2010 World Athlete Interview – Adam Gates. Senior Men Freestyle

When did you start baton twirling?
I started when I was three years old. Three of my sisters were twirling at the time so I tagged along.

Where was your first National Championships?
My first Nationals were in Melbourne and I remember I played the red Power Ranger as my character for Dance Twirl.

What is one of your favourite routines you’ve ever done?
In 2005 I was in the Australian Team when we went to America for the World Championships. I just loved our Jungle themed team! It had so much character and it was so different to anything we had ever done before.

When was your first World Championships?
This is my eighth world championships, my first one was in 2001 in Paris, France. I was competing in Junior Men Freestyle and I used the music from Zorro. I remember just moments before I went on the floor, in the warm-up area, I was practicing one of my tricks and the baton came down and smacked me in the eye! I was nursed by the French team and then went out onto the competition floor to compete against “little dude” (Keisuke) doing ‘Live and let die.’

What’s it like being the only male baton twirler in Australia?
Well in Australia they don’t separate the athletes into male and female so I’m used to being amongst all the girls (winks)!

Are you looking forward to Norway?  
Yes, I can’t wait to perform in Bergen. The country looks beautiful and it will be great to see everyone at the competition again.

Japanese baton twirler Mei Maruo on the Ellen DeGeneres Show!

"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.