Synchronized swimming

At the turn of the 20th century, synchronised swimming was known as water ballet. The first recorded competition was in 1891 in Berlin, Germany. Many swim clubs were formed around that time, and the sport simultaneously developed in Canada. As well as existing as a sport, it often constituted a popular addition to Music Hall evenings, in the larger variety theatres of London or Glasgow which were equipped with on-stage water tanks for the purpose.

In 1907, Australian Annette Kellerman popularised the sport when she performed in a glass tank as an underwater ballerina (the first water ballet in a glass tank) in the New York Hippodrome.[4] After experimenting with various diving actions and stunts in the water, Katherine Curtis started one of the first water ballet clubs at the University of Chicago, where the team began executing strokes, "tricks," and floating formations. On May 27, 1939, the first U.S. synchronised swimming competition took place at Wright Junior College between Wright and the Chicago Teachers' College.[4]

In 1924, the first competition in North America was in Montreal, with Peg Seller as the first champion.

Other important pioneers of the sport are Beulah Gundling, Käthe Jacobi, Marion Kane Elston, Dawn Bean, Billie MacKellar, Teresa Anderson, Gail Johnson, Gail Emery, Charlotte Davis, Mary Derosier, Norma Olsen and Clark Leach.[5] Charlotte Davis coached Tracie Ruiz and Candy Costie, who won the gold medal in duet synchronised swimming at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

In 1933 and 1934, Katherine Whitney Curtis organised a show, "The Kay Curtis Modern Mermaids", for the World Exhibition in Chicago. The announcer, Norman Ross, introduced the sport as "synchronised swimming" for the first time.[6] The term eventually became standardised through the AAU, but Curtis still used the term "rhythmic swimming" in her book, Rhythmic Swimming: A Source Book of Synchronised Swimming and Water Pageantry (Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1936).

Curtis persuaded the AAU to make synchronised swimming an officially recognised sport in December 1941, but she herself transferred overseas in 1943. She served as the Recreation Director of the Red Cross under Generals Patton and Eisenhower, during which time she produced the first international aquacade in Caserta, Italy. She was the Director of Travel in post-war Europe until 1962. In 1959 the Helms Hall of Fame officially recognised Curtis (along with Annette Kellerman) – ascribing to her the primary development of synchronised swimming. In 1979, the International Swimming Hall of Fame inducted Curtis with similar accolades.[7]

The first Official National Team Championships were held in Chicago at Riis Pool on August 11, 1946.[8] The Town Club 'C' team were the first national champions. The team was composed of: Polly Wesner, Nancy Hanna, Doris Dieskow, Marion Mittlacher, Shirley Brown, Audrey Huettenrauch, Phyllis Burrell and Priscilla Hirsch.[9]

Esther Williams, a national AAU champion swimmer, popularized synchronised swimming during WWII and after, through (often elaborately staged) scenes in Hollywood films such as Bathing Beauty (1944), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), and Jupiter's Darling (1955). In the 1970s and 1980s, Ft. Lauderdale swimming champion Charkie Phillips revived water ballet on television with The Krofftettes in The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–1977), NBC's The Big Show (1980), and then on screen with Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper (1981).

Margaret Swan Forbes published Coaching Synchronized Swimming Effectively in 1984; it was the first official teaching manual for synchronized swimming.[10]

In July 2017, following a request by the IOC, FINA approved changes to its constitution that renamed synchronised swimming to "artistic swimming".[11] FINA justified the change by stating that it would help to clarify the nature of the sport (with the new name being similar to artistic gymnastics), and claimed it would help "enhance its popularity". The changes received criticism, with swimmers and coaches arguing that they were never consulted,[12] and that the name "artistic swimming" diminishes the athleticism of the sport which already had historically faced an "uphill battle to be taken seriously".[12] Another objection raised was that rebranding would cost federations and other groups involved in the sport sums of money that neither the IOC nor FINA was willing to compensate. Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Vitaly Mutko vowed that the country would still refer to the sport as synchronised swimming, stating that "to keep the name synchronised swimming is our right, and if the Federation itself, the coaches will want it, we will do it".[13][14][15][16] Since then, most national governing bodies have adopted the new name, some such as the U.S. adopted it after a delay (in 2020), with the CEO of USA Artistic Swimming stating that "19 of the top 25 countries in the world are either partially or fully using the name artistic swimming".[17] Competitions where the new name was first used include the 2019 World Aquatics Championships[18] and the 2018 Asian Games.[19] It will also be used at the 2020 Summer Olympics[20] and the 2020 European Aquatics Championships.[21]

