[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/synchro_swimmers.jpg” caption=”The McMaster Synchronized Swim Team is gearing up for the 2008 FINA Masters World Aquatic Championships. “]Several McMaster swimmers are getting ready to make a splash down under. In mid-April, six members of the McMaster Synchronized Swim Team will travel to Perth, Australia to represent Canada in the 2008 FINA Masters World Aquatic Championships.

This is the first world swim competition for most of the women. They have all competed before in smaller competitions at their respective clubs.

The women are excited for the competition because it provides them with the opportunity to present both a technical and a free routine to the judges.

“Our free routine is a longer program that's way more artistic and creative than our technical routine because we're allowed free reign over all the choreography,” says Charlotte Peer, a fourth-year communication studies and multimedia student. “Our technical routine is short and the music we found for it is didgeridoos in the background because we wanted to celebrate our trip and figured the crowd and judges could appreciate it.”

The swimmers train at least five times a week for the championships on top of their regular McMaster swim team practices.

“The biggest challenge for me is time management,” says Carla Dilellio, a fourth-year human resource management student. “But balancing practices and workouts helps me be more organized.”

Each swimmer agreed that their favorite part of being a member of the team is their shared commitment to the sport and the friendships they've fostered.

“My favourite part about being on this team is our commitment,” says Carly Fairles, a second-year kinesiology student. “Since we all realize that this is the peak of our swimming careers, we are all working harder than ever to ensure we are in the best possible shape, physically and mentally, when we arrive in Australia.”

The McMaster community is invited to attend the team's send-off this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Ivor Wynn Centre pool. The cost of the show is $5 and proceeds will go towards the cost of the trip.

The McMaster members of the 2008 FINA Masters World Aquatic Championships swim team include Charlotte Peer, a fourth-year communication studies and multimedia student, Lindsay Maclean, a third-year mechanical engineering management student, Carla Dilellio, a fourth-year human resources management student, Carly Fairles, a second-year kinesiology student, Kaitlin Hanmer, a second-year science student, Christa Schnarr and Melynda Saunders, both fourth-year geography students.