Contest Calendar Series - 2017 South Texas Aux. Championships

Hello Texas Twirl Fans...

Wow! So many page views for the Regionals Update post yesterday. How awesome! While I know right now we are all focused on Regionals this weekend, lets keep the excitement moving forward as look toward the first post-Regionals competition that will be held in San Antonio on April 22nd.

Today's Contest Calendar Series will be discussing the 2017 South Texas Auxiliary Championships.

*DEADLINE EXTENDED* NEW DEADLINE APRIL 7TH Please note that the deadline for this competition was formerly April 1st, but the Contest Directors know that everyone is in Regionals mode, and that many people may change divisions at Regionals, so they have extended the entry deadline to Friday, April 7th. You must have your entries postmarked by this date. Click here to download the entry form. For more information, please contact the contest directors at TexasGems.BatonTwirlers@yahoo.com.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who: Contest Directors Major Margaret Mann, Tori Mays, Heather Hayden, and Melinda White
What: 2017 South Texas Auxiliary Championships
When: Saturday, April 22, 2017. Contest begins at 8:00 am.
Where: Northwest Vista College, 3535 N Ellison Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78251

Why: The Directors of this contest pride themselves on hosting a fun-filled fiesta themed twirling competition. Hosted in the middle of San Antonio's fiesta season, they hope the contestants and their families can enjoy a tradition that is near and dear to their hearts.

CONTEST HASHTAG: #fiestacuptwirl2017
For this event we strongly encourage our Texas twirlers to utilize the hashtag #fiestacuptwirl2017 when posting photos of this competition on social media.

Highlighted Event: At this competition they offer a "Fiesta Cup"! This special event consists of the top 2 twirlers in each age division (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels) competing in a twirl-off! The Advanced Fiesta Cup is a perpetual (traveling) award which will feature each winner's named engraved on the plate.

Unique Feature: With this contest falling at the same time as some area high school auditions, this competition offers a UIL/School Audition event for those contestants that would like feedback and a competitive run of their audition routine.

Any Last Comments: The Contest Directors would like to thank everyone for all for the support, and they look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Want to attend this event? Please download the South Texas Auxiliary Championship Entry Form, or contact the Contest Directors at TexasGems.BatonTwirlers@yahoo.com.

Also, don't forget to check out http://www.texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in and around the State of Texas. There are many great contests heading our way, and we don't want anyone to miss out!

Photo Credit: Mary Ann Srulowitz, Heather Newsoroff, Misty Kuntschik, Twirl ATX, & Lisa McBurnett. Thanks!

We hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Contest Calendar Series. We are always looking for great stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it. 

Southwest Regionals 2017... The Final Countdown!

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

It is almost time for the big event. In only three days, twirlers from all over Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, will begin to travel to Canyon, TX for the 2017 Southwest Regional Championship and Miss Majorette of the Southwest pageant, which will occur on Saturday, April 1st and Sunday, April 2nd. As of Sunday night, we will have our first big title holders for the season, as well as have identified the first round of twirlers that will be representing from Texas in the National Pageants at AYOP in July. Who else is excited? I know I am!!!

Our wonderful Contest Directors - Gretta Johnson, Shelia Pierce, Brittany Ashcraft, and Summer Johnson - have shared a few important FYI's with the Twirling is Catching blog so that we can help spread the word to all those attending. A big thanks to the Directors for their awesome preparations and what we know will be a wonderful Regional Championship event. We hope this helps everyone with their weekend preparations!

Program Pick-Up
Program pickup is from 6-8 on Friday night at the Holiday Inn in Canyon. The hotel is located at 2901 4th Ave, Canyon, TX 79015. You will also be able to pick up shirts and patches at this time. You will not be able to get in to the Event Center on Friday Night.

Day Of Details
The doors of the First United Bank Center (3301 North 4th Avenue, Canyon, TX 79106) will be opening at 7:15 on Saturday and Sunday morning. Competition will begin at 8:00 am.

Pageant and modeling events on Saturday will begin with the letter X. The set list for all events will be posted in the program. Please make sure to go in order of the set list!

On Site Concessions
Concession will be provided by WTAMU Athletics at the Arena. Please support their efforts!

Photography
Photography will be provided by Wild Skies Photography. They will be taking both action and portrait photos. You can check out their website at wildskies.phanfare.com where they will be posting the photos from Regionals.

