The Estevan Mermaids synchronized swim club remains one of the largest in the province.
The club has 85 swimmers who gather at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre twice a week for practice, and travel to several meets a year.
Thirty young swimmers are part of the mini-Mermaids, who have practices on Mondays, and another 12 are part of the master Mermaids program, which is an over-18 group that meets on Wednesdays. The regular Mermaids swimmers gather on Mondays and Wednesdays; if extra practices are needed, they happen on Saturdays.
In 2016-17, the club was the second-largest in the province, and traditionally the Mermaids have the second or third-largest club in Saskatchewan.
The club has scooped up numerous awards over the years, not just for the success and dedication of its swimmers, but for its growth and its dedicated volunteers.
Head coach Brenda Lyons noted the master Mermaids program, which is for swimmers at least 18 years old, started last year. They didn’t have any prior synchronized swimming experience.
Lyons saw some women participated in lane swimming at the aquatic centre, and asked them if they would like to try synchronized swimming.
“We thought that wouldn’t it be great to show our younger athletes that you can do this sport for the rest of your life?” said Lyons. “They get out there, and it’s very social, and they have a really great time.”
The club has had a good season. They started swimming in October, competed at their first meet of the season in November, and then travelled to a meet in Regina a couple of weeks ago.
“Some of our girls did exceptionally well,” said Lyons. “Our 16 to 18 team placed first in their category, and individually we had some really strong successes. Some of our younger girls did some of their best swims.”
Several club members will be part of the Team Southeast entry for the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games in North Battleford this month.
“That’s probably one of the highlights of a lot of the athletes’ careers is going to that meet,” said Lyons.
Team Southeast performed well at the Regina meet, and they have made modifications to the routine, she said.
Thirty members of the Mermaids who are between the ages of eight and 13 recently participated in the Cupid’s Cuties promotion through Estevan Mercury Publications. The young people offered their thoughts on love and had their pictures taken. Their answers were sponsored by local businesses.
“They’re always excited when we have visitors come on deck, and have something new to talk about,” said Lyons. “They love the idea of promoting our sport, and being in the newspaper.”
This is also a great opportunity to promote the club, she said. Lots of people still don’t know that synchronized swimming is offered in Estevan, and others aren’t aware of the demands of the sport. And it’s great to showcase the athletes who work hard at a sport that is challenging.
“Sometimes synchronized swimming isn’t recognized for being as hard as it is, but I like to tell people to imagine they’re running a sprint for three minutes straight, and you don’t get to touch the ground, and for over half of it, you have to hold your breath,” said Lyons. “And then you have to come up smiling like it was really easy.”
