A group of Quebec boys has fallen in love with synchronized swimming, making waves as they train and compete in the female-dominated sport.
The group decided to form a synchro team at the start of the summer. The boys, who are all avid swimmers, asked their water polo coach if they could try synchro.
"We thought it would be a good idea, and it would be a lot of fun, so we decided to do it," team captain Cameron Barecki told CTV Montreal.
At first the boys' coach thought they were joking. But he soon realized they were serious.
"I took it as a joke, I said 'Look this isn't going to be serious,'" Chris Callard said. "We did our first practice, and the boys were really keen on doing well. Since then, we want to compete and we want to win."
The boys practice at the Beaconsfield Heights pool, located in the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield.
During a recent practice, they showed off their moves for CTV News. Decked out in speedos, they waved their arms in unison on the pool deck, before jumping into the water. Once in the pool, they ran through a series of co-ordinated swimming formations, leg raises and underwater spins.
Synchronized swimming is dominated by women; men are not even allowed to compete in synchro at the Olympics. But things are slowly starting to change. For the first time this year, men competed at the synchro events at the world aquatics championships in Russia.
This is good news for the Beaconsfield boys, who are eager to keep going. Recently, they entered their first local competition and took home silver medals.
The boys agree that the sport is tougher than it looks, requiring them to memorize routines, hold their breath, and tread water for long periods of time.
"Treading water… after a while it gets tiring," nine-year-old team member Lucca Lautman said.
For their dedication, the team is winning praise and respect from many community members, including some of their sisters who also compete in the sport.
Lautman's sister, Orciana, said she's been impressed by their progress.
"They're actually pretty good… when I was a starter I wasn't as good as them," she said.
Despite the changing attitudes surrounding the sport, the boys still get teased from time to time. Even their coach said he had initial misconceptions about synchro.
"I'm a water polo player myself, and I always kind of ripped on synchro. I didn't think it was one of the harder sports," Callard said. "Now, I can tell you synchro is the hardest aquatic sport."
With a report from CTV' Vanessa Lee
