I’m almost a week behind on this post, but better late than never right! The Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators are attending (were attending) the 2010 North Zone Synchronized Swimming Meet in Denver, CO from March 4-7. The North Zone is a 15 state region and approximately 200-250 synchronized swimmers in 13-15, 16/17, and 18/19 age groups.

Synchrogator parent, CJ Connor, sent in a field report from the meet:

Marth 4th, 2010

All is well in Denver. Everyone arrived safely on the 13/15 team. Except for a brief incident at the airport – we lost a coach for just a few minutes- everyone had a great trip. The hotel is nice and the girls all had a team dinner at IHOP last night.

Up early and off to solos at 7:30 this morning. The first Synchrogator 13/15 solo was the feisty Jekyll and Hyde solo, followed by the inspiring Josh Groban solo, and last but not least the Spiderman routine. All did a beautiful job as the pictures show (I hope). 16/19 solos followed with our single soloist performing her lovely Pride and Prejudice solo.

After lunch, duets for 13/15′s began with the dynamic KA duet, followed by the Calebra duet. Last to perform was the exciting piano duet. Everyone also got a critique from Charlotte (sorry, don’t know her last name), a national coach.

The girls are returning from the pool anytime now, the coaches made them stay after competition for some additional pool time. Talk about grumpy girls! The mountain air takes a bit of getting used too, with many girls leaving the pool after their routines, very out of breath. Hopefully, this will pass.

For more Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogator posts, click the synchrogator tag. Visit cincinnatisynchrogators.org for more photos from the event!

Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators will be competing in North Zone Synchronized Swimming Championship Meet in Aurora, Co March 4-7 2010

Press Release

Cincinnati, OH (February, 25, 2010)

Larry Porter, our reporter on the scene and Parent Board President for the Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators, provided this photo of the recently crowned national age-group champion team.

It’s only fitting that the Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators should win the second
straight national synchronized swimming championships at a university pool where the
mascot is……..A GATOR.

To help explain the picture, in synchronized swimming the prized “trophy” is a towel
embroidered with the meet, event, and logo.

The results are in! Check the official results online here or check out Larry’s on-site reporting below. The Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators have defended their national title for a second consecutive year!

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

The National Age Group Championships ended today.

In 16/17 Age Group, Nicole Porter, Braxton Moore, and Cory Justice placed 4th in the finals.

In 18/19 age group all our routines had great final swims. Rachel McWhoter finished 5th in solo, Rachel and Kaycee Meyer were third in their duet. In the trio event Kaycee, Jenny Jarboe, and Tara Porter won the silver medal, with the trio of Becca and Kira Schall and Alexa Suhich moving up several places to finish in 5th.

The team final is always exciting and we were really close to another team who did very well in the figures event. Our team swim was unbeateable and they were awarded the highest score of any routine, assuring them of the National Age Group Championship.

This was a great year for our team. We had seven seniors who have been swimming for 6-10 years. They bonded into a really solid and close team over the last 2 years and their hard work has paid off in two consecutive National Championships. Seniors, thanks for giving us your best, and we wish you the best as you move on to college.

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

Figure day was on Friday and because they are 50% of the overall score thay can have a big influence on the final positions and who swims in finals. You only have one chance at a figure and if you are off slightly that can move a routine’s position significantly.

After figures our 16/17 soloist Tara Porter finished in 14 th place. Our 16/17 trio of Braxton, Moore, Cory Justice and Nicole Porter are in 4th pkace after the figures and it all depends on their swim in the finals on Saturday.

In our 18/19 age group our soloist held her position going into finals. Our duet is currently in 4th place, and our two trios are in 2nd and 10th place. The team was able to hold its 1st place position.

Good luck in finals!

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

Thursday was a busy day with 16/17 solos, 18/19 duets and 18/19 team preliminary events. The Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogators are again showing why they are one of the top ranked teams in the country with outstanding performances in each event.

It was a rough start to the day- one of our top 16/17 soloists was sick and could not compete. The 16/17 solo is one of the hardest and most competitive events at this meet and Tara Porter is in 7th place. The coaches were ecstatic and did not expect this strong performance from her. In her previous five years in solos, Tara never finished in the top 20. Congratulations!

In the 18/19 duets, Kaycee Meyer and Rachel McWhorter had a strong swim and are in third place followed closely in fourth by our friends and in-state rivals from the Columbus Coralina Club. Our second duet of Jenny Jarboe and Becca Schall is in 11th place

The team competition was exciting and the team “swam strong”. They are in first place after the preliminary round, a half point ahead of a very good team from Colorado, who we just edged out for the championship of the North Zone Meet at Ohio State in April of this year.

The chaperones have been cooking and cutting veggies and fruit to keep the girls going and healthy. We have an honorary chaperone – Jack Justice hanging with the girls, helping with meals and being an awesome cheerleader in the stands.

