One of the Cape Coral Yacht Club’s oldest events returns this weekend as the Synchronized Swim Show celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The free event will showcase the aquatics programs at the yacht club, which has served several generations of Cape youth. Thirty-five girls are participating in the show.
Synchronized swimming teacher Wendy Stafford said children often return each year because of how much they enjoy the sport.
“It’s one of the things the kids have been involved in and look forward to every year,” she said. “I would say that 80 percent of the students return each year … that means we have a 20 percent group of newbies.”
Aquatics programs at the yacht club are one of many on the budgetary chopping block.
If the Cape Coral City Council decides aquatics are worth axing, Stafford said it will do the community and its children a disservice, especially in Florida where water safety is important.
“I think it’s never a good idea to cut an aquatics program,” she said. “It’s not really a luxury.”
While the council decides what to do with the budget, there is still a possibility Cape Coral could play host to a world-class swimming facility that could host Olympic time trials.
As the coach of Sunshine Synchro Splash, Stafford knows how important that kind of facility would be.
She is forced to take her students to the pool on Pine Island, then move them around the state in order for them to compete. If the facility were built, her students would be able to compete in their own backyard.
Stafford also pointed out the huge economic impact such a facility would have.
“It’s a moneymaker, pure and simple,” she said. “I really hope people understand it’s the kind of facility that can bring revenue back to our schools … there’s lots of ways revenues from the facility can be used.”
Whether the facility is built, Stafford and her students still have this weekend’s show to display their unique talents.
She said they will bring back a fan favorite, the “moms’ routine,” which gives mothers of the students the chance to get in the water and strut their stuff.
“The moms have the chance to get in the water, get some exercise and experience what their kids are experiencing,” Stafford said. “The moms love it.”
The 30th Annual Anniversary Synchronized Swim Show is free and open to the public.
The event spans two days, 6:30 p.m. today, and 10 a.m. Saturday, at the Cape Coral Yacht Club pool.
For more information, contact Stafford at 233-3813.