If more women knew the sense of weightlessness and grace that comes with doing the splits upside down while underwater, Karen Brown believes they'd rush to the nearest synchronized swim club to slip into the pool.

The 51-year-old Vancouverite speaks from experience. She joined Vancouver Masters Synchronized Swimming two years ago as a complete novice and now marvels at her body's movement, flexibility and strength in the water.

"It feels like freedom," she said, noting her stamina has increased as her overall fitness gradually improved. As a former ballroom dancer, a flare for performance and exhibition comes easily to Brown who said her curvaceous shape is suddenly and wondrously buoyant when she's off her feet. "I can do things in the water that I would probably hurt myself doing on land."

At a Sunday night practice at Britannia pool on Commercial Drive, nine women rehearse a group routine to Janet Jackson's "Nasty Boys." Their hand movements mimic holding a microphone, but not in such a glaring way that would cause a judge to see a karaoke act. This is the club's competitive team but all women are welcome, including those with no background in synchro.

They rehearse the same 30-second passage half a dozen times, then more, to nail down the timing and the technique of challenging but always elegant moves like a split walk-out, barracuda thrust and body boost.

"I have no idea what these names sound like to the non-initiated," said Meghan Henrickson, the club president and a former competitive synchro swimmer with the Aquasonics who competed on a national stage.

This weekend sets off the beginning of the competitive season and the Vancouver club will host the Lower Mainland regional meet. In previous years, soloists, a trio, a duet and the development team have taken gold when they advanced to the provincial championship. Club swimmers competed at the U.S. nationals last year in L.A., where synchronized swimming first appeared as an Olympic sport in 1984.

Masters programs begin in Canada at age 19 and internationally at age 20 or older. The Vancouver club counts one woman a few years shy of 70, and Henrickson, 30, has been mesmerized by women in the 80-and-older category, gravity-bound by walkers and canes who ditch their equipment to glide through a water ballet.

"We all hope we can do that when we're older," she said.

Bronwyn Mears, a respected provincial-level coach, counts out an eight-beat rhythm from the pool deck. For competition, the goggles come off and the eyes opened wide, some lids coloured and lashes lined with dark makeup. Judges consider facial expressions, which are carefully choreographed to compliment the tone, lyrics and emotion of the music.

Teams and duets move through the water in formation, in time and in sync. But, says Henrickson, "We can't just muscle our way through it. We have to look like we're enjoying ourselves."

Competitors are judged on technical aspects, including difficulty, execution and synchronization. Creativity matters, too, and judges scrutinize artistry, presentation, choreography and musical interpretation.

For "Nasty Boys," the team worked on what Henrickson called "our grrr face."

"If you have a really dramatic piece of music, you might choose an appropriate expression. The judges like that because it's harder to do. They appreciate those special touches."

Synchro, once called rhythmic swimming, is physically demanding pageantry that most participants will tell you is loved for being especially social.

For Lucia Hoess, synchro swimming was a life-long passion she finally took up in the mid-'90s when in her 50s.

Now 67, she is rehearsing a solo routine. At practice earlier this month, she wears gold hoops, lipstick and flawless mascara as she runs through figures like a double ballet-leg to a Hawaiian tune.

She credits synchro with toning her muscles and straightening her posture. "It's like swimming, doing gymnastics and smiling the whole time. Because you want to be pretty and it's not like it's not athletic."

Visit vanmasterssynchro.ca.