In 2022, a spattering of competitions introduced men-only individual (solo) events for the first time, including the 2022 European Aquatics Championships and the 2022 World Junior Artistic Swimming Championships.[22][23] This followed the addition of mixed gender events featuring one male and one female swimmer at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.[23] Later in the year, in December, the International Olympic Committee announced men were eligible to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games only in a mixed gender team event, with a cap on male participation at 25% of team event members, following the up-to-two men format of mixed gender team events at the 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series.[24]

In 2023, World Aquatics added men's solo events to the artistic swimming program for the first time at a World Aquatics Championships, scheduling the debut for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.[25]

The first Olympic demonstration was at the 1952 Olympic Games, where the Helsinki officials welcomed Kay Curtis and lit a torch in her honor. Curtis died in 1980, but synchronised swimming did not become an official Olympic sport until the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.[26] It was not until 1968 that synchronised swimming became officially recognized by FINA as the fourth water sport next to swimming, platform diving and water polo.

From 1984 through 1992, the Summer Olympic Games featured solo and duet competitions, but they were both dropped in 1996 in favor of team competition. At the 2000 Olympic Games, however, the duet competition was restored and is now featured alongside the team competition.

Synchronized swimming has been part of the World Aquatics Championships since the beginning. From 1973 through 2001, the World Aquatics Championships featured solo, duet and team competitions. In 2003, a free routine combination, comprising elements of solo, duet and team, was added. In 2005, it was renamed free combination. In 2007, solo, duet and team events were split between technical and free routines. Since 2007, seven World championship titles are at stake. In 2015, the mixed duet (technical and free) were added to the competition program.

Artistic swimming is part of the program of the European Aquatics Championships from 1974.[27] A stand alone European Aquatics Artistic Swimming Championships was incorporated into the 2023 European Games, for the first time taking place outside the larger European Aquatics Championships.

A member of the Japanese team is thrown up in the air during the team's free routine at the 2013 French Open.

A lift or highlight is when members of the team propel another teammate relatively high out of the water. They are quite common in routines of older age groups and higher skill levels. There are many variations on lifts and these can include partner lifts, float patterns or other areas of unique, artistic choreography intended to exceptionally impress the judges and audience.

Wu Yiwen and Huang Xuechen of China perform during the duet technical routine at the 2013 French Open.

There are hundreds of different regular positions that can be used to create seemingly infinite combinations. These are a few basic and commonly used ones:

• Back Layout: The most basic position. The body floats, completely straight and rigid, face-up on the surface while sculling under the hips.
• Back Tuck Somersault: Start in a back layout position. Bring your legs into your chest and pivot yourself backwards doing a full rotation or 360. From the tuck position, extend your legs and finish in a back layout position.[28]
• Ballet Leg: Beginning in a back layout, one leg is extended and held perpendicular to the body, while the other is held parallel to the surface of the water.
• Bent Knee (or Heron): While holding a vertical body position, one leg remains vertical while the other leg bends so that its toe is touching the knee of the vertical leg.
• Crane (or Fishtail): While holding a vertical body position, one leg remains vertical while the other is dropped parallel to the surface, making a 90-degree angle or "L" shape. More specifically, a crane position requires the 90-degree angle in the legs (even if the bottom leg is submerged), while a fishtail requires the bottom foot to be at the surface which may or may not create a 90-degree angle in the legs depending on height.
• Double Ballet Leg: Similar to ballet leg position where both legs are extended and held perpendicular to the body.
• Flamingo: Similar to ballet leg position where bottom leg is pulled into the chest so that the shin of the bottom leg is touching the knee of the vertical leg, while remaining parallel to the surface of the water.
• Front Layout: Much like a Back Layout, the only difference is that the swimmer is on his/her stomach, sculling by his/her chest, and not breathing.
• Front Walkover: Begin in a front layout position. Scull downwards into a pike position. Lift one leg vertically into a crane position. Lower that same leg into a split position. Lift the remaining leg vertically into a knight position. Lower the remaining leg and scull above your head into a back layout position.[29]
• Knight: The body is in a surface arch position, where the legs are flat on the surface, and the body is arched so that the head is vertically in line with the hips. One leg is lifted, creating a vertical line perpendicular to the surface.
• Side Fishtail: Side fishtail is a position which one leg remains vertical, while the other is extended out to the side parallel to the water, creating a side "Y" position.
• Split Position: With the body vertical, one leg is stretched forward along the surface and the other extended back along the surface, in an upside down split position.
• Tower: Start in a front layout position. Scull downwards into a pike position. Lift one leg vertically into a crane position. Lift the other leg into a vertical position and descend into the water.[30]
• Tub: Both legs are pulled up to the chest with the shins and tops of the feet dry and parallel on the surface of the water.
• Vertical: Achieved by holding the body completely straight upside down and perpendicular to the surface usually with both legs entirely out of water.

