Historically, sport transfer has been a common route into competitive weightlifting, and has produced some of BWL’s top performing athletes, with Emily Campbell and Zoe Smith being just a couple. Athletes tend to transfer to weightlifting from many sports such as judo, gymnastics, athletics, CrossFit and more.

British Weight Lifting (BWL) runs two talent programmes to discover and support young athletes with the potential to become future international medallists.

Athletes on the Talent Transfer/Talent Identification programme work towards achieving the performance standards and rankings needed to qualify for the GB Age-Group Programme within 12–18 months.

Talent Transfer:

For athletes moving from other sports (such as athletics, rowing, gymnastics, rugby, or CrossFit) who have the physical and mental attributes to excel in weightlifting. For example:

• Athletes less than 1 year into weightlifting but with a strong background in another sport.
• CrossFit athletes who perform Olympic lifts well but have not yet trained or competed specifically in weightlifting.

Talent Identification:

For new or emerging weightlifters who demonstrate rapid progress and the qualities needed for international success. For example:

• Athletes new to weightlifting who are progressing quickly and showing strong physical potential.

Both programmes feed into our Performance Pathway, ensuring that promising athletes are identified early, developed effectively, and given opportunities to progress into GB training squads within 12-18 months. Successful athletes will look to graduate from these programmes into other squads within the space of two years.

Eligibility criteria:

• Men aged 15–17 (as of 31 December)
• Women aged 15–21 (as of 31 December)

Programme benefits:

The Talent Transfer & Talent Identification offer athletes:

• Camps to train alongside others at a similar stage, learning and building friendships in the sport.

• Support from a Performance Manager, plus coach development support to help set goals and overcome performance challenges.
• Access to injury risk profiling and barbell analysis - services normally reserved for GB Programme athletes.

Application process:

The process for getting selected for the Talent Transfer/Talent Identification programme is as follows:

1. 1. Send of an interest form
   2. Get invited to a testing day (we host 2 testing days a year.)
   3. Attend the testing day
   4. Selection (Please note: a set of standards will be created based off of the performance of individuals at the testing day. The top performing individuals from these testing days will then be invited onto the talent programmes.)

What happens at the testing day:

Our testing days are used to identify athletes who demonstrate either great raw physical potential or a high rate of progression. These testing sessions are compulsory for athletes wishing to join or continue in the programme.

Please note: some athletes may attend multiple testing days before being selected for the program.

What to expect on the day:

On the testing day, we look at multiple movements to assess your capabilities. Below is an example of what we would do in the session:

Weightlifting movements:

• Snatch and Clean & Jerk above 90% (to generate a total)

• Or an introduction to weightlifting for newer participants (Heavy Power Clean)

Other movements:

• Mid-Thigh Isometric Pull 

• Countermovement Jump 
• Back Squat 3 rep max

Applications now OPEN:

We welcome expressions of interest from suitable applicants. Please note: our next scheduled testing day is 17-18 January 2026.

Click here to register your interest

Case study: