The Australian Individual Speedway Championship is the oldest continuously running national speedway championship in the world having been run since 1926 with the exception of 1942–1945 when racing was suspended during World War II, and 1955–1961 when the championship was not held. The first championship was held at the Newcastle Showgrounds in Newcastle, New South Wales and was won by American rider Cec Brown. For a number of years qualification for the Australian Final came from the various State Championships held around the country. The Australian Final was held in various Australian states, usually on a rotating basis. The top places in the Final would then progress to the next stage of the World Championship qualifying. At times the next stage varied from the short lived Australasian Final which included riders from New Zealand, the Overseas Final which saw Commonwealth riders race with the Americans, or the Commonwealth Final which was restricted to riders from Commonwealth nations. The Australian Solo Final was run in the traditional single meeting format from 1926 to 2002 (though in the early years of the championship there was often more than one title contested as championships were held over anywhere from 3–6 laps, often depending on the size of the track). Since 2003 the Australian Championship has been run over a series of rounds (usually 3–5 rounds).