Marielle Chartier Hénault developed her AquaMermaid program combining movements from synchronized swimming and a strong core workout to provide a different kind of fun and fantasy in the water. The courses, which began in Montreal, are now available in Toronto and Ottawa

Marielle Chartier Hénault developed her AquaMermaid program combining movements from synchronized swimming and a strong core workout to provide a different kind of fun and fantasy in the water. The courses, which began in Montreal, are now available in Toronto and Ottawa.
Photo Credit: courtesy AquaMermaid

Mermaid lessons the latest in fitness and fun

Marielle Chartier Hénault describes herself as a fish; she loves swimming and scuba-diving, and as a lifeguard, she can make a living around the pool. But a chance encounter with a mono-fin and a unitard left her determined to share the thrill,  

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A friend asked her to model and swim in a mermaid tail. She says the power of the movement in the water is so energizing. She soon began developing a course that combined synchronized swimming with core workout elements that keep the adults interested, and the children focused.

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My kids’ faces just lit up,’ says Sharla Stoffman after her daughters spotted another swimmer wearing a mermaid costume at a pool in Calgary. © CBC Calgary/Sharla Stoffman

“It’s like flying in the water”

The mermaid tale has been growing in popularity and use in pools across Canada. In the province of Alberta, the cities of Calgary and Edmonton came to different conclusions when they reviewed the use of the fins in public pools.

Edmonton banned the fins outright, whereas Calgary has the swimmers, mostly young girls, prove their strength and confidence as swimmers before they’re allowed to use the equipment, and only when the pools are not too crowded.

“I was very mad and very, very sad,” nine-year-old Alexis Mayer told CBC News, after she was asked to remove her mermaid fin at an Edmonton city pool, earlier this summer.

“You need to know how to swim.”

Chartier Hénault concurs, as with any sport  “There is some risk… but we always recommend proper supervision”  In her classes, children can begin at the age of seven with a test to make sure they’re confident in the water.

The courses began in Montreal, caught on in Toronto and are now opening up in Ottawa. September is the time when families are signing children up for lessons and courses that will keep them active through the winter months. And for a variation on swimming, the 10-week AquaMermaid class could be just the ticket.

Mono-fin swimming is part of the Commonwealth Games and is more popular in general, in Europe. But for Chartier Hénault, the skill involved in getting comfortable with the power and the movement of the fin in the water is all about having fun learning something new and getting a great work-out at the same time.

Mermen are welcome.

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