Artistic swimming: first in Nîmes and diving into “synchro”, quite an art

The two Nîmes ballets which distinguished themselves this Sunday: the futures group (3rd, 1st in its age category) and the youth group, 1st. FREE NOON – E. DZ.

Les deux ballets nîmois qui se sont illustrés ce dimanche : le groupe avenirs (3e, 1er de sa catégorie d’âge) et le groupe jeunes, 1er.. MIDI LIBRE – E. DZ.

Big first, this weekend in Nîmes, with the South-West Interregional Challenge.

It’s hard, but it’s beautiful. And it’s show. It was with this triple impression that we left the Nemausa swimming pool this Sunday, at the end of the South-West interregional artistic swimming challenge. An event, because it was the first competition in the discipline (formerly called synchronized swimming) organized in the Nîmes nautical center inaugurated in 2007.

The Nîmes girls did great

We saw a lot of smiles among the 300 or so competitors in the running (only one boy, from Colomiers!). But behind the bright faces, there is a lot of work. Apnea, cardio, endurance, power, flexibility, agility, gliding… "16 hours per week, including 20% ​​pure swimming" for the most diligent students of Sandra Deltour, referent of the Nîmes Nautic-club (NCC, out of the 850 members, 60 to 70 in artistic). "Our girls did great this weekend. For once, they were playing at home, they were carried by their public."

Lou Pirosa and Lily Leglaive won in the youth pool B duo. Cassandra Rey and Lilou Royer finished 3rd. Lou Pirosa also won solo, as did Margaux Hennard, the eldest of the Nîmes (16 years old) in pool A all categories. Indira Duret finished 2nd in youth pool B.

Sixteen clubs in the southwest quarter of the country

As a team, the Nîmoises dominated the ballets, climbing to 1st and 3rd places on the podium. Toulouse is 2nd, Angoulême 3rd, Montpellier Méditerranée 5th. The Gardoise 3rd team nevertheless won in its age category (future 9-11 years old).

Acrobatics, and a complete sport, in front of the judges. FREE NOON – E. DZ.

The event brought together 16 clubs from the southwest quarter of the country. She was not a qualifier for the national championships, which are currently taking place in Sète, then at the end of June in Cannes.

Christine Kitegi, vice-president of the Ligue Occitanie: "A first in Nîmes, and I hope, not the last  !"

But it was crowned with success according to the vice-president of the Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée League, Christine Kitegi, present on site: "c&rsquo ;was a first in Nîmes, and I hope not the last! The organization of the local club was up to par, and the site lends itself well to the competition."

Mathieu Dubois, president of the NCC, and his dozens of volunteers are ready to take on future challenges. French championships, soon in Nemausa ?

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