Event Information Pack

Overview 

The Para Powerlifting Home Nations Open will take place at Bangor University's Canolfan Brailsford Sports Centre on Sunday 13th September 2026, as part of the Disability Sport Wales' Para Sport Festival.

The competition, funded by Disability Sport Wales (DSW) and delivered in collaboration with Weightlifting Wales (WW) and British Weight Lifting (BWL), will welcome athletes from across the Home Nations, with the first lifting group beginning at 9:00am.

The event forms part of Weightlifting Wales' commitment to growing para powerlifting across Wales by providing high-quality competition opportunities and strengthening the pathway for disabled athletes. The Para Powerlifting Home Nations Open is an opportunity for any athlete no matter where they are located across the UK/Ireland to compete, with there being no qualifying standards also to enter.

The event also forms part of the wider Para Sport Festival, led by Disability Sport Wales, which celebrates inclusive sport and creates opportunities for disabled people of all ages and abilities to participate, compete and be inspired. Find out more about this year's Para Sports Festival, by visiting their website below:

Para Sport Festival | Summer 2026 | Wales

Entries for the Para Powerlifting Home Nations Open will be live on Sport 80 from Tuesday 14th July - with the entry closing date being on SUNDAY 23rd AUGUST at 11.59pm. Please note that the schedule cannot be confirmed until the entries have closed.

Venue Location

The full address for this event at Bangor University is as follows: 

Canolfan Brailsford Sports Centre

Ffriddoedd Road,

Bangor, 

United Kingdom, 

LL57 2EH

Car:

There are good road links to Bangor along the north Wales coast, with the M56 and M6 in being the closest motorways. The town is mainly accessible via the A55 expressway, a major road that connects Northwest England to North Wales. Also, in most cases if driving from the South/North/East England region the fastest route to Bangor is the A55 expressway as well along the north Wales coast.

Coming from West Wales, it would be best to follow the A487 via Porthmadog and Caernarfon to the Bangor region. And from South Wales, our advice would be to follow the A49 through Hereford, Leominster and Shrewsbury, then follow Wrexham and Chester signs to the A55.

Free parking is available at the venue on a first come first serve basis. The car park is a wheelchair-accessible car park that provides designated accessible car parking spaces (there are a number of blue badge bays directly opposite the main entrance), alongside a wheelchair-accessible entrance to the venue itself. 

Bus:

Bangor Bus Station is located on Garth Road (next to Marks and Spencer). Each route has a number, which is displayed at the bus stop and on the bus itself. The main bus service operating in Bangor is Arriva. Timetables can be obtained at the bus station or on the bus services’ website: www.arrivabus.co.uk  or on the local Council website www.gwynedd.gov.uk under ‘Parking, Road & Travel’.

The Ffriddoedd Bangor University Campus in which Canolfan Brailsford Sports Centre is located on can be reached through the following bus routes: 5, X5, 5C, 42.

From further afield on a national scale, National Express and other coach services offer connections to Bangor from various cities across the UK.

Train:

Bangor benefits from excellent rail connections, providing an efficient and scenic way to reach the town. The main station, Bangor Railway Station, serves the city of Bangor, Gwynedd, is well-served by trains from various parts of the UK, through train operates Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast. Bangor railway station is situated around 0.3 miles southeast of Canolfan Brailsford Sports Centre, which is only a short walk of around 15 minutes.

Bangor is on the main line to Holyhead and is served by regular direct trains from London Euston (around 3.5 hours travelling time), Manchester (around 2.5 hours travelling time), Birmingham (around 3 hours travelling time) and Cardiff (around 4 hours travelling time). Trains travelling from London will stop through various stations along the midlands, Crewe, Chester, and the North Wales coastal towns. Anyone coming from Manchester, Liverpool, or other parts of North West England can easily access Bangor via direct train services as well that link up with the North West coastal line.

General facilities at Bangor train station include a ticket office, sheltered cycle storage, waiting rooms, cafe, toilets and step free access coverage through various lifts, with a ramp for train access.

Upon arrival at the main entrance to the venue, which is accessed on a slight level, you are met by power sided automatic double doors. Once in building itself, all corridor doors will be manually pull/push operated. An accessible toilet is available on the ground floor, with a refuge point being located by the main lift.

To find out a detailed plan of the whole venue building, we advise you to click the following link below which will take you through to a video that walks you through how to get round all the access points and other facilities of the Canolfan Brailsford Sports Centre, in a POV style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK433q0pr6Q

Note the following timecodes for the above video:

00:07 Vehicular Access

00:31 Parking

00:40 Entrance

00:49 Lifts

01:18 Facilities

01:35 Refuge Points

Spectators are welcome throughout the day, with free entry available.

The event is open to spectators, with the first lifting group beginning at 9:00am. Come along and support some of the UK's leading para powerlifters as they compete in Bangor.

