The pressure on opening acts is not a sensation exclusive to rock bands.
Okotokian Mackenzie Misura and the Star 3-5 Pop Group had the honour of opening the performance for the Okotoks Synchro Sea Queens’ Year End Water Show, April 29 at the Okotoks Pool. The Pop group practiced its routine to Selena Gomez’s Love Song since the beginning of the synchronized swimming season in September and to see the efforts come to fruition was rewarding, said the Okotoks resident.
“It was a lot of work,” the 12-year-old Misura said. “We’ve been working on that song since the beginning of the year and I think we’ve improved on a lot of things from the start so it felt good.”
With two sessions a week usually totaling up to three hours of work in preparation for the end of year performance, the Sea Queens put a lot of sweat into a technically advanced 30-minute show they make look easy.
“We work on our routine with our coach, but we work on our figures too and we swim lengths,” said Misura, a second-year member of the Sea Queens.
The months of practice were not in vain.
Misura said her group put forth a much more polished version of the performance than at its Christmas Water Show.
“I think it was better because we had more time to work on the song and finish it,” said Misura, a student at John Paul II Collegiate.
Sea Queens president Joanne Dzurka appreciated the effort. “These routines are really hard to do, they’re longer and it’s very difficult to master,” she said. “It’s the keeping time with the music, it’s the skills they’re doing in the water, it requires a tremendous amount of ability and they have to work really hard at that.”
“I’m very pleased. I think they did an awesome job.”
The performance is short in duration, but the behind-the-scenes efforts of organizers, parents and coaches is significant, Dzurka said.
“This is quite an event to pull off just in terms of the organization,” Dzurka said. “They come about two hours before the show to do their hair and their makeup and get ready. I know sometimes I think we do more work on the front end and the show goes by pretty fast.”
Despite its humble beginnings — an 11-member team when it began its affiliation with Synchro Alberta in 1990— the Okotoks club blossomed into a recreational haven, said Dzurka.
“We’ve been running between 40 to 50 swimmers and they range in age from our youngest swimmer at 6 to 16,” Dzurka said. “And quite a range of abilities in the girls from the AquaSquirts the entry level all the way until the Super Star level.“
Those swimming at the Super Star level, including Sea Queens Caylee Dzurka and Meghan Cunningham, are able to master some of the more advanced figures in a more fun and recreational setting than most synchronized clubs.
“In recreation they would be very comparable to some of the competitive swimmers, they do the same sorts of skills, but they’re training far less than a competitive swimmer would,” Dzurka said.
The push toward a more recreational model has been a gradual one in the last couple of years, but a goal for which the club president is proud.
“Moving forward we really want to make sure we do an amazing job of offering recreational synchro swimming,” Dzurka said. “It’s actually quite uncommon, there are about 30 clubs in Alberta and only seven are recreational.
“We’re one of those clubs and it offers, I think, a really nice option for kids who want to participate, but don’t want to do all the rigorous training and competing.”
The Sea Queens are looking to for new members for the board of directors.
“This year we do have a couple openings on the board and we would like to invite anybody who’s interested in getting involved to come and participate,” Dzurka said. “It’s a great opportunity to help to contribute to make this such a great option for young ladies and for kids in the community.”
As the Sea Queens reached the culmination of the synchronized swimming season, the club will be accepting registration for the 2012-13 season after May 15, following a pre-registration period open to existing swimmers.
With spaces limited, Dzurka encourages interested applicants to register early through the Sea Queens’ website at www.okotokssynchro.com
