There are several notable absentees from the first of this year's four Northumberland and Durham championship galas, which is staged at Newcastle tomorrow and Sunday (9.30am and 2.30pm), writes ERIC WILKINSON.

They include Olympians Sue Rolph, who has moved to Wales and Nicola Jackson (Richmond and Derwentside) who has just returned from five weeks training with a British squad in Australia.

Defending men's 100m and 200m freestyle champion Craig Nicholson (Newcastle), the former Darlington club member, has the fastest qualifying times for both. His clubmate Michael Downes has the quickest entry times for the men's 50m backstroke, which he holds, and the 200m.

Another Newcastle swimmer, favourite for a double, is Jill Porter, women's 50m and 100m freestyle, fellow club members who are also the fastest seeds are Darren Wigg, men's 200m breaststroke; David Straughan, men's 400m individual medley and Rachel Thompson, women's 400m individual medley. Also in pole position in the senior events are Caroline Saxby (Wear Valley), women's 200m freestyle, Melanie Blackford (Newcastle University), women's 200m breaststroke and Angie Winstanley-Smith (Sedgefield), women's 200m backstroke, who is defending the junior title.

Heading the qualifiers in four category age group races: Stephanie Proud (Chester-le-Street) 13yrs 50m and 100m backstroke, 100m and 200m freestyle; Robert Irwin (Wear Valley), 13yrs 50m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 50m and 100m butterfly and Christopher Alderton (Wear Valley), 14yrs 200m individual medley, 400m freestyle, 50m and 100m butterfly.

At the second of the 2001 Yorkshire championship galas at Leeds this weekend, Helen Douthwaite (Thirsk White Horse) is favourite for the women's 100m breaststroke. Her clubmate Mark Wilkinson heads the qualifiers for the boys 10yrs 50m butterfly; Alice Sunderland (York) is in line for a double success in the girls 11yrs 50m butterfly and 200m freestyle and club mate Robert Kinnell has the quickest entry time in the 10-12yrs 200m breaststroke.

Sedgefield has four players, Carol Mohan, Samantha Mitchell, Alison Storey and Charlotte Hanson in the NE counties team for the ASA junior women's inter-district waterpolo championship at Sheffield tomorrow. Several others, including junior British internationals Angela Winstanley-Smith and Charlotte Nichols, would have been included, but they are competing in the Northumberland and Durham swimming championships.

Champions Newcastle easily won the first fixture in division one of the Durham and District junior swimming league, in home water, with 213 points. Stokesley scored 149, Darlington 144, Gateshead 139, Sedgefield 123, Wear Valley 114.

Middlesbrough and South Tyneside both totalled 170 points in division two, but the Boro with 11 first places to South Tyneside's seven, were placed first. Stockton got 154, Sunderland 150, Durham 147 and Richmond 89. The division three result was: Consett 184, Newburn 176, Morpeth 175, Ashington 139, Billingham 127.