[1] The turnout was better than expected, despite the remote location, [2]: 177 though no Eastern European or third world nations were represented.

[6] [7] This Championships was organized by WAVA in coordination with a Local Organising Committee (LOC) headed by John Macdonald.

[11]: 936 About nine South Africans competed as representatives of  HOL,  BEL and  USA; [12] they are shown with their native  RSA flag in the Results Nationality column below.

World records for 1981 are from the National Masters News newsletter[3]: 17  (length measurements are converted from feet to meters) unless otherwise noted.

Among the notable performances, John Gilmour broke his own M60 WR for the 4th time, and the blind sprinter Fritz Assmy won the M65 100m and 200m, again guided by his son-in-law Klaus Hinrichsen as he was in 1979.