Schools

The Welsh Schools Athletics Association is a recognised charity, registered with the Charities Commission for England and Wales (Charity Number: 510848).

 

The charity helps to educate school pupils in Wales through participation in athletic activities to develop their physical, mental and spiritual capacities.

 

The trustees deliver these objectives by fundraising and commissioning a range of athletics competition opportunities from school to national and international level.

The Welsh Schools Athletics Association provides competition opportunities for secondary school pupils across Wales in both Cross Country and Track & Field. Schools are a central part of Welsh Athletics' commitment to bring athletics to all. Opportunities exist for both teaching staff and pupils starting out on their journey through the king of sports. At Secondary School level, both teachers and pupils have the opportunity to develop in the sport of athletics - be it through key initiatives, competitions or formal educational courses.

The contact for Welsh Schools is Andrew Jenkins - email: andrew.jenkins@welshathletics.org

Welsh Schools are organised into 8 Districts with a number of Local Authorities in each district as laid out below:

Competition Structure (both Track & Field and Cross Country)

NB - Tier 3 competitions are licensed by UKA, Tiers 2 and 1 by Welsh Athletics

Saturday 4th July 2026 for the WSAA U14 U16 & U18 Track & Field Championships @ Aberdare

Will be a full event program with three age groups across U14, U16 & U18. For 2026 there will be no additional entry standards, there will be no developmental events due to the age group changes, and the challenge of accommodating three age groups in across a full event program. All track races will be time trials rather than heats and finals. At the WSAA AGM the vote was for 3 age groups for 2026 in this transitional year for the new age groups. We will review if this remains the best composition of age groups and number of pupils per event in the time we have available. Sourcing of officials and volunteers has already commenced by Rob Campion. Districts that have confirmed their dates and venues for their qualification events are listed below. A timetable of events will be distributed to school districts within the next week, enabling them to select their teams for the Championships. Declaration forms will be in the same format as last year and will follow the timetable a week or two later once it has been updated to reflect the new age groups, events and timetable.

Age Groups: U14 = school years 7 & 8. U16 = school years 9 & 10. U18 School years 11 & 12.

•            Wednesday 6th May 2026, Afan Nedd Tawe @ Swansea or Neath TBC

•            Thursday 7th May, South East Wales @ Newport

•            Friday 1st May, Eryri @ Bangor

•            Thursday 30th April 2026 Glamorgan Valleys, U16, U18 & U20 @ Aberdare

•            Tuesday 28th April, Cardiff & the Vale, U16, U18 & U20 Girls @ Cardiff

•            Thursday 30th April, Cardiff & the Vale U16, U18 & U20 Boys @ Cardiff

•            Thursday 7th May, Cardiff & the Vale U14B @ Cardiff

•            Tuesday 19th May, Cardiff & the Vale U14G @ Cardiff

•            Thursday 2nd October 2025, North East Wales @ Deeside

•            Thursday 21st May 2026, Glamorgan Valleys, U14 @ Aberdare

•            Thursday 21st May, Powys Schools @ Brecon

•            Thursday 18th June 2026, Dyfed @ Carmarthen

Wednesday 8^th July 2026 U14 & U16 Cup & Plate Finals @ Brecon

Brecon is still the venue for the NASUWT track and field Cup & Plate Finals. excluding Triple Jump for U14 Boys and Girls.

School districts who have confirmed the qualifying dates and venues are listed below.

•            TBC May, South East Wales @ TBC

•            TBC North East Wales @ TBC

•            Wednesday 10th June Cardiff & the Vale, Preliminary Match 1 @ Cardiff

•            Thursday 18th June Cardiff & the Vale, Preliminary Match 2 @ Cardiff

•            Tuesday 16th June 2026, Glamorgan Valleys Groups C&D @ Aberdare

•            Wednesday 17th June 2026, Glamorgan Valleys Groups A&B @ Aberdare

•            Monday 22nd June 2026 Girls, Afan Nedd Tawe @ Swansea or Neath TBC

•            Tuesday 23rd June 2026, Powys @ Newtown

•            Tuesday 23rd June 2026, Glamorgan Valleys Finals @ Aberdare

•            Wednesday 24th June Cardiff & the Vale Finals @ Cardiff

•            Thursday 25th June 2026 Boys, Afan Nedd Tawe @ Swansea or Neath TBC

•            Thursday 25th June 2026, Dyfed @ Carmarthen

•            Tuesday 23rd June Eryri @ Bangor

Saturday 18^th July 2026 SIAB International @ Belfast

Saturday 19^th September 2026 Joint Welsh Schools & Welsh Athletics U14 U16 & U18 Combined Events Championships @ Carmarthen.

Wednesday 21^st October 2026 Welsh Inter Schools Cross Country Championships @ Brecon.