SEA Games gold medallist Crystal Yap guiding young students in dryland exercises, as part of the artistic swimming class at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
(Photos by Singapore Sports Hub)
About once a week during course term, Crystal Yap would lead a group of young swimmers in poolside exercises at the OCBC Aquatic Centre. After warm-ups, it’s straight into the pool, where she teaches them, among other moves, how to flip, twist and turn in unison to a piece of music.
The 26-year-old coach works with Torpedo, the programme partner of aquatic programmes at the OCBC Aquatic Centre. And what Crystal is patiently teaching her students is artistic swimming.
The sport started out in the late-19th century as “water ballet”. As it grew in popularity in both Europe and the United States, it became competitive and slowly evolved into “synchronised swimming” in the first half of the 20th century. Championships and leagues popped up, as did its turn in the Olympics in 1984. Following the 2016 Rio Olympics, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) rebranded the sport to “artistic swimming”.
In Singapore, artistic swimming has been slowly gaining popularity in recent years. Before 2015, an estimated 80 to 100 swimmers spread across three clubs were practising the sport. As of 2020, there are about seven to eight clubs with over 150 swimmers.
Crystal, who was part of the team that won Singapore’s first-ever South-East Asian (SEA) Games Artistic Swimming gold medal in 2015, tells us that she loves how the discipline has improved her health and fitness: “My body has become stronger and a lot more flexible. My health is very good as well because we are taught about nutrition, and how to have a healthy and balanced diet.”
But can anyone do artistic swimming? Yes, says Crystal. “As long as they are able to swim at least 25 metres.”
“Synchronised swimming” was rebranded to “artistic swimming” after the 2016 Rio Olympics to better illustrate what the sport is about and boost its popularity.
If you must describe artistic swimming to someone new to the sport, what would you say?
Artistic swimming is a combination of swimming, gymnastics and ballet. It is a sport that encompasses art, grace and strength. You see the strength of an athlete but the grace of a dancer. Artistic swimming is such a beautiful sport that every girl who can swim should give it a try.
During lessons, we do strength and flexibility conditioning on land, then enhance our swimming skills in the pool, and have fun learning artistic swimming skills after that.
How did you discover artistic swimming?
I discovered synchro (synchronised swimming) in a 2006 September holiday camp — the organisers termed it “water ballet” then. I remember seeing the words “water ballet” on the brochure and was immediately intrigued because I loved swimming and dancing.
What keeps you with the sport?
The beauty and passion I have for it. There are so many things to learn in synchro. I love being able to get better at each skill, and ultimately combine all of them together to perform a routine. After mastering a routine, we would always choreograph another with a higher level of difficulty. It is never boring but always a challenge. And this being a team sport, it is fun to do it with friends.
What has been the pinnacle of the sport for you?
It would be when I first participated in the FINA World Championships. That was in 2011 at Shanghai. Stepping into a world-class Olympic pool and competing with world-class athletes, it was another experience altogether. Getting to perform our routine in that competition was amazing. Also, finding out that we reached the finals for one of the events was a moment I will never forget!
Why did you decide to go into coaching?
After reaching the peak of my athletic career in 2016, I retired at the age of 20 to allow the younger generation of artistic swimmers to step up and take over my place in the national squad. But I still wanted to be in touch with the sport. So I decided to coach as a way of giving back to the community — and I love it so much! I take great delight in passing on the joy of synchro to other girls and watching them enjoy the sport and get better at it. I am currently the only full-time local artistic-swimming coach in Singapore, and I hope more retired athletes will follow my foray into coaching.
Any child can learn artistic swimming, as long as she can swim at least 25 metres.
So, really, anyone can learn artistic swimming?
Yes. But after learning for a period of time, only the swimmers who are able to focus and have the discipline to train hard and well are able to excel in synchro. This is the same for any other sport.
What three things have you seen that stand in the way of someone wanting to excel in artistic swimming?
Not being able to commit, not being willing to put in the extra hard work to practice, and poor time management.
What does it take to learn artistic swimming?
At the beginner level, anyone who can go for swimming lessons can learn artistic swimming too. The equipment we use are the same – a swimsuit, a swim cap and a pair of goggles. As the swimmer become more competent and start joining competitions, there are competition swimwear to purchase, which are very beautiful, mostly customised and cost about $100 to $200 depending on the design.
What if people just want to do artistic swimming “for fun”?
Not every kid is cut out to be competitive athlete. Students who learn artistic swimming as a leisure activity can also feel accomplished when they learn new skills.
With 16 years of experience in artistic swimming, what is the most important lesson that you have learnt from the sport?
To never be afraid to dream. We must dare to dream big and dream far. Quoting from the movie The Greatest Showman: “A million dreams is all it’s gonna take!”
Keen to learn artistic swimming with Crystal? Check out the artistic swimming classes at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
