Synchro

The other evening I saw a program on PBS, "Synchronized Swimming: The Pursuit of Excellence." Synchronized swimming, or "synchro," is one of those Olympic sports that you may not know about. At first glance it looks rather odd--women in flashy swimsuits, hair slicked back with what looks like glue, doing unnatural hand, arm, and head movements with a big artificial smile plastered on their faces! You might be tempted to say, "this is a sport?" Believe me, it is. It requires skill, lung capacity, and stamina. Even Dave Barry, who hardly ever has anything "nice" to say wrote, "This is the hardest sport in the world!" And, I think he meant it! (See Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus [818 BAR], "I Am Now a Trained Eggbeater.")

To find out more about the sport, visit the International Olympic Committee's site or Worldwide Aquatics. The U.S.A. team has its own site, as do several teams around the country. (You can see the U.S.A. team in action here.)

Boston University Team

Synchro is a woman's sport at the Olympic games--men are banned from competition! But, if you'd like to see some men's synchronized swimming, it's available!

If you want to catch the PBS program, it will be shown on NHPTV, channel 11, on Monday, 7/16 at 8:00 pm.