[1] Age groups for the championships are defined based on a student's age on 31 August of the school year in which the competition is held as follows:[2] The track and field championships have been held every year since 1925 (except for 1940–1945 due to World War II), are the 4th largest athletics event in the world and since 2003 have been held at the major athletics venues of Birmingham Alexander Stadium, Sportscity, Manchester,Gateshead International Stadium and former Sheffield Don Valley Stadium.
[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] To be eligible to compete students must attain an entry standard Archived 11 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
Each county selects a team for the championships from the eligible students attending schools in their area subject to various constraints including maximum team sizes and students only being allowed to participate in a single individual event at the championships.
Teams earn points based on the finishing position of their students in each event and their performances levels.
The cross country championships have been held every year since 1960 for boys and 1968 for girls (except for 2001 due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak).