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The Novice Level: The Novice level is for swimmers from
9-18 who are new to synchro. To start, swimmers should be
able to do front crawl and back stroke, and be comfortable
in deep water; breaststroke is desirable but not necessary.
There are two required practices per week: Thursday from 6:30-8:30PM at Manitou Springs Pool (NW corner of Manitou Ave and Hwy 24) and Saturday from 10am-1pm at one of the District 11 schools (to be designated for 2008-2009). Novices compete in 3-4 in-state meets during the year and a Spring
exhibition for family and friends. Advancement to
Intermediate may be possible in mid-November.
The Intermediate Level: Intermediates also practice on Thursday from 6:30-8:30pm at the Manitou Springs Aquatic Center and Saturday from 10am-1pm at one of the District 11 schools. As Intermediates advance, a third practice on Tuesday from 6:30-8:30pm at Manitou may be added. Intermediates work on more difficult skills, competing in 3-4 in-state meets and possibly 1 out-of-state meet as well as the Spring Exhibition.
The Age Group Level: The Age Group level is for more
advanced synchronized swimmers and has three practices per week on Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30-8:30pm at Manitou Springs pool, Saturday from 9am-Noon at a District 11 school (to be designated). Age Group swimmers participate in 4 in-state meets, 1-2 out-of-state meets and a Spring exhibition.
Returning swimmers being practices on August 12, 2008. Our first practice for new swimmers will be on Saturday, August 30.
We offer a two week free trial period (Novice schedule) for
new swimmers and families to get to know our team and decide
if synchro will be fun for you. We accept new swimmers
through September and October.
What Will I Need?
*Swim suit and towel for practice
*Goggles
About our Practices:
Our practices are structured to provide improvements in
strength, flexibility, endurance and knowledge throughout
the year. Each practice is divided into four sections. The
amount of time spent on each section varies with the time of
the season. Practices always begin with 5-10 minutes of
increasingly aerobic movement (sometimes on land, sometimes
in the water). This is designed to warm up the large muscle
groups to reduce the risk of injury during practice.
Following the warm-up, the athletes are directed in a series
of stretching and strengthening exercises with particular
emphasis on increasing the freedom of movement of shoulders
and hips (splits). Flexibility improves long-term growth and
allows the swimmer to perform new and creative movements in
the water. Athletes are encouraged to warm up and stretch at
home every day.
After warm-up and stretching, swimmers build endurance
through lap swimming. This includes the standard strokes,
synchro strokes, and repetition of learned synchro skills.
The swimmers are asked to increase the speed and number of
laps performed to reach a peak in strength level in late
October. We hold our annual swim-a-thon fund raising event
at this point.
The final section of each practice is devoted to new skills.
Early in the year, swimmers concentrate on figures
(compulsory movements for testing skills) in preparation for
the first figure meet of the season in mid-November. Each
figure consists of positions (for example, back layout, tuck
and splits) and transitions connecting the positions
together. Stability is first developed in the positions
alone, and then transitions are added to complete the
figure. After the November figure meet, athletes will spend
less time on laps and figures (a maintenance level) and
devote more time to learning new routine skills and
choreography with music. The majority of the choreography
and memorization is completed by the end of February.
As the season continues, time is devoted to developing endurance in the routines and fine-tuning movements.
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