My School Rocks! 2014-03 - Our 10th Anniversary Edition | Page 18

a sport

akes a
that m

ash
Sp l

is a
W hat and a pooloffull
combination
dance, gymnastics

of water? Synchronized swimming!
According to the dictionary,
synchronized means “to operate
in unison.” Synchronized
swimmers perform a coordinated
routine in sync with music and
one another.
This hybrid sport is more than
100 years old. Originally known
as water ballet, synchronized
swimming has long been both
a competitive sport and an
entertaining attraction. Its
popularity took off in 1907
when an Australian swimmer
performed an underwater ballet
in a glass tank at the New York
Hippodrome. Soon, theaters
around the world had huge,
onstage pools to accommodate
similar shows. Synchronized
swimming found a still-wider
audience in Hollywood films
starring Esther Williams in the
1940s and 1950s, and even Miss
Piggy got in a pool in 1981’s “The
Great Muppet Caper.”

But don’t be fooled by
the costumes and staging
— synchronized swimming is
for serious athletes. Swimmers
commit to intense training to
build core strength, flexibility,
breath control and endurance,
and they develop perfectly
timed choreography. Today’s
competitors spend six hours a
day in the pool practicing, and
another two hours cross-training
on land. Official competitions
have been held since the 1930s,
but synchronized swimming
did not become a competitive
Olympic sport until the 1984
games in Los Angeles.
Teams of eight athletes or duets
of two athletes swim together,
and there are two parts to

Olympic scoring.
To earn their
technical score,
swimmers must
execute a series
of required and
difficult moves. For
artistic points, athletes
perform a free routine
set to music, demonstrating
creativity and choreography.
Swimmers hear their music
through underwater speakers,
and they lose points if they touch
the bottom of the pool during a
performance. Athletes even lift
one another during routines —
all while treading water. Oh, and
also while holding their breath
and keeping their eyes open
underwater.

BACK LAYOUT - common
position where the swimmer, using
sculls to stabilize at the water’s surface,
appears to be lying down in the water.
BOOST - quick, upright push from
below the water, often accelerated by
swimmers below the surface.
CADENCE ACTION - similar or
identical movements performed in
order by each swimmer successively.
DECKWORK - part of the routine
performed at poolside before and while
entering the water.
SCULLS - hand movements used to
move in the water.
SYNCHRO - nickname for
synchronized swimming.
TREADING WATER - using only
leg movements to remain stable at the
surface of the water.
WATER BALLET - original term
for the sport of synchronized swimming.

word search

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/
synchronized-swimming-essentialglossary-terms-215000551--oly.html

Sometimes You Need To Get In Over
Your Head To Have Real Fun!
If you’ve ever thought about learning to dive or trying
synchronized swimming Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics
is just the place for you.

Interested? Beginning synchro
classes are available around
Charlotte for kids as young as 6
years old. Call an aquatic center
for more information.

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