Synchro Star!

Last week, I had the opportunity to go and see one of my former students (from Tucson) compete in the countries national synchronized swimming competition! Guess where it took place this year?

You guessed it! Buffalo, NY!

When I found out in May that it was going to be about 20 minutes from my house, I was so excited! I had already planned a trip home, and knew I was going to be there for the competition.

I was beyond excited to not only see my first synchro competition, but be able to watch it in my turf :)

Ayla (my student) competed in two competitions - a duet and solo. Here is Ayla and Andrea, her duet partner:


Ayla placed FIRST last year in nationals when performing a solo. This year, she has moved up to the next age group (13-15), and is still in the game! :)

Here she is getting ready to head out for her solo:


Here is a video of her solo:

And here she is showing off "The Flamingo" (at least that's what I think it is called!)



She wound up 15th out of 42 on her solo, not too bad for being a rookie in her age group! I learned that a "10" is a perfect score, but in this age group, the highest you will ever REALLY see is around a 7.

It NEVER fails to amaze me what kids can accomplish. Ayla, for example, is a top notch student AS WELL AS accomplished synchro swimmer. What a girl!