YOUNG swimmer Georgia Makin will this weekend compete alongside some of the UK s most talented youngsters when she races in the national Speedo League final. Eleven-year-old, Georgia, pictured, from Cottered, will race for Hatfield Swimming Club in a free

YOUNG swimmer Georgia Makin will this weekend compete alongside some of the UK's most talented youngsters when she races in the national Speedo League final.

Eleven-year-old, Georgia, pictured, from Cottered, will race for Hatfield Swimming Club in a freestyle relay at the meeting in Sheffield.

The youngster, who wants to be a pentathlete, has been swimming for Buntingford since she was eight and also for Hatfield for the past year.

Last month she gained top 10 rankings in back stroke and individual medley at the Hertfordshire County Championship meeting in Borehamwood.

Meanwhile, Buntingford Swimming Club are aiming for the highest league finish their 30-year history as North Hertfordshire swimmers gear-up for their summer campaigns.

Head coach Alan Bowell says the current crop of youngsters is the best the club have had since it was formed in 1976 and he has high hopes of a top-six finish in Division Two of the Hertfordshire Peanuts under-13 League which starts in May.

Bowell has introduced extra training for Peanuts squad swimmers in the run-up to the three league meeting and is confident that Buntingford can improve after finishing eighth in 2005.

"I think this is the best group we've ever had," he said. "We've got some very nice swimmers indeed who are consistently producing personal best times.

"At a gala in February we had 25 personal best times, which was brilliant. You just can't ask for more than that. And there's more coming through.

"We won promotion from Division Three and we're now competing with bigger clubs who have more training nights and more resources. In 2004 we did well to finish mid-table last year. Now we want a top-six finish. For the first time we've going to have extra squad training sessions in the run up to each gala and I'm confident they'll do very well."

Buntingford will warm up for their league campaign in a friendly gala at Haileybury School on Saturday.

Royston, aiming for a top six finish in Division Three of the Hertfordshire Peanuts under-13 League, this week resumed training after Easter buoyed by an outstanding performance in the final round of their winter Hertfordshire Major League campaign in March.

The club registered 11 first places and a string of seconds in the meeting at Bishop's Stortford and head coach Tricia Dear hopes that the performance will be the launching pad for a successful summer season.