The Story of the
First SA Mixed Duet
Uncertain Beginnings
It was at a Team Phoenix High Performance Training Camp in Cape Town, on Sunday 16 January 2022, that Ayrton Sweeney, at whose pool facility we were holding the camp, popped in to check everything was going okay at the pool. Laura jokingly asked him to come and try some synchro just for fun. Thinking he would last only a few minutes Vicky and Laura were surprised when he was catching on faster than usual to a few of the basic moves and after just 90 minutes of practice - they produced this.
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Dave saw the video which was posted on the Team Phoenix whatsapp group and, impressed, sent Ayrton a message on Instagram and at the same time sent a message to Laura:
Ayrton
Laura
With a bit of match making completed, Vicky, Laura and Ayrton sat down at a local coffee shop and started discussing what it would take to actually put together a Mixed Duet.
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As the Nationals Program does not include a Mixed Duet, we needed to get it added to the program as soon as possible and we also needed to make sure that it could qualify and be selected for World Champs. Dave immediately contacted the Chair of the Technical Committee and the Chair of the Selection Committee and the SA Artistic FINA rep to request that the Mixed Duet was included in the program and to determine if it could be selected for World Champs. Even though we had no routine yet and did not know if WC was even realistic, we wanted to make sure that it could be a possibility - which would give added motivation to the athletes. About a month later it was confirmed that the Mixed Duet was on the program and could be selected for World Champs.
SA Nationals was only 10 weeks away. As challenges go - this was pretty big. We needed to teach a male swimmer synchro from scratch, choreograph a new routine for a mixed duet - never done before in SA, then coach it to a level which was acceptable for competition. And just to make it a bit more interesting the coach and athletes were on different sides of the country. This was de je vu for Laura from 2020!! But this time we really only had 10 weeks. From a coaching aspect, we were pairing an Olympic athlete with a complete novice - we are not sure this has ever been attempted anywhere and it would require exceptional skill to manage and deliver an acceptable outcome.
Team Phoenix never backs down from a challenge and with Laura and Ayrton warming to the idea over the next week or so the Mixed was on! We are not sure that Ayrton realised quite was he was getting himself into, but as a SA 400IM & 200M Breaststroke speed swimmer he was no stranger to tough assignments. This may just be his toughest yet!
Learning from the past Nationals: 10 weeks Ayrton: 0 weeks
With the benefit of a hugely challenging Olympic task successfully completed 6 months earlier, Vicky and Team Phoenix were able to draw on the lessons learned, to structure the training regime and set comprehensive training schedules for Ayrton to follow. Laura and Tanya (assistant coach in Cape Town) would be in charge of making sure Ayrton was keeping up with stretching and water work with Vicky on video feedback and zoom keeping an eye on progress. Enormous credit must go to Tanya and Laura who spent many hours in the pool teaching Ayrton basic sculling and body control and hours and hours of stretching over the next few weeks. Men are generally NOT flexible. Tanya was almost always on the deck, drilling Vicky's schedules or taking video and pictures to document progress.
Both Ayrton and Laura work full time and do not always have free time at the same times - so training together was tough and at odd hours of the day - often squeezed in between their clients and business meetings. Compared to speed swimming, Artistic Swimming requires easily double the amount of training time and a very different way of preparing for competitions, so this was a big adjustment for Ayrton to adapt to these new demands. It was also an adjustment for the team (Vicky, Tanya & Laura) to go from coaching and swimming with two female athletes to coaching and swimming with a male and a female athlete who think differently and have completely different body structures. Techniques that generally work with all female athletes don't always work the same with a male athlete.
Tough but Fun Nationals: 8 weeks Ayrton: 2 weeks
But while it was hard work, both athletes had hours of fun (a key ingredient in any training) - Laura admits they both spent lots of time laughing as Ayrton attempted to master the moves, to the extent she said her abs hurt from all the laughing. The positive chemistry between both athletes was a huge benefit to being able to progress quickly, it helped the duet to be able to connect and train and be on the same page. They spent weeks together doing both land and water work to fast track Ayrton's learning.
Early days training the basics
Lau's laugh - unmistakable!
