Synchronized Swimming

Background
An aquatic activity called “water ballet” was demonstrated at several world exhibitions and fairs in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, however, Synchronized Swimming truly began to take form in Canada in the 1920s under the name of “Ornamental Swimming”.  This graceful and beautiful aquatic activity soon spread to the United States, where a display at the 1934 Chicago World Fair attracted international publicity.  The popularity of this new brand of swimming continued to grow when swim star Esther Williams performed in a string of MGM “aqua musicals” in the 1940s and 1950s.

Over the next few decades, this aquatic phenomenon began to evolve into a highly technical and physically demanding competitive sport called Synchronized Swimming.  Canada established itself as a leader in the sport and began to share its expertise with other nations, which helped its development across the globe.  In 1954, FINA, the International Federation for Aquatic Sports, recognized Synchro as an official aquatic sport.  It made its debut at the inaugural World Aquatic Championships in Belgrade in 1973 and was welcomed to the Olympic Games program in 1984.

Synchro consists of five events: figures, solo, duet, team, and a combo routine (a combination of solo, duet and team in one routine).  In BC, there is also a trio event.  At the more competitive levels, each event listed above consists of a technical routine and a free routine.  The sport is considered a female sport in the eyes of the IOC and males are not permitted to compete in FINA competitions.  The competitive rules and manner of judging are similar to such sports as figure skating and gymnastics.

For many years, Synchro was Canada’s most successful amateur sport.  With the exception of 1998, our athletes won medals at every world championships between 1973 and 2001 and at every Olympic Games between 1984 and 2000. Following the 2004 Olympics, Canada faced stiff competition from other countries and fell off the world podium.  Recently, however, Canada has returned to the top of the podium with a first place finish at the 2009 FINA World Trophy held in Montreal.

How to Watch Synchronized Swimming
All synchronized swimmers in the BC Summer Games compete in at least two events: figures and team.

Figures are assigned by tier (see Tier description below) and are a series of positions and transitions performed individually in front of a panel of judges.  In order to ensure anonymity, all swimmers wear a black bathing suit and white bathing cap and are announced only by competitor number.

Every swimmer in each tier performs a total of 4 figures.  The final figure scores are calculated by averaging the judges’ scores, with the highest and lowest score on each panel dropped.

In addition to figures, each athlete is permitted to swim in two out of three routine events.  The routine events are as follows: team, which consists of 4 - 6 athletes; trio, which consists of three athletes; and duet, which consists of two athletes.  Routines are judged on two dimensions, Technical Merit and Artistic Impression.  Technical Merit refers to the level of excellence demonstrated by the swimmer’s mastery of highly specialized skills.  Artistic Impression is judged based on the image or feeling retained as a result of the creative components of the routine.

The marks for Technical Merit and Artistic Impression are averaged to create a routine score and then added to the figure score to obtain a championship score.

Competition at the Games
Synchronized Swimming in BC, and in Canada, is based on the Tier System.  In order to be placed in a tier, athletes must pass a certain skill level called a STAR.  There are 7 tiers in the tier system and each one corresponds to a STAR level passed.  For example, to be considered tier 1, an athlete must pass STAR 3.  Skills required of these athletes at competition will correspond to all skills learned up to the required STAR level.  Finally, athletes are not required to compete in one tier prior to moving on to the next.  Depending on skill level, athletes may skip a tier.

Athlete Development
Within the athlete and coaching development model, the BC Summer Games serves as a pre-cursor to the Canada Winter Games.  At the high end of the Train-to-Train stage of the Canadian Sport for Life Model, this is the only multi-sport competition available to these athletes.

In order to qualify to compete at the Summer Games, athletes must be between 12 - 15 years old.  Athletes must rank in the top 7 in Tier 4/5, or, in regions where there are fewer athletes, Tier 2/3.

For more info on Synchronized Swimming, contact Synchro BC at www.synchro.bc.ca or (604) 333-3640.