The championships was first initiated by European colonists in the Cape Colony and continued with the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.

The competition was organised and attended only by White South Africans (mostly of Dutch and British heritage).

As a result, the two competitions merged to form a single multi-racial national championship in 1977.

[1] The competition programme features a total of 38 individual South African Championship athletics events, 19 for men and 19 for women.

The women's field events reached parity with the men's after the addition of triple jump in 1991, hammer throw in 1994, and pole vault in 1995.