“We have been delivering the programme since January 2022,” explained Evofit Managing Director Mathew Williams.

“The programme has been extremely successful. It provides an opportunity for young people between 11 and 15 years to try out a new sport for free. Many of our participants may not have had the opportunity if the programme didn’t exist.

“It’s great to see the excitement and anticipation when we get a new group of youth in on the first session of each programme,” he continued.

“You can tell they are keen to try out something new and just being in a weights room is a new experience. It’s great to see participants progress through the programme and start to enjoy weightlifting in a safe environment.”

Raise the Bar is not just an extremely positive tool for new lifters to utilise, but it can also be productive in the development of weightlifting clubs.

“The programme gets new young people into our facility and not only gives them the opportunity to learn weightlifting, but also to create healthy habits from a young age,” explained Mathew.

“It’s really added another dimension to what we can offer.

“The programme has been a great success and we have run numerous programmes to date. From running the programme, we have been able to build a youth weightlifting club with currently 20 regular members.”

Evofit has seen a good number of competitors – and lifters who will go on to compete – at their club and Raise the Bar has been a factor in that development.

“We have a number of members of different age groups, at different stages of their development,” he went on. “We have new members learning the basics, we have other members getting ready for their first competition, some members who have competed in a few tier 3 academy competitions, and have four members who have entered the Welsh Summer Open in the Under 15 age group!

“We have created a nice environment to develop, and the Raise the Bar programme has been the foundation of our success.”

It’s fantastic to see young people take advantage of the Raise the Bar programme, stepping into safe environments where they can enjoy an introduction to our sport.

And, according to Mathew, it’s only doing good for the sport’s future.

“I think the programme will provide a huge benefit to the future of weightlifting,” he concluded. “It’s increasing participation from younger age groups, who are benefitting from qualified coaches – all that means a positive future!”