Everyone has that one thing that they are good at. That one thing they love doing. For some people it would be playing a certain sport. And for others it may be performing music or acting on stage. Maybe it could be creating a work of art. Whatever it might be, everyone has one.
For me, that one thing is swimming. Not just lane swimming, but synchronized swimming. Everyone that knows me probably already knows that I am obsessed with it. If you read my ‘What Happened In Aruba?’ blog post, you probably even know.
I know I complain about my practices, all the time. But when I am swimming in the chlorine filled water I feel at home. The moment after you know you swam a good run-through, is probably the best feeling in the world.
Just over the past long weekend I had a competition, Saturday to be exact. For both events I swam at, my team swam first. Our first event was the first event of the day. So we had to be there at 7 in the morning. That might seem that bad, but you people are forgetting that this meet was at the Etobicoke Olympium, which is about an hour drive from Kitchener. So that puts the time for 6 o’clock when we have to leave the house.
Because of this early morning, we decided to gel my hair the night before. What do you mean gel, you may ask? We put Knox gelatine in our hair to keep it back and out of our face when we swim. You just mix it with hot water and paint it on, and it
will dry so that it is rock hard.
The two events I was in were: 16-20 team and Combo. The first event was 16-20 team, which I was happy about since it was the hard of the two. Out of ten we came third. The second event of the day for me was Combo. Combo is a mixture of all the different types of routines (solo, duet, team...etc.), out of the two routines and music, I like Combo the most. It typically has ten
swimmers on the team and it is more interesting to watch. For Combo we came first. Over the season, we have held the first place position in each competition we went to, except the one National meet (We went against National teams when we were in Provincial and we still came second...).
There are many reasons why I love Synchro. One of the reasons is that it keeps me in shape. For Synchro, you need to be able to swim for one, have good flexibility, core strength, endurance, breath control, and muscle strength. It has been said that Synchronized Swimming is the second most physically demanding sport in the Olympics.
Another reason why I love this sport is because of the team bonding. Being a synchronized swimmer you spend a lot of your time at practices if you are a competitive swimmer. Meaning you spend a lot of time with your team. When you are on a team, you have to work together or else the routine won’t work. One slightly wrong angle and something looks off. The club I swim at is Waterloo Regional Synchronized Swimming Club, also known as my second family.
Out of all the reasons, the thrill you get when you swim your routine is probably the main reason. The moment right after the whistle is blown is the moment I get nervous. When the whistle is blown, it means that the team is ready to start. It is the moment of no return. But, when the music comes on...something clicks in. It is what I have been training for, the routine I
swam a million times before. The routine becomes second nature. Before I know it we are at the last figure of the routine. As we make our way to the wall, I get that feeling you get when you know you did the routine to the best of your ability. The feeling you get when you hug you teammates after is one of the best moments.
There are countless other reasons why I love this sport, but I feel I should stop here instead of continuing and ending up writing a novel.
So what are you good at? What’s your passion?
What is your element?
Feel free to check out my Team and combo swim from the weekend-
Team: http://vimeo.com/64673536 , Combo: https://vimeo.com/64673535
For me, that one thing is swimming. Not just lane swimming, but synchronized swimming. Everyone that knows me probably already knows that I am obsessed with it. If you read my ‘What Happened In Aruba?’ blog post, you probably even know.
I know I complain about my practices, all the time. But when I am swimming in the chlorine filled water I feel at home. The moment after you know you swam a good run-through, is probably the best feeling in the world.
Just over the past long weekend I had a competition, Saturday to be exact. For both events I swam at, my team swam first. Our first event was the first event of the day. So we had to be there at 7 in the morning. That might seem that bad, but you people are forgetting that this meet was at the Etobicoke Olympium, which is about an hour drive from Kitchener. So that puts the time for 6 o’clock when we have to leave the house.
Because of this early morning, we decided to gel my hair the night before. What do you mean gel, you may ask? We put Knox gelatine in our hair to keep it back and out of our face when we swim. You just mix it with hot water and paint it on, and it
will dry so that it is rock hard.
The two events I was in were: 16-20 team and Combo. The first event was 16-20 team, which I was happy about since it was the hard of the two. Out of ten we came third. The second event of the day for me was Combo. Combo is a mixture of all the different types of routines (solo, duet, team...etc.), out of the two routines and music, I like Combo the most. It typically has ten
swimmers on the team and it is more interesting to watch. For Combo we came first. Over the season, we have held the first place position in each competition we went to, except the one National meet (We went against National teams when we were in Provincial and we still came second...).
There are many reasons why I love Synchro. One of the reasons is that it keeps me in shape. For Synchro, you need to be able to swim for one, have good flexibility, core strength, endurance, breath control, and muscle strength. It has been said that Synchronized Swimming is the second most physically demanding sport in the Olympics.
Another reason why I love this sport is because of the team bonding. Being a synchronized swimmer you spend a lot of your time at practices if you are a competitive swimmer. Meaning you spend a lot of time with your team. When you are on a team, you have to work together or else the routine won’t work. One slightly wrong angle and something looks off. The club I swim at is Waterloo Regional Synchronized Swimming Club, also known as my second family.
Out of all the reasons, the thrill you get when you swim your routine is probably the main reason. The moment right after the whistle is blown is the moment I get nervous. When the whistle is blown, it means that the team is ready to start. It is the moment of no return. But, when the music comes on...something clicks in. It is what I have been training for, the routine I
swam a million times before. The routine becomes second nature. Before I know it we are at the last figure of the routine. As we make our way to the wall, I get that feeling you get when you know you did the routine to the best of your ability. The feeling you get when you hug you teammates after is one of the best moments.
There are countless other reasons why I love this sport, but I feel I should stop here instead of continuing and ending up writing a novel.
So what are you good at? What’s your passion?
What is your element?
Feel free to check out my Team and combo swim from the weekend-
Team: http://vimeo.com/64673536 , Combo: https://vimeo.com/64673535
If you felt like synchro was interesting and you might want to try it, check out the Waterloo Synchro site: http://waterloosynchro.com/
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