The Life of a Dolphin

The Historical Happenings group was lucky enough to interview an alumni of The Dolphins, a non-competitive women's synchronized swimming club. Below is a Q&A interview with Christy Phipps who was on The Dolphins squad from 1970 through 1974 and now is the nurse and health teacher at Boone High School.

Q: Hi, Christy! Our first question for you today is how did you get into The Dolphins?

A: In order to get into The Dolphins, you have to audition. The club used to be open to girls in seventh through twelfth grade. When auditioning, you had to do two skills test such as swimming the whole length of the pool underwater and show your technique for dives, ballet legs, and anything else that you thought would get you on the squad.

Q: What the responsibilities and how physically demanding was being in The Dolphins?

A: We would have a set schedule for practices, so that was nice to keep organized and one of the really neat responsibilities was making our own scenery and backdrop for The Dolphins Show that took place during the winter months. Another fun aspect was designing our own costumes for The Dolphins Show! Each grade made their own different outfits, so it was neat to see what grade people were in.

Q: How neat! You were all like fashion designers! So now can you tell me a little about how The Dolphins was organized? Did you have a president? Also, what kind of dances and strokes did you do?

A: The Dolphins had an elected president and other officers in the club. We also had an advisor that decided what kind of dances to preform and whatnot. Advisors were always a lot of fun, but they also had a lot of responsibility to uphold, too. As far as the dances go, there was really a variety. Something that was really neat was our eight-woman linkage. This linkage was where eight of us girls would link together in a circle--in the water--and one of us would let go, swim a full circle underwater, and come back up and then the next girl would go. It was a very fun routine!

Q: We noticed that The Dolphins have not been around for a long time. Why is this?

A: Since competitive girls' swimming was not available back then, this is why this club was formed. In 1978, girls' swimming was formed and soon after the club dissolved.

That concludes the interview about The Dolphins. Please enjoy the photo of Christy (top left) and the other Dolphins in 1974! Thanks for reading!