Just a little respect here #graded

Alright. Its letter jacket season again and this means that I get to face the snide remarks about how easy it is to letter in the non-sport of synchro. Again. As we speak (well, I guess I'm just typing this at you) I am cold and wet and reek of chlorine, all thanks to synchro practice. I practice 5 days a week for 2-3 hours a day during the fall and winter seasons, and in spring I have both high school and club practice daily, which is about 24 hours a week. That much work does not make a sport "easy." And if you're still convinced that all we do is float about in shape-shifting patterns while wearing flowery hats, let me prove you wrong.


Ok, first go update yourself on modern day synchro. Here are some of my favorite teams.

• USA Technical Team (2007) cool suits much? This routine took gold in 2007 at the Fina championships, beating the superpower of Russia. #USAUSA
• But Russia (2006) is amazing. Just look at how close they swim, how sharp they are and how high out of the water they are. 
• This Greece Team (2007) is one of my all time favorites. They are graceful at some parts ( 0:52 is my favorite graceful part) but fast and sharp at others. At 1:47 there is a cut of of the music where they make their own beat on the water, and they all manage to stay synchronized. There's also a part later on where duet partners artfully spit water, its hilarious. 
• If you only watch one of these watch Canada's Cowboys V. Indians routine. Its fun, interesting, and also the shortest one. Check out the half-and-half make-up jobs and the half-and-half suits. At 2:04 they all pop up wearing bandannas. Crazy, right?

Common misconceptions about synchro:
1. We do not touch the bottom. Ever. Otherwise the routine score gets a major penalty, which can take a first place swim to last place. Instead we tread water (AKA eggbeater) really hard. Here's an example of how a team works together to throw a girl into the air.

2. In performance we don't get to wear caps or goggles and have to wear a ton of makeup. However, to have a good swim you can't have hair in your eyes and you have to be able to see your teammates and stay in formation. Problem? No. We wear our hair in ballet buns and glaze it with Knox gelatin (yeah, the stuff you cook with. Its nasty and gross and smells disgusting) and we just have to suck it up and open our eyes underwater.

3. Are you aware that every time you see legs in a routine the swimmers are holding their breath? In synchro, air is a precious commodity, and getting a good gulp of it between hybrids (the underwater stuff) is essential. Otherwise you'll start to see black spots, and trust me, that's not good.

Have you had enough ranting yet? I sure have. I haven't even scratched the surface of this complicated sport, but hopefully you respect it a little bit more.