Artistry and athleticism will be on full display during Oak Park and River Forest High School’s upcoming synchronized swimming show. The theme of this year’s performance, which takes place May 8 to 10, is A Synchro Love Story. The show takes the audience on a journey from romance to breakup — and ends with friendship.
“The first half of the show is all love songs,” said Juliet Saydah, a senior. “After intermission, it gets dramatic and it’s all breakup songs.”
Saydah, who has been a member of OPRF’s synchronized swimming club since her freshman year, said some of the show’s songs include Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”
A long-standing tradition synchronized swimming has existed at OPRF since the soon to be replaced pools were first installed back in 1928. Currently, OPRF is just one of four public high schools in Illinois with a synchronized swimming club.
“It’s a creative alternative to competitive sports,” said Megan Volz, the team’s assistant coach.
“We’re performance oriented. It’s a sport, but we don’t compete.”
Training for the annual show, which takes place each May, requires months of preparation. Head Coach Martha Socki said the team practices four days a week, beginning in January.
Although synchronized swimming is a water sport, Socki said land drills are a major part of the process. Throughout the season, the team practices in both the pool and the field house.
“Land drilling is essentially where we do the routine, but on land,” Socki said. “That’s actually the best way to practice the synchronization component.”
According to Socki, students do not need any synchronized swimming experience to join the team.
“You don’t have to be a super strong lap swimmer and you don’t have to have a dance or gymnastics background,” she said. “You just have to be willing to learn and be comfortable in the water.”
When students join the team, they are first introduced to the basics. This includes things like treading water, stroke patterns and foundational skills. They also work on flexibility and breath control.
“We do a lot at the beginning of the season to get them prepared,” Socki said.
The second half of the season is focused on choreography. For the annual showcase, team members choreograph the routines, design the costumes and select the music. The team collaborates with OPRF’s stage crew for lighting and the cosmetology club for makeup.
“Our stage crew listens to the music and then designs our lighting for the show and they do a fantastic job,” Socki said.
Noelle Wollert, a sophomore, joined the team this year. She said she had been a dancer for many years before giving synchronized swimming a try.
“When I first joined, I was nervous but this club was so welcoming,” Wollert said.
One of the new moves Wollert has mastered this year is called the oyster, which is named for the way a swimmer’s body closes up like two oyster shells when they do it.
“That one was very fun to learn,” Wollert said. “Some stuff is harder than others but once you get it, you feel very accomplished”
Maxine Kreiter, a junior, said that in addition to loving the sport, she enjoys the comradery that the team provides.
“It’s such a tight community and we’re all really good friends,” she said.
The team’s three coaches are also fans of the sense of community that the team provides. All three of them graduated from OPRF and were synchronized swimmers throughout their four years of high school.
During her time at OPRF, Assistant Coach Katherine Bromley was a third-generation member of the team.
“My grandma and my mom were both on the synchronized swimming team here, so it’s very cool that all three of us swam in the same space,” Bromley said. “It’s always been such a positive environment. It was for me, and I think it was for all the coaches. That’s why we came back.”
Coach Socki said that outside of the Olympics, most people have never seen a synchronized swimming performance.
“Come see something new,” she said. “Come have a fun time and see the hard work that all the amazing kids have put in.”
A Synchro Love Story takes place at 8 p.m. on May 8, at 7 p.m. on May 9 and at both 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on May 10 at OPRF’s West Pool. Tickets are $7 dollars for adults, $5 for students and free for children 5 and below along with senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased at the door or prior to the show at https://www.ticketleap.events/events/oprfhs-events.
Students who are interested in joining the team for the 2026 season can contact assistant coach Meg Volz at mvolz@oprfhs.org. She also suggested attending a synchronized swimming summer course at Wright College, which many members of OPRF’s team attend.
