Following the 11th August web announcement of the formation of the GBR (Senior) Squad, coaches have been submitting their CV’s and cover letters to become part of the support team.

A Selection Panel met on 24th August to consider these applications. The Selection Panel consisted of Eddy Kavanagh (GBR (Senior) Squad Manager); Alan Jones (National Coach, Wales at Gold Coast) and Barry Pollin (National Coach and Team Leader, Northern Ireland, at Gold Coast). The Panel was chaired by Colin Nicholson (British Wrestling Chief Executive).

The Selection Panel would like to thank all those that submitted their applications and the outcomes of the Selection Panel deliberations are as follows.

GBR (Senior) Squad Support Team

Recognising the reality that this GBR (Senior) Squad is currently unfunded by UK Sport and the Home Nations Sport Councils, the roles have to be essentially volunteer roles. The BWA is extremely grateful to these individuals for the time and effort that they will be putting in to providing the best training environment for senior GBR athletes.

Meanwhile, athletes are being invited to attend the first GBR (Senior) Squad session on Sunday 16th September at 4:45pm. (See table below for initial invitees)

During and after the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games there has been an unprecedented level of cooperation across the Home Nations with the goal of combining forces to deliver the best possible results across the Home Nations at the next Commonwealth Games – Birmingham 2022.

The result is the formation of a male and female GBR (Senior) Squad, under the leadership of Eddy Kavanagh, who was England’s Assistant Team Leader at Glasgow 2014 and Team Leader at Gold Coast 2018.

The GBR (Senior) Squad will be overseen by a Coordination Group of representatives across the Home Nations.

British Wrestling is not funded by UK Sport for such a senior development squad and the running and participation will be largely on a volunteer basis with all the support of BWA staff that is possible.

The GBR (Senior) Squad will work closely with the National Talent Squad to ensure the smooth transition of talented athletes from one squad to the other.

The ultimate purpose of the GBR (Senior) Squad is to “Build for Birmingham” and candidates for the squad will be those with a good prospect of being selected for their Home Nation for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Work already begins…  invited members of the GBR (Senior) Squad begin training with Mohammadali Haghighatdoust at Aspull Warriors Club, along with some members of the NTS and others who were available for the session…

• BWA news item