Photo by Eily Tarinelli ‘25.
Lyonfish Artistic Swimming was founded in the fall of 2021 by Arrow Hill ‘23, and as of fall 2022 it became an official Mount Holyoke organization.
By Genevieve Zahner ’26 and Zellie Calavita ’26
Sports Editor | Staff Writer
The Lyonfish Artistic Swimming team aims to provide members with the opportunity to explore artistic swimming in a relaxed, non-competitive setting.
Founded in the fall of 2021, it is working on becoming more widely known. The group was recently recognized as an official Mount Holyoke club around fall of 2022. Mamie Mulder ’25 and Evi Ratner ’25 are co-presidents of the team and were introduced to the organization their freshman year by founder Arrow Hill ’23, who graduated last spring.
Both Ratner and Mulder want to keep the team spirit of fun, casual swimming alive.
“I think the activity is just fun. So [we want to focus] on that and just make a place where people can come swim more casually and do this different type of swimming,” Ratner said.
Ratner talked about their interest in the team and how they got involved. “I'm the type of person [who loves] funky little sports or just anything sort of off the beaten path. I love it,” they said.
Ratner mentioned how they watched Olympic synchronized swimming and wished they could participate in a similar activity. “And then I saw [Hill] at the involvement fair. I was like, ‘This is a thing at Mount Holyoke? … I have to join that.’”
Both Mulder and Ratner were opposed to the idea of traditional lap swimming and wanted a more relaxed environment where they could be creative in the pool. They want to continue to foster that environment in their leadership roles.
“ I feel like a lot of people don’t really like lap swimming, but still like being in the pool, talking and [doing] cool things in the pool. It’s a super fun and welcoming environment,” Mulder said.
The team’s routine during their Saturday practices consists of a few different activities. “We warm up at the pool, so typically, we get right in, and then we do some stretching in the pool. A lot of it is leg-focused,” Mulder said. Ratner added that they like to chat and catch up while stretching.
“I think oftentimes, [having] a little catch-up chat session while treading water [and] practicing the correct form of treading water [is] good for endurance. Just staying afloat while talking is really fun and actually [part of] practicing. And then we'll work on some skills,” Ratner said. Mulder added that the team has been working mostly on basic swimming skills at their practices but will move into more choreography in the coming months.
Last semester, a group of five performed during Open Swim hours. They presented two group pieces and four solo pieces that they had been working on over the course of the year. Mulder said there is no competitive aspect to their performances. “The performances [were] just so fun. People showed up who had never seen artistic swimming [before]. It's not supposed to be competitive at all.”
Mulder’s goal this year is to do one or two more shows, and they encourage those who are curious about the sport to show up to learn more about what they do and see what the group has been working on.
Ratner hopes for the team to have “a good, positive social group where we can be active and physically moving, but also just be comfortable with each other and have a good time and engage physically and creatively at the same time.” They encourage anyone interested in artistic swimming to join their Embark page.
No experience is necessary — only the ability to keep oneself ‘alive in the pool,’” Mulder joked.