The athletic euphoria arising from the great success of the first modern Olympic Games led to the Pan-Hellenic Athletic Conference which was to take place from 11 to 15 January and on 17 January. During the proceedings of the Conference, which was organised by the Panellinios Athletic Club and officially opened by its President Spyridon Lambros, a decision was taken to form the Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (S.E.A.G.S.) and its charter was voted on.

Based on the founding charter, the Association's aims were, in brief, the following: a) to carry out direct communication among the athletic and gymnastic clubs of Greece; b) to draft plans for annual athletic and gymnastic competitions and meets which would take place biennially at the Ancient Stadium of Olympia; c) to take initiatives in forming new clubs and d) to publish a sports periodical in which statistics and other information on the field of sport could be found.

The Royal Decree with which SEAGS was established (1897)

The record of proceedings for the establishment of SEAGS (1895)

It is worth noting that the initial idea to establish a federation of Greek athletic clubs was voiced by Panachaikos when the Selection Committee which was to select those athletes who were to take part in the Olympic Games arrived in Patra on 20 February 1895.

SEAGS is one of the oldest such federations in the world. The first was the athletic Federation of Great Britain (1880), second was that of New Zealand (1887), the United States formed a federation in 1888, while Belgium (1889), Sweden (1895), Norway (1896) and SEAGS (1897) followed. Czechoslovakia, Hungary also formed federations in 1897, while Germany followed suit in 1898.

The foundation of SEAGS, which in 1928 changed its name to S.E.G.A.S. “…for the sake of euphony…”, was greeted with great enthusiasm by the Greek athletic world which saw in this newly founded organisation the official embodiment of modern Greek athletics. In the three years that followed, from 1897 to 1900, SEAGS played a pivotal role in the developments in Greek athletics as the term of the first Hellenic Olympic Committee, which was formed by a Royal Decree, came to an end with the end of the Olympic Games.

The Association's presiding board. From the left:
V. Antonopoulos, M. Mindler, N. Athanasiasis, M. Rinopoulos,
G. Baltazes, I. Minetas and A. Ragavis

The influential people in all these developments were the leaders of athletics in modern Greece and it was from amongst these people that the Board of Directors of SEAGS was chosen. The first Board comprised Spyridon Lambrou as President; N. Demaras, Vice-President; A. Kordellas, Treasurer and P. Kalligas, General Secretary. I. Alexandropoulos, P. Karapanos, L. Lapadiotis, G Papavassiliou, G. Papadiamantopoulos, A. Regopoulos and I. Chryssafis were also members of the Board. The charter of the Association was approved by a 7 February 1897 Royal Decree which officially recognised the legal status of SEAGS. One of the first decisions taken by the Association within a few days of its foundation was to hold annual games in Patra. This event would be organised by the Athletic Foundation of Patra from 23 to 27 April.

Another important event which took place in the same year was the International Olympic Conference in Havre, France. However, the fact that there was no Greek representative at this conference meant, on the one hand that there was no one to argue in favour of the Greek request that the Olympic Games permanently take place in Greece, and on the other, that there were no objections raised by Greece when it was decided that the Olympic Games were to take place every four years at a different city. The year 1897 also saw the death of I. Fokianos with Sotiris Peppas, an enthusiastic supporter of physical exercise, taking his place as President of the Public Gymnasium. Two new clubs, G.A.S. Almyros and the Athletic Club of Vourvourion were founded in the same year, as was a one-year school for women physical education teachers which operated for years.

SEGAS's logo (1949)

The 1897 war had a detrimental effect on Greek athletics which was still in its developing stage and, naturally, on the Greek state. The unresolved issue of Crete, the horror of the massacre of the Christians of Chania (January 1897), the landing of an expeditionary force on the island, the raising of the Greek flag at Akrotiri, Eleftherios Venizelos' rise to leadership, and the disappointing stance of the European powers vis-a-vis the Greco-Turkish conflict-all make up the backdrop to this troubled time. Greek national dignity was further tested by two events: the entrance of Turkish troops onto Greek soil and their penetration as far as Larissa and Volos and the fact that Greece had to sign the Treaty of Constantinople which had damaging terms for Greece in November of the same year. Furthermore, the imposition of International Financial Monitoring had a negative effect on the domestic scene, exacerbated political developments and did not at all contribute to the development of stability.