Here is what a group of 11 hungry girls go through – 2 quarts of strawberries, 6 bananas, apples, pasta, pasta, pasta! salad, 40 pancakes, juice (apple, orange, cranberry), water, water, water, 12 quesadillas for dinner – chicken, cheese, some had beans and salsa Time for a glass of wine or a beer for the chaperones!

Figure competition can make or break an event. The girls perform individually in front of a panel of judges 4 pre-selected figures. Unlike a routine competition they have to do the figures slowly and under great control. The more control the higher their score. After figures they calculate the scores based on the degree of difficulty of the figure and the scores from the judges. Add it all up and divide by 2 = this is added to 1/2 their routine score to determine who moves onto finals. The top 8 compete for awards while places 9 and 10 are the honorary pre-swimmers for the event. This is an important part of the competition (pre-swimmer) because they “warm-up” the judges. The scores are announced out loud so the judges can see how well they did with the overall panel.

Friday is a HUGE day Rachel has her solo in the morning then figures for all – figures will mean a lot for all events! Wish us luck

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

Wednesday was a great day to be a Cincinnati YMCA Synchrogator.

Nicole Porter and Braxton Moore had an awesome swim today and finished in 11th place in the 16/17 duets. 11th place is really very good, given the level of competition, but it is only 1 place out of finals and probably the worst position to finish in from the girls’ perspective. Our other duet of Courtney Wyse and Emily Luken had a strong swim and ended up in 33rd place

The 16/17 trio news is even better. Nicole, Braxton, and Cory Justice have swum together for several years and are really in synch this year as a trio. They surprised a lot of teams and fans with a fantastic 4th place finish in the preliminary round.

And the good news just keeps on coming for the team. Tara Porter, Kaycee Meyer and Jenny Jarboe are currently in 1st place in the 18/19 trio competition . Our other 18/19 trio of Becca Schall, Kira Schall, and Alexa Suhich is currently in 9th place. Two teams in the top ten is a huge accomplishment at this meet.

As Head Coach Ginny Jasontek said it “This is a happy team”

Team swim through last night gave us a glimpse at our competition. Arizona is going to be tough and so will Rocky Mountain – Our girls had a great practice swim – they were tight, strong and in synch! Hoping they will have a great swim and perform well in figures on Friday.

Cory and Tara swim in 16/17 solos, Rachel and Kaycee swim in 18/19 duets today, then the 18/19 team has their preliminary competition on Thursday night. Go Team!

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

The 13/15 team finished 9th after figures and were the second preswimmer (Note: Routine and figure scores are combined and only the top 10 teams of 40 competing go to finals. Top eight compete for medals and places 9 and 10 are preswimmers). We are very proud of them and their routine was a big crowd pleaser. The girls celebrated with pizza and ice cream last night and are happy with their finish. On to the 16 and overs beginning today.

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

Monday night is 11/12 finals . The top ten routines in each event go to the finals competition and no Cincinnati team will be represented in the 11/12′s this year. Our girls did great against some very strong teams. They will get to watch the US National team swim tonight and that will inspire them to work hard for next year. Great swimming girls!

13-15 Competition started tday

After the preliminary team swim, the 13-15 A team is in 8th place and headed to the finals!! The B team had a great swim finishing in 34th place. The trio of Handleton, Johnson and Smoot finished in 19th place and the trio of Connor, Handleton and Justice finished in 23rd place. The Handleton/Smoot duet finished the preliminary round in 23rd place and the Lekson/McAuliffe duet finished in 30th place. Solos and figures tomorrow morning/afternoon and finals tomorrow night.

The chaperones are holding up pretty well. Keeping the girls fed and on time to their events is a full time job! The girls are so much fun to be around though, it’s worth it!

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.

Here is the latest update from Larry at ESynchro Age Group National Championships in Gainesville, Florida:

More info from Gainesville. Our 11/12 trio of Josie Nunner, Danielle Moser, and Lizzie Walsh placed 12th and our shoot ‘em up trio of Abby Corpuz, Amy Deng, and Giorgia Toscani earned 18th place. Not as great as we would have hoped but we are truly proud of our girls.

A very fun and wet team dinner for the 11/12′s rounded out our day today as we ate pizza next to the pool and had a great time. Thanks to the great 11/12 moms for their hard work organizing the party!

The 13/15′s have arrived and held their trio competition today as well as their team run throughs. No results yet on the trios but the girls report that the water is COLD! There is a lot of great competition here, as usual from the West coast teams but the girl’s run throughs, both A and B teams, looked exceptional. They are psyched and ready to swim.

Another fire alarm this afternoon about 5:00 and the convention that was sharing the McConnell Center with the synchro meet is over. Now maybe we can find a place to park!!! More later.

- Larry

Follow Larry’s report from ESynchro Age Group National Championships by subscribing to the Synchrogators RSS feed on Kast-A-Way Blog, or click here to reveal only Synchrogator posts.