British Weight Lifting (BWL) has appointed International Sports Consulting (ISC) to develop and manage a range of brand sponsorship opportunities for the governing body.

The partnership between BWL and ISC will give brands the opportunity to access a variety of marketing assets and also promote a strategic association with British Weight Lifting, the UK's official governing body for lifting sports.

Established initially as the British Amateur Weight Lifters' Association (BAWLA) in 1910, British Weight Lifting is responsible for developing participation and performance across Olympic Weight Lifting and IPC Powerlifting in Great Britain. It has hundreds of Olympic Weight Lifting and Para-Powerlifting clubs in Britain, and registered members across the UK. Olympic and Paralympic performance is a key objective for British Weight Lifting.

However BWL also coordinates and facilitates the set-up, running and growth of club infrastructure from national, regional and sub-regional level, of all disciplines of lifting sports. This will see ISC source sponsorship opportunities for brands seeking to engage audiences from grassroots up to elite level athletes.

ISC believes the partnership will develop British Weight Lifting's assets to create ways in which brands can engage more deeply with its consumers through this national governing body, which, through its ownership of the rights over all lifting sports in the UK, reaches almost 60% of all gym?goers across the UK.

Ashley Metcalfe of British Weight Lifting said: "It is a really exciting time at the moment for weight lifting, both as a sport and a recreational activity. With over thirty-eight international medals over the last fifteen months, elite performances are on the up, as are the number of people actively participating.

"As a very passionate traditional Olympic sport, it is hugely entertaining and can offer great opportunities for individuals of all ages and sizes, male and female alike, whether they wish to be future Olympians or Paralympians or just be a little stronger, fitter and ultimately a little healthier".

Nick Robinson, MD of ISC, said: "ISC is delighted to be working with BWL to create some great new brand partnerships for the governing body. It's an exciting time for the sport with unprecedented growth in participation and performance over the last few years, and we're looking forward to helping BWL optimise their commercial offering with Rio 2016, Gold Coast 2018 and Tokyo 2020 in mind".