City of St Albans swimming club finished in pole position at the opening round of this year’s Hertfordshire Peanuts League.

The competition for nine to 12 year-olds, saw the club’s A team storm ahead of rival clubs Hatfield, Potters Bar, Berkhamsted and Bushey.

The round one gala – held at Hemel Hempstead pool on Saturday 7 May – saw a CoStA derby, as both the club’s A and B teams swam head to head, adding an extra edge to the competition.

CoStA A team set the standard from the outset, holding first points position throughout the gala, while its B team fought hard to contend, challenging on every race and occasionally stealing the lead.

On several races the swimmers from A and B teams were only finger lengths apart.

Added pressure from local adversaries Hatfield pushed the competitors to produce some exceptional times and a commendable fourth place position for the B team.

Head coach Mike Cole said: “All our swimmers showed a brilliant team spirit and delivered a performance to be proud of, particularly considering many of the younger swimmers are relatively new to competing.

“It demonstrates that as a club we have some great talent coming through the ranks.”