A group of about 20 girls jump into the pool at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines with their hair pulled back and goggles in hand. Two girls stand at the edge of the pool deck calling out directions to the swimmers in the water. Others watch in the bleachers or work on show decorations poolside.
Even though it’s Saturday, the Roosevelt Sharks synchronized swimming club will spend eight hours preparing for their annual pageant. They’re running out of rehearsals before they start a run of four sold out shows this week, which happens to mark the club’s 100th anniversary.
They'll perform Thursday through Sunday, April 26th, in the Roosevelt High's pool auditorium.
In the pool, the girls lay out on their backs and float in formation. They have looks of determination as their arms begin to swoosh gracefully at their sides. As the routine begins, each girl shoots a pointed "ballet leg" out of the water on beat to the music.
The Roosevelt Sharks date back to 1926. It’s the oldest synchronized swimming club in the country, and over the past century it has created a community for girls to connect and become empowered young women.
An opportunity of ownership
Each year, the girls in the club make the pageant their own. They take full responsibility of the show from start to finish, from picking the theme and the music to training the new swimmers.
Although Katherine Gamble is the director of the club and handles things like ticket sales and other finances, she said its the students who are the driving force behind the Sharks.
“I’m in the background because they deserve it, they’ve done everything,” she said.
Gamble said the juniors and seniors are in charge of writing the routines and teaching the choreography for the annual pageant. They also step into administrative roles for the club.
“We have a philanthropist, we have a publicist, we have an alumni coordinator,” she explained. “We have all these different roles that they do.”
As a senior and this year’s co-president, Aubrey Smith said she can’t wait to put on the show. She and the other co-president have been looking forward to it since the beginning of the school year, when they started planning the finale routine.
“It’s just been so fun to be able to see it build, and now we’re almost at pageant and it’s looking so good," Smith said. "It’s nice to see how far we’ve come."
Smith said having creative freedom gives them complete ownership of the pageant and a way for all the teammates to incorporate their different styles.
“Every routine is choregraphed by a high school Shark, which is so cool,” she said. “And there’s so many different styles and everyone has songs they like and moves they like so it’s fun to see how much they differ.”
As a senior, this year’s pageant is Carleigh Ridnour’s last. But it hits close to home for another reason because she’s been struggling with rheumatoid arthritis since she was 2 years old.
The condition causes pain and stiffness in her knees, ankles, wrists and knuckles, whether she’s in or out of the water.
“Even just on a normal day, I’m extra sore," Ridnour said. "But I get in the water, and sometimes it’s just extra."
She explained that the temperature of the water or the weather can make the pain flare up, so she has to take breaks when she needs them.
Ridnour relies on three different medicines, Tylenol and physical therapy, but the pain varies each day. She said pushing through makes her feel accomplished.
“When it’s Saturday, or this year it’ll be Sunday, and we’re done, and I’m just like ‘I did it, I made it through,’” Ridnour said, “This year, I’ll be like 'Whoa! That was three years that I was able to just do that even if I was in pain.'”
As the team's director, Gamble sees that sense of commitment as the reason why the Sharks still swim today.
“We’ve just been here a really long time, and that’s because of the girls,” Gamble said. “It’s because of the alumni, and it’s because of the girls in the program that never give up on it, that want to put on a good show.”
One-of-a-kind opportunities for women
In 1972, Title IX became law, which gave legal protection to women from sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities. Twelve years later, in 1984, synchronized swimming became an official Olympic event. That led to worldwide recognition of the sport.
But almost 60 years earlier, back in 1926, the Sharks became the first club that women could join at Des Moines' Roosevelt High School. Girls at Roosevelt asked for swimming, diving and water safety to be promoted to girls at the school.
Kristine Bartley graduated from Roosevelt in 1967 and was a member of the Sharks. Outside of the synchronized swimming club, she said there weren't many opportunities for girls.
“There was nothing. You know, there was nothing for the girls at that time,” Bartley said.
She believes the Sharks remain prominent at Roosevelt today because of the young girls who built up the club's legacy decades ago.
“They were early adapters to having girls participate collectively in an activity," Bartley said. "That wasn’t going on much back in the day."
Bartley was a Shark the whole time she attended Roosevelt. She was first drawn to synchronized swimming as a ninth grader, watching her friend’s sister practice at a local pool for the upcoming Sharks try outs.
“I started trying to do it, and the more we did it, the more interesting it became,” she recalled. “I really connected with it.”
At Roosevelt, Bartley said being a Shark defined her. Her favorite memory was singing songs with her teammates in the locker room after practice.
Bartley said she thinks about those bonds she formed when she sees the current team of Sharks.
“It’s interesting for me to go, and I talk to them, and it’s like, they have no idea the impact that this is going to have on their lives,” Bartley said.
Once a Shark, always a Shark
For the 100th anniversary, Smith and her fellow co-president thought about how to cater to both their high school peers and past Sharks who are coming back to support them. They decided that the pageant would include songs that Sharks from different eras will recognize from when they were students.
Smith said she’s excited to see it all come together.
“We get so much support from our community, and once you’re a Shark, you’re just a Shark for life,” Smith said.
For the Sharks, honoring the past means bringing back the women who kept the club going through generations. Alumnae are invited back to swim in the pageant each year. Around twelve are set to perform at this year’s pageant — the most they’ve ever had return.
Greta Jensen, a 2003 graduate, is one alumna coming back to perform.
Jensen said returning to the pool brought back memories from when she was in the club. She remembers one tradition from when she was a Minnow, the team's nickname for freshman members. It involved Minnows carrying around a bag of candy in the hallways during school.
“So, if you saw one of your big sister Sharks, you had to say ‘Oh hi Miss. so-and-so,’ and offer them candy. And if not, then they would make you do something silly in the hallway,” Jensen said, laughing.
But she said that’s why she enjoyed the times out of the water just as much as the time spent in the water.
“Once we’re in the water, we don’t have much time to put it all together,” Jensen said. “So outside of the water, the Sharks girls, the Sharks club, is a little tight-knit, fun sisterhood.”
Jensen said she was excited to get back in the water again. It’s been over 20 years since she’s been in the Roosevelt pool, and she said it looks almost exactly the same.
“Just even the feel, the smell, the humidity in the air in this room. I just love it. Again, it’s so nostalgic,” Jensen said. “I couldn’t wait to just jump in that water.”
The natatorium was built in 1962. Although the facility brings back good memories for past generations of Sharks, Gamble said it desperately needs to be renovated.
“We want to make Sharks the best experience possible,” Gamble said. “We sell out every night, and we want every night to be wonderful and happy and not a sauna.”
While the Sharks have been preparing for their pageant, Gamble said they’ve also been fundraising to replace the aging ceiling and pool deck, as well as the HVAC system to improve humidity issues.
She said the renovation is the next step to ensuring that the natatorium is a space that the Sharks and all the other Roosevelt students can be proud of.
