The first meeting of the representatives of the athletic federations of the Balkan countries took place through a SEGAS initiative in 1928 while the Olympic Games of Amsterdam were taking place. The "Balkan Conference on Athletics" which took place as a result of the 1928 meeting, was held in Athens on 27 September 1929. At this official meeting, the “…representatives of the four Balkan nations, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia and Greece…would decide on all the details for the future Balkan Games as determined by the official protocol through which these games shall be recognised as compulsory for a all signatory national Federations.” There was a promise to the delegations that “…every effort shall be made for the success of this noble idea, the Balkan Games.” It was not by chance that SEGAS once again played a central role in this innovative effort which aimed to create friendly political relations through “athletic rapprochement”.

Despite the friction inside SEGAS when its President N. Athanasiades submitted his resignation in protest against the caustic remarks of the general secretary G. Kitsos, the road towards establishing the Balkan Games had no obstacles. M. Rinopoulos undertook the interim presidency and was later unanimously voted to the position. In the name of SEGAS, G. Kitsos drafted a proposal to the delegates.

The organisation of the Pan-Balkan Games already on the road to realisation, Greece staged a trial event in 1929 in which athletes from Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania took part. The success of this first effort led the officials of the national delegations to decide on an annual event.

“…Given, indeed, the inability of the Balkan Federations to organise the Games in the first four years,…, Greece shall undertake to organise the Balkan Games in Athens for the first four years…”. The Greek state responded in the best possible way to this honour. SEGAS played an important role in this decision as it had both the organisational infrastructure and the fans which would support this endeavour in a meaningful way.

The city of Athens hosted the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Balkan Games. The hustle and bustle evident in the capital in October of 1930, the month on which the first Games took place, was a pleasant surprise. The government of Eleftherios Venizelos handled the whole manner in such a way as to guarantee the success of the event. The Games not only provided front page news for the Greek press, but major stories in the international press as well. The “Pan-Balkan Games” of 1930 were called the Peace Games and the Balkan Olympiad. During the opening ceremony at the Panathinaikos Stadium, the Choir of the National Conservatory sang the Hymn to Peace, with lyrics by Kostis Palamas, and the Balkan Hymn by Athanasiades, with music by G. Labelet.

In 1934 another Balkan country, Yugoslavia, undertook the organisation of the Games. The success of this institution, interrupted in 1940 because of the looming clouds of war, continued, albeit on a smaller scale, in 1953 with the 12^th Pan-Balkan Games. In 1957 Greece held the 16^th Balkan Games which aimed to use the unifying power of athletics in those tense times.

Except for the interval during WW II, the Balkan Games continued annually until 1986. Three years later in 1989, following a Greek proposal, representatives from the Balkan nations decided to hold the Games every two years. The only change in the schedule occurred in 1989 when Greece organised the Games although it was not her turn so that the 60th anniversary of the Games could be celebrated where they had first taken place.

The importance of the Balkan Games in the development of athletics in the Balkan Peninsula is evident as it gave athletes their first step on the road to international acclaim.

In the thirty year period from 1950 to 1980, SEGAS renovated the Karaiskaki Stadium, held the 1969 European Championships and formed a Press Office as it saw the need to disseminate information on its activities.

What is perhaps less well-known is SEGAS's social awareness. Knowing full well the disastrous effects of WW II on athletes, their families and their friends, SEGAS organised friendly games, the revenue from which was given to help athletes.