Performance Pathway (Weightlifting)

BWL provides a variety of development opportunities to help athletes on their journey to their pinnacle. We recognise that the pinnacle will look different for each athlete and that only time and patience will determine what the pinnacle event looks like for each athlete, whether it's the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, or the British Championships. The following outlines the support that is available to athletes along the performance pathway to help them explore, raise, and realise their potential.

Athlete Support Awards (ASA)

BWL is fortunate to receive support from the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (link here) and Sports Aid (link here). These organisations award BWL with a number of places on Athlete awards , which BWL is responsible for nominating athletes for annually. 3 awards are available:

TASS Scholarships - provide athletes with invaluable medical insurance and access to sports science and medical services via third-party accredited university hubs nationwide.
Sports Aid - provide a small financial award of £500 to support sport-specific costs, and access to educational workshops provided by Sports Aid.
Backing the Best - provide a large financial award of up to £5000 per annum (subject to means testing) to support sport-specific costs.

BWL can nominate athletes for Sports Aid or a TASS but NOT both simultaneously. BWL can nominate athletes for a Backing the best award in addition to other awards. please see selection policy below:

BWL Sport England Athlete Funding Awards 2025-2026 Policy

BWL Training Squads

BWL supports athletes with high potential on their journey to qualify and compete at key milestone competitions each year. Please see selection policies.

Please see further information about the purpose and objectives of training squads below:

GB Women's Age-Group Training Squad

This programme is designed for athletes who demonstrate the potential to win future international medals and deliver a top 8 performance at the European Age-Group Championship events in the next 12-18 months. The European Age-Group Championship events are considered to be the main milestone events for GB Age-Group Lifters each year.

The purpose of these camps is to bring together the country’s leading athletes over the course of a 12-month campaign leading up to key milestone events, and to help them:

Become a team and build familiarity with the BWL coaching team who take them away to international events.
Explore the gaps in their performance which could add kilos to the bar and improve their ranking at the British Championships, or European Age-Group Championship events at the end of each year.
Improve their awareness of what is required to win medals at senior international level and develop a long-term athlete development plan in collaboration with the BWL performance team to ensure that there is clear understanding about the athlete's goals, priorities and schedule conflicts

National Training Squads are designed for Weightlifters who demonstrate early potential to win medals at future Olympic & Commonwealth Games. Athletes must meet the following criteria to be considered:

Youth Squad, between 13-17 years old on 31 December 2025
Junior & Under 23 Squad, between 18-23 years old on 31 December 2025
Be one of the leading athlete in their weight category
Be one of the 12 leading GB female Youth athletes or 12 Female Junior & Under 23 athletes in the country
Compete regularly at National level events to demonstrate progress and challenge themselves against other leading Age-group athletes (e.g., British AG Championships).
Demonstrate a clear commitment to weightlifting. BWL strongly encourages multi-sport development at younger age groups but, as with most sports, at some point athletes must make decisions to choose one sport over another and effectively apply themselves to their training, support their teammates, and compete regularly.

The following timeline is a rough guide for what to expect as a member of this training squad. While BWL tries to maintain consistency in its approach to delivering camps and squads, we are faced with the reality that key events in the international competition calendar rarely happen at the same time each year. Therefore, the dates of training camps will change from time to time, subject to changes in the international and domestic competition calendar.

2025...

Week commencing 15 September 2025: Squad Selection
25-26 October: GB Induction Camp - Nottingham
November / December: Attend an Annual Planning meeting (on-line).

2026...

16-19 February : GB Age-group Camp (4 days, February half-term) - Sheffield
March: Attend Individual Development Planning meeting (on-line)
6-9 April: GB Age-group Camp (4 days, Easter Holiday) - Nottingham
May: Focus on revision / exams.
June: Focus on exams.
Date tbc: Prep Camp for European Youth Team (7 days, during Summer holiday) - tbc
July / August: European Youth Championships 2026 - tbc
Date tbc: Prep Camp for European Junior Team (7 days, during Summer holiday) - tbc
September / October: European Junior & Under 23 Championships - tbc

Please contact Matt Keogh (Matt.keogh@britishweightlifting.org) if you have any further questions about the BWL Women's Age-Group Training Squad.

