A handbook explaining the skills, techniques, exercises, and musical interpretation involved in synchronized swimming.

How do you invent an Olympic sport? For Katharine Whitney Curtis, it took the right idea, great talent, some good timing, and the determination to make it happen. The originator of synchronized swimming as we know it today, she even wrote the first book on the subject in 1936. But there was much more to her life and career. After the start of World War II, Curtis became a recreational director in the American Red Cross and followed the troops wherever the course of war took them, serving under Generals Patton and Eisenhower, before becoming a director of travel for the U.S. Army in Europe during the Cold War. Unbound by fear or the narrow expectations of society, this was a woman who lived ahead of her time, making things happen along the way. As her first biography, this book generously features Curtis's own words, selected from more than 2,000 pages of letters, and contextualized by her surviving friends and family members.

From novelty tricks in swim classes, through the Aquacades and movies, to the highly complex Olympic competitions--this history of synchronized swimming tells how the sport grew, examines the role the United States has played in its worldwide development, and describes the status of synchronized swimming in world sporting events today. Among the topics covered are competition development, development around the United States, rules and technical changes, and leadership (from volunteers to a National Office). Four appendices list major award winners, U.S. National Champions, the results of major international competitions, and U.S. participation in international events. The work boasts photographs from the first trial national competition in 1942 to the World Championships of 2003, as well as a full bibliography.

It’s summer behind the Iron Curtain, and six girls are about to swim their way to the Olympics — and a new life. In an unnamed Soviet state, six girls meet each day to swim. At first, they play, splashing each other and floating languidly on the water’s surface. But soon the game becomes something more. They hone their bodies relentlessly. Their skin shades into bruises. They barter cigarettes stolen from the factory where they work for swimsuits to stretch over their sunburnt skin. They tear their legs into splits, flick them back and forth, like herons. They force themselves to stop breathing. When they find themselves representing their country as synchronised swimmers in the Olympics, they seize the chance they have been waiting for to escape and begin new lives. Scattered around the globe, six women live in freedom. But will they ever be able to forget what they left behind?

As a parent new to synchronized swimming, I wanted to support my daughter in her new adventure of learning the sport. But I didn’t know where to turn. A Google search and an Amazon search only disclosed so much. That’s why I decided to put this guidebook together – to help other parents. As a non-swimming family, until now, I searched for resources and found very little. I was starting at ground zero, so I hunted for information from speed swimming and other synchronized swimming families and coaches. I’ve compiled the information in a format for first time parents (based on what I have learned through my daughter’s club). When I refer to first time parents in this guidebook, it is those family members or legal guardians who are supporting a child new to this sport. Should your daughter try? My answer is “of course!” Especially, if your daughter danced, swam or participated in gymnastics or cheerleading, she will understand and enjoy this sport.

Children's chapter book geared toward girls ages 5-8 introduces the Olympic sport of synchronized swimming and teaches life lessons including the values of friendship and perseverance. Written and published by a teenaged swimmer (and first time author) to help grow the sport she loves. All profits from book sales go directly to USA Synchro.