Olympic Synchronised Swimming: June 2011

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Synchronised Swimming - Synchro as Olympic Sport

Synchro was first demonstrated at the 1952 Olympic Games. Synchronised Swimming became officially recognized by FINA in 1968 as the fourth water sport next to swimming, platform diving and water polo. Synchronised Swimming became an official Olympic sport in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

From 1984 through 1992, the Summer Olympic Games featured solo and duet competitions. But both events were 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.

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Friday, 10 June 2011

Synchronised Swimming - Olympic Synchronized Swimming

Synchronised Swimming has been contested at the Summer Olympics since the 1984 Games. Although first demonstrated at the 1952 Olympic Games, synchronized swimming did not become an official Olympic sport until the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Synchronized Swimming became officially recognized by FINA in 1968; as the fourth water sport next to swimming, platform diving and water polo.

The current Olympic program has competition in duet and team events, but in past games, a solo event was also contested. From 1984 through 1992, the Summer Olympic Games featured solo and duet competitions, but they both were 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.

The United States, Canada and Japan have traditionally been the strongest nations in the sport, winning every Olympic medal from 1984 through 1996. Russia has recently dominated, winning every event in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

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Synchronised Swimming - Competitions

Figures

A standard meet begins with the swimmers doing "figures", which are positions performed individually without music. All swimmers must compete wearing the standard black swimsuit and white swimcap, as well as goggles and a noseclip. Figures are performed in front of a panel of 5 judges who score individual swimmers from 1 to 10 (10 being the best). After the figure competition, the routines begin.

In the US

In the United States, competitors are divided into groups by age. The seven age groups are: 10 and Under, 11-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-19, Junior (elite 15-18), Senior (elite 18+), Collegiate, and Master. In addition to these groups, younger swimmers may be divided by ability into 3 levels: Novice, Intermediate, and Age Group. Swimmers compete year-round at competitions called "meets". Each swimmer may compete in up to three of the following routine events: solo, duet, trio, combo (consisting of eight to ten swimmers, and team (consisting of four to eight swimmers). Figure scores are combined with routines to determine the final rankings. USA Synchro's annual intercollegiate championships have been dominated by The Ohio State University, Stanford University, and The University of the Incarnate Word.

In Canada

In Canada, synchronized swimming has an age-based Tier Structure system with age groups 8 & under to 16 & over there is also a skill level which is Tier 6 and 7, as well as competition at the Masters and University levels. Tiers 6 and 7 are national stream athletes that fall in line with international age groups - Tier 6 is 15 and Under and Tier 7 is Junior (16-18) and Senior (18+) level athletes. There are also the Wildrose age group . This is for competitors before they reach Tier 6. Wildrose rangers from Tier 1-5. These are also competitive levels. There are also the reactional levels which are called "stars". Synchro Canada rewuires that a competitor must past Star 3 before entering Tier 1. To get into a Tier a swimmer must take a test for that Tier. In these tests, the swimmer must be able to perform the required movements for the level.

In the UK

In the UK, competitions include county level, regional level through to the national age group competition usually held towards the end of the year. Competitors are split by age group, 12 and under/ 13-14/15,16,17/18+ /and 19 and under. To compete in the competitive strand of competitions swimmers must hold the required skill level for their age group. Recreational strands of competitions are also present to allow those competitors who have not achieved the desired level. Swimmers compete through figures, duets, teams and combination routines.

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Synchronised Swimming - Preparation

When performing routines in competition and practice, competitors will typically wear a rubber nose clip to keep water from entering their nose when submerged. Some swimmers even wear ear-plugs to keep the water out of their ears. Hair is worn in a bun and flavorless gelatin, Knox, is used to keep hair in place. Competitors also wear custom swimsuits and headpieces, usually elaborately decorated, to reflect the type of music to which they are swimming.

The costume and music are not judged (but marks will be taken if the headpiece falls off any swimmer while he/she is swimming the routine), but factor into the overall performance and "artistic impression". Heavy eye make-up is often worn to help portray the emotions involved with the routine; it is very necessary to accentuate the eyes of each individual swimmer. Lipstick is often used, and many teams see fit to smear some on their cheeks for a very vibrant and water-resistant blush.

Underwater speakers ensure that swimmers can hear the music at all times and also aid their ability to synchronize with each other. Coaches also use these speakers to communicate with the swimmers during practice. Goggles, though worn during practice, are not permitted during routine competition, though exceptions can be made if a swimmer has a chlorine allergy.

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Synchronised Swimming - Routines

Routines are composed of "hybrids" (leg movements) and arm or stroke sections. They often incorporate lifts or throws, an impressive move in which a group of swimmers lift or throw another swimmer out of the water. Swimmers are synchronized 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 technical merit and artistic impression. Technical skill, patterns, expression, and synchronisation are all critical to achieving a high score.

Technical vs. free routines

Depending on the competition level, swimmers will perform a "technical" routine with predetermined elements that must be performed in a specific order. The technical routine acts as a replacement for the figure event, and is usually used only in senior and collegiate level meets. In addition to the technical routine, the swimmers will perform a longer "free" routine, which has no requirements and is a chance for the swimmers to get creative and innovative with their choreography.

Length of routines

The type of routine and competition level determines the length of routines. Routines typically last two and a half to five minutes long, the shortest being solos, with length added as the number of swimmers are increased (duets, trios, teams, and combos). Age and skill level are other important factors in determining the required routine length.

Scoring

Routines are scored on a scale of 100, with points for both artistic impression and technical merit. The artistic mark is worth 50% of the total and the technical mark is worth 50%.

