While most people their age have been enjoying a summer of rest and relaxation, a focused group of synchronised swimmers have spent the season continuing an intense seven months of training.
The 10-strong New Zealand Aquaferns team has been training at Waterworld in Te Rapa for the 25 hours a
week they spend in the water preparing for the Spanish Open in Barcelona, the Swiss Open in Zurich and, ultimately, the World Championships in Kazan in Russia at the end of July. Representing Oceania at next year's Rio Olympics is the ultimate goal.
"At this level, synchronised swimming is a demanding sport," said head coach Julieta Diaz. "The girls will be competing against the best countries in the world and we want to be the very best we can be. To achieve this, the girls need to do lots of work in and out of the pool."
Diaz and her fellow selectors put the girls through an intense selection process - involving synchro skills as well as strength, flexibility and swimming speed testing.
As well as pool-based work at Waterworld, the team's training regime also sees them spending three hours in the gym, five hours on flexibility training and a further two hours on dance and gymnastics.