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Initial Choreography
The initial challenge with trying to choreograph a routine was that Ayrton was still learning the basics of synchro and there were very few moves that he had learnt in his first few days of training. We were not sure how much Ayrton would be able to do and, more importantly, be able to execute well. Laura spent time finding the right music to set the theme for the routine, which was going to be fun and upbeat and easy to count, rather than the standard "Romeo and Juliet" type themes. Laura loves lifts and being the flyer, and that was something Ayrton was really good at from day 1, so they started working on arm sequences and practicing lift options.
Lift Practice
Clarissa joined Tanya at the poolside when she could, to add creative input as bits and pieces started to come together. Vicky meanwhile was busy in Joburg putting the whole routine together conceptually and sequencing the arm and leg pieces that would give the routine the right feel. Laura says: "Vicky always has a really good strategy when it comes to routines, making sure the athletes know what the judges are looking for (making us read the judges manual) and then focusing on your strengths to lift the routine while we work on our weaknesses so that we can add those in when the time is right."
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The First Training CAMP - and a small (toe) challenge! Nationals: 6 weeks, Ayrton: 4 weeks
After 4 weeks of many hours of drills and practice, the arm sequences and timing was getting better, and a few days before the camp we received the news that there had been an injury. Ayrton had dislocated/broken one toe and possibly fractured two others. During lift practicing, which is a foot on foot lift, a foot slipped and Ayrton's toes got bent backwards and dislocated on Laura's knee. With only 6 weeks to competition day, this was a major problem.
The first camp in Johannesburg was critical to getting Ayrton up to speed. A full program had been planned - we needed to add more difficult figures and hybrids into the routine, but we had no idea what Ayrton would be able to do. Vicky had worked out 50 odd specific moves to test what Ayrton could do or possibly easily be taught to do, so that she could incorporate those in to the choreography of the routine. Additionally Ayrton needed to be taught proper support scull and hybrid transitions and then put to music. Every minute was going to be important. Broken or sprained toes was not on the schedule.
In a moment of serendipity, on 14th Feb 2022 - exactly 2 years to the day when Laura and Clarissa met for the first time to start their Olympic quest - Ayrton created the Mixed Duet Training whatsapp group in preparation for the first training camp. An omen of things to come?
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Arriving at the pool for the first training camp. We really need to help Ayrton get a new pair of jeans! And check the swollen right foot and bent toes!
A breather, but even during a break, the teaching never stops.
Ayrton's first crane showing good support scull with decent height for a newbie! Just a bit of flexibility needed.
A bit of fun practicing some lifts - this would be done on dry land later, maybe... but safer to practice in the water as you can see!
How the end started
The strategy for the routine choreography was to maximise execution, synchronisation and artistic impression, knowing that difficulty would need to be sacrificed. Relatively easy movements could be executed really well, sharp and polished. Being an upbeat routine, getting body and facial expressions to match, while it would require some work, was a definite focus area for both athletes.
To try to minimise Ayrton's foot pain, we used the shallow LTS pool so that he could stand rather than eggbeater, this enabled Vicky to go through as many of the defined moves that she had identified as time would allow. Every bit of the choreography was strategically placed and designed to give a good visual appeal while catering for the vast difference in ability of the two athletes. It needed to be relatively easy to learn and execute, while also showing off Laura's abilities and the moves that Ayrton could do well.
At the end of the first day we had the moves that would be slotted into the routine and that Ayrton could sort of do and could be feasibly taught in the time available. Vicky also strategically added some swimming strokes as part of the routine which Ayrton would enjoy - look out them about half way through!
As we needed to keep eggbeater to a minimum because of the injury (Ayrton's eggbeater was pretty good anyway), Vicky concentrated on teaching Ayrton support scull and the various sculling techniques he would need - to master the upside down portions. It wasn't long before Vicky had Ayrton in a crane with a solid scull and although progress was slower than expected, the quality was higher - which was more important. We ended practicing our deck work dive based on a similar dive used by Male Synchro pioneer Bill May, in 2015 a small tribute to a legend of the sport.
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We kept this for the competition - it worked well. A small tribute to Male Synchro pioneer Bill May, who used a similar dive in 2015.
The end of the first camp - smiles and some relief that this just might work!
Day 2 was a half day as Ayrton was holding a swim coaching class in the morning, which afforded Laura a chance to work on her Tech Solo. Training was literally in between work commitments. We ended day two with 3 hours of vertical drills, support scull and hybrid transitions. Vicky's coaching techniques were paying dividends as Ayrton quickly started to get the hang of it and was more confident in the moves he needed to master. A lot of work was to be done in Cape Town before the next camp - but we had a start!
