Sunday, November 3

Despite national accolades, UCLA club artistic swimming lacks Division I status


UCLA artistic swimming stands at the top of the podium at the 2024 USA Artistic Swimming Collegiate Championships. (Courtesy of UCLA Artistic Swimming)


Artistic swimming at UCLA has sought the Division I stage for three years now.

UCLA’s historic artistic swimming medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics could be the catalyst for sending the program to the next level.

Rising junior Daniella Ramirez’s silver medal at the Games cast a flashing spotlight on artistic swimming in Westwood. Though Ramirez is not a member of UCLA’s club, her glory in Paris ricocheted to the program.

UCLA club artistic swimming is one of 57 members of UCLA Club Sports, an organization hosting disciplines from cricket to pickleball to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. These teams represent UCLA at the club level across the country, including the artistic swimming crew, which traveled to Lewisville, Texas, to compete at the USA Artistic Swimming Collegiate National Championships in 2024.

Despite being restricted to 10 hours in the pool per week, limited in their access to athletic training resources and offered no athletic scholarships, the Bruins topped all club programs at the championships to emerge victorious in their division. Ranking sixth among both varsity and club teams, UCLA also edged out Ohio State’s established Division I program in the collegiate team open team free final competition.

“We’ve been pushing for varsity as soon as we became a club,” said fourth-year psychology student Katie MacDonald, one of the two co-presidents of the team. “With artistic swimming having so much media traction lately, we think it could be the catalyst for artistic swimming to really jump-start at the collegiate level.”

A member of UCLA artistic swimming being lifted above the water. (Courtesy of UCLA Artistic Swimming)
A member of UCLA artistic swimming is lifted above the water. (Courtesy of UCLA Artistic Swimming)

MacDonald helms her unit – which is approaching its fifth year in establishment – alongside Ariel Peterson, a fourth-year English and political science student.

On top of their duties in the pool, MacDonald and Peterson administer finances, travel and recruitment for the program. However, the team has sufficed – perhaps even excelled – despite a dearth of resources that are otherwise awarded to UCLA’s varsity programs.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we are the best we can be without having those resources,” MacDonald said. “We just don’t have the practice time. We’re not allowed to have the pool space. We need a deep pool to practice in.”

UCLA’s artistic swim contingent has commanded the club circuit since its inception, touching the past two national club titles – but, given its inadequate resources, is struggling to elevate its stature within UCLA. Ramirez grinds through up to eight hours a day of training six days a week with the United States national team, a commitment far beyond what the club is currently granted.

The Bruins’ practices are also short in length, barely providing them sufficient time to properly run through a routine. Oftentimes, the team’s first full rehearsal of a routine occurs on competition day, offering no time to iron out mistakes and fine-tune exercises.

“Our practices are so short that every routine has to practice swimming all the way through that day,” Peterson said. “We can’t replicate competition conditions, and we’re out of time. Some people don’t get to swim all the way through.”

Beyond the shortage of practice hours, the team is strapped for apt training resources. The club sports program offers athletic training on a limited basis, with only two full-time athletic trainers.

Since UCLA’s program is entirely student-run, the financial responsibility for gear, travel, coaching fees and equipment rests solely on its members. To offset the costs, the Bruins often organize fundraising events such as lap-a-thons, where members will swim laps in the pool in return for donations.

“Whatever we can’t fundraise, we have to pay ourselves, and it does end up being expensive, … especially when you’re already paying tuition,” said third-year communication student Brianna Holmes.

(Courtesy of UCLA Artistic Swimming)
UCLA artistic swimming performs for the crowd. (Courtesy of UCLA Artistic Swimming)

Holmes, heading into her third year with the program, also serves as a club representative for USA Artistic Swimming. Her role entails a call for more representation and opportunities for her squad, working to push UCLA club artistic swimming into the Division I realm.

The club has made efforts to establish itself as a varsity sport at UCLA but has yet to relish tangible results. It has mailed letters to the bosses of UCLA Athletics, arguing its case for upgrading to varsity prestige – something that will bolster its recruiting abilities as well.

“We lose so many amazing athletes because they don’t get into the school or they want to be recruited to a top varsity program,” MacDonald said. “We can’t keep this team growing if we’re not allowed to recruit.”

Top artistic swimming prospects run toward programs such as Stanford and Ohio State, both of which boast endowed Division I programs. Ironically, UCLA has already proved its caliber and capacity – outlasting varsity programs on a national stage – despite its significant disadvantages otherwise.

With the attention that Ramirez introduced to artistic swimming at UCLA, and with MacDonald and Peterson working behind the scenes, it might not be too long until elite artistic swimmers could call Westwood – and the NCAA’s Division I – home.

Assistant Sports editor

Doyle is a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor. He is a fourth-year psychobiology student from Las Vegas.


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