THERE was plenty of success for the Tornadoes of South Dorset at the first round of the Southern Junior League at Bath Leisure Centre.

Teams from Ferndown, Swindon, Bradford-on-Avon, Thornbury and North Dorset Turbos also made the trip to the Somerset venue but the Tornadoes were not fazed by the competition and went on to produce some fantastic swims.

The Southern Junior League is aimed at nine to 12-year-olds and on arrival at Bath the Tornadoes announced Ellie Harvey and Connor Aitken as team captains.

All the swimmers were then presented with personalised t-shirts, which this season have been sponsored by Steve Hoare of Bluebird Coaches.

The gala kicked off with the first set of relays for each age group. The pick of the results for the Tornadoes was the Girls’ 10 years 4x25m medley relay where Lucy Goode, Chloe Bacon, Rebekah Dashwood and Jessica Lelliott produced an outstanding performance to finish in second place.

Next came the individual events where the 10-year-old girls again produced excellent swims with Goode winning the 50m backstroke and butterfly, Lelliott finishing third in the 50m freestyle and Emily Gover just missing out on the touch to finish in fourth place in the 50m breaststroke.

Other notable performances included Hepburn winning the 11-year-old girls’ 50m freestyle and finishing third in the 50m backstroke, and Charlie Samouelle competing in the competition for the first time gaining a second and third place in the nine-year-old boys’ butterfly and breaststroke events.

The final round of relays saw the Tornadoes gain three third-placed finishes from the nine-year-old boys’ medley relay team of Richard Plummer, Thomas Davidge, Samouelle and Sam Rowland, the 10-year-old girls’ freestyle team of Lelliott, Leanne Holmes, Dashwood and Goode, and the 12-year-old boys’ freestyle team of Jordan Davie, Connor Ward, Harry Davidge and Connor Aitken.

Coach Sue Aitken was very impressed with all the swimmers especially those competing for the club for the first time. She said: “This competition is very much about experience for the younger members of the club and it was great to see them enjoying their swimming. A particular mention should go to the nine-year-olds as this was their first external competition.

“Ella O’Connell, Ella Day, Harriett Hooley, Isobel Neill, Richard Plummer and Sam Rowland all performed superbly and their attitude and commitment was spot on. They did themselves and the club proud.”

Tornadoes offer swimming opportunities for all levels of swimmer from beginners through to masters, and also run a successful diving club.

For more information contact secretary Sharon Howe on 814105 or email secretary.tornadoesdorset@virgin.net