TORNADOES of South Dorset made a successful return to action after their summer break as they triumphed in the third and final round of the Southern Junior League.

This saw a very local affair with Weymouth and West Dorset competing against the Osprey Leisure Centre outfit.

Clevedon made it a four-team gala at the Thomas Hardye Leisure Centre.

The Tornadoes showed that the break had not diminished their competitive edge or sharpness as they achieved top-two finishes in more than half of the 49 races, with many members swimming multiple races and in higher age groups.

The 11-and-under girls were in fine form with Tabitha Samouelle, Jessica Gale, Abigail Barnes and Eve Hewett winning both freestyle and medley relays.

Hewett then went on to win both the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle in the same age group, securing a personal best time in the former.

Another victory for Samouelle in the 50m breaststroke topped off a great evening for the 11-and-under girls.

Aaron Griffin and Charlie Rowe continued to impress in the nine-and-under boys’ races. Rowe won both the 50m freestyle and backstroke, while Griffin claimed the 50m breaststroke.

Team captains Josh Rowe and Freya Stanger led by example once again, both winning an individual race. Rowe claimed victory in the 12-and-under 50m freestyle and Stanger won the 50m backstroke.

With 29 personal bests after only two weeks of training following the summer break, another promising season looks to be on the cards again for the Tornadoes.

PERSONAL BESTS

Jazmine Callaby-Jackson (25m freestyle – twice, and 50m breaststroke), Sophie Cornwall (25m backstroke and 25m freestyle), Bethany Firth (25m freestyle), Molly Frampton (50m breaststroke), Jessica Gale (25m backstroke), Aaron Griffin (25m freestyle), Emily Hanger (50m backstroke), Eve Hewett (50m backstroke and 25m freestyle), Harry Hutchinson (25m breaststroke and 50m breaststroke), Louis King (25m freestyle), Emmanuel Lennis De La Fuente (25m freestyle and 50m breaststroke), Lewis Limm (50m butterfly), Harry Mason (25m backstroke and 25m freestyle), Luke O’Dowd (25m freestyle - three times), Charlotte Pattimore (25m freestyle and 50m butterfly), Chloe Perkins (50m butterfly), Charlie Rowe (25m freestyle - twice), Josh Rowe (25m butterfly).

Tornadoes’ junior league coach Nigel Holmes was delighted with the team’s performance.

He said: “It was a great evening. The atmosphere was superb and the youngsters performed better than I could have hoped for given the fact that they have only been training for a couple of weeks after a six-week break.

“To win the third round is a fantastic way to finish this competition.”

Anyone wishing to join Tornadoes of South Dorset to either learn to swim, swim competitively, or wishing to access extra training, please contact the club secretary to arrange an assessment - tornadoessecretary@btinternet.com