Redhill swimming hopeful Louise Watkin has been selected to represent the South East at the inaugural UK School Games in Glasgow in September. The 14-year-old will compete in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle multi-disability events at the new competition for the best youngsters of school age.

Watkin said:

"It's a great idea. Meeting other people that do different sports and making new friends will be good and I think I'll find the opening ceremony quite exciting."

The young swimmer is also looking forward to competing for the strong South East team which will face three other English regions, two Scottish regions, Wales and All-Ireland.

"I prefer to be part of a team because you get a lot more encouragement from the people you're with and you can encourage them as well," she said.

The Surrey teenager won eight gold and two silver medals at the Disability Swimming Events (DSE) national junior championships in March and has already been spotted as a talent for the future, particularly in her specialist event of 100m breaststroke. Watkin - who has a lower limb deficiency - started off in able-bodied swimming but switched to the disability events a year ago and is now fifth in the short course world rankings for 100m breaststroke.

She is the second youngest disability swimmer on the National Lottery funded world class potential programme, which provides help with training and medical support for promising individuals.

"It's helped me to find pool time because I was struggling and I've already used the physio quite a bit," she said.

The young swimmer currently trains six times a week in the pool and does two sessions in the gym, but says she'll have to increase her training to four hours a day if she wants to get to the top.

She said:

"I want to get to the Paralympics in 2012 or 2008. If I improve my training and work harder I could make it to Beijing."

Watkin has a busy summer ahead, with trials for the IPC swimming world championships in August and the UK School Games in September, where she'll get just a taste of what could lie ahead on a bigger stage in the future.