Weightlifting Wales is governed by a board of directors, a mixture of director and membership-appointed individuals, who work together to drive the organisation forwards.
The board members also work as part of the different sub-committees and sub-groups, lending their expertise to discussions surrounding governance, finance, performance, development, equality, and safeguarding.
Jo Calvino, brings a wealth of experience to the board, not only as an International athlete for over 20 years but most recently Jo delivered one of the most successful international events in weightlifting in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as the Weightlifting & Para Powerlifting Competition Manager. Jo is also an IWF Catergory 1 Technical Official but also built an established career in Aquatics and the sports charitable sector, within talent, development, education and events. Jo's commented on her appointment: ' I am very much looking forward to supporting Welsh Weightlifting to build and develop the sport to service its members positively and promote good governance'.
‘I am honoured to be elected by my fellow board members to lead as Chair of Welsh Weightlifting. I would like to thank Darren Rogers for his service and commitment to driving positive change in the organisation. I am keen to continue the good work and ensuring we continue to develop and grow as a small organisation and fulfil our strategic objectives. Whilst there remains uncertainty surrounding the Commonwealth Games in 2026, our goal is to think ahead and create opportunities to support the development of our performance pathways and nurture talent in Wales. Ensuring we continue to maintain high standards of good governance and sporting systems working with our key stakeholders and staff to fulfil our goals.
I hope my experience as an international athlete, coach, technical official, sports administrator & event manager will serve the members of the board and Weightlifting Wales. I look forward to settling into the role and working with our staff and board to address current agendas and identify future opportunities.’
Email: chair@weightlifting.wales
After a Rugby and Athletics career, Ceri started to work in sport development working to create sporting opportunities in selected communities. Moving back to Wales in 1991 to work with the then Sports Council for Wales as a development office working with NGBs. This included Welsh Weightlifting. Having spent some time out of sport working with The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Princes Trust, Ceri realised that sport is the best industry to work in and went to work with The Amateur Swimming Association, managing the English Regions.
For the last 15 years, Ceri has have lectured and conducted research at University of Birmingham and currently University of Gloucestershire. Ceri specialises in Sports Politics. His research has focused on doping, publishing a number of papers.
Ceri has two children, both of whom have represented Wales in their respective sports.
Ross has 10 years of experience in the fitness industry and has co-owned a Crossfit facility in South Wales for the past 8 years alongside his day job as an electrician. During those 8 years, Ross has coached athletes from over 20 different sporting backgrounds, many of who have gone on to claim medals for their respective sports. Ross specialises in coaching Olympic Weight Lifting and founded SA1 Olympic Weightlifting Academy, a top Olympic Weightlifting club in Wales. He has coached an abundance of novice lifters all the way up to Commonwealth athletes, and has also been on the Weightlifting Wales coaching team at several international competitions.
Yuk has a keen interest in weightlifting having discovered the sport through Crossfit in his late thirties. He then chose to focus solely on weightlifting and discovered the many benefits the sport has to offer for strength, fitness and mental health. He is keen to help to promote the weightlifting as something that is accessible to people of all ages, genders and abilities.
Yuk is a qualified barrister, having worked in various public bodies for over 20 years. He will provide a wealth of experience in governance, safeguarding and effective decision-making.
Matthew plays an extraordinary role at Llanelli Weightlifting Academy, where he volunteers over 30 hours each week to deliver structured, high-quality coaching for children, adults, beginners, competitive lifters and para-athletes.
"I feel privileged to be elected to the Weightlifting Wales Board of Directors. For over a decade I have been involved with weightlifting, spending the majority of my time working with young people. My passion is youth development and performance whilst also creating opportunities for every young person to have access to high quality coaching regardless of the socio-economic background. I hope to have a positive impact as a director and to build on the successes Weightlifting Wales have achieved over the recent years."
Taylor currently is an experienced Weightlifting coach and helps to run two of our licensed clubs based out of Cardiff - Codi Pwysau Caerdydd and Cardiff Met Weightlifting
"Having worked across grassroots coaching and performance sport, I am proud to support Weightlifting Wales as a Non-Executive Directory Board member. I am focused on contributing fresh perspectives that help strengthen participation, performance and inclusion across Weightlifting and Para-Powerlifting nationwide."
Sarah Jones is a double Olympian and Tokyo Games bronze medalist with 188 international caps for Great Britain and Wales in hockey. Having played for Wales in three Commonwealth Games and six EuroChampionships, Sarah is also now Head of Talent at British Fencing – focusing on forging innovative talent pathways for the fencing community in Great Britain across Olympic and Paralympics pathways. In addition to her role at British Fencing, Sarah is a committed board member to the Hockey Wales ED&I board, member of the Team Wales Athlete’s Commission and an ambassador for the EuroGames, Europe's largest LGBTQ+ multi-sport event that is set to be held in Cardiff in 2027. As such, she brings extensive experience to the Weightlifting Wales board, across performance sport, talent pathways and DE&I, and is greatly looking forward to making an impact.
