Swim Cadet Show, Feb. 28 - Mar. 2
Feb. 20, 2019 -- The Heights High School Swim Cadets, a 14-member synchronized swim team will perform their 2019 annual show,Thursday, February 28 - Saturday March 2, 7:00 p.m. The school’s oldest extracurricular club celebrates its 80th anniversary with the theme, Swim Cadets Live the Glam Life. The water show is choreographed to music and includes theater lights and costume changes.
The show takes place at the Heights High School Pool, 13263 Cedar Road, the entrance is on the west side of the building. Tickets are $9 and available from Cadet members in advance or at the door. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door, the ticket office opens at 6:15 p.m. The show will also be live-streamed Friday night on the District’s YouTube channel.
Synchronized swimming high school teams are a rarity and Heights has one of only a few in the state. Heights High Swim Cadets have traditions that span the decades, bonding the girls to the generations before them; it is not uncommon for the members to be second or even third generation Swim Cadets. Current club members include daughters, sisters, and nieces of former club members.
Senior and Club Co-President Julia O’Donnell is comforted by the continued legacy of the club, “Swim Cadets has been the best part of my high school experience, and I am so honored to be a part of such a long tradition that has completely shaped so many people’s experiences. 80 years is so important to all of us and we all feel extremely privileged to be part of something so incredible.” Co-President Brynn Pierce says, “Swim Cadets is an amazing group with traditions going strong now for 80 years! I am so happy to be a part of it and I am so thankful for all of the people that I have met and things I have learned from this amazing group of girls!”
The show is the result of five months of 12 to 15 hours of practice per week. Spending that much time together makes the girls like family. Junior Emma Hubbard says, “Swim Cadets has made me a much more social and confident person, and the constant support from the group of girls can’t be found anywhere else! If I hadn’t joined, I wouldn’t have made the closest friends in my life today.”
Senior Emma Henninge shares the impact of the club on her, “Swim Cadets has changed my life in the best way possible! I wouldn’t be the same person I am today without it as it has taught me so much including self-love and the true meaning of girl power. I truly cherish every moment while on the team and the bonds I have with each girl mean so much to me!”
The girls choose the theme, music, choreograph the routines, host fundraisers, choose and order costumes, and work as a team in and out of the pool. Senior Georgie Jolivette points out the importance of the team in her high school years: “Swim Cadets has been the most incredible experience of my high school. It has been really important for me to be in such a positive and empowering environment, and I’m forever grateful for all the memories and lessons I’ve learned along the way.”
The team is coached by former Swim Cadet Esther Bergson.
A Rich History
The Heights High yearbooks (1939-1940) provided some background about the Swim Cadets. In 1939,
few athletic activities were available to girls so when the girls Life Saving Club formed to provide help around the pool and gym, it became a popular activity. The club hosted “enjoyable splash parties” and during the 1939-1940 school year, “the most important of their activities...was the presentation of a water pageant, He Swims to Conquer.”
By 1943, the group became known as The Swimming Cadets and they sponsored a water pageant, titled Hook, Line, and Sink-Her, where “Miss Crane’s ‘trained seals’ showed some of their many abilities, in form swimming, diving and other aquatics.”
The formation of the Cleveland Heights Swim Cadets coincides with the popularization of the sport in the United States with the first-known synchronized swimming competition. In 1940, famed American Olympian Esther Williams widely popularized the sport with her performances at the San Francisco World's Fair and in subsequent movies.
2019 Heights Swim Cadets
Seniors: Emma Henninge, Secretary, Georgie Jolivette, Treasurer, Julia O’Donnell, Co-President and Brynn Pierce, Co-President
Juniors: Emma Hubbard and Sergeant-at-Arms
Sophomores: Zoe Burns, Sophia Forniti, Arden Lindberg, Fiona Macke and Anna Turner
Freshmen: Estelle Covault, Lily Fawcett-Dubow, Ella Herr and Sophia Marotta