This year, more clubs, including ANA Synchro, are putting
together Combination (aka “Combo”) routines. USA Synchro has added the event to Junior
Olympics and all the way down to our association level meets. In this first of a 2-part article, ANA Synchro
Head Coach Leah Pinette helps us understand Combos:
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| A Combo routine can feature anywhere from one to all ten of its athletes. |
ANA Synchro: What
is a Combo routine?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: A Combination routine is made up of 8 to 10 swimmers, and USA
Synchro is allowing athletes in the 13 & over Age Group to compete in them. Unlike a typical team routine, where all
athletes are doing pretty much the same thing, a Combo can separately feature
anywhere from one to all ten of its athletes. It’s longer, too, than a regular team routine
by about a minute. So, with a Combo, you
have a chance to be more creative with the choreography and make it more of a
“big story” routine.
ANA Synchro: What do you mean by “big story”?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: It means telling a story
with the choreography. Many Combos are
based on musicals or movies so there’s a built-in storyline or theme. For example, I swam a Combo routine based on Chicago which had so many different
aspects to the storyline that we tried to convey in the water. And I remember one of my favorite Combos was a
West Side Story routine that I swam when
I was on the US National Team. We
portrayed the Sharks and the Jets from our time on deck to swimming in the
water. I also love watching videos of some
recent Combos that China has done. You
can look up their Phantom of the Opera
and Alice in Wonderland routines on
YouTube – they’re great!
ANA Synchro: You said “today’s” Combos tell the stories….were
they not always that way?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: They’ve definitely gotten
much more involved than when they first started. It used to be, for example, if you had a
soloist performing, then everyone else was required to be on the side just
eggbeatering. And when it was time to
swim again, the rest of the team would duck under the water, without being seen,
to get into position. They’ve relaxed
those rules, so that’s why we have more free range today to play around with
and build more intricate choreography.
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| A "Combo" routine can have up to 10 athletes. |
ANA Synchro: Combos must be challenging to choreograph if
you’re also trying to tell a story!
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: The challenge is getting it
to flow and connect and still tell the story. You want to please the eye. If your solo or your duet is swimming, you
want the rest of the team doing something, but not be distracting. So, yes, it’s challenging to keep the focus
where it should be. It should be obvious
to the audience where they should look.
ANA Synchro: Why did USA Synchro add Combos to Junior
Olympics this year?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: I think it’s related to the
decision to eliminate trios from the age group track. Those tended to have more fun with their choreography.
And trios aren’t competed on an
international level whereas Combos are. Combos are considered a spectator event, so they
can actually help draw interest to the sport because they are so fun to watch.
ANA Synchro: Are they judged the same as team
routines?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: No. The score is 100% routine, versus 50% routine
+ 50% figures for a team routine. While figures
are not counted, Combo athletes still have to compete in figures. The routine score is still judged on Difficulty,
Technical Merit, and Artistic Expression.
Technical Merit is how well you execute the moves and your
synchronization; and Artistic Expression will include your use of music,
overall presentation, and choreography.
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| 13 & Over Age Group Athletes can compete this year in the Combo event at Association-level meets as well as Junior Olympics. |
ANA Synchro: Do you expect to see a lot of clubs doing
Combo this year?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: We’ll see as the season
goes on who will be competing in a Combo. When I was competing, most teams entered them
at US Opens because they weren’t competed at any other competition throughout
the year. In the past, US Opens was held
during the summer, when school was out. Teams
had more time to focus on this event especially since it wasn’t in our regular
season meets. I’m hoping teams that may
not have them this year will consider having one next year. This year, more athletes, coaches and
spectators will be introduced to the event. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw
combination routines in the Olympics someday.
ANA Synchro: What’s
the best way to approach a Combo if a club doesn’t have a lot of experience
with them?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: I’d recommend starting
from a theme and going from there. You
could even look up old-style Combo routines where people were eggbeatering on
the side while the solos and duets performed.
It’s still OK to do that, and it may give a club an easier starting
point. You don’t have to be so intricate
with the choreography if you’re just starting out with Combos. Luckily for ANA Synchro, we’ve done Combo
routines before, and I have swum routines both in the old-style as well as the
newer connecting-style.
ANA Synchro: What
can an athlete learn from a Combo that she may not learn from a more
traditional team routine?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: I think the biggest thing
they can learn is the bigger picture of a routine and how everything
connects. If they’re doing one thing in
the water, they should be thinking about how they connect to others who may not
be right next to them as they would be in a team routine. These routines also are more artistically
oriented than a technically-driven team routine which allows athletes to express
more of their artistic side. Synchronized swimming is, after all, a
performance sport.
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| Combo athletes are all smiles after their first meet of the season! |
ANA Synchro: Finally,
what is ANA Synchro doing for Combo this year?
Head Coach Leah
Pinette: Our theme is “Snow White
and the Huntsman.” We have someone portraying
the evil queen, and someone portraying Snow White. And we are delighted to be doing a Combo this
year combined with athletes from two other clubs in our area – Cambridge Synchro and the North Shore YMCA Selkies.
We’re just a few months into it, but so far it’s been a great experience
for the athletes and for us coaches. We
can’t wait to take our Combo to more association level meets as the season
progresses and national meets as well.
Stay tuned for Part 2
of “What is a Combo?” where we ask Leah to talk more about ANA Synchro’s
combined combo with Cambridge Synchro and the North Shore YMCA Selkies!
