The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council. In April 1998 the Women's Cricket Association was integrated into the organisation. The ECB's head offices are at Lord's Cricket Ground in north-west London.
British Cycling is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Britain at the world body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and selects national teams, including the Great Britain (GB) Cycling Team for races in Britain and abroad. As of 2020, it has a total membership of 165,000.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture and the United Kingdom has played a significant role in the organisation and spread of sporting culture globally. In the infancy of many organised sports, the Home Nations, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland were heavily involved in setting out the formal rules of many sports, and formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though many continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. For this reason, in many though not all sports, most domestic and international sport is carried on a Home Nations basis, and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are recognised as national entities.
Nicole Denise Cooke, MBE is a Welsh former professional road bicycle racer and Commonwealth, Olympic and World road race champion. At Beijing in 2008 she became the first British woman to win a Gold Olympic medal in any cycling discipline. Cooke announced her retirement from the sport on 14 January 2013 at the age of 29.
Wales Rugby League is the national governing body for rugby league football in Wales.
Canoe Wales is the national governing body for paddlesport in Wales. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and rafting to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wildwater racing; flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing; canoe sailing; canoe polo; surf kayaking and canoeing; and extreme racing. The organisation has over 2,700 members including individual paddlers as well as affiliated club members. Full adult members of Canoe Wales are also by default Welsh members of British Canoeing.
The Sport Wales National Centre is a sports facility in Cardiff, Wales, set up to assist the development of elite athletes in Wales. The Centre, owned and operated by Sport Wales, was established by the then Sports Council for Wales in 1971 as the National Sports Centre for Wales. Renamed the Welsh Institute of Sport in 1994, it has been known as the Sport Wales National Centre since April 2010.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
The Wales national netball team represents Wales in international netball competition. The Welsh Netball Association, the governing body for netball in Wales, is responsible for Welsh squad selection, international matches and for the training and development of players.
Sir David John Brailsford is a British cycling coach and performance director. He was formerly performance director of British Cycling and is currently general manager of UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers.
Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim to encourage sporting ambitions in the young, and promote championship standards nationally.
Sport in Cardiff is dictated by, amongst other things, its position as the capital city of Wales, meaning that national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All of Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top-quality venues have attracted world-famous sport events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales.
The Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association (WSTAA) is the governing body for game angling in Wales. It has about one hundred member clubs. Founded as the Welsh Fly Fishing Association in 1952, the WSTAA organises national and international angling competitions, including two major World Fly Fishing Championships and the 2002 Commonwealth championship in Wales—the WSTAA Wales team won gold at the 2009 IFFA River International competition. The WSTAA also highlights issues that affect Welsh anglers including: game fishing conservation; threats to water quality from acid rain; water pollution; barrages; poaching; stocking; and 'Objective One' funding.
Badminton Wales is the national governing body for badminton in Wales. Formed in 1928 as The Welsh Badminton Union, in 1934 it was one of the founder members of the Badminton World Federation. WBU became a member of the European Badminton Union in 1968. Over 90 senior clubs are affiliated to Welsh Badminton Union, and its membership is nearly 4000.
Welsh Fencing is the national governing body of fencing in Wales. In 2003 it had 34 affiliated clubs, with 260 adult and 559 junior members. Welsh Fencing organises competitions including the Welsh Open, and is responsible for the selection and management of the Wales representative squad, who compete in the Winton Cup and the Commonwealth Games. At the European and World Championships Welsh fencers represent Great Britain, if selected.
The Welsh Target Shooting Federation (WTSF) is the governing body for shooting sports in Wales. The Federation is based within the Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The WTSF represents and supports its member bodies in promoting and developing shooting sports in Wales, engaging with Sport Wales, Team Wales, the Welsh Government, British Shooting and others.
Welsh Triathlon is the national governing body and membership association for triathlon, duathlon and other multisports in Wales. It is a member of the British Triathlon Federation, the other members being Triathlon England and Triathlon Scotland.
Rebecca Angharad James is a Welsh former professional racing cyclist specialising in track cycling. James was the 2013 world sprint and keirin champion. She is a 2016 Rio Olympics double silver medalist.
British Weight Lifting (BWL) is a trading name of the British Weight Lifters' Association Ltd (BWLA), the National Governing Body (NGB) in the United Kingdom for the sports of weightlifting and para powerlifting. The Association was initially established in 1910. From 1911 to 2003 its name was the British Amateur Weight Lifters' Association (BAWLA); and in 1957, it was incorporated as a limited company.
