Baton twirling is a sport! It is composed of numerous athletic skills all rolled into one activity. Baton has evolved from something that was primarily seen in parades or on football fields into a sport that encompasses the stamina level of a long distance runner, the hand-eye coordination of a baseball player or golfer, the grace of a ballet dancer, the flexibility and tumbling skills of a gymnast, and the determination and dedication necessary to be successful in any sport! Often baton twirling is equated into the same category as rhythmic gymnastics. Although these two sports share a great deal of similarity, there are specific moves that baton twirlers perform which make us distinct from rhythmic gymnastics. These moves are referred to as "rolls", where the baton is solely controlled by your body and not your hands. Presently baton is gaining recognition across the world and has found itself involved not only in our own World Championships, but also The World Games, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Jr. Olympics, and TwirlMania, which is an international event sponsored by Disney World. Ultimately we want to become and deserve to be an Olympic sport.

I was six years old when I started baton, gymnastics, and jazz. I went to my first Canadian Championships in 1986 with my little team and found my coach, Mary Tiano, passing myself and many of my teammates over to coaches that could develop us further -- Tim and Darlene King. The Kings took me to my first Canadian Championships in 1989 in Richmond, British Columbia, where I competed as an individual and won my first national title, which placed me into the advanced division immediately.

As our club grew and expanded across the country to become "King's National", I developed with it. We were training about 15 hours per week, and any holiday season meant training... not resting. At the 1990 Canadian Championships in Quebec, I performed my first freestyle routine. This was followed by the 1991 Canadian Championships in Calgary, Alberta where I placed in the top 15, plus winning two other national titles that year. By the time the 1992 Canadian event in Toronto rolled around, I was in the top seven individually and my trans-Canada Jr. World team placed third. Further, our Sr. World team won the Canadian title and went to the World Championships in Paris, France.

In 1993, I was the Junior Ontario/Provincial Champion that was trying for a place on the Canadian Contingent to go the World Championships. The 1993 Canadian Championship in Winnipeg, Manitoba is an event I remember well. Although I experienced the heart-breaking defeat of placing fifth in Canada (and missing the Canadian Team by one position), I won the gold medal in the Junior Pairs event with my partner Jacki Fraser. My World Team placed second and also missed the Canadian Team by one position. We were a part of the Canadian Contingent to represent Canada at the 1993 Baton Twirling World Championships (WBTF) in Den Bosch, Netherlands. My team, although placing second at the Canadian event, was asked to represent Canada at the 1993 World Games in The Hague, Netherlands... so we all got to go The Netherlands. The World Games was a very special event where many sports came together and showed off, not just baton twirling. At the World Championships a few days later, my pairs partner and I were honoured to accept the bronze medal for Canada in the Junior Pairs event, with the US second, and Japan first.

1994 marked my entrance into the Senior Women's Division. For the next few years the results were the same with me in 11th place nationally, and my team was second nationally. Due to political difficulties, I decided to retire (temporarily) in the 1996 season. I felt I could not make any further progress due to the political climate.

But the 2000 season brought me back. I missed twirling. When you are a twirler by nature... you'll twirl anything... an umbrella, a stick of any kind, a cucumber... whatever, it's just natural. It's like you have a magnet in the palm of your hand attracting that metal stick to it. That's how I knew I was not finished accomplishing everything I wanted to do in the sport of baton.

My club, "King's Starlight Destiny", was now apart of the CNBTA, a Canadian expansion of the NBTA which is US-based. It meant a whole new ball game! In 2000 I was the Miss Majorette of Canada and went to the AYOP international competition at the University of Notre Dame. In 2001 my coach and I put together my best individual routine ever, to John Lennon's "Imagine". With that routine I won the 2002 and 2003 Canadian National Baton Twirling Championships and represented Canada at the 2003 World Championships in Marseille, France where I placed 10th in the world.

Presently I am training for the competition called Twirl Mania sponsored by Disney World that will occur in February 2004, as well as coaching and getting certified as a judge.

World Championships 2006 in Amsterdam