Synchronised Swimming - Positions

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 at the sides
Front Layout: Much like a Back Layout, the only difference is that the swimmer is on his/her stomach
Sailboat/Bent Knee: Similar to the back layout, but one knee is bent with the toe touching the inside of the other leg, which remains parallel to the surface
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
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
Vertical: Achieved by holding the body completely straight upside down and perpendicular to the surface usually with both legs entirely out of water
Crane: 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
Bent Knee: 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
Split position: With the body vertical, one leg is stretched forward along the surface and the other extended back along the surface
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 similar to a crane. One leg remains vertical, while the other is extended out to the side parallel to the water, creating a side "Y" position

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Synchronised Swimming - Lifts

A lift is when swimmers use eggbeater to propel their fellow teammates out of the water. They are quite common in routines of the older age groups. There are three separate parts to every lift in synchronized swimming: The top (or "flyer"), the base, and the pushers.

The Flyer The flyer is usually the smallest member of the team. Flyers must be agile and flexible, with a preferable gymnastics background if they are jumping off the lift
The Base The base also tends to be relatively small. She should have good leg strength and a solid core. (When performing a platform lift, a strong core is absolutely essential)
The Pushers The pushers are usually the bigger, stronger members of the team and should be evenly spaced around the lift.

Types of Lifts

Platform Lift:

Stack Lift:

Throw:

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Synchronised Swimming - Sculls and Eggbeater

Sculls (hand movements used to propel the body) are the most essential part to synchronized swimming. Commonly used sculls include support scull, standard scull, torpedo scull, split-arm scull, barrel scull, and paddle scull. The support scull is used most often to support the body while a swimmer is performing upside down. Support scull is performed by holding the upper arms against the sides of the body and the lower arms at 90-degree angles to the body. The lower arms are then moved back and forth while maintaining the right angle. The resulting pressure against the hands allows the swimmer to hold their legs above water while swimming.

Eggbeater or the "eggbeater kick" is another important skill of synchronized swimming. It is a form of treading water that allows for stability and height above the water while leaving the hands free to perform strokes. An average eggbeater height is usually around chest level. Using the eggbeater, swimmers can also perform "boosts", where they use their legs to momentarily propel themselves out of the water to their hips or higher. "Eggbeater" is also a common movement found in water polo as well as the "pop-up" movement.

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Synchronised Swimming - Origin

In 1933-1934 Kathryn Curtis organized a show, "The Modern Mermaids," for the World Exhibition in Chicago, which the announcer introduced as "Synchronized Swimming". This was the first mentioning of the term synchronized swimming. Although 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).

But it was National AAU champion swimmer, Esther Williams, who popularised Synchronized Swimming 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 80s, Ft. Lauderdale swimming champion Charkie Phillips revived water ballet on television with The Krofftettes in The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–77), NBC's The Big Show (1980), and then on screen with Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper (1981).

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Synchronised Swimming - History

Synchronised Swimming was known as water ballet at the turn of the 20th century. The first recorded competition was in 1891 in Berlin, Germany. Many swim clubs were formed around that time, and the sport simultaneously developed within several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the USA. 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 huge on-stage water tanks for the purpose.

While exclusively a sport performed by men in its first days, it quickly became a women's sport because the nature of the physical movements are more suitable to the female physique (i.e. center of gravity). In 1907, Australian Annette Kellerman popularised the sport when she performed in a glass tank as an underwater ballerina in the New York Hippodrome. After experimenting with various different 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. synchronized swimming competition took place at Wright Junior College between Wright and the Chicago Teachers' College.

In 1924, the first competition in North America was in Montreal, with Peg Seller as the first champion. Other important pioneers for the sport are Beulah Gundling, Käthe Jacobi, Marion Kane Elston, Dawn Bean, Billie MacKellar, Teresa Anderson and Gail Johnson. Many of the competitions in those days were still done in lakes and rivers.

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Synchronised Swimming - Intro

Synchronized Swimming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers (either solos, duets, trios, or teams) performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music. Synchronized swimming demands advanced water skills, and requires great strength, endurance, flexibility, grace, artistry and precise timing, as well as exceptional breath control when upside down underwater.

Competitors show off their strength, flexibility, and aerobic endurance required to perform difficult routines. Swimmers perform two routines for the judges, one technical and one free, as well as age group routines and figures. Synchronized swimming is governed internationally by FINA (Federation Internationale de Natation).

Olympic and World Championship competition is not open to men, but other international and national competitions allow male competitors. Both USA Synchro and Synchro Canada allow men to compete with women. Most European countries allow men to compete also, France even allows male only podiums, according to the number of participants. In past decade more men are involved in sport and a global biannual competition Men's CUP has been steadily growing.

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Wednesday, 8 June 2011

Swimming - Overview

Swimming is the method, activity or sport of propelling oneself through water using the limbs. Swimming is a popular recreational activity, particularly in hot countries and in areas with natural watercourses. Swimming is also a competitive sport. There are many health benefits of swimming, yet basic swimming skills and safety precautions are needed to participate in water activities.

The basic principle of swimming is buoyancy. The human body has a high water content and its density is close to the density of water. Due to its cavities (most prominently the lungs), the average density of the human body is lower than that of water, so it naturally floats. Swimming is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA).

The human body, being composed mostly of water, has nearly the same density as water. Thus, staying afloat requires only a slight propelling of water downward relative to the body, and transverse motion only a slight propelling of water in a direction opposite to the direction of motion, due to generally low hydrodynamic drag. This propelling is typically accomplished by cupping the hands and using them as paddles, and by kicking the legs to push water away from the body.

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