Regional Squads  

What are Regional Squads?  

The regional squad programme is an athlete’s first introduction to working with the BWL Pathway coaching team. Athletes will be guided through a progressive syllabus of learning which will increase their understanding of what it takes to succeed in the sport and reinforce the fundamental skills they need to develop to achieve their ambitions.  

  

Who are Regional Squads for?  

The squads are for those who are competing in weightlifting and with ambitions to progress into complete British Weightlifters but with a focus on their long-term development. Squads are divided in to 3 groups;  

 

Regional Foundations (Tier 1)  

• Younger teens age 12-15 years old who are early in their weightlifting journey 
• Train 2-3 days per week and compete   

• Are committed to exploring the sport and want to learn.  
• Foundation athletes are invited to up to 4 squads per year and must attend all 4 to complete the program 
• The foundations program is a gateway to regional youth squads.  
• Athletes on this program will receive access to the Complete British Weightlifter Level 1 certificate 

 

Regional Youth Squad (Tier 1)  

• Older teens age 14-17 years old  
• train 3-5 days per week and compete a minimum of 4x per year  
• Are committed to the sport as something they want to excel in long term,  
• Leading athletes in their age-group who effectively applies themselves to training, who support their teammates and are open to learning  

• Regional athletes are invited to up to 8 squads per year and must attend a minimum of 6 squads 
• Athletes on this program will receive access to the Complete British Weightlifter Level 1 certificate 

 

Regional Junior & U23 Squad (Tier 1)  

• Are 18-23 years old  
• Train 4-6 days per week and compete a minimum of 4x per year  
• Are committed to the sport as something they want to excel in long term,  
• Leading athletes in their age-group who effectively applies themselves to training, who support their teammates and are open to learning 
• Regional athletes are invited to up to 8 squads per year and must attend a minimum of 6 squads per year 

• Athletes on this program will receive access to the Complete British Weightlifter Level 2 certificate.  

  

How do I get selected for a Regional Squad?  

BWL uses the Sport80 system to store essential athlete information and track & monitor their competition progress. 

 All regional athletes must be BWL members for both insurance and communication purposes.  

 The criteria for selection is as follows;  

Foundations Groups  

• Athlete must compete in a BWL Competition 

• New athletes should attend the yearly regional squad open days  
• Squads are selected annually after the British Age Groups 

Regional Age Groups  

• Athletes must compete in a minimum of 4 competitions a year including the England & British Age-Group Championships 
• Athlete selection will be based off their commonwealth pathway rankings with the top 12-16 per age group being selected based off them being on track to lift at least 80% of the commonwealth pathway standards in the next 12 months.  

• Athletes should complete the form to express interest in being selected for their Regional Talent Squad and/or attend the regional squad open day. 
• Squads are selected annually after the British Age Groups, a selection policy can be found on our website. 

Athletes who do not communicate non-attendance sufficiently will be removed from these squads if they drop below the minimum amount of engagement expected for each squad (e.g. attending a minimum of 6 squads per year) 

 

Which Region Youth Squad should I join? 

We encourage lifters who do not know which region they should attend to email kristian.mcphee@britishweightlifting.org to explore which squad might be best for them to join. 

Regional squads currently operate across 3 key regions; 
North

 Common Squad Locations: Leeds, Warrington and Manchester 

Contact: olivia.jones@britishweightlifting.org 

Midlands 

Common Squad Locations: Nottingham Universities & Cheltenham 

Contact: chris.murray@britishweightlifting.org 

South

Common Squad Locations: Brunel University & Bexleyheath 

Contact: rebecca.palmer@britishweightlifting.org 

 

BWL Pathway Coaches 

 
Andy Griffiths (North)
Is the head coach of Pride Performance weightlifting. Since opening the club in 2018 he has coached numerous national medallists across all age groups, coached multiple youth international weightlifters as well as a commonwealth games athlete for Team Wales. Andy has represented GB at a senior level and also represented Team England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

 
Jenny Tong (Midlands) 

Is a GB International Weightlifter, multiple British age-group record holder and BWL Pathway and Performance Youth Coach. She manages her training alongside her role with BWL and running Sheffield's award-winning weightlifting club. Jenny is also the Non-executive Director for Athlete Experience here at BWL.  
 
Khrys Speed (South)

Khrys was originally a semi-professional rugby player but turned his attention to Olympic Weightlifting after progressing in his strength and conditioning training. He has since gone on to win several national medals. Alongside his work as a BWL pathway coach, Khrys focus is on developing a team of athletes and coaches at his club at Ronin Strength. 

 

All our coaches are passionate about creating a creative and inclusive environment that allows athletes to develop a broad set of skills that helps them become great senior weightlifters in the future.  

 

The sport of weightlifting continues to evolve across England and the UK and as we discover and identify new hot spots, we look carefully at how is best to support lifters and coaches in those areas. If you feel like there is a lack of representation of athletes or clubs from your region in BWL programmes, but a number of emerging lifters or clubs in your region please contact kristian.mcphee@britishweightlifting.org