Coach Tricia Dear is challenging four of Royston Swimming Club s brightest prospects to achieve county championship qualifying times – and raise cash for charity – on Sunday. Alice Hulley, Marie Walsh, Millie Farmer and Alex Snowden will form part of a s

Coach Tricia Dear is challenging four of Royston Swimming Club's brightest prospects to achieve county championship qualifying times - and raise cash for charity - on Sunday.

Alice Hulley, Marie Walsh, Millie Farmer and Alex Snowden will form part of a six-strong Royston Swimming Club relay team taking part in a rotary club-sponsored swimathon at Royston Leisure Centre.

Teams will swim as far as they can in an hour and each of the Royston youngsters will swim for 10 minutes.

Dear wants the quartet to each swim at least 800 metres freestyle - 32 lengths - in their 10-minute slots.

"If those four can swim 800 metres in 10 minutes they'll all achieve their respective age-group qualifying times for next year's county championship meeting," said Dear.

"And I think they can all do it. That's the challenge for them - and they can raise money for charity in the process."

Dear has earmarked half-a- dozen under-12 swimmers for the Hertfordshire development meeting at Borehamwood in November.

And she hopes that as many as many as 12 under-18 swimmers will feature in the county championship meeting, also at Borehamwood, in March

- Buntingford Swimming Club is looking at ways of extending its activities next year.

One possibility is that the club will enter the Hertfordshire Major League - staged during the first three months of the year - as will as the summer Peanuts League.

Buntingford swimmers will be battling for trophies in the club's annual championships held over two weeks this month.