baton twirling

Baton twirling is a sport that combines dance and color guard to create coordinated routines. It requires a "baton" which is metal rod, typically just slightly larger than one's dominant arm. The sport can be seen in national and international competitions including the USA Junior Olympics. Description Twirling combines dance, agility, coordination, and flexibility while manipulating a single or multiple batons. It is a sport that is played worldwide. A performance is typically accompanied by musical tunes. There are various types of baton twirlers. Majorettes twirl in a group for a high school or college with its marching band. A twirler may perform as part of a group that marches in a parade or front of an audience. Competitive twirlers may compete solo or as part of a group. Twirlers start learning the skills as early as age 2, but usually in grade school, although some begin as late as high school. Baton twirling requires specific knowledge of manipulating the baton and where to hold the baton. The baton can be described as a rod, usually a lightweight metal such as aluminum, with weighted, resilient ends, typically rubber stoppers. The baton's rubber ends attach to the rod and can be replaced. On one end, there is a large tip called the ball. On the other end, there is a small tip called the tip. The baton must be balanced at its center point. The rod can be one of several thicknesses. Thicker, heavier rods are said to be better for rolling, while thinner ones are better for finger rolls.The rubber ends can have different designs or weights depending on the manufacturer. Common types are the star, tulip, and simple round tips. The length of the baton from tip to tip should be one inch longer than the distance from the user's armpit to the tip of the user's middle finger. The baton is manipulated from three positions, depending on the trick: from the ball, one hand from the tip, and mostly from the center of the baton. The baton rod is wrapped with tape for decoration or added grip, using tape specially employed for that purpose. The tape can be anything from electrical tape to tennis tape. In addition to twirling baton(s), twirlers are known for manipulating multiple pieces of equipment, including fire baton(s), machetes, fire machetes, hoop batons, streamers, flag batons, swing batons, rifle, lighted batons, double flag baton, glow batons and sabers.