[2] Synchronized swimming has been part of the Summer Olympics program since 1984, featuring both women's duet and team events.

As well as existing as a sport, it often constituted a popular addition to Music Hall evenings, in the larger variety theatres of London or Glasgow which were equipped with on-stage water tanks for the purpose.

In 1917, Australian Annette Kellerman popularised the sport when she performed in a water ballet at the New York Hippodrome.

It was shot in six days after two weeks' rehearsal.... "The results were so spectacular that the audience at the premiere gave the number a standing ovation and threw their programs in the air.

Other important pioneers of the sport are Beulah Gundling, Käthe Jacobi, Marion Kane Elston, Dawn Bean, Billie MacKellar, Teresa Anderson, Gail Johnson, Gail Emery, Charlotte Davis, Mary Derosier, Norma Olsen, and Clark Leach.

[7] Charlotte Davis coached Tracie Ruiz and Candy Costie, who won the gold medal in duet synchronised swimming at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Curtis persuaded the AAU to make synchronised swimming an officially recognised sport in December 1941, but she herself transferred overseas in 1943.

She served as the Recreation Director of the Red Cross under Generals Patton and Eisenhower, during which time she produced the first international aquacade in Caserta, Italy.

In 1959 the Helms Hall of Fame officially recognised Curtis (along with Annette Kellerman) – ascribing to her the primary development of synchronised swimming.

The team was composed of: Polly Wesner, Nancy Hanna, Doris Dieskow, Marion Mittlacher, Shirley Brown, Audrey Huettenrauch, Phyllis Burrell and Priscilla Hirsch.

[11] Esther Williams, a national AAU champion swimmer, popularized synchronised swimming during WWII and after, through (often elaborately staged) scenes in Hollywood films such as Bathing Beauty (1944), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), and Jupiter's Darling (1955).

In the 1970s and 1980s, Ft. Lauderdale swimming champion Charkie Phillips revived water ballet on television with The Krofftettes in The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–1977), NBC's The Big Show (1980), and then on screen with Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper (1981).

[13] FINA justified the change by stating that it would help to clarify the nature of the sport (with the new name being similar to artistic gymnastics), and claimed it would help "enhance its popularity".

The changes received criticism, with swimmers and coaches arguing that they were never consulted,[14] and that the name "artistic swimming" diminishes the athleticism of the sport which already had historically faced an "uphill battle to be taken seriously".

[14] Another objection raised was that rebranding would cost federations and other groups involved in the sport sums of money that neither the IOC nor FINA was willing to compensate.

[24][25] This followed the addition of mixed gender events featuring one male and one female swimmer at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.

Another variation is a body boost, which is executed through an eggbeater buildup and a strong whip kick, propelling the swimmer out of the water vertically.

During a routine swimmers can never use the bottom of the pool for support, but rather depend on sculling motions with the arms, and eggbeater kick to keep afloat.

Execution of technical skill, difficulty, patterns, choreography, and synchronization are all critical to achieving a high score.

Routines typically last two to four minutes, the shortest being the technical solo, with length added as the number of swimmers is increased (duets, teams, combos and highlight).

When performing routines in competition and practice, competitors wear a rubber noseclip to keep water from entering their nose when submerged.

Competitors wear custom swimsuits, usually elaborately decorated with bright fabric and sequins to reflect the music to which they are swimming.

In Canada, eye makeup must be smaller than a circle made by the swimmer's thumb and forefinger, and be used solely for "natural enhancement".

Goggles, though worn during practice, are not permitted during routine competition unless the swimmers have medical disabilities or conditions.

All swimmers must compete wearing the standard black swimsuit and white swim cap, as well as goggles and a noseclip.

In Canada, as of 2010, synchronized swimming has an age-based structure system with age groups 10 & under, 12 & under, and 13–15 for the provincial levels.

In the U.S., men were allowed to participate with women until 1941, when synchronised swimming became part of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

In their 2012 book Concussions and Our Kids, Dr. Robert Cantu and Mark Hyman quoted Dr. Bill Moreau, the medical director for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), as saying, "These women are superior athletes.

Moreau said that during a two-week training session in Colorado Springs, the female athletes suffered a 50% concussion rate.

"I would say 100 percent of my athletes will get a concussion at some point," said Myriam Glez, a former French synchronized swimmer and coach.