38 counties to battle it out for glory as County Team Champs return to Sheffield

One of the most anticipated events on the Swim England calendar takes place this weekend as counties from across the UK go head-to-head at the GoCardless Swim England National County Team Championships 2024.

Sheffield’s Ponds Forge will host around 1000 swimmers, representing 38 counties on Sunday 6 October who will all battle it out for titles, promotion and relegation.

There will be 20 counties in division one and a further 18 counties in division two where reigning champions Yorkshire will look to defend their crown on home turf.

They stormed to the Division One title in 2023 with a total of 472 points, sealing victory in the by winning the penultimate event to hold off the challenge of Kent, Surrey, Devon and Essex – who all scored above the 400 mark.

The victory gave them their first title since 2018 and they can call on a number of their successful squad from last year as they go for glory once again.

That includes the trio of Phoebe Cooper, Gabriel Shephard and Lois Child who all took victories last time out and will once against represent the white rose county in Sheffield.

However, they’ll face some tough opposition such as the newly promoted quartet of Cambridgeshire, Scotland North, Dorset and Division Two champions Cheshire.

Meanwhile, Suffolk, Berkshire & South Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and Nottinghamshire will all be looking to bounce back to Division One following their relegation last time out.

All races from both Division One and Division Two will be streamed on the Swim England YouTube channel with both links available on our live stream page.

@swimengland Some memorable walk-ons at this year’s @GoCardless Swim England County Team Champs! 🎉 #CountyTeamChamps#swimming#pondsforge#counties♬ (It Goes Like) Nanana – Edit – Peggy Gou

‘Counties is just next level’

The National County Team Championships is a fan favourite event thanks to it’s fun and colourful atmosphere partnered with a competitive edge.

Nothing summed that up more than last year where Cheshire’s lead coach Craig Ward commented after his team’s division two win saying: “As coaches and team managers we were nice and relaxed coming in and as soon as you come, you can’t help but get involved with the atmosphere, it’s so noisy.

“All the counties were vibing off each other and I think year on year, it just gets noisier and more animated.

“You see it with the team captains when they come through. It’s amazing to see and it’s a great championships. It’s one of the best ones you go to as a team. Counties is just next level.

“We’re really looking forward to next year. Each time you go you’re going to have different swimmers but I think the Cheshire team’s looking strong.

“There’s a lot of new coaches in the area at different clubs, so hopefully the county can push on and remain in Division One and hopefully push on for honours again.”

If you want to join the fun at Ponds Forge, a limited number of spectator tickets are still available to purchase on our spectator information page.

Live results from division one will be available here and division two here whilst Swim England’s social media channels will be sharing the action from the day throughout the event.

You can see the full list of counties taking part below as well as the day’s key timings. Official event photography will be taken by Will Johnston Photography.