Schedule of Events

Saturday, April 1st 

• Miss Southwest Model
• Miss Majorette/Basic Skills Modeling
• Modeling Ratings
• Best Appearing
• Best Costume
• Presentation
• Miss Majorette/Basic Skills Strut
• Miss Majorette/Basic Skills Solo
• 2 & 3 Baton
• Flag
• Duets
• Group Championship Events
• Show Twirl/Rhythmic Twirl
• Collegiate Twirl/Collegiate Downfield
• Awards Ceremony 

Sunday, April 2nd

• Open X Strut & Solo Events
• Individual Championship Events 
• Ratings 
• Advanced Strut and Solo Finals 
• Awards Ceremony 

Team Texas at Twirl Mania Part 2 - Archer, Perkins, and Kotzur

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Two posts in two days? Get ready for more after this! There is so much going on the next few months, and we cannot wait to share it all with you. As promised in the Team Texas at Twirl Mania Part 1 post, we had so many twirlers attend the February event that we wanted to highlight, that we have divided this series up in to two separate posts, so here it is Part 2!

The Annual Twirl Mania International Competition was held over President's Day Weekend in mid-February. Today we get to meet three more awesome twirlers that also traveled to Orlando, FL to compete at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World... Alexis Archer, Emily Perkins, and Jennifer Kotzur. 


Alexis Archer

Alexis is from Plano and is taught by Cindi Bourland Archer & Sharon Lemons Arber. She competes in the Beginner 0-6 division. Alexis' favorite placement was when she was awarded third place in the Beginner Tiny Tot Miss Twirl Mania Pageant. She tells us, "The competition was really tough and I was thrilled that I made the Top 5, let alone the Top 3! It was a fun experience and my first time at Twirl Mania. I hope to return next year!"

• 3rd in Beginner Tiny Tot Miss Twirl Mania
• 1st in Beginner Military
• 2nd in Beginner Basic
• 3rd in Best Appearing
• 3rd in Beginner Open X-Strut
• 7th in Beginner Open Solo

Emily Perkins

Emily is from Magnolia and is a member of the KOS (Karen Ogden Studio). She is currently the Magnolia High School Feature Twirler, but in the fall will take the field as the Feature Twirler for the University of Oklahoma. Emily's favorite placement was getting 2nd place in the multiple baton portion of Twirl Mania Gold Pre-lims against really tough competition. 

• 10th in the Twirl Mania Gold Elite 17+ Prelims
• 2nd in Twirl Mania Gold Prelims Multiple Baton
• 7th in Twirl Mania Gold Prelims Freestyle
• 6th in Advanced Senior 3-Baton
• 9th in Elite 16-20 2-Baton Prelims

Jennifer Kotzur

Jennifer is from Stockdale and is coached by Amber Hanel, Ainslie Hunt, Mary Ann Srulowitz, and Whitney Coons. She competes in the Elite Women's division. Twirl Mania this year was a very special event for Jennifer as it was her retirement competition. Jennifer would like to share the following about her experience at her final contest: "First and foremost, it truly was an honor to be one of the three Texas twirlers that were a part of the Twirl Mania Gold Invitational for the second time. Though this was my last competition as an athlete, I feel being able to have three Top 10 placements in the Elite division is one of the greatest feelings. I owe so much to my four coaches for helping me realize that, regardless of the placement, if you feel you've given the best performances possible and feel complete, then that is the import part. More so, knowing that I am entering retirement placing on such a high level with some of the world's top athletes is the greatest accomplishment I can walk away with".

• 6th in Elite Adult 2-Baton
• 6th in Elite Adult Solo
• 9th in Senior Miss Twirl Mania

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it. 

*Update #2* 2017 Texas Collegiate Twirler Audition Guide

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

For those that caught the previous 2017 Texas Collegiate Twirler Audition Guide posts, you got to see our one stop shop for Collegiate Try-Out information. Our goal with this feature is to present as much audition information for Texas universities in one place as possible to at least make the process of knowing how to audition easier for our Collegiate twirler hopefuls. We hope it has been helpful!

If you have any information to update any of these listings, or have information for a University not listed, please email texastwirlcontact@gmail.com. We will be posting updates as new updates become available. A special thanks to Jennifer Kotzur who helped track down the information for the four colleges included in today's update!

We also hope to be able to announce many of the Twirler selections for these Universities as the decisions are made, so make sure to stay tuned! You can always follow us here, but to make sure you are notified every time there is a new post, we also have a Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/twirlingiscatchingtx and can be found on Instagram @twirlingiscatchingtx.

