Some -- including the retirement community's Annemarie Strickler, 94, and Alma Espenshade, who will be 93 Dec. 12 -- would rather jump right into life, regardless of age.

The women are two of just four synchronized swimmers nationwide over age 90 who are registered as "master" swimmers with the United States Synchronized Swimming association, the national governing body for the sport of synchronized swimming. Master swimmers are those older than college age.

Strickler and Espenshade also are key contributors to Brethren Village's synchronized aquatic-movement group, Grey Mermaids.

The group, formed in 1989 when Brethren Village installed its heated therapy pool, has 12 members between the ages of 71 and 94, with an average age of 84.

It first received national and international attention in 1995 when its members appeared on ABC's "Good Morning, America" and other network news shows. Since then, the group has been featured in newspapers, magazines, books and on an Avanti Christmas card.

The Mermaids are following a trail blazed by "America's mermaid," Esther Williams, a half-century ago.

Williams would be thrilled to know her contemporaries are still in the pool, showcasing the synchronized swimming and aquatic movements she popularized in 1940s and 1950s motion pictures.

Although Strickler said she doesn't feel as though her performance measures up to Williams', she does feel special when performing in the water. "I feel like I'm on stage, like I was way back in my youth," she said.

Espenshade and Strickler, who both moved to Brethren Village in 1995, have been members of the Grey Mermaids for 12 years and 11 years respectively.

Both also were Silver Mermaids last year, but they didn't have the time to attend the additional practices this year. Silver Mermaids perform synchronized swimming, while Grey Mermaids do synchronized aquatic movement.

Strickler said she decided to join the Mermaids because she was "impressed" with the group's signature piece, "Silent Night," in which the Mermaids carry lit candles while performing their routine.

"It's a nice challenge -- a little discipline and a lot of fun," Strickler said. "We support each other, and if you make a mistake, you just smile. It's a challenge to get everything all right."

Espenshade agreed that performing with the Mermaids is fun. "We have very inspiring leaders," she said.

But the fun doesn't come without challenges.

Espenshade is legally blind. "I can see a lot of things, just not clearly," she said. She also has hearing difficulties.

Strickler is a petite woman. In the therapy pool where the Mermaids perform, the water is over her shoulders, while it is only chest-high for the other Mermaids.

Their performance with the group is more incredible considering neither would put her face in the water before moving to Brethren Village, Leibold said.

Synchronized aquatic movement and swimming take "a lot of practice," Leibold said. "(Participants) want to perform and do it well. They're excited to do it at this level of difficulty."

"When there is no splashing, kicking or sinking when (the Mermaids are) not supposed to, you know they've done the work they're supposed to do," she said.

"The incredibly intense sport," she said, improves the performers' health -- increasing breathing capacity and mobility in joints and exercising cognitive skills needed to remember the routines.

Leibold lauds all her Mermaids, including Strickler and Espenshade, for their efforts.

Seniors have "a choice," she said. Each "can slow the progression of aging, or sit back and let it roll over you."

The group's free holiday show, "An Olde Fashioned Christmas," will be presented at 7 tonight and Friday in the therapy pool on Brethren Village's campus at 3001 Lititz Pike. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the program will feature the Mermaids wearing swimsuits from 1895.

Lori Van Ingen's e-mail address is lvaningen@lnpnews.com.