Local twirlers compete in The Snow Festival

In synch with the music’s beat, the hand releases the baton into the air. Sequins on the outfit blur with a twist and the illusion of a downward flip as the baton returns from its momentary flight into the expecting hand. Even when a twirler loses his or her battle with gravity, the game face continued to smile at the judge.

The Snow Festival baton twirling competition presented by The Royalettes Baton Corps held at Cosby High School on Saturday, Jan. 15 was the first opportunity for many of the 85 participants to reveal his or her season’s routine. The competition’s participants were from Virginia as well as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Florida. This year also featured three competitors from Japan. The Royalettes, who are affiliated with the National Baton Twirling Association, selected certified NBTA judges for the competition from Virginia and Maryland.

Practice and more practice
University of Virginia feature twirler Audrey Johnston (Cosby ’08) exuded confidence during her routine. The baton twirler, in her 15th year of the sport, noted that confidence does come with practice. Her parents, Bernadette and Terry Johnston, encouraged her to start twirling when she was in kindergarten.

“You go to the gym with a lot of motivation and then you just do things repetitively over and over and over until you get comfortable enough so you have the confidence to perform on the floor here in front of people and judges,” she said.

Training usually falls around her Biology curriculum at UVa. “I usually practice four days a week for about two hours. I say, it’s just like any sport … when you’re a baton twirler, you know you have the baton in your hand a lot and you just get used to it. I can feel when I release it, and if it’s slightly off, I know where it’s going,” Johnston said.

Johnston added that the mental part of staying calm and relaxed during a judged performance is more difficult than when performing with the university’s band and fellow twirlers Victoria and Brittany Maiden. However, Johnston strives to excel in her performance. “It’s important, I think, to set goals so you know what you’re working for. It helps me to maintain motivation,” she said.

Diane Gunnels, who is coach of The Royalettes Baton Corps, also helps Johnston maintain motivation and reach for more advanced levels in twirling. “She’s there when I need motivation. She tells me when I need to work on specific things,” Johnston said.

Inspired by a family friend
Ashley Morris, a student at Bailey Bridge Middle School, began twirling after watching close family friend and twirler Tracey Burnham twirl. According to Ashley’s mom, Sarah Morris, the sport was the perfect fit. “When she was three, we started with dance and went to gymnastics and then ballet. Twirling basically gives you all three because there is dance involved, there’s gymnastics, there’s technique that they’re learning working with the team [Royalettes], it just goes on and one with all the positives,” Sarah Morris said.

She also added that besides the physical aspect, competition has provided a sense of self-confidence for her daughter and has been a good way to keep organized. “[Ashley] knows she has to get her homework done before she can go to the gym,” Sarah Morris said.

A unique sport
Co-director of the contest Rhonda Groves remembers when she was twirling during her school days. She was a twirler from second grade through high school, where she was the feature twirler for Monacan High School (Class ’81). Now, she coaches with The Royalettes.

Groves feels that performing does increase self-confidence as well as focus on fitness. “I think baton twirling is an awesome thing for young people to do. We have a couple of boys that twirl too, so it’s not just for girls,” Groves said.l “It’s unique, fun, and you get to travel to different places to compete.”

For local information about twirling, visit www.royalette.com. National information can be found at www.batontwirling.com and international information and competition at www.wbtf.org.

RESULTS
Twirl-off winner in honor of Andrea Birdcreek, who was a longtime twirler, coach & judge, who passed away from breast cancer, is Lindsay True.
True is the Feature Twirler at Christopher Newport University. She was awarded $150 in cash for this win!! The three-part pageant that consists of Modeling, Strut and Solo; the scores are combined to find the winner. They earn the title of SNOW QUEEN and are done for different age groups and levels of twirling. The winners are:
Miss Snow Queen
Novice 0-6 - Mackenzie Bronk
Novice 7-9 - Megan Munyak
Novice 10-12 - Kelsie Rudd
Beginner 0-6 - Gia Singh
Beginner 7-9 - Olivia Thomas
Beginner 10-12 - Spencer Fynaardt
Beginner 13-15 - Kayla Fynaardt
Intermediate 7-9 - Rylee Fynaardt
Intermediate 10-12 - Sylvea Koolhof
Intermediate 13-15 - Rebecca Keller
Intermediate 16+ - Nicole Bradley
Advanced 0-6 - Alaina Rongione
Advanced 7-9 - Laney Puhalla
Advanced 10-12 - Serena Bronk
Advanced 13-15 - Sabrina Smith
Advanced 16+ - Victoria Maiden
College - Audrey Johnston - Feature Twirler for the University of Virginia

The winners for Open Solo are:
Novice 0-6 - Mackenzie Bronk
Novice 7-9 - Justine Vasquez
Novice 10-12 - Moe Chishiki (from Japan)
Beginner 0-6 - Gia Singh
Beginner 7-9 - Madison Ramsingh
Beginner 10-12 - Makaihla Jones
Beginner 13-15 - Julie Charlevois
Intermediate 7-9 - Korina Singh
Intermediate 10-12 - Ashley Jones
Intermediate 13-15 - Rebecca Keller
Advanced 0-6 - Alaina Rongione
Advanced 7-9 - Laney Puhalla
Advanced 10-12 - Serena Bronk
Advanced 13-15 - Kaitlyn Boyer
Advanced 16+ - Lindsay True
Advanced Boys 13-15 - Connor Rudd
Advanced Men's 16+ Jacob Griffith
The winners for Open Super X Strut are:
Novice 0-6 - Gia Singh
Novice 7-9 - Olivia Thomas
Novice 10-12 - Stephanie Meriwether
Novice 13-15 - Jacqueline Dorsch
Beginner 7-9 - Korina Singh
Beginner 10-12 - Meredith Smith
Beginner 13-15 - Kayla Fynaardt
Beginner 16+ - Brittany Thomas
Intermediate 7-9 - Rylee Fynaardt
Intermediate 10-12 - Spencer Fynaardt
Intermediate 13-15 - Alyssa Bockman
Intermediate 16+ - Nicole Bradley
Advanced 0-6 - Alaina Rongione
Advanced 7-9 - Laney Puhalla
Advanced 10-12 - Serena Bronk
Advanced 13-15 - Kaitlyn Boyer
Advanced 16+ - Audrey Johnston
The winners for 2-Baton are:
Novice 0-6 - Skylar Parks
Novice 7-9 - Madison Ramsingh
Novice 10-12 - Makaihla Jones
Novice 13-15 - Tracey Burnham
Beginner 10-12 - Ashley Jones
Beginner 13-15 - Connor Rudd
Intermeidate 7-9 - Isabella Rongione
Intermediate 10-12 - Meredith Smith
Intermediate 13-15 - Alyssa Bockman
Intermediate 16+ - Jessica Paschal
Advanced 0-6 - Alaina Rongione
Advanced 7-9 - Gabby Steed
Advanced 13-15 - Jordan Ashley
Advanced 16+ - Lindsay True