2017 Texas Collegiate Twirler Audition Quick Guide: 

Electronic Audition Submission Deadlines
*February 1st – Baylor University 
*February 6th – Texas Tech University FEATURE
*March 1st - Sam Houston State University
*March 15th – University of Houston
*March 24th - Texas Tech University LINE
*April 12th - Univ. of the Incarnate Word *NEW*
*April 13th - Texas State University 

Set Live Audition Dates
*February 15th – University of TX, Permian Basin
*March 1st – Stephen F Austin FEATURE 

*February 26th – University of TX, Permian Basin

*April 1st - Sam Houston State University

*April 7th & 8th – Texas Tech University 
     - Feature & Line Auditions
*April 22nd - Texas State University

*April 28th & 29th – Angelo State University 
     - Feature & Line Auditions
*May 6th - Stephen F Austin University
     - Feature & Twirl-O-Jack Auditions

*May 6th - Univ. of the Incarnate Word *NEW*

*May 10th - Tyler Junior College *NEW*

*May 20th - Lamar University *NEW*

*May 20th - Kilgore College *NEW*

No Audition Info Available At This Time:
*University of Texas – San Antonio
*Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
*Texas Christian University

Not Holding 2017 Auditions:
*University of Texas, Austin
*Southern Methodist University

Already completed 2017 Auditions:

*University of Texas, Permian Basin

*Baylor University

2017 Texas Collegiate Twirler Audition Details:

 HUNTSVILLE: Sam Houston State University

*2017 SHSU Twirler Audition Information 

*Live Auditions will be held April 1st     

    - Submit materials to bxg012@shsu.edu or

     to kelleymccormick5@gmail.com by March 1st

          1. Twirling/School Resume

          2. 2 letters of recommendation
          3. Photograph in twirling costume

LUBBOCK: Texas Tech University

*Live Audition for Feature & Line - April 7th & 8th

*Email all materials to btolley@sbcglobal.net

*2017 Audition Info for Feature & Line Positions

*Link to Feature & Line Audition Promo Video

*Feature Twirler Audition Information:

     - Online submissions due by February 6th

     - Submit materials to btolley@sbcglobal.net

*Twirling Line Audition Information:

     - Electronic submissions due by March 24th
     - Submit materials to btolley@sbcglobal.net

          1. Resume & HS/College Transcripts

          2. Letters of Recommendation

          3. Why you want to twirl at Tech
          4. A Picture

SAN ANGELO: Angelo State University

*Live Auditions will be on April 29th at 9:00 am

*A Required Clinic will be April 28th from 6-8 pm

*2017 Audition Info for San Angelo Line & Feature

SAN MARCOS: Texas State University

*Live Auditions will be held April 22nd

*Audition Materials are due by April 13th

*2017 Bobcat Twirler Audition Information

     - Submit materials to krg60@txstate.edu

          1. Completed Application

          2. 2 letters of recommendation
          3. Full length photo included

          3. Video <10 minutes of live twirling

SAN ANTONIO: Univ. of the Incarnate Word *NEW*

*Live Auditions will be on May 6th

*2017 Audition Information for UIW Twirler

     - Electronic submissions due by April 12th
     - Submit materials to barichar@uiwtx.edu

          1. Audition Video & Cover Letter

          2. Letters of Recommendation

          3. Twirling Resume
          4. Headshot

NACOGDOCHES: Stephen F Austin

*Live Auditions will be held May 6th

     - Same requirements at 2016 info

*2016 SFA Twirler Audition Info for Reference

     - Submit application materials by March 1st

          1. Completed Form & Resume

          2. Optional letters of recommendation
          3. 2 Photos including headshot

          3. 2-6 minute video of live twirling

*2016 Twirl-O-Jack Audition Info for Reference

TYLER: Tyler Junior College *NEW*

*Live Auditions will be on May 10th 2017

*2017 Audition Information for Twirling Line

*Must submit the Info Form & Band Director

   Recommendation prior to audition date

*A second audition will be held June 21st

BEAUMONT: Lamar University *NEW*

*Live Auditions will be on May 20th 2017

*2017 Audition Information for Twirling Line

*A Required Clinic is held May 2nd 6:30-9 pm

KILGORE: Kilgore College*NEW*

*Live Auditions will be on May 20th 2017

*2017 Audition Info for Twirling Line & Feature

*The twirler audition packet must be turned in

 to keittpaige@yahoo.com prior to auditions.

