Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal tried his hand at synchronized swimming

Topic in the news: Synchronized swimming

American basketball player Shaquille O'Neal led the competition in the pool at one of the colleges in Maryland the multiple world record holder Michael Phelps in swimming. Despite a solid head start, O'Neal lost to two rival swim contests out of the three.

"From this moment they are known as Afro and Milorad Cavic. I started to celebrate too early, so I was unable to finish "- O'Neill was quoted. As punishment for losing O'Neal donned a pink swimming cap and implemented elements of synchronized swimming.

Competitions were held in the television show "O'Neal v. ..." on channel ABŃ. At the request of the TV O'Neal has been arranging duels of stars from different kinds of sport. Previously, he was competing with American football, baseball, beach volleyball players and boxers, and lost in all these competitions.

January 1, 2009 Contact: Media Relations Colorado Time Systems (970) 667-1000

United States Synchronized Swimming and Colorado Time Systems continue partnership

In January 2009 the Colorado Time Systems announced another 4 years prolongation of partnership with the United States Synchronized Swimming (the Indianapolis headquartered national governing body for the sport of synchronized swimming) through the end of 2012. Colorado Time Systems told it would provide scoring, display equipment and technical support for US Synchronized Swimming's championship events, including the US Collegiate Championships, US National Championships, Speedo US Junior National Championships, e-Synchro US Age Group National Championships, the US Open National Championships, and the US Masters Championship. US Synchronized Swimming's Executive Director is Mr. Terry Harper. Based in Loveland, Colorado, Colorado Time Systems, whose President and CEO is Anita Sayed, enjoys and established a reputation for precision and innovation in swim timing equipment. Since 1972, premier aquatic facilities have chosen Colorado Time Systems for platinum quality timing, scoring, and display systems.

About Synchronized Swimming in Bolivia

The conditions in Bolivia don't make teaching swimming easy. The national swimming federation has an annual budget of only $3,000. In most towns there are no swimming pools. In cities such as Tarija that do have pools, they are outdoors, and winter temperatures (May – August) can dip to just above freezing. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America with a per capita income of only $1,153 per year (Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas Bolivia). This makes even a bathing suit and nose plug a big investment. In 2008 Bolivia sent its first ever synchronized swimming team to an international competition in Canada thanks to coaching from two Canadian women: Allison Edgar from Vancouver, B.C., and Lisa Mitchell from St. Albert, Alberta. Synchronized swimming hadn't existed in Bolivia until 2001, when a former synchronized swimmer Lisa Mitchell arrived in Tarija to work on an environmental project. Soon the volonteer found herself teaching the country's first synchronized swimming classes in her free time. In 2006, she finally had enough swimmers to create a club. The club charges swimmers $3 a month—enough to keep the swimmers committed, but not too much to restrict participation. This means the club has no budget for an underwater sound system, a standard piece of equipment for synchro teams in countries like Canada. - based on June 2009 press-release by Synchro Canada, the national governing body for synchronized swimming sport in Canada.