 174 | 592 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 198 | 131 | 93 | 422 |
| 3 | Papua New Guinea | 90 | 88 | 80 | 258 |
| 4 | Fiji | 75 | 60 | 61 | 196 |
| 5 | Samoa | 34 | 18 | 22 | 74 |
| 6 | Tonga | 25 | 34 | 41 | 100 |
| 7 | French Polynesia | 15 | 23 | 22 | 60 |
| 8 | New Caledonia | 12 | 21 | 20 | 53 |
| 9 | Solomon Islands | 10 | 10 | 12 | 32 |
| – | Regional Australia | 8 | 12 | 10 | 30 |
| 10 | Vanuatu | 7 | 16 | 16 | 39 |
| 11 | Cook Islands | 5 | 13 | 13 | 31 |
| 12 | Guam | 5 | 11 | 16 | 32 |
| 13 | Norfolk Island | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 14 | American Samoa | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| 15 | Kiribati | 1 | 6 | 4 | 11 |
| 16 | Northern Mariana Islands | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| – | Tahiti West Coast | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| – | Australian Masters team | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Palau | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Wallis and Futuna | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Nauru | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 20 | Marshall Islands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Micronesia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (21 entries) | Totals (21 entries) | 704 | 664 | 608 | 1,976 |
* ^[1] Associate members of OAA - Not recognized by World Athletics.
* ^[2] Regional Australia is a team from Northern Australia competing as invitees at every championships since 2013.
* ^[3] Tahiti West Coast competed once in 2013 as a local team from the host federation of French Polynesia.
* ^[4] Australia Masters team competed once in 2015 as an invited team from the host federation of Australia.
As of 2019, only Tuvalu (OAA member federation) and Niue (OAA associate member) have yet to win a medal.

## 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.

### Melanesian Championships
#### Editions

| | Year | City | Country | Date | Venue |
| 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
#### Editions

| | Year | City | Country | Date | Venue |
| 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
#### Editions

| | Year | City | Country | Date | Venue |
| 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 to the Oceania Area Championships, there is also the Oceania Cup, where teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the respective host country competed with combined teams from Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. After a long period of not being held, this Oceania Cup started again in 2021 and 2023. The Australian team recruited from the winner team of the Australian Clubs Championships, which, in both years, was the University of Queensland Athletic Club.
| | 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 | | |
| 3 | 2021 | Runaway Bay, Gold Coast | Australia | 5 June | Gold Coast Performance Centre | | |
| 4 | 2023 | Saipan | Northern Mariana Islands | 23–24 June | Oleai Sports Complex | 32 | +100 |