DORSET swimming officials are drawing up a county championship medals table for the first time in a bid to appease coaches who claim the usual scoring system gives a distorted picture.

More than 400 swimmers from 12 clubs competed in four days of competition at Littledown.

And with only Saturday’s two distance events at Dorchester to go, Swim Bournemouth look set to retain their title as the county’s top club.

But critics say the traditional practice of awarding points to the first eight swimmers in each age group and each event rewards quantity rather than quality.

One coach told the Daily Echo: “It’s a contest to see who has the most swimmers rather than the best swimmers. That’s not what people want to know.”

Dorset ASA secretary Di Gibbs said: “Under the present system, the top club will almost always be the club with the most entries. I am going through the results to produce a semi-official medals table.”

Meanwhile, a provisional reworking of points shows that if only the first three in each age group were included, Poole would leapfrog Swim Bournemouth to take top spot with third-placed Bournemouth Collegiate School (BCS) closing the gap to second.

A glance at the championship titles underlines the anomaly. Of the 64 senior and junior titles already decided, 37 have gone to Poole, 24 to BCS and just three to Swim Bournemouth.

Poole’s British junior champion Jacob Peters won 12 of the 16 senior men’s titles and added another seven records and CBTs (competition best times) to the eight he set a week earlier.

The latest batch included a county junior record of 2:09.97 in the 200m individual medley and age group and senior CBTs in the 50m backstroke (26.77) and both heats and final of the 100m butterfly (54.69 and 54.61).

But the 15-year-old met his match in the 100m freestyle, having to settle for the senior silver medal behind Swim Bournemouth’s 17-year-old Ben Wickens, who won the open final in 53.89 to Peters’ 53.95.

Poole’s Harriet Perfect set senior and 16yrs CBTs of 1:03.21 in the 100m backstroke.

Swim Bournemouth’s Amy Brown set three more 12yrs CBTs – in the heats and final of the 50m backstroke (32.92 and 32.56) and the 100m backstroke final (1:09.42).

Age group CBTs for the 100m butterfly fell to BCS’s Christian Tai in the boys’ 15yrs age group (59.28) and Ella Chown in the girls’ 13yrs final (1:05.60).

Poole’s Emily Clarke won nine of the 16 senior women’s gold medals including all four freestyle and all three butterfly titles.

Team-mate Luke Roxburgh won all three men’s breaststroke titles with BCS’s Lottie James taking the women’s 50 and 100m breaststroke and Swim Bournemouth’s Jessica Richens the 200m.

Poole’s Jazz McCrea and BCS’s Finn Trehane were the leading junior champions with nine titles each.

Dorset Swimming Championship medallists

Male

50m freestyle – senior: 1 J Peters (P), 2 B Wickens (SB), 3 A Price (P). Jnr: 1 B Samuel (BCS), 2= C Tai (BCS) & M Weeks (S).

100m freestyle – senior: 1 B Wickens (SB), 2 J Peters (P), 3 C Tai (BCS). Jnr: 1 Tai, 2 B Samuel (BCS), 3 J Frampton (TSD).

400m freestyle – senior: 1 J Peters (P), 2 M Collins (P), 3 A Botros (P). Jnr: 1 F Trehane (BCS), O Fairman (SB), 3 J Frampton (TSD).

50m backstroke – senior: 1 J Peters (P), 2 H Stanbrook (SB), 3 M Collins (P). Jnr: 1 F Trehane (BCS), 2 O Fairman (SB), 3 J Frampton (TSD).

100m backstroke – senior: 1 J Peters (P), 2 Jack Arnell (BCS), 3 H Stanbrooke (SB). Jnr: 1 Arnell, 2 F Trehane (BCS), 3 O Fairman (SB).

100m butterfly – senior: 1 J Peters (P), 2 H Bramwell-Reeks (BCS), 3 C Tai (BCS). Jnr: 1 Tai, 2 B Samuel (BCS), 3 F Trehane (BCS).

200m breaststroke – senior: 1 L Roxburgh (P), 2 F Trehane (BCS), 3 C Tai (BCS). Jnr: 1 Trehane, 2 Tai, 3 F Jarvis (WD).

200m individual medley (IM) – senior: 1 J Peters (P), 2 F Trehane (BCS), 3 L Roxburgh (P). Jnr: 1 Trehane, 2 C Tai (BCS), 3 H Kenny (P).

Female

50m freestyle – senior: 1 E Clarke (P), 2 J Holmes (P), 3 M Kemp (P). Jnr: 1 J McCrea (P), 2 E Chown (BCS), 3 I Pryce (SB).

100m freestyle – senior: 1 E Clarke (P), 2 J Holmes (P), 3 M Kemp (P). Jnr: 1 J McCrea (P), 2 J Kelleway (P), 3 E Chown (BCS).

400m freestyle – senior: 1 E Clarke (P), 2 J Holmes (P), 3 T O’Keefe. Jnr: 1 T Graham (P), 2 H Stonier (SB), 3 J Kelleway (P).

50m backstroke – senior: 1 E Clarke (P), 2 R Cummings (SB), 3 C James (BCS). Jnr: 1 E Chown (BCS), 2 F Gallimore (SB), 3 A Brown (SB).

100m backstroke – senior: 1 H Perfect (P), 2 E Clarke (P), 3 C James (BCS). Jnr: 1 H Davies (BCS), 2 J McCrea (P), 3 E Bowman (SB).

100m butterfly – senior: 1 E Clarke (P), 2 J Richens (SB), 3 J McCrea (P). Jnr: 1 McCrea, 2 E Chown (BCS), 3 H Davies (BCS).

200m breaststroke – senior: 1 J Richens (SB), 2 C James (BCS), 3 A Gibson (BCS). Jnr: 1 Gibson, 2 A Manns (SB), 3 K van der Merwe (BCS).

200m IM – senior: 1 J McCrea (P), 2 M Kemp (P), 3 J Holmes (P). Jnr: 1 McCrea, 2 E Chown (BCS), 3 A Mills (BCS).

Key to clubs: BCS=Bournemouth Collegiate School, P=Poole, S=Seagulls, SB=Swim Bournemouth, TSD=Tornadoes of S Dorset, WD=West Dorset.

Age group results at: www.dorsetasa.org.