2026 Western European Championships (Classic) Selection Process
Our primary goal is to create a pathway to international performance. Aligning with British Powerlifting’s vision, the Western European Championships Team will be the development team.
This means our primary selection will begin with those who have not represented British Powerlifting at Open Worlds Classic and are not part of the 2026 Masters/Juniors international team.
Our secondary goal is to provide an opportunity for coaches to gain valuable international experience with a 50:50 in the coaching staff between female and male coaches.
Our last goal is to promote longevity within the sport. With a deep pool of talent there are lifters who may be on the cusp of making it to the international team but move on before fulfilling their potential. We see this competition as a way of instilling belief in themselves to pursue their go for a longer duration.
With these goals in mind our selection criteria is set out to reflect this and fill the team roster of 6 male and 6 female lifters. The procedure is as follows:
Selection
The top six lifters based on GL points [who have not represented British Powerlifting at Open Worlds Classic and are not part of the 2026 Masters/Juniors international team] will receive an invite. To be eligible a lifter must have competed at one of the following*;
- 2025 British Open Classic Championships
- 2026 British SubJnr/ Jnr Classic Championships
- 2026 BUCS
- 2025 Home Nations
- 2026 Marion Hammang Memorial Cup
*These competitions will be updated following Westerns Euros 2026 for the Western Euros 2027 selection
Considerations
Weight classes are capped at 2 lifters per weight class as per the international competition rules.
The decision on which classes will be taken will be based on the rankings of the GL going from highest to lowest. Once there are 2 lifters in a weight class it is full. In this case the next eligible lifter would be a lifter who is in a different weight [who have not represented British Powerlifting at Open Worlds Classic and are not part of the 2026 Masters/Juniors international team].