Newcastle, with 19 individual and team titles, was the most successful club at the NE Counties junior and senior short course championships at Middlesbrough last weekend, writes ERIC WILKINSON.

Michael Downes made a clean sweep of the men's backstroke titles over 50m, 100m and 200m, Julie Fort also scored a hat-trick in the women's 200m individual medley, 100m and 200m backstroke. Doubles were gained by Sue Rolph, 200m butterfly and freestyle, Darren Wigg 200m and 400m freestyle and Chris Cook 50m and 100m breaststroke.

Other winners: David Straughan

(200m individual medley), Nick Jackson (200m butterfly), Andrew Thirlwell (junior 100m backstroke), Jeremy Woon junior (200m individual medley), Rachel Thompson (junior 200m butterfly) and its men's medley and freestyle teams.

The Wear Valley club also had three winners in Caroline Saxby 800m freestyle, Matthew Moody junior 50m and 100m breaststroke and Chris Wilson junior 200m breaststroke.

Middlesbrough's Chris Surtees achieved a hat-trick in the junior 100m individual medley, 50m and 100m butterfly and Angie Winstanley-Smith (Sedgefield) was first in the junior 100m and 200m backstroke.

The most successful individual, however, was Claire Windeatt (Hull) with nine junior and senior gold medals setting a NE Counties junior record in the 100m individual medley and Tom Herbert (Leeds) broke the junior record when winning the junior and senior 1500m freestyle titles.

The Chester-le-Street club stages its annual junior (14 and under) open meet this weekend with races for the nine (teams only), ten, 11, 12, 12 and under and 14 and under age groups.

The Northern divisional round of the Bazuka English Schools National Relay Team championships are staged at Newton Aycliffe next Thursday (6pm). The 12 boys and girls' medley and freestyle teams with the fastest times from the three age groups, junior, intermediate and senior, from all the 12 divisional rounds will qualify for the finals in London next February.

Northumberland and Durham were not disgraced when beaten 12-3 by the older and stronger Lancashire side at the new Commonwealth Games pool in Manchester in the ASA's junior men's waterpolo championship. Scorers for the Twin Counties were Sedgefield's Matthew Bowden, George Carpenter Junior and Mark Jones.

The Northumberland and Durham mixed under 14 waterpolo championship will be decided at Newton Aycliffe on Saturday (12pm). Taking part will be Sedgefield, Durham, Bedale and Woodham Comprehensive, Newton Aycliffe.