As the lights dimmed, anticipation fell over the buzzing crowd. A spotlight illuminated the still pool water, tinting the surface with multicolored rainbow tones. The spotlight swirled around the pool, and Percy Faith’s “Theme for a Summer Place” filled the natatorium. The synchronized swimming team marched on beat to their starting positions for the first of 10 routines they performed throughout their Old Hollywood-themed show, which took place in the West Pool May 7, 8 and 9.
Synchronized swimming first gained popularity back in 1907, with a performance by Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman. At Oak Park and River Forest High School, the synchronized swimming team started in 1928 when the school’s pool first opened.
This year, the theme of the show, “Synchro on the Silver,” was a nod to the Old Hollywood era, to honor the almost 100-year history of this sport here at OPRF. This performance was the last one held in the old pool, as the new pool will become the main spot for their performances when construction of the Project 2 athletic wing is complete at the end of the summer.
Since January, the team practiced two hours a day, four days a week. They started by learning the basics of synchronized swimming, such as sculling kicks for support and the eggbeater maneuver to help with high kicking.
“It takes a lot of discipline with all the different movements, counting and breathing, which can be kind of difficult, but it’s really fun and rewarding in the end,” explained junior Jacob Sell, a first-year swimmer. “I’ve just gotten better at swimming as a whole, and being comfortable and confident in the water.”
They went on to pick music and create the choreography and routines for their final show. The swimmers had full creative freedom to pick out whatever music, choreography and costumes they wanted that coordinated with the theme.
“My favorite part of being on the synchro team is having an artistic outlet where I can express myself in a medium that’s pretty unique,” explained senior Elsa Berg, who has been on the team since her sophomore year. “Being in the water allows you to do things that dancing on land wouldn’t let you do like dolphin turns, sinking techniques and lifts.”
Berg and Noelle Wollert, the two seniors on the team, put together an energetic and animated performance swimming to “Anything You Can Do,” the classic show tune from “Annie Get Your Gun” in which two competitors try to one-up each other. The two began their number by trying to best each other in the water, but ultimately ended up coming together as a team to finish out their season.
Throughout the routines, the camaraderie and bond between the swimmers fueled every performance. “We’re a very close knit team, and it’s very easy to have only been here for a little bit and already make so many close friends,” said junior Mae Warzocha, who has been on the team since her freshman year. “There’s not a single moment that you won’t be hearing laughter coming from us.”
Joining the team doesn’t require any tryouts or past experience. “I joined synchro with very limited prior dance and swimming experience,” Berg said. “But I met the most welcoming community when I went to that first open swim sophomore year, and I decided that this is how I’d like to spend my next five months.”
Martha Socki and Katherine Bromley coach the team. Bromley has been the coach for the past two years and previously swam for the synchro team when she was a student at OPRF. “I love getting to know the swimmers and seeing the growth from where they start to where they end up,” she said.
“I just want the swimmer to be proud of what they create because they do such an amazing job,” Bromley continued. “My goal is for them is to recognize how hard they’ve worked, and see how amazing they’ve done all season.”
