It was the third edition of the competition limited to British athletes only, launched as an alternative to the AAA Championships, which was open to foreign competitors.

[1][2] Two athletes claimed a third straight title: Geoff Capes in the men's shot put and Meg Ritchie in the discus throw.

[1] The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the 1979 European Cup.

The secondary status of the UK event at national level was indicated by the fact that the six individual medallists at the European competition were all absent from the championships in Birmingham.

Several of the European women's relay medallists did compete however, including Hunte, Smallwood and Joslyn Hoyte-Smith.