THE Sainsbury’s UK School Games proved a happy shopping ground for the trio of Bournemouth area swimmers on duty in Sheffield.

Alice Tai, Beth Aitchison and Dan Speers all took medals through the check-out after representing England South against teams from the rest of Britain and Ireland.

Their efforts contributed to fourth place overall for the England South swim team.

Tai returned from the multi-sport event with a medal of each colour from the multi-disability events.

The 14-year-old Bournemouth Collegiate School swimmer won gold in the 100m backstroke in 1:13.94, silver in the 50m freestyle (31.03) and bronze in the 100m butterfly (1:22).

BCS team-mate Beth Aitchison, 16, made a medal-winning School Games debut as she took silver in the 100m breaststroke in 1:13.17.

Aitchison, who won her first national medal in the ASA Youth Championships at Sheffield last month, was also fourth in the 200m breaststroke in 2:38.69 and swam the breaststroke leg as England South came fifth in the girls’ medley relay.

BCS coach Adam Parfitt said: “The Games are a great exper-ience for swimmers and we are very pleased with the girls’ performances this early in the season. Their times are extremely fast and suggest we have an exciting season ahead.”

In the boys’ 50m freestyle, it took an Irish lad to thwart Dan Speers’s bid to defend the UK School Games title he won as a Poole swimmer in the Olympic pool last year.

In his first outing since joining Millfield School a week earlier, the 16-year-old won silver in 24.39sec behind Ireland’s Calum Bain (23.63).

n Tony Watson, the most success-ful coach in Dorset’s swimming history, has been appointed director of swimming at Bournemouth Collegiate School.

The former head coach of Ferndown Otters, who has been helping BCS coaches Zoe Baker and Adam Parfitt since the start of the year, said: “I’m really looking forward to working with the top quality coaches at BCS.

“There is some exceptional talent in our swimming academy squad and club and I’ll be seeking to develop the athletes and help them achieve their potential.

“The energy in the school is amazing. It’s great to be a part of such an exciting environment.”

Watson has accepted his new role following his recent retirement as a PE teacher at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Wimborne.

He was an international swimmer and British junior backstroke record holder in his youth.