Sport, art twirled into 1

Nation's premier baton twirlers in town for event

By Becky Pallack

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

IF YOU GO

• What: U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships

• Where: Tucson Convention Center

• When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Saturday

• Cost: Admission is free; parking is $6

• On the web: If you can't make it, check out the UA twirlers on Facebook. Search for Pride of Arizona Twirling Line.

This is a sport unlike any other.

If you can agree it's a sport.

The U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships are at the Tucson Convention Center through Saturday, featuring about 600 athletes of all ages from 21 states.

Part sport, like gymnastics, and part art, like dance, the contest measures technique and interpretation.

Here are a few ways twirlers say you can enjoy this show:

Cheer for the Wildcats. The University of Arizona Twirling Line will compete for the first time in a national competition on Thursday and Friday. Groups of five and seven will perform to "Soul Sacrifice" by Santana, and a more interpretive and competitive routine to "Take On Me" by A-ha.

The team has a chance to win two national titles this summer. It already nabbed a state championship in May.

"It's a common misconception that twirlers only twirl at football" games, said UA senior and co-captain Aubree Sweeney, 25.

Be your own sports analyst. The main goal for these athletes is not to drop the baton, but a lot of seemingly minor details are important, Sweeney said.

"You're looking for how they present themselves and how accurate they are with the baton," said UA coach Shirlee Bertolini, who has a 55-year twirling career.

During one part of the contest, a set of athletes perform identical skills before judges. You can judge and compare their body placement, baton patterns, control and catches.

Sandi Rios, a USTA technical adviser who has coached several world teams and individuals, said she's looking for performance skills, technical excellence and an athlete's desire to be the best.

There's also a freestyle contest in which performances are set to music and are open for artistic interpretation. Think gymnastics floor routines or figure skating.

Athletes get "your own music, glitzy costumes … and that's where you step up the difficulty," said 1997 junior men's world champion Jason Lee of Washington, D.C.

Lee said the three basics you need to know are:

• Aerials: a baton toss with a dance move underneath.

• Contacts: small flips of the baton around the body.

• Rolls: moving the baton around the body with no hands.

Be entertained while debating whether it's a sport. A routine takes as much energy as a football play, except it lasts longer and involves a different flying object, said UA co-captain Destiny Lagrand, 20, a junior. It also demands artistic ability, she said.

Depending on whom you ask, twirlers will tell you the sport has been held back by varied sets of rules and the fact that it isn't made for TV.