Watford Swimming Club sit in fifth place overall after kicking off their season in Division One of the Herts Major League with some fine performances.

Swimming in front of a packed audience at Hitchin Swimming Centre, the swimmers from Watford battled against teams from Hatfield, Hertford, Hoddesdon, Royston and Stevenage in their gala.

Highlights from the night’s action included first-place finishes for Max Perry in the Boys 9-11 50M Backstroke in 38.48, Luke Flynn in the Boys 9+ 100m Backstroke (1:04.29), Olivia Stubbs in the Girls 9-15 100m Freestyle (1:07.50) and Will Rogers in the Boys 9-13 100m Backstroke.

Watford also performed well in the relays, securing second-place finishes in the Mixed 9-13 200m Freestyle (Lewis Perry, Grace Cracknell, Isla Caley, Hugh Harley), the Mixed 9-13 200m Medley (Amelia Kingham, Emily Meyler, Felipe Irvine, Tom Gilbert) and the Mixed 9+ 200m Freestyle (James Gibson, Libby Whittaker, Megan Worley, Theo Lim).

In a very tight finish, Watford were pipped by Hoddesdon into third place by 2.5 points, securing them four league points.

Herts Major League Division One (positions after first round): 1, Hatfield, 6 points; 2, CoStA, 6 pts; 3, Potters Bar, 5 pts; 4, Hoddesdon, 5 pts; 5, Watford, 4 pts; 6, Ware, 4 pts; 7, Stevenage, 3 pts.