The coach takes a lot of responsibility for the routine - it needs to be appropriately choreographed and then properly taught - especially in high pressure and time restricted scenarios. No-one wants a half baked effort at a competition, so with 6 weeks to go we were confident the building blocks were in place. Vicky created specific schedules of training for stamina and fitness as well as drills to master the different moves. Armed with the outline of the routine and lots of training schedules, Laura and Ayrton traveled back to Cape Town knowing that the next two weeks we going to be decisive - especially with uncertainty around Ayrton's foot injury.
2nd Training Camp - Putting it all together - Nationals: 5 weeks Ayrton: 6 weeks
In early March, with only 5 weeks to go, The TC changed the date and venue for SA Nationals to a week later and to a different city - from PE to Durban. While this gave us an extra week it also created challenges with the already booked and planned training schedules. We had a week extra, but also added complications to manage.
Vicky traveled to Cape Town for the next training camp, now with 5 weeks to go to Nationals. Laura and Ayrton had been working Vicky's drill schedules under the watchful eyes of Tanya, and putting together the routine, sending regular videos back for viewing. The routine still needed a lot of work and this training camp would focus on cleaning up execution and fixing any issues with sequencing. Laura and Ayrton had put in a lot of work with stretching and synchro fitness as well as hours of water work consolidating the coaching learned at the previous camp. Ayrton was far more comfortable now with the choreographed synchro moves and was learning the timing and understanding how difficult this sport really is.
For the 5 day camp we only had 2 or so hours per day due to both athletes' work commitments, so progress was not as fast as expected. The challenges of coaching part time athletes to competition standards requires out the box thinking to ensure all outcomes are achieved. Vicky scheduled a very specific program to make maximum use of the 10 hours available and ensure that a full routine was in place before she left. After the week was done we had a routine that looked good, was well sequenced and matched to the music - but still needed a bit of swim time to be well polished.
There was very little time for fun, with flat out training, but we managed to capture a few moments.
Ayrton showing good control balancing that coffee on his head
Coffee delivery
Testing an alternative lift idea
Lift ideas
Prep for Nationals - Nationals: 3 weeks Ayrton: 8 weeks
When Nationals was going to be held in PE we had planned the last 2 weeks before the competition quite carefully, with a week in Cape Town and then a week in PE. With the competition moved to Durban at late notice and a week later, it was costly and impractical to be flying across the country given the athletes other work commitments. We scheduled a week in Durban before the competition, with Laura and Ayrton doing swim work with Vicky online where required instead of a 3rd Training camp. Even though we had gained a week - we had lost the weeks camp due to the change in venue. Another small complication was that we were then given a deadline to submit a video to NTS and KZN selectors - to determine if the duet was worthy for selection for Nationals! We thus needed a competition capable routine 2 weeks earlier than planned. However, with our solid preparation and the efforts of Tanya, Laura and Ayrton in Cape Town, we were quite happy with the results with 3 weeks to go. Light training for the final few weeks before the competition and lots of land drill was the order of the day. Laura was also still training her Tech Solo, also coached by Vicky, to qualify for World Champs so her time was at a premium. We had checked the weather forecast for the competition and saw rain predicted during the entire competition. Being outdoors this added an extra piece of planning. The weekend before the competition it was raining in Johannesburg and we held a full practice in the rain with our two up and coming youth athletes, Jadi and Kenzie, so that they could get used to swimming in the rain. We suggested to Laura and Ayrton that they do a swim being sprayed by a hosepipe. You can never be too prepared!
Video submitted for KZN Champs for selection purposes
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In just 8 weeks we had taught synchro to a beginner male athlete and put together a competition ready routine which, with clever choreography, looked good without needing Ayrton to do too many difficult moves. We are not sure but this must be some sort of record! - remembering that both Laura and Ayrton work full time, with limited training opportunities.
Ayrton could only join us the day before the mixed duet competition due to work commitments so we had only time for a few swim throughs and last minute minor corrections. It all looked good and we were confident of a good swim the next day.
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Final practice the day before the competition
Team Phoenix athletes Kenzie, Laura, Ayrton and Jadi in the Soul House.
Ayrton's eggbeater is better than his egg cooking skills on the morning of the competition!
