"What in the world is Baton Twirling?"

Here lies a question that we Australian baton twirlers are faced with as frequently as we have barbeques. Failing to access a Youtube clip, we usually resort to picking up the nearest pen/pool cue/kitchen utensil and proceed to twirl it as best as physically possible through our fingers, around our body and up into the air. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of witnessing this spectacular, here is an insight.

So, what in the world is baton twirling? It is a sport, or arguably an art form due to its level and style and beauty, that involves the manipulation of a metal rod with the hands and body to a co-ordinated routine. It is thought to have started in Eastern Europe and Asia at dance festivals where they used knives, guns and sticks and then it progressed into armies where a rifle twirler was added to the front of marches. Eventually the rifle became a 'mace' and was later modified with smaller ends of light rubber, hollow light metal and balanced out. With more females becoming involved as majorettes, a Major then created the sport of baton twirling and spread the word.  

Unlike any other sport, baton twirling encompasses the physical stamina and agility of gymnastics and dance, the artistic expression and beauty of figure skating and ballet, and the technical skill of all these sports combined. Today, it is clearly a multi-faceted sport for everyone, children to adults, male and female, and it is a great recreation for school groups, community organisations and competition.