 In 1865 , Dr William Penny Brookes of Wenlock helped set up the National Olympian Association , which held their first Olympian Games in 1866 at The Crystal Palace in London . This national event was a great success , attracting a crowd of over ten thousand people . In response , that same year the Amateur Athletic Club was formed and held a championship for " gentlemen amateurs " in an attempt to reclaim the sport for the educated elite . Ultimately the " allcomers " ethos of the NOA won through and the AAC was reconstituted as the Amateur Athletic Association in 1880 , the first national body for the sport of athletics . The AAA Championships , the de facto British national championships despite being for England only , have been held annually since 3 July 1880 with breaks only during two world wars and 2006 – 2008 . The AAA was effectively a global governing body in the early years of the sport , codifying its rules for the first time . 
