2025 Events Calendar

Our 2025 events calendar is available, enabling you to plan training and competition preparation accordingly.

Please note that some venues are yet to be confirmed and, naturally, we will update the membership accordingly.

Our overall vision is to continue with a three platform / two-day competition format where possible in the first instance. We believe this provides the optimal competition environment, noting our available resource of sport equipment, workforce, technical officials, and pool of possible venues.  

If we are unable to deliver this, we will look at three-day events by exception, and/or smaller venues and more competition dates to enable the same, or more, opportunity for our athletes.

Kindly, BWL wishes to bring the following items to the attention of the members:

New Bodyweight Categories

Last week the IWF announced new Senior and Junior bodyweight categories that will come into effect internationally on 1 June 2025. These are: Men, 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, 110kg, +110kg. Women, 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, +86kg.

It is expected the new Youth bodyweight categories will be announced by the IWF in the coming period.

It will be necessary for BWL to factor in the new bodyweight and the consequences for existing qualifications standards and competitions. Now the new Senior and Junior categories have been formally announced by the IWF, it is BWL’s intention to implement these into our domestic programme at the earliest opportunity, to provide athletes ample time to prepare and compete within the new categories.

This will occur even if the new categories have not been implemented internationally. 2025 will represent a transition period and we intend to make that period as smooth and clear as possible. As an example, BUCS in April 2025 will likely be the final Championships with 10 + 10 bodyweight categories, with all following competitions moving to the new bodyweight categories.

Masters

BWL will continue the ongoing discussion with the Masters community, following the webinar in November 2024, with a focus on providing the masters with pathway opportunities and moving forward with the suggestion that the British Masters Championships and England Masters Championships should be a performance focused invitational event based on SMF / Q-Points ranking (100 athletes per event).

Moreover, BWL also intends to hold standalone Masters Open events in 2025.

2025 British Championships (Commonwealth Games Qualifier)

Noting the Qualification System applied for the 2018 & 2022 Commonwealth Games, it is expected the 2025 British Championships will serve as a Qualification Event for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Further details in this regard will be issued by the IWF in early 2025.

Regional Open Events

BWL intends to introduce Regional Open competitions, as opposed to one stand-alone British Open, to open up more competition opportunities for members.

British Age Group Regional Events

BWL is ongoing in its discussions and collaborations to introduce British Age Group regionals events next year.

British Age Group Championships

Internal discussions continue to best position the British Age Group Championships to ensure high-ranked lifters are provided an invitation to compete while at the same time, ensuring a first come-first served opportunity is provided for emerging talent.   

A part of this wider discussion also includes the future direction of the U10/U12 event.

Para Powerlifting

Para powerlifting will continue its collaboration with British Powerlifting, to provide more competition opportunities.

Qualification Standards

BWL will review qualification standards across all of the competition formats.

2025 Competition Calendar
Month	Date	Event	Venue
January	TBC	Para Powerlifting x British Powerlifting Open	Newark
February	15 - 16	British Masters Open	TBC
	28	England Age Group Championships (U10, U12, U15, U17, U20, U23)	Oldbury Academy
March	1 - 2
	15	Para Powerlifting Open	Oldbury Academy
April	3 - 4	BUCS Weightlifting & Para Powerlifting Championships	TBC
	26 - 27	British Regional Open (Age Groups & Seniors)	TBC
May	17 - 18	British Masters Open	TBC
	31	Adaptive Open	Oldbury Academy
July	12 - 13 (TBC)	British Championships (Seniors, Masters, PPL)	Birmingham NEC
	26 - 27	British Regional Open (Age Groups & Seniors)	TBC
September	6 - 7	British Age Group Championships	TBC
October	11 - 12	British Masters Open	TBC
December	6 - 7 (TBC)	England Championships (Seniors, Masters, PPL)	Birmingham NEC