Competition Day
The rain in Durban was relentless but fortunately, we had a relatively clear day on Friday, the day of the competition. Mixed was scheduled for late afternoon so we had a long wait. Ayrton started the day by exploding an egg in the microwave, but fortunately that was the only mishap. Making history is always a little stressful, but we kept the mood light and upbeat. Laura was also swimming Tech Solo in the morning so focus was on her preparation for what was an important event for her. Jadi and Kenzie also had their figures that night - in the rain - which we had prepared for the week before! These two are ones to look out for in the future!
So there was lots to do on the first day.
Tech Solo went well, Laura won comfortably, which helped keep everyone positive.
If there were nerves, Laura and Ayrton didn't show it and we kept them warm and relaxed before the swim. For the swim through 30 mins before, we kept it light working key transitions in the routine without over doing it.
The swim went very well, the scores were higher than we had hoped for and the first ever Mixed Duet in SA and Africa was a resounding success. The scores qualified the Mixed for selection for World Champs which was added excitement - although we still needed to wait for official selection confirmation.
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Ayrtons Soliloquy
Quick Road to Nationals
Vicky, Laura and Ayrton a few minutes before their swim
In their own words - showing off some good editing skills - for the right reasons!
With Ashley, Laura's sister, who was an inspiration to a 5yr old Laura all those years ago.
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We did it. Relief after a great swim. Ayrton confessed to shedding a tear here.
Top: Good angles!
Bottom: The pool practice paid off - flying high afterwards. Photo credit: Theo Jeptha ANA
Making history. The first ever Mixed Duet in SA and Africa.
While the rain let up at the right times during the competition, on the Monday and Tuesday afterwards, widespread and devastating flooding hit Durban and the Natal coastal areas. Sadly this resulted in a large loss of life and our thoughts were with all those affected as we traveled home.
World Champs
The Mixed Duet had qualified for World Champs by virtue of the score they received of over 60 - in fact very close to the leading competition duet scores. While the competition took place on 8 April it would be a whole month later on 6 May, a mere 5 weeks before World Champs departure, that the Team was finally announced which included the Mixed Duet. We had learnt from the Olympics, when it took a whole 2 months to announce the team, a mere 4 weeks before departure. We knew we had qualified and it was very unlikely that the Mixed would not be selected so we had 2 months to make adjustments. Laura adjusted the music to add a few different rhythms and Vicky changed some of the choreography to add a bit more interest in some pieces as Ayrton was now capable of doing a few more difficult moves.
A training camp was arranged in Johannesburg where all the changes were made and perfected. We did this in a shallow pool and this was hugely effective in helping to fast track the changes. We were training on risk, but we could not leave it until the team was announced - we knew it would then be far too late to make changes.
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Some new choreo
We are still not sure what this was going to be. It did not make it into the routine!
Getting the new choreo matched.
After the Camp, we received this message from Ayrton. Coaches always appreciate that their work is appreciated. Thank you Ayrton!
Hi Team
Just wanted to say thank you for having me this weekend. It was great and has left me confident for worlds.
Vicky, I just want to say how incredible of a coach you are. I don’t think you know it sometimes but as an athlete that has worked with many of the best coaches around the world, you are up there for sure. Your ability to manage different personalities and tackle them differently is hard to come by. I appreciate your approach to me (being new to synchro) and whenever I touch base with you, you make me feel ready for anything and I thank you for that. You are able to unlock the true potential of an athlete and I’m speaking about my experience personally. I love training with you and never hate it. That’s all because of you.
And Dave, thank you for your countless efforts to provide the ideal training environment and making me (and anyone I’m sure) feel welcome. It’s not often that you find someone who is dedicated to the athletes experience. You are that guy and you make things happen out of nothing and that’s a true testament of a player. When I say player, I mean someone who gets things done, no questions but only answers. As me and my boys call it, a plug. Someone you can count on. I appreciate your efforts and they don’t go unnoticed.
Vicky and Dave, thank you for everything so far and I know you will have great success with the track that you are on. Not to say that you haven’t succeeded already but I don’t believe in present success as there is always another level and I’m certain you will keep leveling up.
Thanks guys for an awesome weekend and can’t wait to smash worlds together.
As training for World Champs reaches it's conclusion, we look forward to seeing where this goes in the future.
Final practice swim before departing - thank you to those who came to support