GB Women's Training Squad

This programme is designed for athletes who demonstrate the potential to win future international medals and deliver a top 8 performance at the European Senior Championships in the next 12-18 months. The European Championships is considered to be the main milestone event for GB Senior Lifters each year.

The purpose of these camps is to bring together the country’s leading athletes over the course of a 12-month campaign leading up to key milestone events, and to help them:
Become a team and build familiarity with the BWL coaching team coaching team who take them away to international events.
Explore the gaps in their performance which could add kilos to the bar and improve their ranking at the British Championships, or European Senior Championships at the end of each year.
Improve their awareness of what is required to win medals at senior international level and develop a long-term athlete development plan in collaboration with the BWL performance team to ensure that there is clear understanding about the athlete's goals, priorities and schedule conflicts

National Training Squads are designed for Weightlifters who demonstrate potential to win medals at future Olympic & Commonwealth Games. Athletes must meet the following criteria to be considered:

be 18 or older on 31 December 2025
Be a leading athlete in their weight category
Be one of the 12 leading GB Senior athletes in the country
Compete regularly at National level events to demonstrate progress and challenge themselves against other leading Senior athletes (e.g., British Senior Championships).

Week commencing 15 September: GB Women's Training Squad Selected & Online Induction
8-9 November: GB Women's training squad induction camp (3 days) - Nottingham
December/January: Attend an Annual Planning meeting (Online)
14-16 March: GB Women's Training Camp (3 days)
April: European Senior Championships - Batumi (Georgia)
tbc : GB Women's Training Camp (3 days)
tbc : Prep Camp for World Championships Team - tbc
tbc : World Championships - Ningbo (China)

Please contact Matt Keogh (Matt.keogh@britishweightlifting.org) if you have any further questions about the BWL Women's Training Squad.

GB Men's Training Squad

This programme is designed for athletes who demonstrate the potential to win future international medals and deliver a top 8 performance at European Seniors or Age-group Championships in the next 12-18 months. The European Seniors or Age-Group Championships is considered to be the main milestone event for BWL Men's Training Squad Lifters each year.

The purpose of these camps is to bring together the country’s leading athletes over the course of a 12-month campaign leading up to key milestone events, and to help them:

Become a team and build familiarity with the BWL coaching team who take them away to international events.
Explore the gaps in their performance which could add kilos to the bar and improve their ranking at the British Championships, European Youth or Junior & Under 23 Championships at the end of each year.
Improve their awareness of what is required to win medals at senior international level and develop a long-term athlete development plan in collaboration with the BWL performance team to ensure that there is clear understanding about the athlete's goals, priorities and schedule conflicts

be 18 or older on 31 December 2025
Be a leading athlete in their weight category
Be one of the leading GB Men in the country
Compete regularly at National level events to demonstrate progress and challenge themselves against other leading GB Men
Demonstrate a clear commitment to weightlifting. BWL strongly encourages multi-sport development at younger age groups but, as with most sports, at some point athletes must make decisions to choose one sport over another and effectively apply themselves to their training, support their teammates, and compete regularly.

Week commencing 15 September: GB Men's Training Squad Selected & Online Induction
15-18 November: GB Men's training squad induction camp (4 days) - Nottingham
December/January: Attend an Annual Planning meeting (Online)
21-24 March: GB Women's Training Camp (3 days) - Nottingham
April: European Senior Championships - Batumi (Georgia)
tbc : GB Men's Training Camp (3 days)
tbc : Prep Camp for World Championships Team - tbc
tbc: Prep Camp for the European Junior & Under 23 Team - tbc
tbc : World Championships - Ningbo (China)
tbc: European Junior & Under 23 Championships - tbc

Please contact Matt Keogh (Matt.keogh@britishweightlifting.org) if you have any further questions about the BWL Men's Training Squad.