Typically held over two days in June or July, it was established in 1995 and replaced the African Zone VI Championships.

[2][3][4] The competition is one of three senior athletics championships organised for the region, alongside the African Southern Region Cross Country Championships (held same year as the track and field meet)[5] and the African Southern Region Half Marathon Championships (held annually).

[6] There is also an age category counterpart to the competition, in the form of the African Southern Region U18/U20 Athletics Championships, which is held in even-numbered years,[7][8] and the Cossasa Games – an athletics competition for Southern African students organised by the Confederation of School Sport Associations of Southern Africa.

[11] The 2019 event was due to be hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa, but Athletics South Africa cancelled the event due to financial issues stemming from the legal case against the IAAF's testosterone rules.

[1] 3000 metres steeplechase, pole vault, and women's distance events are held irregularly due to a lack of entrants and organisational barriers.