 CORPUS: Texas A&M – Corpus Christi

*No Current 2017 Audition Info Available

FORT WORTH: Texas Christian University

*No Current 2017 Audition Info Available

SAN ANTONIO: University of TX San Antonio

*No Current 2017 Audition Info Available

AUSTIN: University of Texas – Austin

*No positions available for 2017

*Will not be holding auditions for Fall

*2017 Feature Twirler: Erica Kuntz

DALLAS: Southern Methodist University

*No positions available for 2017

*Will not be holding auditions until Spring 2019

*2017 Feature Twirler: Alex Bridges

WACO: Baylor University

*Audition videos for 2017 due on February 1st. 

*Email all materials to lynndell@heilp.com

*2015 Audition Info for Requirement Reference

ODESSA: University of Texas Permian Basin

*Live Audition for Twirlers - February 26th 

*Email via Drop Box to harris_c@utpb.edu

*Materials must be submitted by February 15th

*2017 Audition Info for Falcon Twirler positions

HOUSTON: University of Houston

*Electronic Materials are due by March 15th

*2017 Audition Info for U of H Feature Twirlers

*Submit materials to coach@uhtwirlers.com

      

Team Texas at Twirl Mania Part 1 - Lambert, Marvell, McBurnett, and Wood

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Sorry for the delay in posts. The past few weeks have been contest filled, so look forward to several contest follow up posts coming up soon. In the meantime, we wanted to take a couple posts to talk about Texas Twirlers traveling around the country to represent our State.

The Annual Twirl Mania International Competition was held over President's Day Weekend in mid-February. Texas had some wonderful representation at this event. After seeing some of their wonderful pictures posted on social media, we knew we had to do a blog post about them! As a note, there were too many awesome Texas twirlers at Twirl Mania to fit them all in one post, so this feature will be a two-part post with the second round of twirlers being posted next week.

Today we get to meet four young ladies that traveled to Orlando, FL to experience Twirl Mania together... Kaylynn Lambert, Callyn Marvell, Stephanie McBurnett, and Madeline Wood! These four twirlers did an amazing job bringing home quite a collection of Top 10 placements, medals, and trophies. Congrats ladies! Texas is so proud of you!


Kaylynn Lambert

Kaylynn is from Corpus Christi and is a member of the Texas Stingerettes. She is coached by Nancy Einsehower, Kim Berger, and Keely Davis. Kaylynn competes in the Junior Advanced division in Solo, X-Strut, and Dance Twirl events. She is the most proud of placing Top 3 in her Advanced Dance Twirl as it was  difficult group of competitors and she had a great performance. 

• 1st in School Solo
• 3rd in Beginner Freestyle
• 3rd in Advanced Dance Twirl
• 4th in Advanced Miss Twirl Mania X-Strut
• 6th in Intermediate 2-Baton
• 8th in Beginner 3-Baton
• 8th in Advanced Solo

Callyn Marvell

Callyn is from San Antonio and is a member ofthe Texas Gems. She is coached by Melinda Mann White and is currently the Feature Twirler for Clark High School (Go Cougars!). Callyn competes in the Intermediate Junior division, but due to the difference in the Twirl Mania age cut-off, she competed in the 16 year old division. Her favorite placement was her Advanced Basic Strut placement because she came in higher than well known twirler Joel Claudio. She was so excited about this because, in her words, "He is so good!"

• 5th in Beginner Freestyle
• 7th in Advanced Basic Strut
• 5th in Advanced Military
• 8th in School Solo
• 10th in the Beginner High School Classic

Stephanie McBurnett

Stephanie is from San Antonio and is a member of the Texas Gems. She is coached by Major Margaret Mann and is currently the Feature Twirler for Winston Churchill High School (Go Chargers!). Stephanie competes in the Beginner Junior division in Solo and the Intermediate Junior division for X-Strut. Her favorite placement was 2nd place in the Freestyle event because she "worked so hard on that routine and the blending of dancing and twirling made it so much fun!"

• 5th in the Beginner Junior Miss Twirl Mania Pageant
• 2nd in Beginner Freestyle
• 2nd in Beginner Military Strut
• 4th in Advanced Basic Strut
• 4th in Most Photogenic
• 7th in Best Appearing
• 9th in Intermediate X-Strut
• 9th in School Solo
• 9th in Beginner Dance Twirl Solo
• 9th in the High School Classic

Madeline Wood

Madeline Wood is from San Antonio and is a member of the Alamo City Strutters. She is coached by Pat Montgomery and is currently the Feature Twirler for Brandeis High School (Go Broncos!). Madeline competes in the Advanced Junior division. She says she had a great time at Twirl Mania and was so proud of placing Top 3 in her Miss Twirl Mania Pageant!

• 3rd in the Miss Twirl Mania Pageant
• 2nd in Intermediate 2-Baton
• 2nd in Advanced Solo

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.