Newtown Women Pool Their Talents To Synch’ And Swim

By Jan Howard

Four Newtown women have taken their love of swimming one lap further. They are members of the medal-winning Danbury Dolphins Synchronized Swimming Team.

Helen Herbold, Ann Lynch, Marilyn Radacsi, and Peg Daley, who have all been swimming since they were tots, join other members of the synchronized swim team Tuesdays at the Boughton Street Branch of the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut in Danbury for an hour of practice starting at 10:30 am.

The women on the team are more than just swimming partners — they are also friends. Each week following their swimming workout they go to lunch. They also go to Block Island together for vacation and during the summer spend time swimming at someone’s pool or, on rainy days, taking in a movie or a day trip somewhere.

“It’s like a club,” Ms Radacsi said. “We’re together every Tuesday 52 weeks a year. If it ever breaks up, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Three of the four Newtown swimmers are longtime members of the team, which was founded 25 years ago by Merle Weber of Patterson, one of the team’s coaches, and Shirley Schwab of Ridgefield, who has since moved. Jean Bieluczyk of Woodbury is the other coach.

“I think I’ve been swimming since I could walk,” Ms Herbold said. A resident of Newtown for 43 years and a retired nurse, she began synchronized swimming 50 years ago, but did not keep it up. For a time, she was involved in the Chicago Athletic Club, where she swam with her sister. “I didn’t compete with them, but I did a show for the club.” She joined the YMCA’s synchronized swimming team 11 years ago, the same time Ms Lynch joined.

Ms Lynch has lived in Newtown for 18 years. She retired as a nurse supervisor after 18 years at Fairfield Hills Hospital and then worked for Ashlar of Newtown. “Then I took time to play,” she said.

She became involved with synchronized swimming through Ms Herbold, a very good friend since their years at the hospital. “She read about it in the paper, and said ‘Let’s try it.’ I was never a disciplined swimmer, but I’ve been working at it.

“There were 18 of us at the beginning, all different ages, from the 20s to 80s,” she said.

Ms Radacsi, who has lived in Newtown for 37 years, has been a member of the team for 17 years. Ms Daley, a 17-year resident of Newtown, was a member of the team several years ago and rejoined about a year and a half ago when she retired.

“I was swimming before I could walk, I think,” Ms Daley said. “We love the water. I did synchronized swimming in college and at the Wilton Y. Every time I moved, I looked for synchronized swimming. It’s frustrating there are not more programs.”

Ms Daley said she participated in synchronized swimming in college where it was a team sport. “It combines the grace of dance and an awareness of body parts and movements. It was fun. It’s a neat sport.

“It is physically challenging. You get a real workout, but there’s no stress on your joints,” she said.

Ms Herbold noted, “It’s definitely not boring. It takes a lot of practice, but all you have to do is love the water.”

Ms Radacsi said she kept reading about synchronized swimming in the Y flyer. “I thought I was too old and that I didn’t swim well enough.” She was given the name of Newtown resident Marilyn Alexander, who was a team member at the time, and called her. “She said to come and watch.” She was soon convinced she could do it.

The four women have many interests in addition to swimming.

Ms Herbold teaches yoga and volunteers with the Parish Nurse Ministry and as a Eucharistic minister at St Rose of Lima Church, as well as being a fundraiser for Hospice. She was a nurse at Fairfield Hills Hospital for 23 years.

Ms Lynch has been involved with yoga for more than 20 years and recently started playing bridge at the Newtown Senior Center. She also loves movies, spending time with her grandchildren, and traveling. She volunteers with Meals on Wheels and Dorothy Day.

Ms Daley teaches skiing and water skiing, and enjoys scuba diving, kayaking, and any outdoor sport. Since she retired, she has been doing some traveling, and she and her husband recently purchased an RV. She serves on the boards of King’s Mark Environmental Review Team and the NewMil Bank. She designed the tops the swimmers wear over their swimsuits and special caps for each routine. She made eight costumes in three days.

Ms Radacsi works with residents at The Homesteads’ therapeutic pool and belongs to a financial club and homemakers group. She is a member of the Parish Visitation Committee at Newtown Congregational Church. A retired hairdresser, she enjoys visiting her cottage in the Berkshires.

Synchronized swimming was popularized in Canada during the 1920s, and the combination of ballet and gymnastics in water first caught America’s attention at an exhibition at the 1934 World’s Fair in Chicago.

The routines, which consist of boosts, twirls, kicks, and spins that mirror the actions of their teammates above and below the water, are set to music of the team’s own choosing. In competition they must perform specific moves in a set order. Technical routines must be completed in less than three minutes.

In a free routine, swimmers select their own music and choreography. The object is to do a flawless routine that combines difficult maneuvers and creativity. The format for judging is similar to gymnastics and diving.

The team has competed in Watertown and Ipswich, Mass., and in the senior games at Springfield College.

In April, the team won gold and silver awards in the New England Synchronized Swim Championships at Andover, Mass. Ms Herbold won a first in the 50 and over and Ms Lynch a fourth. With Ruth Elliot of Westport, they took a second in the 50 and over routine competition, during which they performed to an instrumental rendition of Pennsylvania 6-5000. Six team members won a gold in the team routine competition, swimming to Somewhere, Out There. In 1999, the team took gold medals during team and individual challenges during a tri-state competition in Nashua, N.H. 

The number of competitions the team participates in varies, Ms Herbold said. “We may do a July one this year. We’re thinking of doing the nationals in the fall in Cleveland, Ohio.”

The team, which at present has eight active members, needs additional members to perform different routines, Ms Daley said. “Fifteen or 16 would be a great number,” she noted.

“When you have a large group, you can do so much more. It’s hard to put on a show with a small number of people.”

Members said anyone who is interested in joining is encouraged to observe or try a class for free.

“Come as a guest and watch,” Ms Herbold said in invitation. “If you’re not afraid to put your face in the water and get your hair wet, you’ll do okay.”