Test your knowledge of everyone's favourite water sport.

The best part is when they all turn upside down and stick their legs in the air. This makes the dog bark.

Answers.

1. Synchronised swimming goes back to ancient times. Which ancient civilisation first recorded aquatic displays of this kind?
   
   • Ancient Rome. Emperors flooded the Colosseum for shows with 'Nereids', or water nymphs. We suspect these water nymphs were nude, but no photographs have survived.
2. In 19th-century England, the Sadler's Wells Theatre featured a re-enactment of the Siege of Gibraltar. Neptune showed up in the giant water tank. What was distinctive about his chariot?
   
   • It was drawn by sea horses. Neptune, god of the sea, get it? He drove his chariot through an on-stage waterfall. 'Must-sea' entertainment.
3. In the 1870s and 1880s, Agnes Beckwith was Britain's champion swimmer. She had her own troupe of 'lady swimmers' who performed at classy venues such as the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. Beckwith also set a record by swimming 20 miles of the Thames. What was she wearing at the time?
   
   • A bathing suit and straw hat. The straw hat was a nice touch, don't you think?
4. Throughout the 19th Century, British audiences went to circuses to see lady swimmers perform interesting feats in water tanks. What was this kind of swimming called?
   
   • Ornamental swimming. Well, it was ornamental. The swimmers themselves were called 'natationists'. Now you know something.
5. Americans were slow to accept this 'women swimming' phenomenon, and had to be shown how by Australians. What happened to Aussie swimmer Annette Kellerman when she swam at Revere Beach, Massachusetts, in 1907?
   
   • She was arrested for indecency. It was the bathing suit: one-piece and form-fitting. Really? You want people swimming in bustles?
6. Annette Kellerman was the first great aquatic film star. Most of her films featured mermaid stories. She performed her own stunts. Which of these was a real stunt Kellerman performed?
   
   • Diving sixty feet into a pool of crocodiles. She did it, and she survived it. She also designed her own swimmable mermaid costumes, so you have Annette Kellerman to thank for all those mermaid movies since then.
7. In the early 20th Century, the American Red Cross started promoting water pageants and 'rhythmic' swimming. What inspired them to do this?
   
   • They were worried about the high number of drownings. Learn to swim: it may save your life one day. In the meantime, come on in, the water's fine!
8. What term was used for the first time to describe a swimming exhibition at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair?
   
   • Synchronised swimming. Finally. What was new was that the swimmers used the beat of the music to synchronise their movements. Soon, a competitive sport was born, with rules.
9. Esther Williams became famous in the 1930s for her performance in Hollywood aquamusicals. Who choreographed these wonders?
   
   • Busby Berkeley. Yep, he of the chorus girl fantasies. The result? Spectacles like this. Kind of creepy, if you ask us.
10. When did synchronised swimming first become an Olympic sport?
    
    • 1984. Russia has dominated the sport in the 21st Century.

Well, there you have it. Hopefully, this quiz will inspire you to take a more enlightened view of performance natation. Next time you're at the pool, and some annoying person has brought their boom box, don't complain – just commandeer the deep end, grab a partner, and swim to the beat!

Dmitri Gheorgheni

31.07.17 Front Page

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