It was the sixth edition of the competition limited to British athletes only, launched as an alternative to the AAA Championships, which was open to foreign competitors. However, due to the fact that the calibre of national competition remained greater at the AAA event, the UK Championships this year were not considered the principal national championship event by some statisticians, such as the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS). Many of the athletes below also competed at the 1982 AAA Championships.[1][2]
The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the 1982 European Athletics Championships. Reflecting the secondary status of the UK event at national level, none of the British individual medallists there were present at UK Championships, though four relay medallists were on the UK podium: Bev Callender, Shirley Thomas, Todd Bennett, Phil Brown.[3][4] The four countries of the United Kingdom competed separately at the Commonwealth Games that year as well, and UK champions who won there were men's 200 m champion Mike McFarlane, men's racewalker Steve Barry and women's shot putter Judy Oakes.[5][6]