The International Olympic Committee has further described the technical positions.[31]

Routines are composed of "figures" (leg movements), arm sections and highlights. Swimmers are synchronised both to each other and to the music. During a routine swimmers can never use the bottom of the pool for support, but rather depend on sculling motions with the arms, and eggbeater kick to keep afloat. After the performance, the swimmers are judged and scored on their performance based on execution, artistic impression, and difficulty. Execution of technical skill, difficulty, patterns, choreography, and synchronization are all critical to achieving a high score.

When performing routines in competition and practice, competitors wear a rubber noseclip to keep water from entering their nose when submerged. Some swimmers wear earplugs to keep the water out of their ears. Hair is worn in a bun and flavorless gelatin, Knox, is applied to keep hair in place; a decorative headpiece is secured (bobby-pinned or sewed) to the bun. Recently, a new substance has been developed to replace Knox, called Synkro Gelatin. Rarely, swimmers wear custom-made swimming caps in place of their hair in buns.

Competitors wear custom swimsuits, usually elaborately decorated with bright fabric and sequins to reflect the music to which they are swimming. The costume and music are not judged but create an aesthetic appeal to the audience.

Makeup is also worn in this sport, but FINA has required a more natural look. No "theatrical make-up" is allowed, only makeup that provides a natural, clean and healthy glow is acceptable. In Canada, eye makeup must be smaller than a circle made by the swimmer's thumb and forefinger, and be used solely for "natural enhancement".

Underwater speakers ensure that swimmers can hear the music and aid their ability to synchronize with each other. Routines are prepared and set to counts in the music to further ensure synchronization. Coaches use underwater speakers to communicate with the swimmers during practice. Goggles, though worn during practice, are not permitted during routine competition unless the swimmers have medical disabilities or conditions.

Common injuries that may occur in synchronized swimming are tendon injuries, as the sport tends to cause muscle imbalances. Common joint injuries include the rotator cuff and the knees.

In their 2012 book Concussions and Our Kids, Dr. Robert Cantu and Mark Hyman quoted Dr. Bill Moreau, the medical director for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), as saying, "These women are superior athletes. They're in the pool eight hours a day. Literally, they're within inches of one another, sculling and paddling. As they go through their various routines, they're literally kicking each other in the head." Dr. Moreau said that during a two-week training session in Colorado Springs, the female athletes suffered a 50% concussion rate. As a result, the USOC began reassessing concussion awareness and prevention for all sports.[38]

Others believe the incidence of concussions among synchronized swimmers is much higher, especially among the sport's elite athletes. "I would say 100 percent of my athletes will get a concussion at some point," said Myriam Glez, a former French synchronized swimmer and coach. "It might be minor, might be more serious, but at some point or another, they will get hit."[39]

• NHK Twinscam
• Swimming (sport)
• Water aerobics
• Water polo
• Composite stroke
• List of synchronised swimmers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to synchronized swimming.

• Artistic swimming at FINA
• Artistic swimming at the International Olympic Committee
• Artistic swimming at the Australian Olympic Committee
• Artistic swimming at Team GB
• Canada Artistic Swimming
• USA Artistic Swimming