The Southern Committee was set up by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) in 1883 as a counterpart to the Northern Counties Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Midland Counties Amateur Athletic Association (MCAAA) and it served as an area association of the AAA. In 1961, the Southern Counties Amateur Athletic Association was formed and was put on the same footing as the MCAAA and the NCAA.
Athletics remained a sport for men until the 1920s when women entered the sport. The independent men's and women's organisations have now merged and the amateur-professional separation has been abandoned. In 1991, the SCAAA amalgamated with the Southern Counties Women's Amateur Athletic Association (SCWAAA, founded in 1930) to form the South of England Athletic Association. This now serves as the governing body for athletics within the South of England.
Sources: papers of the SCAAA; P. Lovesey, 'The Official Centenary of the Amateur Athletic Association', Enfield: Guiness Superlatives Limited, 1979.