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Our history
The Club was originally founded in 1966 at the
Command Baths, Aldershot. Founder
members included Mike and Barbara Firmin, Edna Russell and the late Tom Kennedy
and it was called the Queens Parade Life Saving and Synchronised Swimming Club.
The Chief Instructor, Mr. Tom Kennedy, at the
Aldershot Command Baths, who had seen a Canadian teacher on an exchange visit practicing
in the pool, first started Rushmoor Synchronised Swimming Club in 1967.
Inspired by it he quickly had a small group
of enthusiastic girls ready to give it a try.
Over the years the group swelled as more and
more girls became interested in the sport, but before joining they had to be
able to pass a rigorous swimming test (nothing changes).
In 1966 the music was played on records, and
it was considered very progressive when the Club invested in a "reel to
reel" player! The music in
those early days usually consisted of one piece only, and lasted three to four
minutes, although one swimmer asked for her record to be stopped after exactly
two minutes and 43 seconds.Money for the first set of music equipment
was raised by means of a weekly raffle for a cake, with Mums taking it in turns
to bake the cake. Eventually £25
was raised to buy the first music equipment.
Many amusing incidents occurred in the early
days. In the "Ride of the
Valkeries", a hosepipe was used to help keep the headdresses in shape;
unfortunately they had a habit of filling up with water so when the girls
surfaced they looked like spouting whales.
The Club has frequently
appeared on T.V. e.g. The Two Ronnies and Blue Peter (The BBC actually made
'Cowgirl' costumes especially for the swimmers).
We have given
exhibitions at the "House of Commons and Lords" Galas, swum
exhibitions at home and abroad to raise money for the British Heart Foundation
and joined in many Carnivals.
In 1971 the Club opened
the Guildford Sports Centre with a display in front of Princess Anne, earning
them the distinction at one time of being the only Synchronised Swimming Club in
the country to perform before a member of the Royal Family, although it has yet
to receive its "By Royal Appointment" badges!!!
On the financial side
the first balance sheet revealed an income of £26/0/8d, with an excess of
expenditure over income of 19s/8d
Synchronised Swimming
became an Olympic Sport at the 23rd Olympiad in Los Angeles in August 1984 and
our Carolyn Macdonald (nee Wilson) was chosen as one of the three Synchro
Representatives from Great Britain. Carolyn,
along with Caroline Holmyard of Bristol was selected to swim the Duet, with the
reserve being Amanda Dodd, also from Rushmoor.
Carolyn was the European Champion three times.
At the Commonwealth
Games in New Zealand 1990, Kerry Shacklock won a Silver Medal in the Solo
Competition and in 1994 again won the Silver Medal in the Solo Competition, and
the Silver Medal in the Duet Competition with Laila Vakil. Adele Carlsen won
Bronze duet competition in the 1996 Commonwealth Games and in 2002 Kerry Hussey
was one of the three swimmers at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
In Salerno, Italy, in 1991 Laila Vakil became the Worlds' Junior Figure
Champion and won Silver medal in the Solo event, and furthermore is the only
British Synchro Swimmer to win a medal in a World Championship.
Kerry and Laila were
chosen to represent Great Britain in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
Kerry came a tremendous 7th in the Solo, and teamed up with Laila for the
Duet to come 6th.
Rushmoor have been the
National Champions sixteen times, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1992,
1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. As Champions we are very much in demand for
television and our girls have swum in the some of the following television
programmes:
Sky T.V. for DJ Kat Show
BBC 1 for Jim'll Fix It
ITV for The Disney Club
Big Breakfast – Channel 4
Blue Peter
How do they Do That
Generation Game
Sky TV “Girls Just want to
Have Fun
Dancers Body.
Utterly Butterly advertisement
The
BBC 2 in the film "Genghis Cohen" starring Diana Rigg and
Robert Lindsey.
and the film “Love Labours
Lost”
to name but a few.
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