In Synch
by Lisa Marshall, The Daily Camera Staff Writer

February 14, 2006

When it came to choosing an after-school activity, Fairview sophomore Becka Terpenning could have chosen swimming, gymnastics, theater, dance, or just hanging out with friends. Instead, she chose an activity that combines them all, and that many don't even realize still exists — synchronized swimming.

"It's a really fun way to be really in shape all the time, and I love the community. We all know each other really well," says Terpenning, 15, one of 24 members, ages 8 to 18, of the Boulder Aquateens, a nationally competitive synchronized swim team.

Make no mistake: This is not your grandmother's water ballet.

The sport was born in 1907, when Annette Kellerman performed in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome, garnering national attention as the first "underwater ballerina." In the 1940s, U.S. freestyle champion Esther Williams donned glittery swimsuits and elaborate head-dresses and propelled herself, and water ballet, into the spotlight with lavish water spectaculars like the Broadway musical, "Aquacade" (likened to Vegas showgirls on water) and "Bathing Beauty," the first in a long line of so-called "swimming movies."

Today, competitors still get to wear the glittery swimsuits (a benefit the younger girls love), but the sport is more about teamwork, grace, and remarkable athletic strength, than show tunes and cheesecake smiles.

"The sport has really evolved," says Aquateens head coach Alanna O'Leary, who was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1994-1997. She believes the sport used to have a "bad rap" as purely recreational, but since 1996, when the U.S. team earned its first Olympic gold medal, that reputation has slowly begun to change.

"It's one of the first sports to sell out at the Olympics," says O'Leary. She notes that while it may look otherwise above-water, swimmers are never allowed to touch the bottom of the pool, and they must have tremendous lung capacity to stay under water so long.

"It involves a ridiculous amount of strength," she says. "They train like speed skaters or gymnasts, but they have to do it all in the water."

On a recent evening at South Boulder Recreation Center, O'Leary called out pointers through a microphone — which can be heard through speakers underwater — as 10-year-old Amanda Peshock and her sister Anna, age 13, danced/swam their way through a two-and-a-half-minute routine set to the songs of Aretha Franklin. Meanwhile Terpenning and her partner Sandy MacDonnell, also 15, made their way through a duet to "Fantasia 2000" that took them across the length of the pool, feet propelling them furiously, as their arms and upper body glided gracefully above water in true ballerina form.

Another coach tapped on the side of the pool, keeping time for a group of seven girls under the water as they formed a pyramid and launched an eighth out of the water and into the air — all to the music of Peter Pan. Soon they had all flipped up-side down, with legs jutting skyward, straight out of the water, in a tough move called an underwater vertical.

"It's like athletic theater underwater," says O'Leary.

Nationwide, there are roughly 200 synchronized swimming teams, according to Indianapolis-based U.S.A. Synchro, the governing body for the sport. The organization is currently rolling out a national campaign to increase awareness about the sport, by encouraging Y.M.C.As across the country to offer synchronized swimming classes.

The Aquateens, a private club open to girls 8 to 18 from across Boulder County, are one of six statewide. They practice roughly 13 hours a week, and travel to competitions regularly, where they perform 3- to 5-minute routines, set to music, either solo, in duets, or in large groups. They are judged on several criteria, including artistic and technical merit.

"It really lets you build your own style," says O'Leary, who helps the girls choreograph their pieces. "Artists make art. Poets write poetry. This is what I do."

For more information about synchronized swimming, log on to www.usasynchro.org. For more information on the Boulder Aquateens, log on to www.boulderaquateens.org.

Contact Staff Writer Lisa Marshall at (303) 473-1357 or marshalll@dailycamera.com.