Synchronized Swimming

A/N: Synchro Terms Explained

This is a video of the Russian free team at the 2015 Synchronized Swimming World Championships

Since this story revolves around synchronized swimming (synchro for short), I'll explain a little bit about the sport and its terms.

Synchro is often called water ballet, but it is really so much more than that. It involves endurance, breath control, grace, flexibility, and the ability to work together as a team, among other things. One aspect that makes synchro so difficult is that you can't touch the bottom of the pool while swimming in a routine. To do so is an automatic penalty, and touching the side of the pool is grounds for disqualification.

In the synchro level that Sang and the boys participate in, there are teams, duets, solos, and combos. Teams can have 4-8 people on them, and teams without the full eight swimmers receive a penalty. Teams are around four minutes long. A duet is a routine with two people, and they are shorter at around three and a half minutes. People often ask how a solo is synchronized swimming; the answer is that the swimmer is synchronized with the music. Solos are the shortest routine at around two and a half minutes. Combos are a combination of team, trio, duet, and solo into one longer routine.

Each routine starts out on the pool deck before diving in. The process of walking out onto the deck is called the walk out, and swimmers strike their beginning position, which is called a deck pose. After swimmers dive in, they often do a lift, which is when the swimmers push one swimmer out of the water. When swimmers do moves with their legs, it's called a hybrid. Hybrids are composed of different basic moves, such as a bent knee or a helicopter. Sequences of arm movements are called just that: arms. So, the three basic categories of moves in routines are lifts, hybrids, and arms. 

In competition, swimmers wear sparkly, custom-made routine suits. If the swimmer is a girl, their hair is pulled up into a tight bun using a lot of bobby pins, and then a decorative head piece goes on top of it. Instead of using hair spray to keep the hair in place, swimmers use Knox gelatin, which holds up better in the water.  

Swimmers compete at the local to international level. In this story, the first meet is at the regional level, and the swimmers are trying to qualify for the national competition. I took some liberties with the regional boundaries so that Sang in Illinois and the boys in South Carolina would end up at the same meet.

That's the basics of synchro! If you have any questions, write them in the comments, and I will answer them to the best of my ability. This is my first time writing fan fiction, so if you have any other comments or advice, feel free to share.

All synchro terms come from my region, so they may differ from what other people use. I plan to take some slight artistic liberties in my description of synchro events, but I will try to remain as true to the sport as possible.

The story is currently being edited, so if you notice any changes from the original version, that's why.