At this year’s regional Inter-County Masters gala the Dorset team finished equal second with Devon, representing Dorset’s best ever result for Dorset in this competition, and just five points behind Gloucestershire who won the ASASW Masters Inter-County for the first time since 1997.
Dorset Masters had 15 race wins and 23 second places, finishing in the top two for more than half of the 68 events. Final points totals were: Gloucestershire 308, Dorset 303, Devon 303, Wiltshire 200, Somerset 160, and Cornwall 124.
Hoping that the regional results would translate into a good result in the national competition, the team was not disappointed. The Dorset Masters team finished in seventh place overall out of 28 counties, which is not only Dorset’s best-ever national result by three places but, once all points had been calculated, pushed Dorset into first place of the South West counties for the first time, ahead of Devon and regional winners Gloucestershire who finished nationally in tenth place.
In the national showdown, Dorset also clocked up three national wins from Nigel Foster in the 65+ 50m Backstroke, Julia Kemp in the 65+ 50m Butterfly and Hannah Wiltshire in the 25+ 50m Breaststroke. Julia was also second in the 65+ 50m Backstroke and Hannah third in the 18+ 50m Breaststroke which she swam just two minutes after having won the 25+ age group event. However the overall results was very much a team performance and credit goes to all of the swimmers.