Stage set for Synchro at Glasgow 2018 European Championships

The European Championships will be taking place in Glasgow from the 2-12 August 2018. The event takes on a multi-sport format for the first time.

The synchro events will take place at the Scotstoun Sports Campus in Glasgow to allow more focus on the sport. It will also allow the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh to focus on diving.

Britain has an up-and-coming synchro squad, which shows great potential for the world stage. At the 2016 European Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships in Croatia, a young and inexperienced squad managed to secure a top 10 place. This was a first international competition for many of the squad.

Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe also bring the experience of swimming as part of the London 2016 European Aquatics Championships squad to the table.

Katie Clark, who qualified for and competed at Rio 2016, has just formed Britain’s first Mixed Duet with ASA Aquatics Award winner, Connor Hill. This should also prove to be an exciting prospect for the 2018 European Championships.

The new multi-sport format

The new multi-sport format take place every four years from 2018. The current biennial European Aquatics Championships will still take place in between quadrennial cycles.

There will be seven sports included in the new event, Aquatics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon. Aquatics is split into a another four disciplines; swimming, diving, open water and synchronised swimming.

ASA England Programmes Synchro lead, Karen Thorpe, said: “The Glasgow 2018 European Championships is a great opportunity for the England Programmes Synchronised Swimming squad.

“It will allow them to get a taste of high level international competition. Europe is incredibly strong in the sport, so it will be a tough challenge for them. The multi-sport format will provide invaluable experience for those swimmers with their sights set on the Olympic Games over the next quadrennial cycle.”

• You can find out more about the Glasgow 2018 European Championships over on the Glasgow 2018 website.