Apr 13, 2010 9:27:26 AM

Carleton College is moving its synchronized swimming program to the club level at the end of the school year. Carleton student-athletes will continue to have access to the same competitions they did as varsity members, including the North Regional Championships and the annual U.S. Collegiate Championships.

Synchronized swimming had been a varsity sport at Carleton since 1998 when the NCAA recognized synchronized swimming as one of nine emerging sports for women. However, in July 2008, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics recommended to remove synchronized swimming and three other sports (archery, badminton and team handball) from the list for lack of growth. NCAA bylaws require that emerging sports must gain championship status (minimum 40 varsity NCAA programs for individual sports and 28 Division III varsity programs for team sports) within 10 years or show steady progress toward that goal to remain on the list.

"It was our hope 12 years ago when we moved synchronized to a varsity sport that there would be an increase in the popularity and sponsorship of the sport in both our geographic region and at the Division III level. Those hopes never materialized," said Carleton Athletics Director Leon Lunder. "We have decided that the time has come to return synchronized swimming to club-sport status."

According to United States Synchronized Swimming (the national governing body), there were only seven NCAA varsity synchro programs in 2009-10, with three at the Division I level, one at Division II and three at Division III. The other Division III varsity programs are at Keuka and Wheaton (Massachusetts).

Carleton will now maintain 20 club sports in addition to its 10 men's and 10 women's varsity athletics programs.