Lincoln Wellington are aiming to become an even bigger force in the English Schools Track and Field Championships.

The club will boast a new best of eight athletes at the event, at Alexander Stadium Birmingham, on July 9 and 10.

Joe Dunderdale, Sarah Stanhope, Dominic Sykes, Matt Houlden, Emma Tonner, Georgia Ball and Hannah Dunderdale will be flying the flag for Lincolnshire, while Sam Atkin will be representing Humberside.

However, the ambitious club have no intention of stopping there and are determined to make Lincoln Wellington a bigger name on the youth athletic circuit.

"We want to try to get as many youngsters into the Lincolnshire Schools team as possible," explained youth coach Linda Ellis.

"I believe this is only just the beginning for the club and there are some very exciting prospects in the younger age groups who are coming through.

"We have some really good athletes in the under-10 age bracket who have big potential."

For the club to be able to boast eight athletes this time round is a real feather in their cap.

Ellis puts the success down to the joined-up thinking shown by the Wellington coaches.

Joe Dunderdale, Matt Houlden, Emma Tonner, Georgia Ball and Hannah Dunderdale have all worked with Ellis as she guided them through the first steps of their athletic careers.

"We're immensely proud of how well the youngsters have done," said Ellis.

"I've been working with the younger members of the club for over 20 years and we've seen a real strong improvement in their ability.

"I think the real reason behind that is the work done by the coaches at the club.

"When the youngsters start they will be in my group and we let them try every event to get a feel of it.

"My job is to teach them the basics and get a good base and then we move on from there.

"But thanks to regular coach meetings we are able to discuss the best path for them and to give them the direction and coaching they require."

Fellow Wellington coach Rob Lewis also believes there has been a marked improvement in the quality of the youngsters in Lincolnshire.

"There was a time when Lincolnshire struggled to get athletes to meet the qualifying times or distances," said Lewis.

"Now they are actually facing selection issues because there are some people who have met the required time, but cannot get into the team as there are not enough spaces.

"It is a great thing for the club to have this many youngsters taking part in the event."