Book your free spectator tickets here

All weigh-ins will take place online prior to the competition day and arriving at the venue. Entrants will take photos/videos of them weighing in at home the day before competition as well as evidencing the weight recorded. All this will be sent to the events manager, Jake Eastwood, admin@weightlifting.wales . More information on the online weigh-in procedure will be communicated to athletes once the entry deadline has passed.

There will be just the two bodyweight categories in this event per gender:

• Women's lightweight (-61kg)
• Men's lightweight (-61kg)
• Women's heavyweight (61kg+)
• Men's heavyweight (61kg+)

During the online weigh-in procedure or on arrival at the venue, the athlete or coach must confirm the starting weight and rack height to the technical officials. All of these details must be clearly entered on the athlete attempt card, which will be signed by the athlete or coach at the venue. Competing athletes will need to take some form of identification with them for this process, so the Technical Officials can verify each athlete.

All athletes must weigh-in for what they plan on wearing during the competition (e.g. singlet, t-shirts and shorts). This must be compliant with the World Para Powerlifting Athlete Uniform and Personal Equipment Rules. Athletes with prosthetics or any supportive device must remove them during the weigh-in. For athletes making weight, a 0.25kg allowance will be in place to take in to account for the items of clothing worn.

All coaches will require a valid BWL license to be able to collect a coach accreditation (wristband). Any coach found passing their accreditation to another person will have their accreditation withdrawn and may be subject to further action after the competition. Any person found in the warm-up area without an athlete accreditation or coach wristband will be asked to leave the area immediately.

Technical officials are to collect an accreditation wristband through the Weightlifting Wales team on arrival to the venue.

Warm up area

You can find the below images of what the warmup area room looks like, and what the sort of setup you shall expect on the day, as well as a full approximate room layout.

In Para-Powerlifting, you are permitted to use certain types of support and wear specific accessories of clothing during the competition. You should check the equipment you have is legal before the competition, as the Technical Controller may check this and tell you that your equipment is not allowed.

For more information on what type of clothing is permitted, as well as the full run down of the Technical and Classification Rules set by World Para Powerlifting, find the links below:

World Para Powerlifting Technical Rules

Classification Rules & Regulations

On competition day, athletes have three attempts during the competition, and must increase the weight attempted by at least 1kg following a successful lift. A fourth lift may also be attempted but only for a record, and this does not count towards the final result of the competition. 

The athlete with the lowest declared weight lifts first, followed by athletes with progressively heavier attempts. Athletes are allowed a maximum of two minutes between when their name is called for their turn and the start of the lift. 

The center referee will signal to the athlete at the start of each attempt with a command ‘start’ when the athletes arms are fully extended and locked in the bench press position. The center referee will then issue the command ‘rack’ to the athlete when they are satisfied the lift attempt is complete. They and the other two referees will then signal using white (good lift) and red (no lift) paddles.

Coefficient Points Formula (pDOTS)

The pDOTS coefficient formula used by World Para Powerlifting is to be applied to determine final rankings within the competition for each individual's total score. The coefficient formula calculates a pDOTS score based on:

• Athlete gender
• Bodyweight
• Best successful lift (out of the three attempts)

The athlete producing the greatest pDOTS score within their weight category of lightweight or heavyweight, as well as gender takes gold. In the event of a tie, the winner is the athlete that weighed in the lightest and lifted the joint heaviest weight. 

A link to the pDOTS coefficient formula from the International Paralympic Committee IPC website can be viewed below:

Coefficient Formula (pDOTS) Calculator

Anti-Doping

This is a UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) sanctioned event. As such, UKAD can be present during the competition day and select lifters for anti-doping testing.

For more information on the changes within the 2026 World Anti-Doping Code, as well as the full prohibited list, find the relevant link below to this area on the UKAD website.

https://www.ukad.org.uk/athletes/whats-banned-sport-prohibited-list

Food/Drink and Refreshments

There will be a catering stall within the main sports hall of the venue where athletes can purchase food such as sandwiches, snacks and hot/cold drinks. Nearby, there is also a Morrisons, which is an 8 minute walk from the venue. 

Photography

There will be a WW staff member or external photographer at the event taking photos and videos for promotional and advertising purposes. These may be used on our social media channels, our website, and on posters, to showcase our sport. 

If you decide on the day of competition that you do not want photos to be taken of you/your child, you must inform a member of the Weightlifting Wales events manager, Jake Eastwood, admin@weightlifting.wales so he may inform the photographer.

Below is a guide on photography and video at events, as well as the attached infographic for advice on spectator photography.

WW/BWL Photography and Video Guidelines

Medical

There will be a paramedic team on site throughout the competition's duration.

Safeguarding

Our designated safeguarding lead is Simon Roach, who will on site in the venue during the whole day. If you suspect a safeguarding concern, please contact Simon Roach at simon.roach@weightlifting.wales , or should be reported to the technical officials desk area who will communicate out for Simon.