Rushmoor Royals reign at ASA Synchro Masters 2015

The ASA National Synchronised Swimming Masters Championships 2015 in Rugby saw some of Britain’s top Masters synchronised swimmers take to the water to flaunt their skill and artistry.

Rushmoor Synchro SC stole the limelight at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Centre, taking a total of six gold medals after competing against representatives of 13 other synchronised swimming clubs.

Louise Ross, Head Coach of Rushmoor Synchro Club, said: “We hoped that we would do well coming into the competition but we knew we would have to swim well and get things right. I am delighted with how everyone has performed and it is great to come away with so many medals.

“Masters is always a great event to come to. Everyone is always very friendly and all the club really support one another. It’s a really good competition to be at.”

ASA Synchro Masters 2015: Solo Events

Rosemary Barrington took the first gold of the championships with two emotive performances in the 20-24yrs Solo event. The City of Leeds SC swimmer wowed the crowd with an expressive Free routine to ‘Fire’ by Ed Sheeran, scoring 68.5000 and taking her overall score to 135.9333.

Seymour Synchro’s Yixin Zeng swum both her Technical and Free routines with elegance and ease, take gold scoring 132.9066.

Yixin had great height in the required elements of her Technical routine and impressed the judges with a huge amount of control in her figures and great skill in her execution throughout her Free routine.

After a strong performance in the Technical Routine, Louise Ross, Head Coach of Rushmoor SC secured gold in the 30-39yrs age-group with an overall score of 142.9533.

Swimming to ‘The Show Must Go On’, Ross received the highest individual score of the competition (71.55533) for her highly complex Free routine.

In an exciting ASA first, male synchronised swimmers competed alongside women at the championships.

Derde Exposito, from London-based synchronised swimming club Out to Swim Angels, showed impressive artistic interpretation in his Technical Solo and delighted the crowd with an energetic Free routine to the hits of Beyoncé to finish fourth.

Exposito’s teammates Chris Jepson and John Kelly also made their debut at the ASA Synchro Masters 2015, finishing second and third respectively in the 40-49yrs Solo events, while Fiona Haworth scored a solid 131.2200 to secure gold for a consecutive year.

For the 50-59 age group, former European champion and Olympic coach Andrea Holland showed her expertise in the Technical Solo with excellent height in the required elements.

Reading’s Holland went on to secure gold with an emotive Free routine that captivated the crowd and pushed her total score to 120.3867.

In the 60-69yrs age group, Susan Innes, who took silver in the 50-59yrs Free Solo event last year, went one better this year, winning double gold. Innes performed two elegant and expressive routines to take the titles with an overall score of 110.5400.

Jeanne Ansley, former European and World champion, showed that age is nothing but a number, as she performed two fantastic routines to take gold in the 70-79yrs age-group.

After an energetic Technical routine to Blues Brothers classic ‘Minnie the Moocher’, the City of Leeds Synchro SC coach delighted the crowd with an enchanting Free routine, taking her overall score to 96.5733.

ASA Synchro Masters 2015: Duet Events

There were great performances in the Duet events across all age groups. Debbie Carpenter and Emma Cole (Rushmoor Synchro SC) took gold in the 20-24yrs Duet event.

After an energetic Technical routine to Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’, the pair were able to keep the momentum going into the Free routine to push their overall score to 120.4200

It was gold once again for Rushmoor Synchro SC as April Poulter and Louise Ross, who took gold in the Solo event, topped the podium in the 25-29yrs age group. The pair executed both their Technical and Free routines with excellent synchronisation, scoring a total of 131. 5400.

In a highly competitive 30-39yrs age group, it was Seymour Synchro’s duet pair who took gold with a score of 127.8333. In the Technical routine Elizabeth Winter and Natasha Rukazenkova performed to a mix of songs from ‘The Great Gatsby’.

They had good height in their figures and excellent synchronisation in the required elements. Their impressive technical skills continued into their Free routine as they performed complicated choreography with great ease.

After medal success at the 2015 FINA World Masters Championship in Russia, Liz Fitzsimons took gold in the 40-49yrs Duet event alongside Laura Rogers (111.8867). The Brighton Dolphins pair used their music choices in both events to allow for major changes in pace and demonstrate their impressive synchronicity.

The final pairs for the Free Duets were in the 50-59 age group. Brighton Dolphins took first place once again with Anne Long and Linda Dodge scoring 108.0867

In their Free routine, the duet pair captured the upbeat and energetic persona of the song perfectly and after well executed figures in their Technical routine they secured their spot on top of the podium.

ASA Synchro Masters 2015: Team Events

In the Team events, Rushmoor Royals SC took gold in the 20-24 age group with an overall score of 123.4734.

In the Free Team event the large group of swimmers performed a jazz-inspired routine, wearing red and black costumes. They made excellent use of the pool and once again showcased their skill in the technical elements.

In the 25-34yrs age group, Kingston Ladies SC performed two ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ themed routines scoring highly on their artistic interpretation in both the Technical and Free routines and finishing with an overall score of 108.1733.

Leading the way after the Technical routines, Halifax SC continued to play with tempo during their Free Team routine to music from ‘Chicago’. They showed excellent artistic impression in their choreography and finished with a score of 106.6933.

ASA Synchro Masters 2015: Combination Events

The combination team event was one of the highlights on the day. Rushmoor Synchro SC took the gold in the 25-39yrs Free Combination Team event with an upbeat and exciting routine to the soundtrack of ‘Burlesque’.

The ladies donned pink and white costumes and showed excellent synchronisation in their figures and transitions, accentuating the great choreography throughout their routine (67.2667).

The team from Rugby SC performed a patriotic routine in Union Jack costumes to a compilations of songs including the Spice Girls. Their routine had some lovely changes in pace and made good use of the pool space to take gold in the 40-64yrs age-group (49.5667).

About the ASA Synchro Masters 2015

The ASA National Synchronised Swimming Masters Championships are made up of both Technical and Free Events. Technical Events consist of a number of pre-set elements, five elements which must be performed in the order listed and two which can be performed at any time during the routine.

The events are either performed solo, as a duet or in a team of between four and eight swimmers, with the exception of the Combination Events which can have up to 10.

• Find out more about the ASA Synchro Masters Champs 2015 structure here.