Synchronized Swimming is a combination of Swimming and dance and performance skills. Here is the information about the basic skills required for synchronized swimming.
There are two skills which are must perform synchronized swimming even at a basic level. These two skills are called Sculls and Eggbeater.
What is Sculls in Synchronized Swimming?
Sculls are a hand movement that is used to propel the body and it is an essential part of the Synchronized Swimming performance. The commonly used sculls are the paddle scull, split-arm, scull, barrel scull, standard scull, torpedo scull and support scull. The support scull is performed to support the body when a swimmer is performing upside down. It is performed by holding the upper arms against the sides of the body and the lower arms. The arms remain at the 90-degree angle. This allows the swimmer to hold his/her legs above water level when he/she is swimming. While a synchronized swimmer is under training, he is also advised to learn propeller and reverse propeller.
What is Eggbeater in Synchronized Swimming?
The Eggbeater is actually a kick in the Synchronized Swimming. It allows the performer to stabilize himself or herself while having a height above the water level and leaving the hands free to perform strokes. An average height for and eggbeater is around chest level. With this skill, the swimmers can also perform boosts in which they can use their legs to push themselves out of the water level on their hips or even higher.
Lifts in Synchronized Swimming
The lift is used when there is more than one player is performing especially when it is a team event. The team members use their feet and legs to push their teammates high and above the water levels. There are different kinds of lifts players perform. The different kinds of lifts are The Flyer, The Base, and The Pushers. There are different kinds of lifts as well, which is, Platform Lift, Stack Lift and Throw.
Positions in Synchronized Swimming
There are hundreds of different positions that can be used to create different combinations while performing the synchronized swimming. But there are some popular and most used positions in synchronized swimming which are.
- Back Lay Out
- Sailboat/Bent Knee
- Front Layout
- Flamingo
- Ballet Leg
- Crane
- Vertical
- Split Position
- Bent Knee
- Side Y
- Knight
- Side Fishtail