THERE?was no TV or touch screens this half-term school holiday for these youngsters from Alton and District Swimming Club.

Instead they headed for Barcelona for a week’s training camp, building stamina and technique in time for the gruelling winter competition season ahead.

Under the watchful eyes of head coach Rob Thuroczy and team manager Hannah Druce, the young swimmers started their days early, with outdoor training in an Olympic standard, 50m pool.

After lunch it was be circuit training, then back to the pool for more dives, tumble turns, and length after length.

It is not exactly what you’d call a holiday, but the smiles before they left show the team spirit and love of swimming that mean they were all looking forward to a fantastic week when they headed off to sunny Spain.