The National County Team Championships returned in style after a three year hiatus with 37 counties across England, Scotland and Wales taking part, the top 20 teams forming Division 1 and the rest competing in Division 2. After yo-yoing back and forth between the two Divisions, Dorset finished in sixth place in Division Two in 2019 and were looking to go a step further this year. The start of the competition saw a colourful parade where team captains Gabriel Knight (Swim Bournemouth) and Betsy Vavasour (Poole) introduced Dorset to the competition while Dorset President Gail Nuttall (Poole) enjoyed the hospitality that all county presidents receive.
During the competition, the Dorset team broke into the top three placings in six of the 31 events with Wilfred Leigh (Blandford) winning the 12/13 yrs Boys 100m Breaststroke with ease over two
seconds ahead of second place Derbyshire and finishing second in the 12/13 yrs Boys 100m Backstroke. In the same age group Leo Wisbey (Poole) took the runners-up spot in a hard-fought Boys 100m Freestyle just .06 second behind first placed Cheshire. In the 14/15 yrs age group Jamie Workman (BCS) also finished in second place in the Boys 100m Freestyle while Luca Sartorius (Poole) placed third in the Boys 100m Butterfly and the 14/15 yrs Boys Medley team of Edward Bell (Seagulls), Freddie Beasley (Poole), Luca Sartorius (Poole) and Jamie Workman (BCS) battled hard to secure a well-earned second place just .34 sec behind winners Gloucestershire. The Dorset Team came away with a mid-table finish in eight position (394 points) and can be commended on their impressive support for each other.
