National County Swimming Championships, 2024

On Saturday 5th October2024, the Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire County Team travelled to Sheffield to take part in the National County Team Championships 2024. The team was led by coaches Joe Evans of Wycombe District and Fabian Whitbread of Maidenhead Marlins, both of whom are on the Swim England National Development Programme.

The team was made up of swimmers from across our county, coming from Tilehurst, Chalfont, Reading, Windsor, Bracknell, Wycombe, Amersham & Maidenhead.

We started our weekend arriving at Ponds Forge on Saturday afternoon. Here we were able to prepare for the competition a day early. During that time, the team began to bond during training, team meals at our hotel and fun activities provided by the coaching staff. During the evening, the coaches spoke about the importance of representing your county and what it means to be a part of the team. Our message was clear, we wanted to be back in Division one, every point counts. By the morning of the competition, Berks and South Bucks were ready to go.

As we made our way down to the pool covered in green and yellow, you could already hear the noise of all the other counties preparing themselves for an exciting day of racing. With 40 counties and nearly 900 swimmers taking part, representing their teams. By the time the opening ceremony took place, where swimmers Richard Alija and Kathrine Williams lead the team out with the famous Berks and South Bucks head and holding the team flags high, the team was ready.

We had some brilliant individual and relay team performances throughout the day. Here are just to name a few:

Swimmer	Age Group	Event	Result
Annabell Compton	16/17	100 Back	2nd
Annabell Compton	16/17	100 Fly	3rd
Isabella Sherman	12/13	100 Breast	3rd
Zach Callinan	12/13	100 Free	1st
Zach Callinan	12/13	100 Fly	2nd
Ethan Richards–Knight	16/17	100 Fly	2nd
Noah Wheeler	16/17	100 Breast	1st
Charlotte Heyden	14/15	100 Back	1st
Johnathan Ireland Noah Wheeler Ethan Richards-Knight Alex Moore	16/17	200 Medley Relay	1st
Annabelle Compton Saba Williams Eve Whitney Maisie Dickinson	16/17	200 Medley Relay	2nd
Max Richard Daniel Chen Zach Callinan Richard Alija	12/13	200 Medley Relay	4th
Charlotte Heyden Charlotte Burfitt Ava Truswell Kathrine Williams	14/15	200 Medley Relay	1st

Towards the end of the day, the competition between Berks and South Bucks and Middlesex was nail biting and getting too close to call. After the last race, where our Squadron Relay of Alex Moore, Maisie Dickinson, Ben MacDougall, Kathrine Williams, Darcey Perez & Max Richard finished in 11th place, it was Berks and South Bucks that were confirmed and walked away with the National County Team Championships Division 2 title.

A great weekend filled with brilliant team performances, fast swimming and incredible team support. Thank you to the Team Managers Liz Lofts & Louise Vincent and Coaches Joe Evans & Fabian Whitbread, the County and all those involved for the organisation and support to making this weekend such a success.

We said last year we wanted to bounce right back to Division 1, and so we have with the Division 2 title.

	SWIMMERS
	BOYS		GIRLS
16/17	Ethan Richards-Knight	Chalfont Otters	Annabel Compton	Wycombe
	Noah Wheeler	Chalfont Otters	Saba Williams	Tilehurst
	Jonathan Ireland	Maidenhead Marlins	Maisie Dickinson	Wycombe
	Alexander Moore	Wycombe	Eve Whitney	Tilehurst
14/15	Max Richard	Amersham	Ava Truswell	Bracknell & Wokingham
	Adam Maaref	Wycombe	Charlotte Burfitt	Maidenhead Marlins
	Casper Clark	Amersham	Charlotte Heyden	Wycombe
	Lucas Bryant	Maidenhead Marlins	Katherine Williams	Wycombe
	Benjamin MacDougall	Wycombe	Anaya Singh	Reading
12/13	Zach Callinan	Maidenhead Marlins	Grace Findley	Amersham
	Dan Chen	Maidenhead Marlins	Isabella Sherman	Wycombe
	Max Richard	Amersham	Sienna West	Wycombe
	Richard Alija	Windsor	Darcy Perez	Chalfont Otters

Berks & South Bucks Team

at the

National County Team Championships

SWIM ENGLAND NATIONAL COUNTY TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024