Synchronised swimmers set to make a splash
The team during dress rehearsal
(CNS Local Life): Synchronised swimming has found its way to Cayman, with a team representing the island competing this weekend at the Novice and Intermediate World Championships in Coral Springs, Florida. Also known as synchro, the Olympic sport combines meticulously coordinated acrobatics, swimming and dance routines performed to music. Since September, the Caymanites, a group of young synchronised swimmers, has been training three times a week in various pools across the island,
The swimmers will represent the Cayman Islands in the under-12 and under-16 categories in the competition, set for 6-7 May.
Alissa Moberg, the team’s head coach, is a veteran synchronised swimmer from the US who has 11 years coaching experience, including leading the Jamaican national synchro programme. She said she is thrilled to have brought the sport to Cayman, which “has such an active aquatic community that it was an easy fit to bring synchro into the mix”.
The sport requires advanced water skills, strength, flexibility, grace, precise timing and exceptional breath control while upside down in the water. Swimmers lose points if they touch the bottom of the pool.
Team member Amber Barnes, 15, said, “I used to dance and swim and when I tried synchro the two of them came together, a perfect combination and I was hooked.”
The athletes will compete as a team and individually with their technical figures, a required series of movements and positions, precisely executed. Both teams will be sporting handmade jewelled swimsuits and headpieces, and perform to calypso/soca tunes.
“I am so proud of what these athletes have achieved in such a short space of time, their dedication and enthusiasm is incredible and I’m so excited for this weekend and what’s to come for these swimmers and synchro generally on the island,” Moberg said.
