Above the water it’s a display of grace and poise, while below it’s a feat of physical endurance as legs and arms churn feverishly to keep the athlete afloat.

Such is synchronized swimming, such is the sport Catherine Seal has put her stamp on.

The 16-year-old Whitehorse teenager will be heading to Prince George, B.C. in a little over a week to represent the Yukon in the synchronized event for soloists at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

“Catherine’s strength is that she is extremely strong and a self-driven athlete,” says her coach, Heather O’Carroll. “If I’m a little late for practice, or if I’m doing something else with another athlete, she will push herself as hard as if my eyes were watching her.”

At this past weekend’s championships for the Northern Novas synchronized swimming team, Seal finished first in the junior solo event.

In the pre-recreational category, the duet of Mia Maguire and Mia Houde placed first.

In the pre-recreational team category, first place went to Cambria Alford, Ameilia Frey, Kate Josie, Cameron Maguire, Helene Maguire and Hailey Rough.

Taylor Jobin placed first in the solo event for the 11- and 12-year-olds.

O’Carroll and synchro head coach Aura-Lea Harper of the Northern Novas synchronized swim team will be accompanying Seal to the Games.

Each soloist must perform four compulsory figures from a list of eight, each lasting somewhere around 25 seconds.

Seal already knows two of the figures she’ll be required to perform, but she won’t know the other two until 24 hours before the competition, so she has to train for all eight figures.

In addition to the compulsory component, she’ll swim a three-minute routine based on a military theme to a mix of military music.

Head coach Harper said the club brought up a national judge on the weekend to help with the championships and provide parents with the essentials of judging a competition. But the judge was also able to help out Seal with valuable feedback, she said.

Harper said the two compulsory figures Seal knows she’ll have to perform are known as the barracuda airborne split and the porpoise twist spin.

Beginning in September, the synchronized swimmer of four years has been in the pool six hours a week preparing for the Canada Winter Games.

“She is very dedicated,” said Harper, who swam for 12 years, has coached for the last 10 and will be attending her fifth Games.

“It’s hard to be the only athlete going for synchro.”

O’Carroll said the primary drawback about coming from the North is the lack of regular competition at higher levels, the exposure to big events and the crowds, just as it is with many Yukon athletes from all sports.

The challenge facing Seal will be keeping her nerves in check and swimming with confidence, said her coach who represented the Yukon at the 1999 and 2003 Canada Winter Games, and was at the 2011 Games as a coach.

“It’s a little different mental game when you are competing Outside,” O’Carroll said. “Otherwise, physically, technically, she is ready.”

The Games open in Prince George this Friday and run through to March 1, with the synchronized swimming events scheduled for the second week.

Synchronized swimming was introduced to the Winter Games in 1967.