What are the NACAC Senior Championships?
The NACAC Senior Championships are the senior outdoor track and field championships of the World Athletics Area for North America, Central America and the Caribbean contested by national teams. World Athletics reported the 2015 edition as the “2nd NACAC Senior Championships”, and its later reports call the event the North and Central American & Caribbean (NACAC) Championships.[1][2] The programme covers men’s and women’s sprints, middle and long distances, hurdles, jumps, throws and relays; the 2022 edition in Freeport had 43 events.[3] The event is separate from the age-group championships NACAC also runs and from the athletics programme of the Central American and Caribbean Games, which is a multi-sport Games event.
Who organizes the NACAC Senior Championships?
The organiser is NACAC, the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association, whose own site gives its office in Nassau, The Bahamas.[8] NACAC acts under authority delegated by World Athletics: the World Athletics Constitution in force from 3 November 2025 gives each Area Association the task to “establish, manage and control Area Competitions and recognise records in Athletics from those competitions” (Article 20.1(c)), and binds it to World Athletics’ rules and regulations (Article 22.1(c)).[7] Competition rules, eligibility and anti-doping rules at the championships are therefore World Athletics’, while NACAC recognises the records set there.
When and where is it held?
The championships have no fixed interval and no permanent venue. Editions have been held in 2007, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025, all in August: the 2015 edition in San José, Costa Rica, ended on 9 August; the 2022 edition ran from 19 to 21 August; and the 2025 edition ended on 17 August.[1][2][5] Freeport, on Grand Bahama, has hosted twice running, both times at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex; World Athletics described the 2022 edition as the first held in the Caribbean.[2][4] On 1 October 2026 no next edition had been confirmed from a published calendar.
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Senior championships | Freeport, The Bahamas — Grand Bahama Sports Complex, August 2025 (final day 17 August) |
| 2022 | 4th edition · 43 events | Freeport, The Bahamas — Grand Bahama Sports Complex, 19–21 August 2022 |
| 2018 | Senior championships | Toronto, Canada, 2018 |
| 2015 | 2nd edition | San José, Costa Rica, August 2015 (final day 9 August) |
| 2007 | 1st edition (inaugural) | El Salvador, 2007 |
Edition numbers and event counts where World Athletics’ reports give them; hosts and dates from World Athletics’ reports and, for the final day in 2025, Watch Athletics. The 2018 edition in Toronto is recorded in World Athletics’ 2022 report.[3]
Since when do the NACAC Senior Championships exist?
World Athletics records the inaugural edition as held in El Salvador in 2007; its report on the 2022 edition noted that a men’s 10,000m championship record set at that first edition was broken in Freeport, leaving one men’s record from 2007 standing.[2] The second edition followed eight years later, in San José, Costa Rica, in 2015.[1] The first edition is a separate date from the founding of NACAC itself. No renaming of the championship as such is recorded; the “Senior” in its name distinguishes it from NACAC’s U23 and other age-group championships.
How do athletes qualify?
The championships are contested by national teams entered by the member federations of NACAC. Under the World Athletics Constitution, every Member Federation must “be a member of its Area Association and cooperate with it, in accordance with the Area Association’s constitution and rules” (Article 9.1(i)).[7] World Athletics’ reports give results and medal tallies by nation, in line with that national-team format.[4] NACAC’s technical regulations for the 2025 edition, which would set entry standards and the number of athletes per nation in each event, could not be retrieved, so no entry quota is given here.
Why do the NACAC Senior Championships matter?
Their measurable weight lies in the World Athletics Rankings. The ranking rules in force from 1 January 2026 place “Area Senior Outdoor Championships” in competition category GL, after the OW category (the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships), the Diamond League Final and the GW group of world events, and ahead of category A, which holds the major multi-sport Games including the Pan American Games.[6] Records set at the championships are recognised as championship and area records under Article 20.1(c) of the Constitution.[7] World Athletics reported 25 championship records across 43 events in 2022, one more than at Toronto in 2018.[3] No prize money figure was found in the sources retrieved.
Who competes?
Senior men and women from the national federations of North America, Central America and the Caribbean compete in individual and relay events. By World Athletics’ figures, 15 nations won at least one medal in Freeport in 2022.[3] At the 2025 edition, 15 nations appeared on the medal table and nine won at least one gold, according to World Athletics’ report.[4] The organiser’s own entry figure for 2025 could not be retrieved.
References
- World Athletics — report, 2nd NACAC Senior Championships, San José, 9 August 2015. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- World Athletics — report, NACAC Championships Freeport, opening day, 20 August 2022. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- World Athletics — report, NACAC Championships Freeport, final day, 22 August 2022. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- World Athletics — report, 2025 NACAC Championships, Freeport, 18 August 2025. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Watch Athletics — NACAC Championships Day 3 in Freeport, 18 August 2025. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- World Athletics — World Rankings rules: basics, competition categories (in force from 1 January 2026). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- World Athletics — Constitution (in force from 3 November 2025), Articles 9, 18–20 and 22. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- NACAC — official site (name and Nassau address). Accessed 2026-10-01.