Partner Organisations
Team GB; (BOA)
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) behind Team GB.
As the NOC of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the BOA selects the nation’s best athletes to compete in the 32 summer and eight winter Olympic sports at the greatest sporting competition in the world.
The BOA was formed in 1905 in the House of Commons and at that time consisted of seven National Governing Body (NGB) members from the following sports: fencing, life-saving, cycling, skating, rowing, athletics, rugby, football and archery.
The BOA now includes as its members the 40 NGBs of each Olympic sport, both summer and winter. Great Britain is one of only five countries to have been represented at each summer Olympic Games since 1896 and Great Britain, France and Switzerland are the only countries to have been present at all Olympic Winter Games since 1924. Great Britain has also played host to three Olympic Games, each held in London in 1908, 1948 and 2012, making our capital the only city to have staged the Games on three separate occasions – a feat to be matched by Paris in 2024.
The BOA is one of 206 NOCs currently recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Their role is to lead the promotion of Olympism in accordance with the Olympic Charter, which details the philosophy, aims and traditions of the Olympic Movement.
GB Olympians
The GB Olympians’ Association is an organisation made up of every athlete who has ever competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at either a summer or winter Olympic Games.
At any time there are around 3,750 GB Olympians. Most are no longer competing but all have trained for and then taken to the field of play on the world’s greatest sporting stage, giving them a unique range of skills and experiences to help inspire a more active, successful and fulfilled society.
GB Olympians’ Association is run for its members by a small committee of directors who volunteer their time to help celebrate Olympism and to promote all that GB Olympians can offer, both within the organisation and for the benefit of our wider communities.
The Wenlock Olympian Society is proud to count many GB Olympians within its membership not least its President, Jonathan Edwards, CBE and Dave Long – a trustee of the Society.