The Estevan Mermaids synchronized swimming club amazed a packed house of cheering supporters during their annual water show at the Estevan Leisure Centre pool on Saturday.
The mini-Mermaids began the ‘Dream Big, Sparkle More and Shine Bright’ show before nine recreational-stream and provincial-stream athletes each swam a solo routine accompanied to music that matched their performance in the water. Five often humorous and widely entertaining duet routines then took centre stage, which were followed by performances from four team swims and a grad routine by Eden Palmer, Kelsey Potoma, Hannah Whitman and Alyssa Wieting.
Brenda Lyons, head coach of the Mermaids synchronized swimming club, said many people don’t understand the amount of cardiovascular strength, endurance and flexibility that is needed from the athletes to perform these difficult routines. She said considering the Mermaids normally compete out of town, the annual water show gives their supporters a chance to see all of the hard work they have put in over the year.
“It was nice to host something here where people can see it live and in the pool that they swim in,” said Lyons. “This is probably the fittest group of kids that I’ve coached and I’ve coached for 10 years. These kids have worked so hard and they’re super athletes.”
Lyons said the annual water show marks the end of the synchronized swimming season for many of their athletes, but another test or two still awaits some swimmers. She said girls who want to try out for the Synchro Saskatchewan High Performance program will begin their training at the end of May with testing scheduled for June 11, while 15 more kids are still going strong in practice to prepare for the Canadian Prairie Championships meet in Regina the weekend of May 7.
“Over 400 athletes are going to be at this meet, so it’s huge,” said Lyons. “We’ve never hosted a meet this big in Saskatchewan before. It’s amazing.”
