In Synchro
November 10, 2019
Junior Claire Dempsey spends
most of her time in the pool
practicing for hours at a
time. But she’s not swimming
laps. She’s synchronized swimming,
an elaborate hybrid of swimming,
dancing, and gymnastics where
swimmers perform a synchronized
routine of moves in the water.
“I started synchro when I was in
first grade and I have been doing it for
ten years,¨ Dempsey said.
For Dempsey, participating
in a not so common sport has made
the bond with her teammates even
stronger. With such an intense
sport she spends many hours with
her team perfecting their moves for
competitions.
“We practice 2.5 hours Tuesday
and Thursday and another 3-hour
practice Saturday and Sunday,”
Dempsey said.
Before competitions, their
practices increase.
“On weekends we would have 3
to 4 hours of practice in the morning,
take a break, and go back in the
afternoon for a few more hours,”
Dempsey said.
The long practices have added
lots of stress, especially with the heavy
workload in school.
“I wouldn’t get home until
10 p.m., and I was so exhausted
it was difficult to do homework,”
Dempsey said. “It is such a big-time
commitment, so you really have to
love the sport.”
In order to continue and do well
in school, she had to learn to manage
her time.
“I had to find time to prioritize
school, but also realize that I can’t
always do it all. Sometimes it’s okay to
miss a practice,” Dempsey said.
All the practices weren’t for
nothing. The team competes in many
competitions all over the United
States.
“In March all the teams in
the southern US would compete,”
Dempsey said. “In the summer we
qualified for the Junior Olympics,
which is the national-level
competition.”
In order to get to nationals,
they compete in state tournaments in
Dallas and Houston.
“At the state competition, our
trio got first in the state and I just
remember everyone was jumping
up and down super happy and it
felt really good, it was a really pure
moment,” Dempsey said. “We had put
in so much work and it really felt like
it paid off.”
Synchronized swimming has
been a big part of Dempsey’s life and
she wishes to pursue it after high
school.
“Ideally I would like to do
synchronized swimming in college,
but it’s really hard to find colleges that
have teams, and the ones that do are
really difficult,” Dempsey said. “But
I’d definitely like to coach because
it’s just been part of my life for such a
long time.”
Last year Dempsey was injured
at a competition and was forced to
take a break from the sport.
“At regionals, my teammates
were doing these things called lifts,
where people stack on top of each
other and the person on top jumps
off,” Dempsey said. “I didn’t see one of
them, and they landed right on top of
me. I just started crying and I couldn’t
stop. I competed, which I don’t really
remember and for the next couple of
hours I was really dizzy.”
A few days later after continued
dizziness and mood swings, Dempsey
went to the doctor and discovered she
had a concussion.
“It really threw my life because
I missed finals week, and I had been
practicing all year for the Junior
Olympics, and then I couldn’t
compete,” Dempsey said.
Although Dempsey has taken
some time off in order to properly
heal, she plans on returning better
and more determined than ever.
“I’m definitely coming back,
but it feels like I haven’t really left,”
Dempsey said.