The regional squad programme is an athlete’s first introduction to working with the BWL Pathway team. Athletes will be guided through a progressive learning which will increase their understanding of what it takes to succeed in the sport and reinforce the fundamental skills and knowledge to achieve their ambitions.
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 two groups.
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;
Regional Age Groups
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 4 squads per year)
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 4 key regions;
North
Common Squad Locations: Leeds & Warrington (Saturdays)
Central
Common Squad Locations: Nottingham (Sundays)
South East
Uxbridge & Bexleyheath (Saturdays)
South West
Common Squad Locations: Bath (Sundays)
Pathway Coach
Andy Griffiths (North & Central)
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.
Pathway Assistant Coach (North)
Sally Thompson-Taylor
Sally is head coach at Fylde Coach Weightlifting club and has been coaching in sport for over 10 years. She has competed and coached weightlifting alongside supporting several youth lifters at English and British Championships. Sally has just come to the end of her MSc Psychology for Sport and Exercise and hopes to continue further research on challenges and barriers elite female athletes face in sport today.
Pathway Assistant Coach (Central)
Luke Stopford
Luke started coaching over 15 years ago and has been competing in weightlifting for over ten years. Today, Luke is the owner of Yorkshire Strength, a hugely popular club in the Leeds area. He has several athletes on the regional and national pathway programmes.
Pathway Coach (South East and South West)
Stewart Cruikshank
Stewart began his lifting career at 13 years old, becoming Britain’s strongest schoolboy by the age of sixteen. He went on to win may National titles and competed for Great Britain at World and European level. Medalling at 3 consecutive Commonwealth Games 1994,1998 & 2002 for Team England. Now as head coach at Zalva weightlifting he is passing on his wealth of knowledge and experience to all athlete from youth to masters. Whilst still finding some time for his own lifting in the masters and holds the title of World Champion and World record holder.
Pathway Assistant Coach (South West)
Amy Kirby-Saunders
Amy is the owner and head coach of Resilience Weightlifting based in Bath = Eleiko Club of the Year 2022. Amy has been involved in weightlifting for over 10 years, with the club opening in 2020. Amy coaches athletes at both a youth and senior level; with athletes involved in youth and junior regional squads, as well as youth and senior National squads. Amy is part of the BWL Coach Development Programme.
Pathway Assistant Coach (South East)
Natalia Priscepa
Natalia is a former Olympian, European bronze medallist, and multiple national champion. As a head coach of Azerbaijan women's national team from 2016 to 2017, she helped multiple athletes to win medals on the international stage.
Natalia has made a transition from her competitive career and is now an Assistant Pathway Coach, ready to share her experiences and offer advice to athletes considering following a similar career path.
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 several emerging lifters or clubs in your region please contact kristian.mcphee@britishweightlifting.org
