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Area Association · Athletics · North America, Central America and the Caribbean

NACAC — North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association

The athletics association for World Athletics’ North America, Central America and the Caribbean Area; it states its office is in Nassau and runs the NACAC Senior and U23 Championships.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
TypeArea Association of World Athletics for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, named in Rule 1 of the Area Association Rules[1][13]
Founded10 December 1986, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the Union of International Associations records it; a single source[3]
OfficeThomas A. Robinson National Stadium, Nassau, The Bahamas, as the association’s own site gives it[2]
MembersThe World Athletics Member Federations of the Area (Constitution, Article 19.3); the association’s own dated count could not be retrieved[1]
Senior championshipsNACAC Senior Championships, first held in El Salvador in 2007; most recent edition Freeport, The Bahamas, August 2025[7][10]
World Athletics CouncilIts Area President is one of the six Area Presidents on the Council (Constitution, Article 41.1(c))[1]

What is NACAC?

NACAC is the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association, the name its own site uses.[2] It is the regional association for athletics in one of the six Areas into which World Athletics divides its membership. The World Athletics Constitution in force from 3 November 2025 lists that Area as “North America, Central America and the Caribbean” and provides that “Each Area shall have an Area Association which has delegated authority from World Athletics to make decisions in their Area in accordance with this Constitution, the Rules and the Regulations.”[1] World Athletics’ Area Association Rules (Book B2.1, approved 29 November 2022, in effect from 1 July 2023) name the body in Rule 1 as the “North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC)”, the association for “North America, Central America & Caribbean”.[13]

The Union of International Associations, which keeps an independent register of international bodies, records NACAC’s aims as to “develop and maintain friendly and local cooperation between members for promotion and development of amateur athletics” and to provide a forum for its members and a channel for technical information, and records its representation on the Council of the IAAF, World Athletics’ former name.[3] The association covers the whole sport of athletics: track and field, road running, race walking and cross country. Its own statutes could not be retrieved, so its legal form under the law of its seat is not stated here.

What does NACAC govern or do?

The World Athletics Constitution sets out what an Area Association does. Under Article 20.1 each one is to “promote and develop the sport of Athletics in its Area”, to “encourage participation in Athletics at all levels throughout the Area through competitions, events, programmes and activities”, to “establish, manage and control Area Competitions and recognise records in Athletics from those competitions”, and to cooperate with other sports organisations and public authorities in the Area.[1]

NACAC does not write the rules of the sport. Article 22.1(c) obliges each Area Association to “comply with this Constitution, all Rules and Regulations and any applicable policies and procedures published by World Athletics and as are prescribed by World Athletics as applying to Area Associations”, so competition rules, eligibility and anti-doping rules are World Athletics’ and apply at NACAC events as they do elsewhere.[1] What the Area body controls is its own calendar of Area Competitions and the area records set at them. Its senior championships feed the World Athletics Rankings: the ranking rules in force from 1 January 2026 place “Area Senior Outdoor Championships” in competition category GL, listed after categories OW (the Olympic Games and the World Championships), DF and GW.[4]

When was NACAC founded and where is it based?

The Union of International Associations, an independent register, records NACAC as founded on 10 December 1986 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[3] The date rests on that single source: the association’s own history page and statutes could not be retrieved to confirm it, and no primary source for the founding could be found.

The association’s own site gives its address as Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, Suite 58W, University Boulevard, Nassau, The Bahamas.[2] That is the office address the body publishes; a registered seat from its statutes could not be confirmed. The Union of International Associations lists the same site, nacacathletics.org, as NACAC’s website.[3] No renaming of the association is recorded in the sources retrieved. The World Athletics Constitution that governs its status is the edition approved by Congress on 12 September 2025 and in force from 3 November 2025.[1]

How is NACAC recognised?

Recognition comes from World Athletics. Its Constitution establishes the six Areas in Article 18, gives each Area an Area Association with “delegated authority from World Athletics” in Article 19, and in Article 20 makes those associations responsible for development, participation and Area Competitions and records in their Area.[1] The same Constitution seats “six (6) Area Presidents, elected by each Area Association” on the World Athletics Council (Article 41.1(c)).[1] The Constitution does not name the Area Associations; the Area Association Rules do, listing the “North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC)” for this Area in Rule 1.[13] NACAC holds no recognition from the International Olympic Committee of its own; that recognition belongs to World Athletics as the international federation.

The Union of International Associations records NACAC’s links with the Asociación Panamericana de Atletismo, a Pan American athletics body, and with the World Mountain Running Association.[3] Panam Sports, which runs the Pan American Games, points to the Association of Pan American Sports Confederations (ACODEPA) for its sport confederations; that association’s site could not be retrieved, so which athletics body Panam Sports recognises for the Americas is not confirmed from a primary source.[12]

What does NACAC organise?

NACAC runs a senior Area championship, the NACAC Senior Championships. World Athletics records the inaugural edition in El Salvador in 2007.[7] The second, which World Athletics reported as the “2nd NACAC Senior Championships”, was held in San José, Costa Rica, ending on 9 August 2015.[6] The third was in Toronto in 2018, and the fourth, in Freeport, The Bahamas, from 19 to 21 August 2022, was the first held in the Caribbean, with 43 events, by World Athletics’ figures.[7][8] The championships have no fixed interval: editions fell in 2007, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025.

The most recent completed edition returned to the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport in August 2025, finishing on 17 August; World Athletics reported that 15 nations appeared on the medal table, nine of them with at least one gold.[9][10] No next senior edition could be confirmed from a published calendar. The association also holds age-group Area championships: World Athletics’ results archive lists the NACAC U23 Championships at the Estadio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica, on 21–23 July 2023.[5] See the NACAC Senior Championships for the editions table.

Who are its members?

NACAC’s members are national athletics federations. The World Athletics Constitution provides in Article 19.3 that Area Associations have the Member Federations in their Area as members, and Article 9.1(i) requires every Member Federation to “be a member of its Area Association and cooperate with it, in accordance with the Area Association’s constitution and rules.”[1] Membership of NACAC therefore follows from membership of World Athletics, which states that it represents 214 Member Federations worldwide.[11]

The Area runs from Canada and the United States through Mexico and Central America to the island federations of the Caribbean, including national federations such as USATF and the FMAA in Mexico. NACAC’s own dated count of member federations could not be retrieved from the association’s site. Results give a proxy for the field: 15 nations won at least one medal at the 2022 senior championships in Freeport, by World Athletics’ figures.[8]

References

  1. World Athletics — Constitution (in force from 3 November 2025), Articles 9, 18, 19, 20, 22 and 41.1(c). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  2. NACAC — official site (name and Nassau address). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  3. Union of International Associations — North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  4. World Athletics — World Rankings rules: basics, competition categories (in force from 1 January 2026). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  5. World Athletics — results: NACAC U23 Championships, San José, 21–23 July 2023. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  6. World Athletics — report, 2nd NACAC Senior Championships, San José, 9 August 2015. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  7. World Athletics — report, NACAC Championships Freeport, opening day, 20 August 2022. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  8. World Athletics — report, NACAC Championships Freeport, final day, 22 August 2022. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  9. World Athletics — report, 2025 NACAC Championships, Freeport, 18 August 2025. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  10. Watch Athletics — NACAC Championships Day 3 in Freeport, 18 August 2025. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  11. World Athletics — Organisation overview (214 Member Federations). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  12. Panam Sports — History (links Sport Confederations to ACODEPA). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  13. World Athletics — Book B2.1, Area Association Rules (approved 29 November 2022, effective 1 July 2023), Rule 1. Accessed 2026-10-01.