LAST UPDATED OCTOBER 27, 2024
Can’t resist the urge to dance when you hear music? Think you were a dolphin in a previous life? Love being part of a team that plays as hard as it trains?
TNYA Artistic Swimming is calling you! We are the only USAAS-affiliated masters-level artistic swimming team in New York City.
What is it?
Formerly known as synchronized swimming (or synchro), artistic swimming is an exciting and creative aquatic sport combining music, choreography and athleticism.
The result is a performance that literally defies gravity and impresses viewers with beautiful patterns in the water, synchronized arm and leg movements, and bodies flying through the air!
Who are we?
TNYA Artistic Swimming is an LGBTQ+ aquatics team welcoming to all genders open to anyone interested in learning the sport, or those with experience who want to rekindle an old flame. We offer opportunities to swim as a soloist or in a duet, trio or team configuration.
What do we do?
Each year, we train to compete in the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships and the USA Artistic Swimming Masters National Championships.
If competing isn’t your game, you can take the more recreational artistic swimming path. You might enjoy performing in one of our exhibitions at local events.
We do many fun group activities outside of the pool as well, such as marching in the annual NYC Pride parade, participating in team fundraisers, or just grabbing a drink after practice at one of our favorite local watering holes!
When and where do we practice?
You can find the artistic swimming practice schedule below, but we typically have practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm to 8.30pm at BMCC in Tribeca.
Tuesday practices are for our competitive team and focus on rehearsing our routines for the next focus competition; Thursdays are split between an intro-level practice developing the basic skills of artistic swimming and a figure-focused practice for more advanced synchronistas.
Want to give it a try?
We welcome new members – no artistic swimming experience needed – and have set aside Thursday practices for new members specifically! But you do need to be comfortable in the water. We recommend that any participant be able to comfortably swim four laps in under 2:00 before trying artistic swimming.
You can find detailed instructions on how to activate your free TNYA trial on our Join TNYA page. If you’d like to drop by just to see the practice and learn more about artistic swimming, please feel free to email us!
Our Coach: Veronika Orlovska
Veronika (she/her) is a professional synchronized swimmer from Odesa, Ukraine. In her youth, she swam internationally and represented the USA National team at the UANA Pan-American Games receiving three gold medals.
She is a multiple-time Junior Olympic and National Champion ranked 1st in the US at ages 11 and 12. Now she serves as a Masters coach for Team New York Aquatics and coaches children at Imagine Synchro.
As a coach, she strives to be a leader for her athletes and create an empowering environment for each individual who attends her practices. She strives to instill passion and dedication within her swimmers and pushes them to exceed their expectations. Outside of coaching, Veronika is a filmmaker, underwater cinematographer, Aqualillies performer, and a social media manager.
Her favorite Olympic Artistic Swimmer growing up was Natalia Ischenko who was a great source of inspiration for her as a child. Now her favorite Olympians are her childhood teammates Megumi Field and Calista Liu who will be representing Team USA at the upcoming 2024 Olympics. The song she would lipsync for her life is Four Friends by Dave Malloy which was written for a song cycle titled Ghost Quartet.
Have questions?