2026 USAAS Annual Convention Concludes in Madison, Wisconsin

The 2026 USA Artistic Swimming Annual Convention concluded in Madison, Wisconsin, bringing together members of the artistic swimming community from across the country for a weekend filled with important conversations, education, celebration, recognition and plenty of fun.

Throughout the convention, members came together to discuss the future of the sport, celebrate those who have helped shape its history, and create new memories with friends and colleagues from across the artistic swimming community.

USAAS kicked off Convention by introducing the ArtSwim Challenge, created by Communications Director Kennedy Shriver with assistance from event professional Connor Shane.

Designed to bring a little friendly competition to Convention, the ArtSwim Challenge featured five challenges that tested teams’ creativity, community spirit and performance skills. Randomly selected teams competed throughout the weekend to earn points toward an overall team championship, with the winner announced during Saturday evening’s USAAS Awards Reception.

Challenges included sharing the Convention experience on social media, a scavenger hunt, giving back to the sport through donations at the USAAS Foundation Dinner, developing creative concepts for USAAS’ new and upcoming mascot, and competing in the highly anticipated Deck Duel.

The Deck Duel carried the most points and put each team’s creativity and deckwork skills to the ultimate test.

Following a full day of meetings on Thursday, Convention attendees were treated to a special screening and Q&A with Brian Gersten and Michaela Owens, documentary filmmaker and producer of Hollywood Mermaid: The Esther Williams Story.

The screening offered attendees an opportunity to learn more about the life and legacy of Esther Williams, whose influence extended far beyond the silver screen and into the world of artistic swimming.

The emotional presentation connected generations of the artistic swimming community, giving younger athletes an opportunity to better understand the history of the sport and the individuals who helped pave the way for the athletes of today.

The Lillian MacKellar Committee hosted a special luncheon honoring the history and legacy of Lillian MacKellar and the individuals who have carried that spirit of service forward throughout the sport.

The luncheon featured a look back at MacKellar’s contributions, recognition of past award recipients and a spirited round of trivia before the announcement of the 2026 Lillian MacKellar Distinguished Service Award recipient, Cheryl Russell.

Russell’s journey in artistic swimming began as a young athlete and grew into a lifelong commitment to developing athletes, coaches, officials and leaders within the sport.

As a coach, Russell helped develop countless athletes, including national champions, National Team members and Olympians. When her career eventually took her away from full-time coaching, her dedication to artistic swimming never faded. Instead, she continued giving her time through leadership, officiating, mentoring, education and countless hours dedicated to helping athletes and coaches improve.

From Association, Zone and National leadership positions to mentoring the next generation of officials, Russell has consistently served the sport without seeking recognition in return.

Her commitment ultimately took her to the highest stage in sport when she was selected to serve as a judge at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

For a lifetime of service to artistic swimming, and for her continued dedication to strengthening the sport and supporting the people within it, USAAS proudly recognized Cheryl Russell as the 2026 recipient of the Lillian MacKellar Distinguished Service Award.

Following a full day of meetings and activities, Convention attendees gathered at Monona Terrace for the USAAS Foundation Reception.

The generous Convention community contributed more than $13,500 to support the USAAS Foundation and help advance the future of artistic swimming. The evening served as another reminder of the power of the artistic swimming community when members come together to invest in the sport they love.

The final day of Convention began bright and early with a Pure Barre class led by Darcee Redding. The workout had attendees sweating, shaking and, for some, cramping, but everyone was ready for the main event of the afternoon.

What had once been a formal Convention space was transformed into a stage filled with costumes, cowboy hats, Sharpie mustaches, capes and everything in between as the ArtSwim Challenge Deck Duel got underway.

Fifteen teams were assigned completely random themes and tasked with creating a 30-second deckwork performance. Five judges were selected at random and seated front row to score each performance live, with their scores contributing significantly to each team’s overall ArtSwim Challenge standing.

The result was one of the most entertaining moments of Convention, as teams performed to themes including Bad Bunny, Senior Citizens on a Cruise, Nacho Libre, Construction Crew and more.

The room erupted with laughter and applause as members embraced the challenge and brought their creativity, personalities and artistic swimming skills to the stage.

Convention concluded with the USAAS Awards Reception, where members of the community were recognized for their contributions to artistic swimming, from decades of service and historic achievements to coaching, development and athletic excellence.

The 2026 award recipients included:

USAAS Community Service Award: Town of Tonawanda

USAAS Hall of Fame Contributor Award: Mary Ellen Wiegand USAAS Hall of Fame Athlete: Suzannah Dyroen Bianco

USAAS Developmental Coach of the Year: Camille Albecht, Florida Elite Synchro Warriors

USAAS Athlete of the Year: Mona Schwickert

USAAS Coach of the Year: Olivia Zhang, Scottsdale Synchro Arizona

The inaugural ArtSwim Challenge also came to a close during the Awards Reception.

3rd Place: Taylor & Travis Kelce, 2,819 points
Norah Droste
Hevin Park
Natalie Hankins
Olivia Zeng
Shannon Korpela
Candace Hipp
Sandra Mahoney
Gabriela Perozo
Caroline Karolinko
Teagan Betancourt
Maya Plotnitskaya

2nd Place: Senior Citizens on a Cruise, 2,850 points
Alyssa Castellano
Trinity Noriega
Gwen Thomas
Linda Loehndorf
Cheryl Russell
Jill Anderson
Juliet Schmit
Shelby Unsworth
Taylor Miron
Sage Swisher-Shah

1st Place: Construction Crew, 2,885 points
Rae Li
Emma Gilbert
Sophia Chen
Emily Nie
Eugenia Gillan
Ginny Chadwick
Adriana Davidson
Elvira Khasyanova
Rachael Naessens
Katelyn Richburg
Alexis Sandekian

The 2026 USAAS Annual Convention was a celebration of where artistic swimming has been, where it is today and where it is headed next.

From meaningful conversations about the future of the sport and opportunities to learn from special guests, to honoring the individuals who have dedicated their lives to artistic swimming and creating new opportunities for members to connect, Convention highlighted the strength of the USAAS community at every level.

Most importantly, the weekend served as a reminder that the future of artistic swimming is built not only by the athletes in the water, but by the coaches, officials, volunteers, leaders, families and supporters who continue to invest in the sport every day.

USA Artistic Swimming thanks everyone who attended the 2026 Annual Convention and contributed to making it a memorable weekend.

We’ll see you in 2027 in Overland Park, Kansas!