TORNADOES of South Dorset got their Dorset Novice League campaign underway with a fantastic result at the first round in Bridport.

The aim of the competition is to provide novice swimmers from across the county with an opportunity to compete against each other over a three-round league format.

It is also a chance for younger competitors to taste their first experience of team swimming.

The Tornadoes sent a team of 24 to the opening round where they took part in 44 keenly-contested events.

Kea Cowan and Will Sawtell captained the side, which went on to secure third place overall after claiming 29 top-three finishes.

The nine-year-old relay teams of Scott Greaney, Theo Byrne, Jessica Turrell, Pheobe Mills, Tabitha Samouelle and Abigail Barnes performed brilliantly to claim second place in both their freestyle and medley relays, while 10-year-olds Josh Rowe, Freya Stanger, Abigail Hamilton, Michael Dunning and Chloe Perkins enjoyed similar success, finishing second in their medley and third in their freestyle.

Rowe, Stanger and Hamilton also swam in the 11-year-old team, which came fourth in the freestyle and second in the medley and included Amy Jackson, Sam Allen and Josh Franklin.

The 12-year-old line-up of Jackson, Franklin, Allen, Chloe Perkins, Emma Perkins and Rudy Sawtell achieved fourth-placed finishes in both relays, while the 14-year-old squad of Allen, Sarah Taylor, Kane Law-Smith, Lauren Leatherland and Will Sawtell came fifth in both their outings.

The individual races saw Rowe (50m butterfly, 50m breaststroke), Law-Smith (50m freestyle), Jackson (50m backstroke) and Samouelle (50m breaststroke) all taste victory.

There were also runners-up spots for Taylor (50m backstroke), Jackson (50m breaststroke), Thomas Hinde (50m freestyle), Will Sawtell (50m butterfly), Rudy Sawtell (50m breaststroke), Hamilton (50m backstroke) and Cowan (50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle).

Third-placed finishes went to Stanger (50m butterfly), Hinde (50m backstroke), Law-Smith (50m breaststroke), Emma Perkins (50m backstroke) and Chloe Perkins (50m butterfly).

Tornadoes achieved 43 personal best times at the gala and Novice League team coach Helen Rowe was delighted with the overall outcome.

She said: “The number of pbs demonstrates that the commitment the swimmers show in training is paying off. They work hard as a team and as individuals and this is matched by the TTSD Novice League result.”