2026 Commonwealth Games are being held in Glasgow, in a changed format, only track cycling is included. Cycling Ireland have published their Nomination Policy in consultation with Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland (CGNI).
This policy articulates the process by which athletes are selected to represent Team NI at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This policy is in place to support the objectives of Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland’s (CGNI) strategic plan, which aims to deliver athletes capable of achieving top 8 finishes at either Glasgow 2026 or future Games. The CGNI strategic plan is available at www.teamni.org
Athlete Places
The number of athlete places allocated to Team NI is limited, and are awarded at the discretion of Commonwealth Sport, and the Glasgow 2026 Organising Committee. Track Cycling is one of seven sports that will jointly fulfil a maximum of 45 open allocation places.
Separately Para Cycling athlete places will be awarded to National Federations via the qualification pathway published here Para_Cycling_Track_G2026_CWG_Qualification_System_FINAL.pdf CGNI will receive an invitation from the CGF for named para cycling athletes to participate. This quota is separate from the open allocation places.
Nomination and Selection Process As the National Governing Body (NGB), Cycling Ireland (CI) is required to implement a robust process to identify those who will be nominated to CGNI.
Final selection to Team NI will be made by CGNI based upon the nominations received from CI. As such there are two streams to the below timelines, 1) CI’s obligations as the nominating body to CGNI in accordance with requirements laid out for CGNI to perform their selections and meet sport entry deadlines etc, and 2) timelines pertaining to CI’s own nomination process. Due to the nature of the timeline associated with CGNI appraising sports’ potential to fulfil it’s strategic objectives at Commonwealth Games 2026 potential, athlete candidates are advised to log eligible performances as early in this process as possible. Once the final quota allocation is awarded to cycling, we will have only those places to nominate for. For example, an influx of competitive performances in April 2026, against few in 2025 will likely leave many athletes for only a few places.
The policy is attached and published: https://www.cyclingireland.ie/downloads/CITeamNINominationPolicyV125.07.25.pdf
