Many people enter Freer pool on a nightly basis. The ungainly chop of the lap swimmers gives way to the more measured stroke of competitive swimmers. Underwater hockeyists patrol the depths, slapping the puck to and fro. But when all are done and the surface of the water lies still, another breed altogether gracefully sidles in.

Illini synchronized swimmers, their every fluid movement an oft-practiced routine, quietly put on quite a show.

“It takes quite a bit of skill,” said Stephanie Dold, two-year member of the Illini Synchro and junior in LAS. “Everything is practiced, including things like the walk to the edge of the water. It’s largely about poise.”

The Illini Synchro is one of the world’s longest consecutively running synchronized swimming programs. Founded in 1924 under the name of the Illini Terrapins, the team has continued to practice and perform for more than 80 years, all while remaining a club organization without official management.

The current generation of Illini Synchro consists of 16 members and two teams, the Blue and Orange. The Blue team is the more technically advanced of the two.

“This year I had the privilege of designing the routines for Blue team and selecting the music for the routine,” Dold said proudly.

The music for the routine runs the gamut from “The Godfather” theme to jazz to Beethoven. The results are impressive, even on land, as an observer can see the team practicing the routine on dry-land before doing it in the water, in what looks very much like an abbreviated form of ballet.

The swimmers call the land-rehearsal’s “decking,” which they do to learn where they should be in the water and get a feel for the beat of the music before they get in the water.

When the time comes for practice or performances in the water, the team drops speaker systems into the water so the swimmers can hear the music and stay on beat even when their heads are underwater.

As the swimmers glide about the pool, it becomes clear that synchronized swimming has a very rich lexicon of terms for maneuvers with colorful names like “Swizzle,” “Barracuda” or “Catalina.”

Despite being a club team, the Illini Synchro girls compete with both club and varsity teams from many Midwestern schools, including Ohio State, Michigan, Miami of Ohio, the University of Nebraska and the University of Minnesota.

“We don’t have a particular rival, but we definitely admire Ohio State most of all. They’re really fantastic,” said Tiffany O’Neil, member of the team and senior in LAS. “We go to compete, but honestly, they’re on a completely different level from us.”

“We watch them and then try to emulate them as best we can,” agreed Tina Mattila, team member and junior in AHS.

The team does quite well, however, considering some of the challenges that they face.

They are the only team to compete at Ohio State’s tournament without a dedicated coach, and they struggle with issues related to scheduling time to practice and compete in the University’s pool facilities.

“We barely have any pool time these days, compared to previous years,” Dold said. “We have constant issues over getting pool time for our competitions; last year someone from the University even asked me, ‘Why can’t you just have your show on land?’ I was completely taken aback by it all.”

The demise of IMPE’s swimming facilities are the chief cause of the current pool woes.

“We just try to deal with these troubles as best we can,” said Amy Unander, Illini Synchro’s president and senior in LAS. “The sport itself is a ton of fun, and I do it for the people in it even more than I do for the sport itself. I love building relationships with all the girls and essentially acting as the unofficial coach.”

Most of the girls to participate in Illini Synchro have some background in water sports before joining the team.

“People with background in gymnastics and dance who can swim really seem to do well,” O’Neil said. “You need cardiovascular fitness, swimming skills and a sense of timing and balance.”

Although synchronized swimming is a constant challenge for Dold, she said this shouldn’t stop people from wanting to learn this unique activity.

“It might be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Dold said. “I don’t want to discourage people without experience, though. Neither myself or Tiffany had any experience in Synchro before we started. If you enjoy swimming and you want to do something more than just swim back and forth, you should really check it out.”

The Illini Synchro girls put on a show every year over Mother’s Day weekend, this year on April 15.

The show is free to all, and Illini Synchro collects donations which cover the cost of the show.

“I really would encourage anyone interested to come check Illini Synchro out,” Unander said. “Think of it as dancing in the water. Anybody can learn to do it. And even if you’re not particularly coordinated, trust me … you can learn grace.”