fina synchronised swimming manual for judges, coaches & referees

2009 – 2013 FINA SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING MANUALFOR JUDGES, COACHES & REFEREESSECTION III7. JUDGING SYNCHRONISATIONTo synchronise is “to make things happen at the same time”- “to be in unison.”Because it is easy to detect failure of a swimmer to act perfectly in unison withothers, Synchronisation may be one of the easier categories to judge. The judgemust take precaution, though, not to allow that simplicity to lead to its domination ofthe Technical Merit score. In Synchronised Swimming, not only should the swimmers’movements be in unison with each other, but their actions must also be in time withthe accompaniment.For a Solo, the latter is the only form of Synchronisation, so it can only be moreloosely defined. Actions may be coordinated with the music's rhythm, melody, accentpoints, or simply represent its mood. It is counts for only 10% of the solo TechnicalMerit award. Even for that, the judge may have to rely on evaluating whether therewere major deviations from the tempo or feeling of the music, or obvious failure tomatch actions with a musical accent or highlight.The value of Synchronisation rises to 30% for Duets and Teams due to the need for,and the difficulty of precisely coordinating two or more swimmers. Evaluating Duet orTeam synchronisation to the music is aided by a tendency to use music with fairlystrong rhythms to simplify timing for the actions. If the music is difficult to understand,credit must be given under Difficulty in synchronisation.Speed and complexity of action may affect the ease of evaluating Synchronisation.Errors in slow actions may be more easily detected than in rapid sequences, but fastand complex actions may generate more errors. Occasionally errors in execution,such as different angles arms or legs in motion may appear as a lack of sharpness, apicture slightly out of focus, and may be mistaken for a synchronisation problem.Spacing may affect spotting errors due to the difficulty of simultaneously trackingwidely spaced swimmer action. Often swimmers act separately or in groups bychoreographic intent. Precision in the timing of separate actions is the factor whichmakes them effective. Sequential and peel-off actions must be seen as clearlyintended in the choreography. Their teamwork should be apparent, .not leavingpossible questions about whether an error might have occurred.Judges Consider:1. SYNCHRONISED with each otherIn this element, all movements must be shown with clarity and precision.Judges note this includes ALL movements - at, above, and below the surface.! Stroke and figure movementsAll movements must be accurately timed through their entire path, frominitiation through completion. All descents move at exactly the same pacethrough submergence. All spins and twists revolve identically.2009 – 2013 FINA Synchronised Swimming Manual for Judges, Coaches & Referees 157