In collaboration with UK Sport, Sport England and other key stakeholders BWL is proud to offer support to athletes eligible to represent Great Britain and England internationally in the lead up to Glasgow 2026, LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032

GB World Class Programme

UK Sport funding for LA 2028

In April 2025 UKS awarded BWL with funding to establish a World Class Programme (WCP) to support the development of athletes with the potential to win medals at Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic games.

Through the following three strategic objectives below, and in collaboration with athletes, coaches, and other key stakeholders, the BWL performance team strives to help create the conditions for Weightlifting to maintain its recent success as a medal-winning nation and create great experiences for those involved.

Expand the way we support athletes of High potential
Raise the standard of coaching & support services
Continue to Build a broad and diverse base of talent

BWL World Class Programme

The BWL World Class Programme will provide selected athletes with access to support services, training camps and access to train at the BWL performance centres. Selected weightlifters will be required to develop an individual athlete plan and achieve the performance objectives agreed with them in order to remain a member of the World Class Programme at the end of April each year.

Selected athletes receive Athlete Performance Awards (APAs) to support them as follows:

Podium APAs (Levels A & B) are designed to contribute to an athlete’s living and sporting costs, whose profile indicates a strong prospect of achieving/contributing to medal-winning performances at the Olympic or Paralympic Games within the cycle and who are already achieving/contributing to international results within the medal zone.

Purpose of Podium Potential APAs (Levels C, D & E) are designed to contribute to sporting costs for athletes who have been identified and confirmed as having the potential to bridge the gap to Olympic and medal success at the Brisbane 2032 Games and have made the commitment to pursue this goal.

The policY can be found here

Athletes who have achieved the minimum standards outlined in the policies above are advised to submit a declaration of interest for this programme no later than 23:59 on 21st April 2025 by completing the form in the link here.

Athletes wishing to know more about the BWL World Class Programme (WCP) are advised to email the BWL Head of performance (stuart.martin@britishweightlifting.org) with any questions before the 11^th April 2025.

Sport England Funding

Through the following strategic objectives below, and in collaboration with athletes, coaches, and other key stakeholders, the BWL Pathway team strives to help create the conditions for England Weightlifting to maintain its recent success as a medal-winning nation at Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022 and create great experiences for those involved.

Raise the standard of Coaching & Talent Academies
Continue to Build a broad and diverse base of talent
Evolve the way we provide support to English athletes at the highest level of the pathway below the BWL-WCP in preparation for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)

TASS provides a number of Britain’s leading Lifters with Medical insurance and access to key Medical & Support services including Lifestyle, Physiotherapy, Strength & Conditioning, Psychology and Nutrition.

TASS is awarded to athletes who compete at the highest levels below the World Class Programme. WCP athletes are not eligible to apply for TASS.

Selection Policies and standards for TASS 2025-2026 awards are currently under review and will be released shortly

SportsAid and Backing The Best

SportsAid - helps young, unfunded athletes to overcome one of their greatest barriers to success - the financial challenge of trying to become Britain’s next generation of Olympians, Paralympians and world champions. The charity helps over 1,000 athletes across more than 60 sports each year, the majority aged 12 to 18, by providing them with an average award of £1,000

The Backing The Best programme - supports athletes with up to £5000 per annum for athletes facing significant financial hardship, to help them overcome the barriers which could prevent them from realising their potential along their

Selection Policies and standards for SportsAid and Backing The best 2025-2026 awards are currently under review and will be released shortly