North West Thunder eyeing back-to-back Inter-Regional Championships titles

Hosts North West Thunder will be hoping lightning strikes twice as they bid to win back-to-back Inter-Regional Championships titles this weekend.

Four years after claiming the gold medal in the Girls’ U14s competition, Thunder’s squad will look to take top spot again in the U18s event.

They are one of five teams who will be battling for the Division One crown at Blackpool’s Palatine Leisure Centre on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 March.

South West Sharks, who were the silver medallists in 2018, London Sharks, North East Steelers and South East Anderida will also be competing in Division One.

This division is based on final placings at the U14 (2005 and younger) championships as they did not compete at U16 level due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Division Two fixtures are also being hosted by the north-west region at Bolton One on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 March.

Alongside the home nations of Ireland and Scotland are West Midlands, East Angels and East Midlands.

Swim England president Ian Mackenzie will be attending the Division One matches in Blackpool, while Swim England East regional president Paul Kendall is to visit Bolton One.

Results throughout the weekend will be updated on the Swim England live scoreboard.

Last time out

The 2018 competition saw some impressive performance on day one which led to a series of closely-contested play-off matches.

North West Thunder captain Izzy Robb scored a hat-trick as they defeated South West Sharks 8-5 in the final to take gold.

There was a thrilling bronze medal match which saw North East Steelers triumph 11-9 against London Sharks – Laura Skelton and Anna Motley both bagging five-goal hauls.

Lucy Bullock scored a hat-trick to secure the fifth spot for South East Anderida, beating East Angels, and a place in Division One as well as the tournament’s Overall MVP award.

Reports from previous Inter-Regional Championships are available by clicking here.