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Baton Twirling
the Sport

I am the 2002 & 2003 Canadian National Senior Women's Freestyle Champion and ranked 10th at the World Baton Twirling Championships (NBTA) in Marseille, France in April 2003.

As a part of the Canadian contingent, my team "Kings Starlight Destiny" also captured the Silver and Bronze medals, resulting in Canada's best showing ever at these World Championships.

Check out a video of me (4MB, WMV format) to see what baton twirling is all about!

2002 & 2003 Canadian Senior Women's Freestyle Champion placing 10th at the 2003 World Championships (NBTA) in Marseille, France Canadian Senior Twirl Team at the 2003 World Championships in Marseille, France Team Canada Twirl Core captures bronze medal with 'Moulin Rouge' routine at 2003 World Championships in Marseille, France
Canadian duet of Kevan and Alison captures gold at 2003 World Championships in Marseille, France. They proudly stood for the playing of our national anthem Canadian Senior Twirl Team captures silver medal at 2003 World Championships in Marseille, France An example of true Canadian pride at the 2003 Baton Twirling World Championships by Sammi, Connie, and Aileen  

What is Baton Twirling?

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.

Lynne's famous ending pose Lynne at AYOP 2000 as Miss Majorette of Canada Lynne's signature pose. AYOP competition at University of Notre Dame in 2000
I won the Canadian Championships for my second time consecutively, and my athlete got second place in the 0-6 age category! Palaise des Sports was a wonderful facility for twirling with a very high ceiling. One twirler from the US managed to hit the roof on a quadruple reverse illusion! Opening ceremonies before the commencing of the 2003 World Championships had countries mingling and enjoying each others' company. Team Canada and Team Italy were hitting it off!

Lynne's success and history in the 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.

Always the flexy one and usually put in the middle! Lynne with her first pageant trophy at 8 years old My first coach Mary Tiano being honoured for her many years of teaching children. She started all of us in this sport and it has given us back so much... thank you Mary. You will be forever remembered  

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.

Canadian Junior Pairs gold medalists (Jacki and Lynne) at the 1993 World Championships in Den Bosch, Netherlands. We won the bronze medal Canadian Senior Pairs gold medalists (Liz and Kevan) at the 1993 World Baton Twirling Championships, winning silver with their 'Ghost' routine Lynne and Jacki in the middle of their 'Aladdin' routine at the 1993 Canadian Championships where they won the gold  

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.

  Long time coaches Tim and Darlene King Sammi and Alison at AYOP 2000 at the University of Notre Dame  

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.

Alison, Lynne, and Sammi partying before Worlds 2003 Lynne and Sammi at AYOP 2000 at the University of Notre Dame  

UPDATE! Feb 2004 Congratulations to Victoria! 2nd Place in Miss Twirl Mania 7-9 Novice division, in Orlando, Florida. And congratulations to all participating Starlight Destiny athletes at Twirl Mania. Photos from Twirl Mania 2004 below:

Dee and Lynne, Scarborough Coaches of Starlight Destiny Performance Club  

UPDATE! Feb 2005 Congratulations to Starlight Destiny Sports Performance Club for an awesome representation at TwirlMania 2005 in Orlando, Florida, and to all the Canadian baton twirlers. There were teams and individual baton twirlers from all over the world present, and you stood up on the podium with the best of them. Special congratulations goes to Starlight Destiny Junior Dance Team "Elvis" for your 2nd place finish. Another special congratulations goes to Victoria for another great year at TwirlMania, but keep working on that one spin!! Best wishes to all our girls as this is just the start of our season, and happy twirling!

UPDATE! Mar 2006 Congratulations to our Starlight Destiny baton twirlers that participated in the international baton competition called TwirlMania in Orlando, Florida at the end of February. We had a great trip, filled with many awards, and accomplishments! Special thanks to the parents for coming out on this trip and enduring the long days at the gym! Special congrats to Victoria for getting 3rd place in the Miss TwirlMania 7-9 event, with almost 30 kids in her division! Way to go Victoria. And a very special congrats to Amy for participating in her first international competition. Fun was had by all, running around all the Disney Parks in between the competition, and we all enjoyed the Florida Sunshine! Best of luck in your continued practice for this season! Next competition is Miss Shamrock on March 26.

   

Pre-World Championships 2006

 

World Championships 2006 in Amsterdam

     

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