In pics: Want to meet mermaids? You might find one in your local community pool
Extreme cosplay
Mermaiding is the practice of swimming in a mermaid tail costume. Mermaiding is often seen as a form of extreme cosplay due to the nature of crafting the tails and other prosthetics used by practitioners.
The "Merschool"
Mermaiding is a fast-growing sport worldwide, there are various schools all over the world to teach it -- the "Merschool". Before diving in, students each slip on a brightly coloured fabric tail ending in a monofin.
Fast- growing sport
As reported by AFP, a mermaiding instructor Izelle Nair says, "It's lots of fun."
"It's for fitness, it's for fun, it's for fantasy, it's therapy -- but most of all, mermaiding is a sport," she added.
Dolphin kicks
In the water, students undulate up and down the pool perfecting their dolphin kicks, or practise sculling -- hand movements to propel the body also used in synchronised swimming. "We swim with a dolphin technique and we use sculling, and then we put it all together and we work out a little sequence," Nair says.
Love for Monofin
To be a mermaid or merman all that is required is a little technique, some breath-holding skills and a love of costumes.
Similar to synchronised swimming
Nadia Walker, another mermaid coach from the world of synchronised swimming, says both sports have much in common.
"The back rolls, some of the warm-ups and activities that we do, come from swimming," she says.
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